Page 28 - Microsoft Word - My story of Pathyil Kalluvelil as told by Joseph Pathyil

28

number was one) supervisors. Of these Ousep Pelen was the oldest and the most
experienced. He and his family had been indentured laborers, living in the land owned
by Abraham. So were others like Chacko Pelen, and Kunju. These were faithful servants.
Ousep and Chacko were of Pulaya caste, whereas Kunju was an Ezhava, belonging to the
Kalluvelil family. The three vied with one another, and yet cooperated to a great degree,
to get the crops in on time to beat the impending rains. (There were others such as
Govindan and his family who remained faithful until the last. Govindan ‘s eldest brother
was Velayuthan , who did not do any work, but was always present for all occasions in
Kalluvelil. Abraham liked Velayuthan for an audience, as he would agree with anything
that “ Sir” would tell him, whether he understood it or not. Some of the pithy sayings of
Abraham in English such as “slow and steady wins the race” was an enigma to
Velayuthan, as he did not know English, but he agreed vigorously with his benefactor!
Incidentally Velayuthan, Konthi, Kunju and Govindan were the sons of the original
owners of Kalluvelil. Their mother Cheera was the only wife to three brothers. Polyandry
was not uncommon in those days, nor polygamy) The harvest was brought to the
threshing-court, threshed immediately, working by night when necessary, and stored in
granaries. The workers were paid a percentage of their harvest, as was the tradition, and
the supervisors were given a share of the total harvest.

During the war years (WWII) Government introduced rationing. It also demanded that
farmers sell paddy only to the Government at “fair market value”, which in turn would
sell the rice to ration cardholders at subsidized prices. The farmers were never happy
about the arrangement as the fair market value was hardly enough to defray their
expenses. Farmers were allowed to keep only the bare minimum for their personal use
and the rest to be surrendered to the government. The allotment was arbitrary and
whimsical. Government officials would visit the farmers at the time of harvest and decide
how much to keep and how much to surrender. Most officials could be bribed to look the
other way. Some of them did not arrive in time to make the assessment. Farmers
managed to stash away a goodly portion of the paddy in haystacks, barns and granaries of
willing neighbors. Selling to anyone else was considered criminal activity and culprits of
“black market” could be penalized and even sent to jail. Nothing daunted Abraham. His
annual crops were too big to give away for a paltry price to the Government. And he had
several friends, neighbors and relatives who were willing to help hide the crops in their
barns. Only the most faithful servants knew where these were. By night buyers would
arrive, usually with their own porters and armed escorts. After a fair amount of haggling
over price, paddy, packed in hundred-pound bags would be hoisted on the heads of the
carriers, money paid, and the nameless band would disappear with their loads into the
night. Nobody would speak about the clandestine visitors to any one. It was a family
secret, well understood and kept by young and old alike. Occasionally Government
officials would arrive to seal the barn until the harvested paddy was measured. But it was
an easy matter to remove the seal, take away much of the stored paddy, and put back the
seal untampered. Government officials either did not discover the shortage, or turned a
blind eye to such happenings. Abraham and farmers like him would not allow the
government to deprive them of what they considered their just deserts.

Rice - the best that the fields could produce- was the staple food of the family, as it was

www.knanayology.org