Three Dewans and a Poetess

Sankara Variyar, Sankunni Menon and Govinda Menon – Dewans of Cochin 

Ikkavamma the poetess

Many families produced illustrious bureaucrats, but only one produced three dewans. They were  Sankara Variyar and his sons Sankunni Menon and Govinda Menon who served as the Dewans at Cochin during the second half of the 19^th century. Today there are buildings and roads named after them, but it will still be hard to find people who know about these stalwarts, the seminal architects of modern Cochin. The Thottekat family was connected to so many great people, and at one time, they owned large swaths of land, much of it given away since then or sold, a part of it to the Maharaja’s College. I am sure several readers would be interested in this story, yet again one of the rags to riches. Towards the end, you will find a small personal connection to yet another stalwart of this family, the well-known poetess, Ikkavamma.

Cochin until the time it was absorbed in the Kerala state was a kingdom ruled by Maharajas originating from the Perumbadappu Swaroopam. While the principalities of Kolathunad and Calicut fell to the British, Travancore and Cochin continued as Kingdoms until the 20^th century. Today, Cochin is a vibrant and bustling city, home to an active port and a main entry point for most tourists coming to visit ‘God’s Own Country’, as Kerala is termed.

A note about Dewans- Dewan (also spelled as Diwan) was a powerful government official or Chief minister of a princely state. From the 19th century onwards, the Dewan or Chief Minister was an administrator selected by the Raja under advice from the British Indian Government and assisted by a secretariat. While the king had all the authority, the Dewan was the chief executive who exercised this authority over all governmental departments. The Dewan was also in charge of the Raja’s bodyguard and remained the Chief Magistrate.

The three Dewans who laid the foundations of modern Cochin, covered today are T. Sankara Variyar (1840–1856), T. Sankunni Menon (1860–1879), and T. Govindan Menon (1879–1890). The three Dewans, father and sons, were responsible for the successful administration of the State during 1840-1890 (barring a short period of 1856 –1860 when a Venkata Rao was in charge), a period distinguished by high principles of personal conduct and loyalty to their State.

The Thottekat family traces their roots to Poomangalam in Trichur, then part of the Aiylur Swaroopam.

The Thottekad Taravad

TK Krishna Menon provides us with a glimpse of Tharavad’s setup. Near Karupatanna, where the Perumals went during the summer, is located Poomangalam, within which is the desam called Vellanganellur. This was where the Ayilur Swarupam was located and lorded by the Vazhapilli Nambudiuri. A well-to-do officer of the Nayar brigade married Kochulla Amma from Vellanganellur and moved to Ernakulam. His house was near the palace fort and covered some 10 acres. It is the Cochin homestead of this family which goes by the name Thottekat similar in meaning to Poomangalam – a forest of flowers. Kunjipilla Amma from Thottekat got married to Sankara Variyar. Over time, from 1837-1844, the old premises owned by the family were expanded and rebuilt and encompassed a sizeable area of today’s Ernakulam town.

Sankara Variyar

Originally from Edakunni in Trichur, he belonged to a family barely eking out their existence from temple earnings. Sankaran learned Sanskrit and with a recommendation of District Judge Sankara Menon, trudged the path to Ernakulam, aged 18. Here he found a job as a clerk in the appeal court, then moved to the Huzur office after the first Cochin Dewan Nanjapayya had been appointed in 1818. The minister became his mentor and within six years, Sankaran became the head Rayasam (Correspondence office) in the Dewan’s office, attaining proficiency in English. Just before his Rayasam posting, he had married Kunjipilla Amma from Thottekat and they had two sons ( a third passed away young), Sankaran and Govindan. Kunjipilla too passed away young, aged just 34 after which Variyar married a widow named Kunji Amma from the Kurupath Taravad, who had two children from her previous marriage, a son and a daughter. The daughter later married Variyar’s elder son Sankara Menon.

