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Education:
As per the
usual custom that prevailed during those times, it was
at the age of 5 (1890) that Thirumeni first started his
official education. There was at that time, a small
school at Karakuzha on the side of K K Road. Later this
was moved near to the small church at Pampady. Hence
from then on it came to be known as "Pallivathulkal
School" (School near the Church Gate). At that
time, a very famous teacher ("Aashan") by the name of "Madathil
Raman Pilla Aashan" was teaching there. There were two
classes in this school with around 100 students. Class 1
was under "Kushumbil Krishna Pillai" from "Erivaloor".
Class 2 was under Madathil Aashan. But, Madathil Aashan
made it a point to look after the well being of all
these 100 students of both these classes.
Pallivathulkal
School
All that
was taught in this school was the basic arithmetic and
to read and write. Those who wanted to go for higher
studies had to go to Kottayam, which was not possible at
that time due to lack of conveyance. If a person studies
for 4-5 years under Madathil Aashan, he would be
proficient in all the required knowledge. Our Thirumeni
was a very good student who had a craving for knowledge.
He keenly listened to all that was taught in the class.
Since he was an obedient and a quite child, he was liked
by all.
Madathil
Aashan was well versed in Tamil. Thus most of his
students also learned the same. Among them was our
Thirumeni. This is the reason why Thirumeni maintained a
good collection of Tamil books later.
Madathil Aashan
Character
Of Thirumeni:
1890 was a
time when caste system was at its peak. Many Nair
students also studied with Thirumeni. They never used to
go out for lunch as they were not supposed to touch or
interact with the lower caste people. Thirumeni used to
take Coconut and Molasses ("Sharkara & Thenga") for
these students from home, so that they needn't stay
hungry. Thus from the younger days Thirumeni had the
habit of feeding all those who were hungry. This
continued even when he grew up. Thirumeni was known for
his hospitality far and wide. Never a person who came to
see Thirumeni, returned empty handed!!
Prayerful
Influence Of Grandma:
During the
times when he studied under Madathil Aashan, Thirumeni
stayed in the "Moolakara Family" with his Paternal
Grandma "Unnichi" at his home in "Pezhamatathu".
His Grandma was a devoted servant of God who followed
the prayers and lent religiously. She made it a point to tell Thirumeni devotional
stories of Mother Mary and Parables of Jesus Christ.
Thirumeni used to listen to all of them intensely. This
created in Thirumeni a love for the prayerful life.
Thirumeni
and the Church:
From the
very young days, Thirumeni loved taking part in the
Qurbana. He used to stand right in front of the church to
have a full view of the Mass and even jostled his way up. He longed to
serve on the 'madhbaha' and
take part in the Holy Mass. The parish priests at that
time: Rev Father Parapurathu, Rev Father Kochukulathil
and Rev Father Aykarapadavil, helped Thirumeni fulfil
his wish.
He was so devoted in his duties that the achens decided
to ordain him as a Priest. Many church fathers, including Kadavil Mar Athanasius Thirumeni told this news to
Pampady Thirumeni's father Chacko. But owing to
financial difficulties at home, Chacko did not approve
of the idea in the beginning. This
denial of the offer led to several mishaps at their
home, including Kuriakose nearly incapacitating his
right hand in a crusher when he was feeding sugar cane
into it. Thirumeni's
right hand had a slight handicap which led him to be a
Left Hander. This made Chacko realize that God's will
was the supreme and it was not right to go against the
Lord God's decision. Realising his mistake, Chacko sent
word of his willingness to have his son ordained.
Kadavil
Poulose Mar Athanasius Thirumeni |
