Herewith a short sketch of our esteemed, illustrious and colourful grandfather. Adventurous and romantic, perhaps, would describe him better.
He was born in Kandy, Ceylon in 1852. He belonged to an aristocratic family of ancestral landlords. In a family of eight, he was the second son of Thambi Cannu Marikar. He took his initials from his father’s name and was known as T.C.H.Marikar.
*He was a sportsman and an athlete, his favourite game being football. Once while he was playing, the ball went into the school ground next door. It was when he went to pick it up that he met his future wife who was a teacher there.[1]* She was a padre’s daughter. They got married with much opposition from the powerful Marikars and the Christian community. Her married name was Ayesha. She[2] was said to be of attractive features, gentle, soft-spoken and very intelligent. She was well versed in the Bible and in the Quran. She bore him six children.
Trade and the spirit of adventure brought appa (T.C.H.) to India. With his business acumen, he successfully built up his trade between India and Ceylon. He came to South India and established himself in the then States of Travancore and Cochin (Kerala) and parts of Madras Presidency (Tamil Nadu). Travelling between India and Ceylon could not have been easy sailing in the eighties. He owned 26 dhows and did regular trips. In Travancore, he was attracted to Mundakayam and Peermadu. Perhaps, it was the scenic beauty and climate of these places and their similarity to Ceylon that attracted him.
[3]*He started his business in Kottayam where he had a supermarket of sorts. He used to go to the mosque on horseback* and that is when he fell in love with the Syrian Christian lady, who was renowned for her beauty and specially her long & flowing tresses. She used to watch him from the threshold of her house. One day, he carried her away on his horse. This lady, Kunjamma, was already married and had a child too, but nothing prevented the progress and fulfillment of their great romance. They married to the utter dismay, anger and embarrassment of the Syrian Christian, ‘Chowkaparambil family’, to which she belonged. Kunjamma’s married name became Mariambi. They stayed in Kottayam for some time and later settled down in Rich Grove estate in Mundakkayam.
He set up his son Kasim in business in Mundakayam. It was then that Kasim was married to Meera whose daughter Mymoon was given in marriage in Ceylon. Appa evidently wanted to maintain his connection with his homeland. His daughter Halima was married to his brother Manzoor Shah’s son Muqaddam Shah. On his death she was married to Buksh in Ceylon. Ummukulsu, another daughter was married to Jain, who was employed in a tea plantation Company inCeylon and later came and settled down in theHigh Ranges of Travancore. Nachiar and Amina were also given in marriage in Ceylon. Both of them were widowed early, and as was the custom in Ceylon, the daughters came back to live in their parent’s home in Peermedu.
Appa later met the two brothers Ibrahim Kutty and Abdul Khader, who hailed from Kannur and were doing business in Peermedu. They became good friends. Their friendship culminated in marriage alliances between the two families.
Later on appa sold his property in Kottayam and invested in a large acreage of land in Mundakayam. Even during his life time portions of it were taken away for bridges, roads etc. He built a big comfortable house in ‘Rich Grove Estate’ where Mariam and the children lived and is still the home of that branch of the family.
Peermade and Mundakayam were little known areas, with virgin forests and malaria-ridden jungles. Only the pioneering spirits of a few daring British planters and people like appa that opened new vistas of development in these places. Appa foresaw the potentialities of Peermade and made it his business centre and did a flourishing business.
Being an enthusiastic equestrian with a great love of horses, he prided himself in his horses and stables. His horsemanship won him a lot of friends among the British and he enjoyed this great recreation.
In 1920, after his youngest daughter Saffa’s marriage, appa passed away peacefully. He was laid to rest in that part of his ‘Rich Grove’ estate in Mundakayam, which he had set aside for a family graveyard.
A unique personality, a daring pioneer of exemplary courage and foresight with a spirit of adventure and romance who was a link to two colonial countries of the British, he died inIndia, the land of his adoption. Thus ended the spirited zestful life of T.C.H.Marikar, born inKandy, Ceylon and laid to rest inMundakkayam, India.
[1] * to* data collected by Shamshu Mohamed Ali in 2001, when he was working in Sri Lanka as construction engineer
[2] Much later, ie in the late 1940s, her brother and his son Chelliah writer and family migrated to Munnar and settled down there. The son was employed in Marikar & Co and the family was very close to H.O.L.Marikar and our vappa, Majeed Marikar. His children, Avaranji and others were our playmates in Munnar.
[3]*.* Ummer sacha’s account fortified by Elsy, grand daughter of Kunjamma’s first daughter, in October 9