Sankara Variyar served under and for five Kings of Cochin and no part of his career proved to be easy. Facing continuous intrigues, and tremendous resistance from some Rajas or mostly their corrupt advisors, he tread along a difficult and stressful path throughout his career. An upright man, he insisted on complete honesty and brought about many changes, heralding a new era in Cochin’s administration and development. Though he was a deputy in the sovereign’s (Rama Varma 1828-38) reign, it was in the next Raja’s reign (Rama Varma 1838-44) that he became a Dewan following the commotion arising from the disagreement over the provisions for the previous Raja’s consort (See this link for details if interested).

Variyar was reluctant, but the Raja, interceded and assured him that he was in support of the arrangement, and that was when the 42-year-old Variyar became the Dewan of Cochin in 1840. As a person of outstanding morals and great character, he had the support of the many residents who followed such as Maclean, Douglas, and Cullen. A prosperous period followed, the financial conditions of the state improved, public works improved, expenditure was controlled, and the treasury had a surplus for the very first time. Roads, canals, waterways, culverts, lodges, and canals (drainage and irrigation) were constructed, in tune with the improvements being carried out in Malabar by Collector HV Conolly.

During the Elaya Raja’s reign (Rama Varma 1844-51) Variyar had to contend with a difficult monarch who could not stand the sight of the Dewan and did his best to get rid of him. Complaints were sent regularly to Madras, and a vexed Variyar decided to retire while the resident Cullen tried to placate Variyar with an offer to move him to Travancore, which Variyar would not accept. This continued till the recalcitrant Raja passed away in1851, but not after attempts were made to assassinate him (intrigued by one JW Harris) – as CA Menon states ‘with bullet and poison’. It is mentioned here and there that Sivaraman, a singer, tried to poison Variyar, to earn the favor of the Raja. Strangely just before he passed away, the Raja called Sankara Variyar and told him that his fight was on a matter of principle, which was - that the Raja had the right to hire and fire and was not to be considered secondary to a Dewan.

The next Raja’s reign was short (Vira Kerala Varma 1851-53) for he passed away while on a pilgrimage to Benares. During the next Raja’s ( Ravi Varma 1852-64) reign, though Variyar got through the promulgation abolishing slavery, his involvement in the Konkani temple idol smuggling affair, from Alleppey to Cochin, put him on the wrong side of Resident Cullen.

By then the aged administrator was ailing from the complications arising from diabetes and eventually passed away in Oct 1856.

Dewan Sankunni Menon

Sankunni Menon was the elder son of Sankara Variyar,  he grew up and spent his early schooling at Trivandrum. Later he interned with his father in Cochin and became a head clerk in his father’s office in 1844. Three years later he moved to Calicut as a translator at the Civil court. Sometime later, he married his stepsister Kurupath Narayani Amma, who however passed away in 1858, after they had two sons ( Sankunni and Krishnan)  and a daughter. Menon returned to Cochin and after passing the requisite exams became the Munsiff of Veliyangode, at a time when his father’s fame was at its apex.

Venkata Rau, who was Cullen’s protégé, succeeded Variyar as Dewan, and Sankunni Menon was transferred from Veliyangod to Ponnani in September 1857, and thence to Ernad in January 1858. It was when he was stationed at Ponnani that he lost his young wife, and soon after his transfer to Ernad, her only brother. In 1859, he was posted as a Deputy collector to Tirunelveli. It was not a healthy period for him, for he was beset with malaria and yearning to go back to Cochin.

Venkata Rau a highhanded administrator from Coimbatore, had to contend with the intrigues brought about by Sarvadhi Kariakar Parameswara Pattar of Nemmara and was retired in 1860 by the new resident Matby after Resident Cullen retired. Pattar tried to short-circuit the decision using the Raja’s influence and promote a Judge and at the same time appoint Govinda Menon as Dewan Peishkar, but Matby decided that Sankunni was the man for the job.

Thus, Sankunni Menon became the Dewan in 1860 and had several issues to sort out as soon as he was appointed.  He had to contend with the Konkani populace who were against succession fees, then the royals due to their using treasury money for expensive ritual ceremonies and celebrations, and finally with Parameswara Pattar, a perpetual thorn in his flesh, poisoning the ailing Raja against him. Eventually, the Raja passed away in 1864 and Pattar was quickly deported to Chittur. Following Pattar was another irksome and corrupt character named Cheruvattur Narayanan Nambudiri. He handled most of these with aplomb and became well-known as a just and honest administrator.

