History of Ayroor Puthuparambil Family
After thousands of years, when we seek the roots of Puthuparambil family and remember our forefathers, we value the splendid blessings of the Almighty. Words of praise and thanksgiving pour out from our heart in enabling us to rise into a splendid family tree that grew under the shadow and protection of the Almighty God.
Ayroor was a famous ancient land on the banks of Pampa River. It was a secure province ruled by the Ayroor Karthas. When a young man by name Thomas with his wife and only son came and settled in Ayiroor Puthuparambil property somewhere near
900 M.E. (Malayalam Era), it was considered that the foundation of this underprivileged family was built on the cornerstone of God’s reliance. Mr. Thomas and his successor’s untainted faith in God was the foundation stone of their family. Hard work was their motto. When the fruits of their land increased, there was an equal increase of their cattle livestock. Brotherly love became a part of their daily routine. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. This made Puthuparambil family to flourish into many branches and spread their roots to different continents of the globe.
Puthuparambil Thomas is the foremost recognised member of the first generation of our family. It is considered that Thomas came to Ayroor in 1750 A.D. There are documents which imply evidence to the fact that he had settled at the Puthuparambil property near a hospital premise at Kanjeettukara in Ayroor. This land was in the ownership of our ancestors for over a century. But later, 45 years back this land was sold off by Thomas of Kizhuvallithara.
From where did Thomas reach Ayroor? On analyzing the roots of the first generation, it finds the way to two possibilities.
It was St. Thomas the apostle who laid the foundation of Christianity in Kerala. Many people and their following descendants who got baptized by the apostle and converted to Christian faith had to confront opposition from various religious communities. This forced several people to flee their land. There are evidences that many Christians fled from Niranam and Kuravilangad. So it is a justifiable conclusion that our ancestors came from Niranam. These early settlers first stayed on a land called Puthuparambil that was adjacent to the temple at Kallupara. After that our foremost member Thomas and his family came to Ayroor and settled with the same family name Puthuparambil. This is the most acceptable assumption about the history of our family.
The second possibility when tracing the origins of our family goes back to Nilackal. Apostle St. Thomas came to Malankara and established seven and a half churches in Kerala and one of these is at Nilackal near the starting point of River Pamba. In those days Nilackal was the hub of Brahmins. The Christians of Kerala believe that St. Thomas baptized many Brahmin families and founded a church there.
Nilackal then gradually changed. The land which once was inhabited became a forest. Wild animals strayed many parts of the land. The inhabitants of Nilackal migrated to the lower regions such as Ayroor and Kuriyannoor. It is believed that Mr. Thomas and his family also were among the migrants but the available historical evidence and documents prove otherwise and show more prominence to the link of the family with the Niranam division. Logically the Niranam family link seems to be more valid in tracing our history. When Mr. Thomas planted the first seedling of his family on the fertile soil of Ayroor the Christian families were then very few. This was one of the few families which got tax free land from the king. Our ancestors held 1.84 acres of this land for a long period. History declares that they had been the owners of this land till the settlement in 1084 M.E. (Malayalam Era).
The Christian believers of Puthuparambil family received noble positions in Ayroor. It was even witnessed by the Hindu community that the Puthuparambil family members stood for truth, fought for justice and hated quarrels and dishonesty.
The first generation of Puthuparambil family depended on agriculture farming and cattle herding for their livelihood. When their family enlarged, their field of activity also became immense. As a result their need for more land for cultivation and cattle rearing increased. Our ancestors moved to different regions in search of fresh pastures of land and they settled in Njeezhoor, Velliyara, Kottanad, Poovanmala, Nellikamon, Vazhakunnam, Kakkudimon, Madamon, Konni etc.
Sri. A Philip was the first government employee of our family. He was also the first secretary of our family get-together meeting. By the next generation, there was advancement in the educational qualification of our family. Many became graduates and many traveled to Malaysia seeking jobs and settled there. In the eighth and nine generations numerous members have become professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Advocates, Journalists and Teachers. Also there are several who work in USA and in the Gulf region.
The family tree which originates from Puthuparambil Thomas spread its branches as Mukazhamannu Melekuttu, Kizhuvallithara Padinjaru, Kizhuvallithara Thazhekuttu, Nellikkal, Varikkannikuzhi, Puthumparambu and also into sub-branches such as Kavunkil, Perumpoikkal Thadathil, Thaliyanikkal, Perumpoikkal.
Wherever the members of Puthuparambil family went they have become an integral part of those places by involving themselves in the social, economic and cultural sector of the society. They were also in the forefront in the establishment of places of worship and educational institutions.
Our forefathers initially worshipped at the Chapel in Ayroor. From there Varikanikuzhi Iype on his migration towards the north took the initiative to build a church at Chayal. The members of Perupoikal were the pioneers in building the Carmel church. The members of the sub-branches of Perumpatiyil Thalianikkal made the effort to build Perumpatty and Methanam churches. The associates of the Kandanperoor Kizhuvalithara family branch managed to establish Kandaperoor Marthoma and Evangelical church. Kalambala Perupoikal branch members led the edification of Kalambala church. The Puthumparabil members who resided at Kottanad,Puthoor were in the forefront of building the CSI church in Kottanad and the Kandanperoor Brethren Hall. Konni Evangelical church was supervised by Kizhuvallithara members at Konni. Puvanmala Varikanikuzhi, Mozhaman branch members led the building of Puvanmala and Mathapara churches. Kakkudimon Varikanikuzhi family members led to the establishing of Evangelical church at Kakkudimon. The early believers of Nellikal, Cherukol were the leaders in the building of the Orthodox Church at Cherukol.
The prosperity of Ayroor Puthuparambil family was their self-courage, hardwork and above all the grace of God. By extending the favours received from God to the next generations our family blossomed. The emotions of love and attachment towards our near and dear ones became a vital point to identify and bring our members back to the links which had spread across the various continents. The real assembly of family get-together reaches out to everyone only when everybody stays together with a single minded unity of brotherly warmth and affection.