Yesterday's conversation with one of my Professors got me thinking about the place I grew up in. The Professor who visited Kottayam- popularly labelled the "land of letters, latex and lakes"- 20 years ago said that the place has a charm of its own- a small town charm that couldn't be felt in other districts.
The charm resonates with me whenever I visit the place.
Though I do not wish to carve a unique place for this town in the cultural map of Kerala and promote regionalism, I want to shed light on some of Kottayam's women, whose contribution has proved invaluable in the making of the place. Among them are three incredibly talented women who revolutionised Kerala cuisine and helped it gain national and international recognition in the 1980s and 90s- Thangam Philip, Saramma Varghese (who wrote under the pseudonym Mrs B.F Varghese) and Annamma Mathew (who wrote under the pseudonym Mrs K.M Mathew).
The spark that these women exude shines through other women as well. Be it in the food they cooked and sometimes sold, the clubs and events they organised, the gardens they nurtured, the clothes they stitched for their daughters. On my last visit to Kerala as I was waiting outside the RTO room to give my learners test, the lady (the
kudumbashree worker who also manages other small businesses) sitting next to me was bubbling with enthusiasm as she was looking forward to the day when she gets to drive her activa!
Before radical feminists rip me apart, let me admit that these women were ahead of their times. They commanded respect and admiration from everyone and never failed to bask in the glory that came their way. Their involvement in the domestic sphere at various levels empowered not just them but many others. This in fact laid strong foundation to a culture that feeds into the charm that the town owns. While some of these women worked alongside their husbands, holding equal responsibility in their family business, others created their own niche in the domain of their interest. They were entrepreneurs who held themselves in high esteem. They never had the time to wallow in self pity. They seemed to know their way around.
After my 12th standard, when I expressed an interest in home science, I was discouraged from all quarters. Parents and family friends opined: "Wasn't the course meant for those girls who were disinterested in studies and were looking forward to get married? No, this one's not for you, dear."
Years later when I shared this thought to Nithin (he grew up in the same place) he thought I have romanticised some domestic divas and have inculcated wrong notions into my head.
Coming to think about this now, I feel what I was fascinated by as a teenager still lurks within me in some irreplaceable form. Firmly rooted.
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| Mary Roy, who runs a school. |
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| Annamma, who heads a popular bakery |
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| Annamma Mathew, who launched Vanitha, a widely circulated women's magazine in 1975 |
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| Thangam Philip, renowned nutritionist, culinary writer and consultant |
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| B. F Varghese, the author of several cookbooks |
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| Beena Kannan who heads a leading textile industry |
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