He employed qualified people, replaced customary laws with English Common law, and carried out many development projects including the metaling of many roads in the state.  During the reign of (Rama Varma 1864-88) the next Raja, trade relations, customs, and tariffs were formalized between British Malabar, Cochin, and Travancore. Revenues and expenditures were controlled and new revenue streams were established to create a good surplus. Though a later Raja implemented the rail link, Sankunni Menon had mooted the idea. Many schools were opened, supervisors were appointed, and libraries were started. A gazette was published documenting the state’s annual report, and in general, one could say that Cochin was quickly posting a new and modern look.

However, this hectic career was affecting his health and by 1872, he suffered from various illnesses, first with his bowels resulting from poor eating habits, then problems with his heart and later insomnia, forcing him to announce retirement plans,  which were quickly thwarted by both the residency and the royalty. His life became a daily struggle, and he kept asking the Raja to appoint his protégé Sankara Aiyar as his successor, but the Raja had no confidence in Ayyar and refused to have a foreigner, a Paradesi Brahmin in power, more so since Aiyar did not quite understand Malayalam.

The Raja then surprised everyone by recommending Govinda Menon, Sankunni’s brother as his successor, and Sankunni finally retired in 1879. Interestingly, for all his virtues, he was never an accomplished orator and avoided public speaking, though quite social when ensconced with his close circle of friends. Sankunni Menon passed away in Aug 1883, following a paralytic stroke.

Lord Salisbury, the Secretary of State for India wrote “If all native States in India were administered as was Travancore by Madhava Rao and Cochin by Sangunni Menon, the British Government would have to look to their laurels”.

Lawson said -  The Rajah in former times used to take what he wanted, upon a verbal understanding of accounting for the loan on some distant day, the arrival of which, it may be guessed, was not a wise subject of conversation to a despotic monarch; but now he receives the fixed allowance, and transfers the entire care of the exchequer to his Dewan. This minister has, consequently, great influence in the country, and it is according to his character rather than to the Rajah's that national prosperity results. The balance at the credit of Cochin in British bonds was almost wholly saved by Shungra Warrier, the penultimate Dewan, an able, upright man, whose eldest son, Shungoony Menon, has just been appointed to this distinguished office amid universal satisfaction.

Dewan Govinda Menon

Sankunni Menon was succeeded by his brother Govinda Menon, a man of calm and placid demeanor. Though Govindan had been connected to the Castor-Mudaliyar blackmail scandal, he managed to get away from it with some help from his brother Sankunni Menon. Later he was instrumental in coffee planting at Nelliyampati and after a career running parallel with his elder brother was contemplating retirement when he was suddenly recommended to the post of Dewan. Achyutha Menon mentions that he sacrificed his official prospects on many occasions only to make things easier for his father and elder brother.

Though not much talked about, his administration was also very good, he established the court of appeal, cleared up boundary disputes with Travancore over the Idiyara matter, and the right for Travancore to nominate the Tachudaya Kaimal to manage the Koodalmanickam temple, etc. The school system was better organized, standards were improved, new hospitals were built, and finances were streamlined. Raja Rama Varma died in 1888, after reigning for 24 years. When Raja Veera Kerala Varma 1888 – 1895 took the throne, Govinda Menon announced his retirement in 1889 after ensuring that he too left a sizeable surplus of Rs 10 lakhs (His brother left 16 lakhs, and his father 10.5 lakhs) in the coffers, when he left office. No other Dewan managed to exceed 3-4 lakhs. Govinda Menon passed away in 1901.

The Taravad split

After his third son’s passing, Variyar and his immediate family moved to another house North of Thotekkat, and in 1844, Thotekkat itself was renovated into an 8-kettu with three bathing tanks. At the same time, the family split into two, with one of them building a residence to the East of the house, calling themselves the East Tavazhi. The East Tavazhi wanted a partition of the properties, and Sankunni Menon agreed to the plan, but action was deferred. After his death, Govinda Menon from the West faction and Neelakanta Menon, the Karanavar of the East branch drew up the partition deed in 1884. There are many more details and asides to this but are deliberately not recounted here, as they are family matters of no public interest.

