Family Stories
Explore the rich tapestry of memories and narratives that define the Kannothara family heritage
Ammachi learned how to make chappati from a neighbor family friend who had went to Bombay. At the time wheat was not prevalent in Kerala, and so Ammachi was one of the few people in the area who made chappati after learning about it.
At the time during Pennuhkannalil the girl and boy did not speak to each other. The boy would be in the house and the girl would be sent to fetch water from the well or get eggs from the chicken hen. That's how they knew who the girl was.
People would have a line of credit with a store that was to be settled once they got their salary for the month.
Most of the food were grown on people's land; they didn't have to go to the store for it.
Often times a family would be named after the plot of land they lived in.
At the time of their marriage in 1940; Kerala was not even incorporated into the state of Kerala; there were the two kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin; which were incorporated into the country of India in 1956.
Vakathanam, Kottayam, and Peroor were in Travancore.
So KJ Appachan dealt with a currency that no longer exists anymore; that is the Travancore currency which included fanams, chakrams, and Travancore Rupee.
Cars were not even a thing; in fact cycles were still a very new thing; Vakathanam Appachan was one of the few people in the region who had a cycle. KJ Appachan also got a cycle once he started working in Kottayam as well.
There are rods but they are only gravel paths. Also there were no road signs saying how far places were. You had to ask or you just had to know where to go.
For this reason it was not common for people to travel far.
Along the roads there were chai kadas.
Vakathanam was more of an economic / trade center compared to Peroor; a little more developed than Peroor.
The traditional diet around the time Appachan Ammachi grew up was primarily centered around rice, Chicken, Fish, Thoran, Kappa. Beef became common later on; you can only get it from butcher shops in big cities like Kottayam. So beef was a special commodity.
People would get rice from the market. They would grow Kappa and other fruits and vegetables. Peroor was a big farmland. No wheat products were common.