The story of my great-grandfather

Pics: Ninan Xavier; Ninan Xavier and his wife Thresiamma

By Shevlin Sebastian

When my California-based uncle, Siby Sebastian, put up a photo of Ninan Xavier in our family WhatsApp group, it focused attention on one of our ancestors. This is my great-grandfather from my father’s side. My grandmother’s father. Born in 1862, he died on January 25, 1948. So, he lived to the ripe old age of 86.

My son’s birthday is on January 25. So the question arises: is my son a reincarnation of Ninan Xavier? Who knows? Who can tell?

In the photo, Ninan is wearing a headgear called a Thalappavu. This is a symbol of power and status. It was given to him by the then Diwan of Travancore-Cochin.

I have gleaned most of the information which appears in this post from an article written by my uncle Kurian Sebastian. This was published in a booklet to commemorate the 60th death anniversary of Ninan.

Ninan studied till the second form (Class 8). “This was deemed appropriate for most people at that time,” said Kurian. From his early days, he had a fascination for the flute and joined the choir of the local church at a place called Koothrappally (about 20 kms from Kottayam).

When he was 16, he married a 14-year-old girl called Achamma. A son, Ninan, was born. But a mere 22 days after his birth, Achamma passed away. Later, Ninan married another woman called Thresiamma, and they had six children — two boys and five girls.

Ninan loved agriculture with a passion. Apart from rice, he was one of the first to try rubber cultivation in the village of Madappally. The rubber produced was sent to the Volkart Brothers, a Swiss firm in Cochin, which exported it to different countries. The Brothers established their Cochin branch in 1859.

This regular business with Volkart resulted in an upsurge in the economic fortunes of Ninan. As a result, he developed expensive habits. Ninan would enjoy a couple of pegs of vermouth every evening. This was imported from Britain by the Volkart Brothers.

Along with sacks of Burmese rice, workers who had gone to drop the rubber off by boat would bring these bottles back to Ninan’s house.

Ninan also tried sericulture (silkworm breeding) in 1918. Again, he was one of the pioneers. The Director of Agriculture was a constant visitor to see the progress of the cultivation. From the silkworm produced, several types of clothes were made. This was displayed at an exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram in 1921. He received a medal from the government for his efforts.

He rose in stature. The Diwan visited his house.

Later, he shifted to the construction and repair of roads and became the leading contractor in that region.

Ninan also stood as a candidate for the Changanacherry/Peerumade constituency for the elections to the Sri Moolam Assembly and won. He attended the 23rd session at the Victoria Jubilee Town Hall in Thiruvananthapuram.

Ninan was known as a confident, friendly and outgoing person.

In the 1920s, Ninan’s brother-in-law Kunjadichen attended a public meeting in the town of Changanacherry where PJ Sebastian (my grandfather), a teacher of the well-known St Berchmans school, gave a rousing speech. Kunjadichen met Ninan and told him Sebastian would be a suitable boy for marriage for his daughter Thresiamma. So, Ninan met Sebastian and was impressed.

So was Sebastian. In his autobiography, ‘My Life’ (translated into English by my uncle Dr. C T Mathew), Sebastian writes, “I saw a striking 60-year-old man sitting on the verandah with a large betel nut box in front of him.”

The marriage with Thresiamma took place on June 12, 1922.

In 1937, Ninan attended a session of the Sree Moolam Assembly, but this time he was in the company of Sebastian, who had won from the same constituency.

Sebastian went on to have a stellar career as he became one of the youngest chairmen, at age 29, of the Changanacherry municipal council, an MLA, a Public Service Commissioner and later became Director of Panchayats of the Travancore-Cochin State. He was one of the leaders of the ‘Vimochana Samaram’ (liberation struggle) that resulted in the dismissal of the EMS Namboodiripad Ministry by the Congress-led government at the Centre on July 31, 1959. In his autobiography, Sebastian mentions meeting Mahatma Gandhi with other Congress leaders at Sevagram in 1938. He also won the Tamrapatra, which is an award given for outstanding contribution as a freedom fighter by the Indian government.

So, it was clear Ninan had a good eye for talent.

When Ninan passed away, through special permission from the government and religious authorities, his family buried him inside the Lourdes Matha church at Mammood, instead of the cemetery.

During a period when such concepts were unheard of, Ninan ensured his five daughters got an equal share of his property.

Years later, Sebastian wrote a letter to his eight sons and daughters in which he stated: "It is a fact that your grandfather has given your mother landed properties. You are enjoying these properties, which this good soul has given to your Amma. You should not forget that for the growth and progress of your family members, this wealth has played a cardinal role. Therefore, you should always be thankful and remember him [Ninan] with respect and gratitude."

In the end, Ninan’s was a life well-lived.