Many other luminaries were part of the family or married into it over time, such as TKK Menon, Mannathu Padmanabhan, Madhavi Amma, Kollengode Vasudeva Raja, Naraynana Menon, Chettur Sankaran Nair, etc. just to name a handful. The TDM Hall is named after them, and roads are named after the family - Thottekat Road and possibly the Dewans Road. There is so much more to add, but it would only tire the lay reader.

Thottekkad Ikkavamma, the first woman dramatist of Kerala

Finally, a small personal connection to the Thottekat family – It was Thottekat Ikkavamma (1865-1916) who wrote the play Subhadrarjunam, way back in 1891, to become the first woman dramatist of Kerala.

Her play was reviewed and introduced to the public with a foreword by my great-grandfather Vidwan Manavikrama Ettan Thampuran. He says – There cannot usually be more than five scholars among some 500 contenders, and even if we did find a hundred scholars, there cannot be more than five among them who are good poets. Considering all that, is it not astonishing that here we have among us a great Sanskrit poet among women, a gender generally considered ignorant?

While CP Achyutha Menon (Ed. Vidyavinodini) thought she merited the title of Thunchath Ezhuthacchan among women, Chandu Menon commented that he had not found any work as pleasing and as enjoyable as ‘Subhadrarjunam’, and Kerala Varma Valiyakoyi Thampuran added, “I have absolutely no reservation in stating that ‘Subhadrarjunam’ excels all other plays written in Malayalam till now in sheer simplicity and sweetness.”

The Poetess herself found all this quite silly and asks the reader as she starts her work – mind you, this was in 1890, when it was a rarity as Ettan Thampuran says, for women to master poetry. She asks - Didn’t Bhama, Krishna’s consort wage war? Was it not Subhadra who held the chariot’s reins and can you not see Queen Victoria ruling over this land? And so, can women not pen good poetry?

She went on to author nine more works, passing away in 1916.

C Achyutha Menon, the biographer of the three Dewans, concluded effusively in 1922 - If Cochin enjoys the reputation of being one of the best governed Feudatory States in India, she owes it primarily to Edakunnni Sankara Variyar and his son Thottekat Sankunni Menon, who held the Dewanship of the State from 1840 to 1856, and 1860 to 1879 respectively. The foundation of the modern administration of the State was laid and its basement was built by the former, while its superstructure was raised by the latter. The work of their successors, who were most of them worthy men, was more or less of the nature of plastering, painting, and decorating and of executing annual repairs.

All in all, an illustrious family, and in many ways the very pillars of Modern Cochin.

References
Dewan Sankara Variyar of Cochin – C Achyutha Menon
The Life of T Sankunni Menon-Dewan of Cochin - C Achyutha Menon
The days that were – T K Krishna Menon
The Rajarshi of Cochin – IKK Menon
Cochin State Manual
Maharajas College Handbook
Progress Of Cochin – TK Krishna Menon
Kerala District Gazetteers: Trichur, Ernakulam
History of Medieval Kerala – VKR Menon
Subhadrarjunam – T Ikkavamma

Pictures – Variyar & Ikavamma – Thottekat family album, rest courtesy C Achyutha Menon.

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Abu Bakr and Lamba Kaka

A story from Victoria Point – Burma- May 1942 – WW II

Japan entered the war with an attack on the American Pearl Harbor naval base at Hawaii, on Dec 7th1941. It was a devastating attack, launched mainly from Japanese aircraft carriers, destroying many ships in the American Pacific fleet. Their primary intention was to cripple the Western command, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from interfering with the Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. Having succeeded in that effort, the Japanese commenced with the plan to bomb Burma’s Victoria Point next and secure an entry into the Burmese mainland.

