As Told and Written by M.Parisutham
on
02.11.2000 

Translated into English by Alex.
Compiled by Jessie

            I’m 74 my wife is 67. First let me describe about my ancestors. 

            In 1902 my father Mr. Masilamani was born in a village named Athichapuram, Tanjore district in India. My grandfather Mr. Chinnaiya Nadar together with his father Arokiasamy Nadar left their native village Karaikudi Ramanathampuram district due to draught. Then they settled in Orathanadu Sathiram, Tanjore district and started their traditional profession ‘kallu irakkuthal’. This business was very profitable and they lived a luxurious life. Then they decided to migrate to Athichapuram so they donated all their land and wealth to the local parish priest and settled in Athichapuram to start the same business over there. This is when my father was born. ‘Aiya’ was the nickname of my father. My grandfather Sinnaiya Nadar’s wife’s name is Arulandamal. I used to call her ‘Appayi’. 

            Appayi’s father Arulanda Swami Nadar lived in a small village Ocheri near Athichapuram. He too had migrated from Ramanathapuram previously. He had 8 daughters and 2 sons. The eldest among daughters was Arulandamal (my Appayi), and the eldest among sons was Rathnasamy Nadar. In 1904 Rathnasamy Nadar was blessed with a beautiful daughter and he named her Anthoniammal. Rathnasamy Nadar being my father’s uncle, my father married Rathnasamy Nadar’s daughter Anthoniammal. 

            After the death of my great grandfather Arokiasamy Nadar and my great grandmother, our family moved to a village named Kanoor in Manarkudi Taluk. Here to they started ‘kallu kadai’ and business flourished as usual. They acquired 15 acres of paddy growing field, a coconut farm, a bamboo farm and a luxurious house. At these good times I was born in 1926. My grandfather used to be always busy, doing household chores like weaving coconut leaves, fencing and farming. While working he used to sing songs. He even read and explained ‘Ammanai’ to me. He used to advise that one should be patient at all times and should not be angry. 

            My father was not interested in household matters instead he spent his time for social work i.e he was an active member of ‘Sanmarga Sangam’ and ‘Dravidar Iyakkam’. My Appayi handled all household matters. 

            When I was 5, I was admitted to local ‘Panjayath School’. The same teacher taught me from my first grade till my 5^th grade. My grandfather used to weave his own fishing net and fish in ponds and rivers. My uncle (chithappa) Arokiasamy used to accompany my grandfather while fishing. After my father, chithappa was born after a long gap, that is he was born only three years before me. That is why he was called as ‘kuttyappa’. He was not interested in studies and started learning ‘maram yerum tholil’. Often my grandfather used to take me with him, whenever he goes for fishing. 

            There were many workers working in our land and ‘kallu kadai’. As years passed by, the business slowed down and at certain point of time came to a stand still, and the ‘kallu kadai’ was closed. Then there came a time when we had to work for ourselves and earn a living. So we had to sell the land, house and the farms for a cheap price and settled in a village named ‘Chery’. With this money Kuttiyappa’s marriage was conducted. 

            Here my grandfather worked as a ‘kamas’. A ‘kamas’ is a supervisor who takes count of the amount of ‘kallu’ that each worker brings from the coconut trees and is in charge of delivering this to the ‘kallu kadai’. He was paid a monthly salary of Rs. 20. He also used to climb coconut trees to extract ‘kallu’, for this he was paid Rs.16 per month. With this money we lived in a rented house. Because of this migration my studies were discontinued. Then my grandfather admitted me to the National High School in Mannarkudi at the age of 14 in 1940. Mannarkudi was 8km away from ‘Chery’. At this time there was no transport facilities between these two places. Hence I had to wake up daily at 5 o’clock in the morning, take bath in a pond and then study for 1 hour in kerosene lamp.  Leave the house at 7am and walk all the way to the school (8km) with a packed lunch (cold rice). Everyday I would reach the house at 6pm. 

            In April 1943 I completed my 8^th grade. I had always aspired to study well and earn money by working in a good position. But at that time school fees was Rs. 2.75 per month. This amount was too much for my family to spare every month. From 9^th grade this fees would increase to Rs5.25 per month. So money was a big obstacle to achieve my aim. Luckily at that time there lived a great man in Tanjore named Arulanandaswamy Nadar who was a distant relative to my grandfather and who was generous enough to help boys of my age who belonged to the Nadar community. So my grandfather took me to him and made sure that I was admitted to the 9^th grade in Saint Anthony’s Higher Secondary School. He even helped me to get admitted in a hostel, which was free of charge. I stayed there for 3 years and completed my SSLC in 1946. Then I came back to Chery and stayed idle for 2 months. The urge to work and earn money was still strong in my mind. 

            With this strong urge and Rs.20, I came to Tanjore in search of job. I stayed in the house of my school friend. There was no employment exchange at that time. After searching for a while, I was appointed as a clerk in the District Board for a monthly salary of Rs.30. I stayed opposite Fatima Nagar in Yagappa Nadar Thannir Panthal for 1 year. During this 1 year, I ate in a house three times a day and they charged me Rs.12 every month. I sent back the remaining money to my house. In the whole Nadar community, I was the only one who successfully completed SSLC and worked in a government sector at that time. Knowing this, Mr. Savarimuthu Nadar who was very rich at that time with many toddy shops and land, came forward to betroth his eldest daughter to me. 

Since I was not wealthier enough to spend for my marriage, Savarimuthu Nadar arranged the marriage himself. My wife’s name is Arul Mary. She was a Convent educated girl. She was married to me when she was in her 8^th grade. At those times bride’s consent was not necessary for marriage. She was only 14 when she was married. 

I had 5 younger sisters and one younger brother. In 2.10.1947 the government announced abolition of liquor which left my family out of job. So I rented a house in Tanjore and brought all my family with me. In 1948, I brought my wife Arul Mary to my house in Tanjore. I admitted my brother and my sisters at school. Though I was transferred to many places with my income, I educated all my younger sisters to be eligible to become teachers and my younger brother to be an officer. Later I arranged all their marriages. 

In my job I had passed many tests to be eligible for higher promotions. From a clerk I had elevated to a position of manager. In 1986 I retired from my job. When I retired I earned Rs.1500 per month. I have 3 daughters and 5 sons. 

With this meager income I had to bring up my sisters and my brother together with my family. Till the time I could arrange to marry everybody off. My wife was a continuous inspiration who made all this possible by undergoing the hardships with me and supporting me at all times. Also to bring all my sons and daughters to a self sustaining level was only possible with my wife’s hardwork and thrift.