Thangassery a sheaf of memories thro the eyes of a ten-year-old

 It was about the 16th century that the Chinese discovered the sea route to Quilon from where they carried on a lucrative trade. They were outdone by the superior power of the Portuguese, and they in turn were driven away by the Dutch. The turn of events in history which is unexplainable brought the British East India company to keep its stranglehold on the sea coast as a stepping stone to establish a hegemony over India.

Thangassery was an enclave of about 200 acres of pristine coastal land ideal for setting up a township dear to the hearts of the foreigners. As one waveform domination bypassed another the foreigners probably decided to keep away from the local Malayalee’s, to settle down with their desi relationships to create a new home away from their land

I remember entering Thangassery thro the arch that proclaimed its uniqueness from the humdrum Kollam or Quilon as it was called. My father decided to settle down for a few years to educate my brothers and myself, in an English medium school and so it was.

 I used to walk along the rocky sea coast along which fisherfolk had taken a foothold. More enticing and rather scary was the cemetery with gigantic tombstones commemorating those men who had come from afar and lived and died in Thangassery. Dutch names engraved in marble indecipherable to the Indian tongue.

 Today I hear that the heavy tombstones have been purloined, to be used as flooring for houses nearby.

 The Light house keeper satisfied our innate curiosity by letting us climb to the top to view the blue sea and ships sailing on the far horizon. It aroused the spirit of adventure in many of us

I remember with nostalgia names and places of long ago. Dr. Krishna Pillai who had three jars of medicinal mixture, one a light pink, one a dark pink, and one a white one. For minor consultations to him one would be administered to whichever illness was complained about. There was never doubt about its efficacy for minor illnesses.

 The Lulu Mall was probably an avatar of Ravi Stores which stocked everything, and a shop where most households had running accounts for come payday and go pay day were a part of finances. Very few of the residents bothered about their tomorrows.

At the junction where two roads bifurcated, young Romeos would assemble in the evening for snacks and chukku kaapi from Shenoy mobile snack cart. I can still savour Kooni Mariam’s toffees sold outside our Infant Jesus Anglo Indian school. Kooni Mariam’s sweets were five pieces of jaggery and peanut chewier sold for 1 Anna.

 Speedy vehicles were rarely seen on the roads of Thangassery except the lucky owners of bikes. The owners of these were envied by the hoi polio and cars driving from outside to deposit children in school or parents who had their small sons boarded in homes of friendly hosts.

Our evenings were spent running to the small beach behind the Mount Carmel convent, and we kids and teens, classmates, friends, and cheery neighbours could wade into the waist deep briny sea. We children collected clay from under the rocks, and caught tiny colourful fish using towels. As the sunset, we shared pink ice-lollies with friends.

All was not fun and frolic in Lent. The divinity and sanctity of the season was the procession of the Way of the cross round the entire town on every Friday during lent. 

Sounds of piano music we’re heard when Ms Sheela D’Couto thumped at her piano encouraging the young to appreciate western music. She was the first Anglo woman of Thangassery to become a graduate. She taught perfect Kings English.

 The young boys of the community were experts with drums, guitars and flutes for they must have had latent musical genetic genes from their forefathers.

 Christmas was a time of fun. Groups of us serenaded as Santa’s and his cohorts carolling our hearts to earn a little pocket money. For the budding teens the East West club was the focus of merrymaking. Kids were not admitted as strong liquor like arrack was the celebratory drink. The famous Thangassery twists, jives, and rock roll, set the rollicking festivities aglow from Xmas eve to midnight on Xmas day. Those nights when whole of Thangassery looked like a fairy land of dreams where gaily dressed young girls with beautiful make up danced with handsome companions.

 Unforgettable were the sights and sounds of old Tangy. Another memory that never fades is of the famous Carmel Bakery, owned by Mr Andrew James. The aroma of freshly baked buns and pastries had many of us crying for more. Carmel Bakery wedding cakes were a sight to the eyes and a taste to the tongue. The rich and famous from all over had their offspring’s wedding cake from Carmel Bakery. It was narrated that Carmel Bakery made the wedding cake for Central Govt minister Henry Austin’s daughter’s wedding. It was also said that the Kochi famous Mr Chackola wanted his daughter’s wedding cake to be made by Andrew D Cruz who refused to make it in Kochi. The final compromise was that the cake was made in Thangassery and transported to Kochi. The sons of the owner of Carmel bakery had the nicknames like Roti, Bunny etc

 Thangassery was famously once in the news when Thangassery girl Janice Spinks was declared Champion Hurdler.

 Anglo Indian young girls and boys became proficient for their skills as office secretaries. At that time very few opted for medicine or engineering. Eventually they found profitable livelihoods in foreign countries like Britain and Australia.

 The bounty of the sea can never be forgotten in our homes, like 8 or 10 Anna’s for a kilo of fresh fish and lobsters almost a foot long for two annas almost a pittance today

Thangassery munglish was the current lingo then. Some Munglish notations reverberate in my mind after all these years. A sample reads thus. Rasam was pepper water, Pappadom’s were curry biscuits, liquor was grog, Kanji was rice porridge, non-Anglo Indians were called burgers. I once pestered my mother for bamboo cake, which she eventually found was the Malayalee Puttu, and Mafry was Mathi or sardines fried. The tete a tete of a young couple was called mooching.

 Social camaraderie knew no bounds. Marriages between familiar families were accepted as the young could relate to known social mores.

 Today the old Thangassery is no more for those who lent life and colour to this small enclave have twitched their mantles blue and have gone to fresh woods and pastures new.