Strategically, the Japanese aims were multifold and involved the destruction of other key Allied strongholds of SE Asia, in the march towards India. The Japanese intent was to get to the oilfields in Burma, a strategic foothold to regroup and ensure they had the resources before the grand entry westwards across India. Simultaneous forays into Malaysia and Singapore resulted in rapid Allied capitulation. As events galloped on at a fast clip, Kuala Lumpur fell in Jan 1942 and Singapore was surrendered in Feb 1942. The British bastions had been breached, and the victorious Japanese were on the rampage, headed for Rangoon. Our story takes us to the Southern borders of Burma.

On the night of 7th/8th December 1941, the Japanese invaded Thailand by land and sea, and so gained possession of airfields and assembly areas for the invasion of Burma. The first blow fell on 11th December, when an air attack was made on Tavoy in Tenasserim. On the 12th a Japanese detachment crossed the frontier in the extreme south, their objective being Victoria Point, the site of one of the airfields on the Singapore route. Victoria Point and Mergui both suffered air raids on the 13th, and the former was evacuated on that day, although the Japanese did not occupy it until the 15th. From there they moved slowly up the coast and after a series of engagements Rangoon fell on 7th March 1942, as the British started their retreat to India.

Hundreds of thousands of Indian workers in SE Asia were now in full flight across the land borders into India, their ancestral home. Their belief was total that the British Raj would do nothing to help them, for they saw no support either at Malaya, Singapore, or in Burma. Subhas Chandra Bose was still in Germany and the Azad Hind had not yet been formed.

The Japanese had full control of the air space and the seas between SE Asia and India. The only way for the refuges to India, though hazardous and distant, was by land. They streamed Northwards from Singapore, and Malaya. After a perilous trek, survivors reached the southernmost border point of Burma, a place which was in those days called Victoria Point (Kawthoung these days), an area already in Japanese hands, and just across Thailand.

At Victoria Point, and many other sleepy towns along the way, the war quickly brought about huge turmoil. Within days, these places were teeming with Japanese, fleeing Indians, and shortly thereafter, many Australian prisoners of war. Before we get to Victoria Point, there, let us go back a few decades and check out the demographics, and the life of the many people from Malabar, mainly Moplahs, settled in Burma

The worker migrations from Malabar started during the famine years in the final decades of the 19^th century. Another reason for this was the antagonism and the oppressive situation prevalent in Malabar after the 1921 Moplah revolt. Many a Moplah ended up in Burma, where the rice mills and the paddy fields were slowly coming into Chettiar hands, the financial/banking system being mostly in their control, and getting a job in Burma, as a menial laborer was quite easy and lucrative. The Bafaqih and Jifri Sayyids had their warehouses and business in Burma, and they employed quite a few Malabari Muslims for port and mill jobs.  Others found work in British plantations. A network was thus in place, kinsmen could be found, and one could get started quickly. Another incentive was that once they earned some money and stability, one could even acquire a local mistress.

During 1900-1938, a total of 11,515,000 Indian migrants (derogatively or not, but called kallas) went to Burma. In 1901 the number of Indians in Rangoon increased to 120,000 i.e., about half of the population of that. In 1941 out of the total Burmese population of 16,823,798, Indians constituted 918,000 or 5.4%. On average they made between 10/ to 40/-Rs per month. Though these comprised mainly Telugu, Oriya, and Tamil Bengali labor, quite a few were from Malabar, mainly Moplahs. While a few worked in the menial labor category, many ran tea shops, restaurants, and provision shops. These were the kakas as they were termed in Burma, Mayala, and Singapore, and the people we will be talking about. (Note: This article is narrowly focused on the Moplah worker from Malabar)

According to the intrepid journalist M Sivaram – People from Kerala were dominant among Burma’s white-collar workers, governmental and commercial. It was a common joke that every other man in this category came from Ottapalam. And wherever you went in rural Burma, the first Indian you met was a ‘kaka’ from Kozhikode or Koyilandi, running a modest but popular tea shop.

