Ylang Ylang (cananga odorata) is a nice tree to have near a house. The fragrance of the greenish yellow flowers is so rich and deep and exotic and lingers in the air for a long time.
Ylang Ylang is considered to be a native of Malaysia and Indonesia, but one can find them at many places in the tropics. We have one at Olavipe which is on coastal Kerala. It is a spindly tree that grows very fast and reaches a height of 40 ft. or more. Propagation is by seeds.
The ylang ylang flowers are widely used in the cosmetic industry. They also have an important role in aromatherapy because of the medicinal properties. The range includes use as aphrodisiac and treatment of sexual problems, stress reduction, digestive problems, palpitation and abnormally fast breathing, healing wounds, emotional stability and so on. It is a long list.
The image reproduced above is from Wikimedia. Here are some photographs of Ylang Ylang I took at Olavipe. Copyright reserved. Click on them to enlarge.
The records of each family form a part of the history of the country.
For some reason, the practice of maintaining a family tree has not been prevalent in India. Usually, information is passed down the generations through oral tradition. In the process some details could be lost. Perhaps it is time that you draw your family tree, if it has not been done already, with the information currently available to you
The image of a classic family tree is given below:
It is a beautiful work of art by my brother Anthony Tharakan, on a wall at Thekkanattu Parayil, our ancestral home. Our earliest known forefather is marked at the base of the tree. As it branches out, the descendants come into the picture.
This example of a family tree is difficult to follow, unless you are artistically inclined and have a lot of free time. There is a much easier way – make a simple chart, a kind of upside down family tree. The requirements for starting the work are large sheets of good quality paper, pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener and ruler. Keep all these along with your notes within easy reach on a large enough table.
Tell your family members what you are up to. Even better than that would be to have the children actively participate in the project. It would induce them to develop a sense of history.
At the top of the first sheet, write the name of your earliest known ancestor in the center. Under that enter the dates of his birth, marriage, and death (b.— m. — d.—). Next come the name, dates of birth and death of his spouse. Underline the last line of the entry or encase the whole entry in a box.
Draw a short line, say half an inch, from the center of the first entry and link it to a horizontal line for the second generation. If the first ancestor had three children, draw three short lines again from the horizontal line and enter the details, starting with the eldest in the left. Repeat the process till you reach the present generation.
In the process, you will have to make a decision as to whether you want a comprehensive family tree or one that is confined to your line of descendants only.
The final product would look like a corporate organization chart, with the CEO at the top. This would be a basic family tree. A sample of males only genealogy chart is given below:
You can make it more elaborate by giving codes for each family member, symbols (say for male/female) and historic notes. Leave blank spaces where relevant information is not available. Finally, overwrite the chart with indelible ink.
It would be much easier to make the family tree on a computer. Free software for the job can be downloaded at http://www.myheritage.com/family-tree and similar sites.
Images: Top, KO Isaac. Copyright reserved. Bottom, Wikipedia commons.
This story is about what happened to me during the last few days:
-Nov 6. At a relative’s house I take a step without noticing the difference in floor levels and lose balance. I turn sharply on my left foot and avoid a fall.
-Next day. Slight pain and swelling on the left foot.
-Day 3, Saturday. Heavy swelling and pain. I go to a major hospital in Chennai. The top ortho doctor not available. A junior takes a look at the foot and says the ankle is fractured and/or twisted and it has to be in a cast for three weeks. Then he sends me for an X-ray.
-The (Rs.500) X-ray does not show any fracture, says the doctor. He adds that ligaments must be torn and that would show only on MRI. He does not insist on a scan but decides to go ahead with the cast.
-We buy the materials the doctor wants and the cast is done. Actually it is a ten minutes job for a good paramedic.
-The doctor prescribes some medicines and tells me to buy a pair of special boots from a particular shop.
-I am billed Rs.2500 for the Chief Doctor’s time. That man was not present!
-On Tuesday I meet a leading Ortho of Chennai at his new hospital. He looks at the X-ray and points out to what appeared to be a fracture. It was at a corner of the image. A new X-ray (Rs.150) confirms the fracture at the base of the small toe.
-The doctor tells me to keep the cast anyway because it was already on and happens to protect the affected part also. His charge is Rs.250.
What the glamour hospital did was criminal. The young doctor was incompetent and negligent. He was signing in the name of his boss. I was charged for the services of the Senior Doctor who was not even there. The amount was exorbitant.
