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4. PATHYIL UTHUP AND ACHAMMA

Uthup is a synonym for Joseph. Other Malayalam words for Joseph are Uthuppachan,
Uppachan, Ouseph, Eppu, Kunjeppu, Eppachan et cetera. Born in 1886, Uthup was not
as tall as his brothers. He was fairer in colour, had a charming smile, and ready wit. Since
Thommy was engaged in the ponnengine business, and Kochokan needed all the help he
could get to run the household and look after the vast fields and properties, Uthup had to
terminate his formal education at an early age. But he remained an ardent reader, a keen
observer, and had a good memory for people, places, and ideas. From young age,
Kochokan relied on his second son to run his errands, and do all the routine work. Uthup
married a girl from Chazhikat (the aunt of Joseph Chazhikat) in 1907; but she died within
six months of the birth of a daughter who had died at birth.. His second marriage was to
Achamma of Malyekal. As mentioned earlier, the three brothers lived together with their
spouses and children in Pathyil for several years. Kalluvelil was the designated property
of Uthup. Therefore Kochokan consulted Kunjankora Malyekal (the father of Achamma)
who took a personal interest in the property, planted coconut trees and banana saplings
brought from Neendoor. Fr. Alexander Choolapparambil, later to become the Bishop of
Kottayam, blessed the Kalluvelil house. Uthup lived in Kalluvelil for some time, and
when he was ordered back to Pathyil, Achamma was rather unhappy. But Uthup consoled
her saying that obedience to parents was a paramount virtue. Achamma who outlasted her
sister in laws and her husband and his brothers, became the repository of reminiscences
of their lives under the Kochokan household. Even after she lost her memory of current
happening, until 1993, when Achamma died, she used to recount interesting tid-bits about
life in Pathyil when she was younger.

Uthup was more subdued than his brothers. But he was probably the most sincere and
devout of the three. There was no mean bone in him, as parishioners in Palathuruthu used
to say. He was also an extremely pious person. He had great faith in Divine Providence.
His prayer life was no sham. And from the hours of prayer, he brought compassion into
his life. He quietly helped a number of people by his words and deeds. Uthup was
generous to a fault. While he did not seek, nor get the recognition that his brothers did,
Uthup left lasting impressions on all those who came into contact with him. And he loved
all his people, and genuinely tried to be of service to them. His charity knew no bounds.
An example stands out in the mind of this author. When I had left the Brothers of St.
Gabriel, my father, Abraham, who was the most educated of the three brothers, and
purportedly the most modern -looking and broad minded, wrote a damning letter,
castigating me for betraying him and the family name. The letter was scathing and
accusative. Uthup who saw the letter before it was mailed, asked to add a sentence to it.
He merely wrote to me as a post script, asking me to disregard my father’s entire letter as
haranguing by an upset person, that the family loved me and that I would always be close
to his heart, and to the heart of his brother. The four pages of condemnation was balanced
by the four lines of Uthup.

Uthup was also the most hardy of the three. While both Thommy and Abraham had
various treatments for ailments, Uthup remained resilient and robust all his life. It was he
, who would, especially in the latter part of his life, walk to his younger brother’s house,

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