The Cholia Muslim Association was established on October 20, 1912, by Malabar Muslims, following which The Malabar Muslim Association was established in 1918. In Rangoon, the Malabar Muslims conducted a social club together with the Malabar Hindus, the Malabar Club, which started activities in 1913, some years before the Muslim Malabar Association came into being. In 1931, Malayalees in Burma totaled 11,343 males and 875 females. As documented by Nalini Ranjan Chakravarti, there were 3,205 ‘Malabaris’ and 9,441 kakas (Moplahs) in Burma, then. Interestingly, there were so many Malabar Moplahs in Burma, that when Abdurahman Sahib decided to start a newspaper in Calicut, he went to Burma to solicit collections. If you recall, Kozhikode Abdul Khader, did a stint in Burma. On the darker side, whenever there were racial riots in Burma, kaka shops were the first to be looted or damaged.

Kaka - Etymology

Moplah (Mapilla) people of the Malabar Coast constitute Kerala’s Muslim community. Moplah men are sometimes referred to as Kaka. An elderly Muslim man is respectfully addressed as Kaka (Ikkaka with i silent) with respect, while a woman is addressed as Thatha (Ithatha) in Malabar. One can also connect Kaka to the North Indian term of respect -for paternal uncle, while it was used to address a brother in Archaic Farsi. For all practical purposes, the tea shop owner and the ubiquitous grocer or provision supplier were called Kaka’s, and their small establishments were called Kaka shops in Burma and Malaya.

The escapees from Singapore

After the war, several accounts of valor and struggle surfaced, and Lt MM Pillai’s small book is just one among them. Corroborated by his debrief accounts, we come across the mentions of two brave Moplah traders in the war zone and their selfless actions, each straddling the waters separating Burma and Thailand. What is remarkable is that while ANZAC survivors failed to mention such acts when writing tomes about their POW days, Pillai and the other escapee Radhakrishnan did not fail to remember these simple shopkeepers.

The Japanese whom the British remarked – ‘could not even shoot straight’ had brought them to their knees and by February 15, it was all over. Mark Pillai from the # 45 Army Troops Company became yet another among the thousands of prisoners-of-war following the fall of Singapore. Pillai and many others were packed into 13 prisoner-of-war camps on the humid, mosquito-infested island. But Pillai and two of his friends Radhakrishnan and Natarajan decided to escape.

Why escape? Food was becoming scarce (camp rations comprised two chapatis a day and a cup of black tea). Brutal punishments such as beheadings were not uncommon. Already, the Japanese had machine-gunned thousands of Singapore’s Chinese residents. The prisoners now faced the prospect of torture, and slow death, following potential transfer as slave laborers to distant Thailand, Borneo, and Manchuria.

Pillai was to become the first Allied Officer to escape from Changi and make his way back to India accompanied by Radhakrishnan, a medical officer, traversing all of 3,000 miles. They traveled roughly a thousand miles on foot, a thousand miles by boat, and a thousand miles by train to make this epic journey to freedom.

Pillai & Radhakrishnan’s 3000-mile journey

Radhakrishnan, having sent his family back home before the war managed to rustle up 600 $,  selling his belongings, while Natarajan and Pillai had 100 $ between them. Finally, after 11 weeks as prisoners of war, on May 6, Pillai and Natarajan slipped out of their camp at Bidadari and linked up with Radhakrishnan to commence their flight to freedom. Wearing dhotis, long shirts, and Gandhi caps, they boarded a train with tickets to Penang in Malaya, posing as onion and potato traders.

After a long and arduous trip through Singapore and Malaya, the three escapees arrived at Pak Nam Ranong, in Thailand, then called Siam. It was here they chanced on Abu Bakr Kaka and Lamba Kaka, the two shopkeepers.

Abu Bakr Kaka

At Ranong on the Siam side, they met Abu Babr Kaka, a Moplah shop owner, considered quite influential in the neighborhood. Pillai says - Abu Bakr was a rough diamond, a person of strong likes and dislikes, yet with sterling qualities. He took charge of us almost immediately. Abu Bakr gave us a lot of encouragement and promises and helped us, to the best of his ability. He secured some cheap lodgings and introduced us to another friend of his who was running a tea stall.

They stayed there, lying low for a couple of days, obtaining information from BBC & AIR broadcasts, waiting to cross over to Burma. Not divulging that they had Military antecedents or about the prison escape, they lied to Abu Bakr that they were Tamil civilians (even though Radhakrishnan was Telugu) trying to get to their relatives living in relative safety at Moulmein.