I have to keep my feet up for a few days and no computer work. My mailbox is piling up. For publishing posts I have to take help from others. Really, I feel the need for a laptop now.
Lessons learned: 1. Always find out the charges before agreeing to a medical procedure. 2. With some hospitals and doctors making money seems to be the primary objective. Healing is incidental.
Srirangapatna (Srirangapattana) is about 13kms from Mysore City. In modern history the town is mostly known as the former capital of Hyder Ali and and his son Tippu Sultan. Tippu was killed there during the Forth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799.
Sriranganathaswamy Temple
The place is named after the Sriranganathaswamy (Lord Vishnu) temple which is believed to have been built by the Ganga Dynasty in the 9th century CE. Subsequently the Hoysala and Vijayanagara rulers made improvements to this famous Vaishnavite shrine.
Carvings on the temple rath.
Maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar had built a church for his Catholic subjects in 1843. As the congregation grew with the passage of time the need for a larger building was felt. Therefore, it was decided to construct a new church at the same location.
The foundation stone for the present St. Philomena’s Church was laid by the then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, on October 28th, 1933. The church was consecrated in 1936.
St. Philomena's Church
This shrine is believed to be the only one in the world which has the relic of St. Philomena. It was obtained for the church by Thambu Chetty, Secretary to the Maharaja of Mysore.
The photographs were taken by Binita Kuruvilla last month. Copyright reserved.
An addenda:
The image below is Temple near Bangalore (Mysore), with Savandrug in the distance. – a pencil, wash, and water-colour drawing by Thomas (1749-1840) and William (1769-1837) Daniell. Source: The British Library, Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections, reproduced from Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
All the pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.
One Sunday evening, 1957. I was entering the gate of the guest house where I stayed in Colaba. Suddenly there was a shout from behind me. Turning around, I recognized the taxi driver who had taken a friend and me to SilverSandsBeach that morning.
The man got out of the vehicle holding up a tiny but very expensive camera and I got a jolt. I had borrowed it from a friend for the outing and had left it behind in the taxi without realizing it.
It was such a great relief when the driver handed the camera over to me. He explained that he had been waiting for me for a long time and I should pay him the meter charge. That was about 40 rupees. I gave him 100 rupees.
1970. I engaged a taxi for the whole day. The vehicle was spic and span. The driver was a well groomed elderly person with a cultured voice. On the way back to the hotel at night we got to talking.
What he told me about him was so fascinating that years later I wrote a brief short story based on it titled A Tyreseller. It won a prize in the Unisun-British Council short story competition. Click on the link below to read it.
Now, the 21st century.
Five years back my wife and I reached Mumbai by train. Because of a communication muddle the vehicle for us waited at Dadar and we went on to Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus).
We took a taxi for the long haul to Ghatkopar. After about a hundred meters the car stopped and a goon looking chap got in front. The driver said the man was his brother.
After a while the non-driving brother pulled out a bottle from under the seat. The contents could have been water or colorless alcohol. They started drinking, passing the bottle from one to the other. I felt uncomfortable but kept quite. I had no mobile phone to contact anyone.
After Bandra the driver took us east, driving trough some remote areas for about two hours. Finally he dropped us off about 5kms from our destination saying the car had run out of patrol, and demanded Rs.2000. He settled for Rs.1400 which, I told him was all that we had. I managed to note down the taxi number though the goons tried to prevent me.
A passing autorickshaw driver had stopped by and was watching all these. While taking us to the address where we were staying he told us that the fare from CST would not have been more than Rs.400. He insisted that we should complain to the police.
Mumbai had changed so much!
The story had a satisfactory end, though. I contacted somebody I knew in the government. Within twenty four hours the goons were apprehended and the entire money was returned. Out of that I entrusted Rs.500 to the policemen and told them to give the taxi driver what was fair.
Photos taken by me on October 18, 2008. Copyright reserved.
Click to enlarge.
Into this ettukettu were born the two Marquises, both brothers, of the Parayil Family - Avira Varkey Tharakan (1836-1905) K.C.S.S, K.C.S.G.and Hormis Tharakan (1842-1904) K.C.S.S., K.C.S.G.
It is Puthenveettil Parayil, the first of the Parayil Family houses at Ezhupunna. Even though nearly two centuries have passed since it was built, the house is still known as Puthenveettil (New House).
Another ettukettu was built for the younger brother, Hormis. Between the two mansions is the St. Raphael’s Church (1859).
This building is almost identical to the Velliara Parayil house shown in
