Tuesday, 1 September 2015

The Remarkable Paul Kandakku of Oyaravilai and Family - Part I

Introduction : Mr Yovan Paul Kandakku of Oyaraviali was one the unsung heroes of Kanyakumari district. He was one of  the remarkable personalities of our District  and  , he was a good  Christian , Agriculturist, Philanthrophist ,  Entrepreneur, Social Thinker , and historical link, etc,.  The objective of this Article is to introduce Mr Paul Kandakku to the contemporary  readers and people .

His Ancestors, Birth and Parents : Mr. Paul Kandakku hailed from one of the pioneer Protestant Christian families of Kanyakumari district. The Patriarch of Paul Kandak's family Mr. Madan Vaithiyan [1739-1819] was a native of Oyaravilai village in Agasteeswaram taluk in Kanyakumari district and Madan Vathiyan begot Chinnan Vaithiyan[1770-1860[ and Chinnan Vaithiyan was a contemporary  and companion of Mylaudy Maharasan Vethmanickam and played a vital role along with Maharasan Vethamaonickam to establish an LMS Church in 1808  at Oyaravilai.]  and Chinnan Vaithiyan begot Mr. Yovan[John]  and Mr.Yovan begot Paul Kandakku the hero of this Article..  Mr. Paulkandakku was born at Oyaravilai, Agasteeswaram taluk, Kanyakumari district in  1840.

Mr.Paulkandakku's  wife and Children: Mr. Paulkandakku married Miss Rachel  from Srilanka . Mr Paulkandakku and Mrs. Rachel Paulkandakkuu bogot the following children:[1] Mrs .Malayammal[born 1873], [2]Mrs Abaranam [b. 1878], [3]Mary Mariammai[ 1880-1939 ], [4] Mr.  Ponnusamy.

Mr. Paulkandakku went to Ceylon and returned as a rich man : Even though Paulkandaku's parent's had moderate  and enough properties and means for livelihood , with a mission and vision in tune with   a popular Tamil adage , "Cross the sea and make money "   Mr..Paul went to Ceylon to earn more money Mr.Paul worked as a Conductor[Kandakku] in a famous Tea Estate in Ceylon  owned by an English man and under the administrative control of an English man . The English man  quickly recognized Paulkandakku's sincerity and efficiency and gave Paulkandakku many responsibilities and gave him high salary of the day,  as  a corollary Paul kandakku made  enormous amount of money and wealth and after having worked for many years in Ceylon Mr. Paulkandakku   returned to Oyaravilai , Kanyakumari dist,  as a very rich man . and bought many properties in and around Oyaravilai.

Paul Kandakku was a rich man:  Mr Paulkandakku was one of the rich men of kanyakumari district during his time and owned lands and paddy fields in many places in the District. To cite few :[1]  Mr Paul kandakku owned 55 cents of urban land near Nagercoil Municipal Office [Mead Street],[2]  Near Thamarakukulam village he owned 3 and half acres of fertile  Coconut Tope, [3] 70 cents of land and a big house  in Oyaravilai, [4] 9 acres of paddy fields at Lakshmipuram, [5] 100 Pathies of Salt Pans near Sami thoppu, [6] he also owned 5 and half acres of land at Mylaudy near  the present Dr Balasubramaniyam's Hospital ,[7] 3 and a half acres of  land in the  beautiful plains of  Medicine Hill[ Marunthuval Malai and [8] 7 acres of paddy field in Puthanarkulam area and so on.

Paulkandakku Presented Nanjilnadu Bank Building to his daughter Malaiyammal as wedding  gift: Mr.Paulkandakku loved his  eldest daughter Malayammal very much  and Malayammal married Mr Isaac , son of Mr Zahariah, who lived in Mangala Duthie Iyer street in Nagercoil. And as an expressive and impressive token of Paulkandakku's love for his daughter Malaiyammal , he bought the palatial building in the Court road, Nagercoil which accommodated the famous Nanji Nadu Bank , Nageracoil. and presented  the Building to his daughter Malaiyammal as wedding gift. [Nanjil Nadu Bank was one of the pioneer commercial Banks in Nagercoil and Kanyakumari district].


By P. BABU MANOHARAN, M.A,.[Rights reserved,  this Article will be corrected, altered and modified if needed later. Part  II will follow soon  ]













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