Pillai explains their perilous situation – Our funds were running low, if only Abu Bakr had been told the truth about our financial conditions, no doubt he would have saved us the money we spent on our boarding. He thought that money was no problem to us. We dared not disillusion him, for he would have then wondered why, if we were so broke, we should concern ourselves with our kith and kin across the border.

After some persuasion by his wife who was partial to Indians, the Japanese (Burmese man) Counsel at Ranong granted the three escapees, visas to go to Victoria Point across the waters in Japanese-occupied Burma. Chanting India and Gandhi, flashing their IIL passes and visas, the three alighted at Victoria Point. It was here that they met Lamba Kaka, referred to them by Abu Bakr on the Siam side.

That these Moplahs were in regular touch and knew each other is quite clear. Such shopkeepers formed loose trading networks, especially so since vegetables and provisions were moved in boats from Siam to Burma.

Lamba Kakka

Pillai and his two compatriots walked up the slope and the narrow street to the biggest of the provision stores around. There they met Lamba Kaka, a tall, thin Moplah. After some refreshments, the three sat down in the store to cool their heels and observe the goings on, continuing to stay with Kaka for the next two days. They saw Indians, very few Burmese, and quite a few Australian prisoners of war, but they never learned Kaka’s real name.

Quoting Pillai -  Whoever he was and whatever he did before the war, he was now a changed man, and making money was certainly not what motivated this towering figure. The Japanese garrison was guarding a bunch of Australian prisoners, forced to labour at some important war project somewhere near Victoria Point. During the rest period, the guards allowed a few of these miserable POWs to roam a while on the only street, hoping to get some food. Many of them came to Lamba Kaka's establishment often singly and occasionally in groups, not exceeding three in number. Lamba Kaka's kindness to them needed to be seen to be believed. He handed out the goods, accepting whatever money was offered to him. Kaka never missed espying any penniless Aussie looking longingly at some tinned foodstuff. He would quickly collect a few tins of fish, cheese, butter, or anything edible that was handy and thrust them into the pockets of the dumbfounded prisoner. The stories of his generosity travelled like Wildfire among the prisoners. I saw many an Australian n enter the shop and come out carrying an abundance of food items far beyond his means. Some of them were too overcome with gratitude to express it in words.  There was no need. Their eloquent eyes said everything better than worlds could.

Lamba Kaka's open-handed charity was unsullied by ostentation or any other selfish motives. His general store must have been a source of steady income earlier. I did not find out how long he had been in business, nor could I assess the extent of his wealth. But the transactions he carried out during the few days that I was there would certainly have made serious inroads into his reserves. With the cessation of all mercantile shipping in these waters, his turnover must have dropped down to a trickle - the little that could come from the interior of Siam via Ranong.

I never could find out what motivated this Moplah to become Victoria Point's fountainhead of charity. All I could think of was that Nature had infused in him a sense of unassailable optimism and unparalleled kindness. He had no thought for his immediate safety, let alone the distant future, I sincerely hope that no harm ever came to him and that he was able to regain the wealth he had fed to the river of charity. 

The official report in the archives also has no name for Lamba Kaka.

It simply describes them thus…

Abu Bakr Kaka - A sturdy loyal man, running an eating shop. Of generous proportions, fair, bold, and can speak a number of languages. He has lived in Siam for many years. Very dependable type.

Lamba Kakka – Has a pock-marked face, is brusque and blunt in speech but has a good height. Intelligent and loyal. Can speak eight languages. Is giving free cigars to Australian POWs.

In the official report, the escapees state - Whilst in a provision shop at Victoria Point an Australian sergeant came for stores. The prices were high, but the shopkeeper was pro-Ally, and he was allowed to take Rs. 15 worth of goods free and was told to tell his friends that they could do the same. The Australian informed us that by tipping the Japanese sentry 20 cents a time he was allowed out. He gave his name as Eric Merrill and said he came from Perth. There had been talk amongst the P.OW. of escaping but it was heard that this was too risky as it meant almost certain death. That evening, with the aid of the shopkeeper, we were able to catch the Japanese boat to Mergui.

The report also says - The South Indian Mohammedan predominates in the merchant section of the community. These are men of moderate incomes and had business and had business dealings with the Japanese but were invariably loyal (to the British). The richer merchants were Mohammedans from Bombay like the Suratees and they too were loyal.

The escapees got through to India, thanks to many of these and other helpers, after seven months. Pillai & Radhakrishnan arrived at the Indian border on Aug 2^nd, and in Delhi on Aug 25^th. Natarajan remained in Burma.

Markandam Murugesan (Mark) Pillai and Radhakrishnan were awarded Military cross medals, and while Mark continued service in the Army, retired as a brigadier in 1965, and passed away in 1988,  Radhakrishnan succumbed to illness in 1945.

The fates of Abu Bakar and Lamba Kaka are not known. Perhaps they survived the war, and their progeny are living in the region, perhaps they too went back to India following the war, like many others. Over half a million Indians trekked home from Burma after Rangoon was bombed, with little official help, the British rulers simply abandoned them. It is a sad story, which I promise to retell, another day. Many thousands perished along the way, and I can only hope these two were not among the dead.

Pillai never went back to SE Asia following the war, I guess he had enough.

I find it sad that many in India keep on cribbing about religions and minorities and treat one or the other shabbily with revenge in their mind and driven by tales and happenings from ancient history! I wanted to simply tell this story to those who did not know that there was a time, a time when the world was at war and when such trivial thoughts hardly mattered. Simple people like Lamba Kaka and Abu Bakr viewed life and people differently, they were driven by humanity, not by hate, divisive thoughts, nationalities, or religion.

Notes

Burma has fascinated me, for years. I wanted to visit Rangoon and study the stories of the Indian workers during the 1930s, the war period as well as the INA years in Rangoon, but it never worked out. Amitav Ghosh’s fine work  ‘The Glass Palace’ was a consolation, when published. The recent earthquake brought many of the events I had studied during 2018-19, to the fore of my mind, and here I am with this small tale.

Pillai’s notes mention Australian POWs who had been at Victoria Point for some months, and of a larger group’s impending arrival on May 23^rd. The first of the 'A' Force prisoners started arriving on 20^th May (4 days before Pillai and Radhakrishnan arrived at Victoria Point) in Burma and worked on airfield construction at Victoria Point, Mergui, and Tavoy. Possibly, it was an error in recollection. Pillai also mentions an ANZAC POW Eric Merrill whom I could not trace, using Varley’s diary.

Varley’s diary makes no mention of Lamba Kakka. The A Force sailed in the Celebes Maru on 15 May 1942, from Singapore to Victoria Point, in Burma, where Green's battalion and some other groups (a total of 1,017) disembarked. Varley mentions - natives started to throw parcels of food over the back, unbeknownst to the Japs of course, they would have skittled if they’d have got caught. But they’d throw over a box with fifty boiled eggs in it or something like this. I have thus far not found any other corroborating Australian account of this benevolent shopkeeper, but it does not surprise me.

From the story of an executed ANZAC prisoner RS Goulden at this site, we note - Goulden tried to escape in July 1942, and was caught and beheaded, by the Japanese. Camp life was harsh. Food was meagre and consisted of rice and vegetables and any protein that could be brought from the local villagers.

Hopefully someone from down under will chime in.

Gautam Hazarika, whose book “The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II” will hit the stands soon, helped me with the official report of Pillai’s escape (I had only the shortened version from Sareen’s compilation).

References
Three Thousand Miles to Freedom – MM Pillai – A wonderful read…
Escape narrative of Lieut M.M. Pillai, Royal Bombay Sappers & Miners, and Lieut V. Radhakrishnan, Singapore Volunteers – AWM 54: 779/10/4
Muslims Of Burma – Moshe Yegar
Diary of Brigadier A. L. Varley. M.C. 12 May 1942 - 26 March 1944
INA, A documentary study, Vol 1 – TR Sareen

MM Pillai pic - courtesy  Aviation-defence-universe.com

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