5. The Early History of The Vellicode Multi-purpose Co-operative Society

5

The Early History

Of

The Vellicode Multi-purpose Co-operative Society.

     The present Kanyakumari District of the Tamil Nadu state had been a part of Travancore Kingdom before the Independence of India. It became a part of the Kerala state after Independence. The Reorganization Act of 1956, brought it under the then Madras state.

       Madras state is now called Tamil Nadu state.

      There were some Agricultural Banks, Urban Societies and Multi-purpose Co-operative Societies in the Kanyakumari District before 1956. Thus there was an Agricultural Bank each in Manakkavilai, Arumana, Lekshmipuram and Thalakkulam. There was an Urban Bank at Kuzhuthurai. The Multipurpose Co-operative Societies that existed around Vellicode were located at Kattathurai, Kannannoor, Muttakad, Palliyadi, West Neyyoor and Nattalam.

        In 1961, the then Government of Tamil Nadu state under Chief Minister Mr. K. Kamaraj exhorted the people to start co-operative societies. The purpose was partly to alleviate the sufferings of the people and partly to help the prominent members of the Congress party. Accordingly, some members of the Congress party started Multipurpose Co-operative Societies. Thus, Paraikode, Changai, Unnamalakkadai, Maekkamandapam, Kuzhicode and Vellakkadai – all around Vellicode- got one each.

        A Mr. Retnayyan B.A. B.T;  had been working in the Kattathurai English High School –an aided school -  as a teacher. He too wanted to start a Multi-purpose Co-operative Society as part of his social service activity.

        As Kattathurai had a society, the name of his new  society could not be after Kattathurai. Vellicode is a neighbouring village of Kattathurai and Mr. Retnayyan  had been staying on the periphery of Vellicode. He did not distinguish between Kattathurai, and Vellicode because he was a native of Neyyattinkara in the Kerala state. Therefore, he named his society as The Vellicode Multipurpose Co-operative Society.

        Mr. Retnayyan enrolled about 50 members.

       A Mr. Arathan Pillai was the first member. He had a cycle shop and Mr. Retnayyan used to sit there with his friends. Therefore, he was enrolled as the first founder member.

          Mr. Thanupillai, Mr. Soloman, Mr. Aaveal and Mr. Parnese were teachers working in the Kattathurai English High School. Along with Mr.Retnayyan, they also became members

        A Mr. Pakkiyanathan alias Chinnathankam  from Kattathurai junction; Mr. M. Varuvel from the Kizhakkuvilai area of Vellicode; Mr. Sebastian, Mr. Arokkiyam and Mr. Iruthayam from the Vadakkaru vilai area of Vellicode; Mr. Thankamony contractor, Mr. Ponnayyan contractor and Mr. Thankappan contractor from the Iynimoottu vilai area of Vellicode; Mr.S. Mariakkon from the Mela vilai area of Vellicode; Mr. Arulappan contractor from the Kattuvilai area of Vellicode; Joseph, Chellappan and Selvamoni from the Sankaran vilai area of Kattathurai were the prominent members.

        Mr. Retnayyan  was the founder President of the society. He, for all practical purposes, controlled everything pertaining to the society. He functioned on an honorary basis. Besides, there was an honorary secretary. The first honorary secretary was a Mr. Krishnan Nair from the Kannannoor area. Then, there was a part time clerk. Part-time clerk was later designated as Manager. Manager was then substituted by a full-time clerk with a small monthly pay. 

        In the initial stages, the Government supplied 200 kg of fertilizers, 300 kg of rice and 500 kg of sugar per month. All people were free to buy these items.

       As the members began to realize the benefits of the society, the founder President resigned from his post. As a result, Mr. Pakkianathan became the President. Mr. M. Varuvel, Mr. Parnese and Mr. Veedhamonikkam became the members of the Board. Mr. Retnayyan ignored the mode of functioning of the society and started another society for the benefit of the palm-tree climbers.

        As the clerk got employment in the Government, he resigned.

        Now, Mr. M. Varuvel approached Mr. Sabariyaradimai –a young boy of 17 years - from the Kattuvilai area of Vellicode for the post of clerk and the latter grabbed the offer.

        Mr. Sabariyaradimai discerned that the society would be shifted to an interior place in Kattathurai. He–in order to strengthen his position- enrolled many new members from Vellicode. In many cases he paid the membership fee - Re.1- and  Anna 1- from his own pocket. As a result, the members from Vellicode became the dominant group.

        Now, Mr. Pakkiyanathan became a defaulter and forfeited his right to continue as  President.

        In the election, Mr. T. Vyakappan –my father- from the Swamitharavilai area of Vellicode was made the President and Mr.M.. Yesudhasan from the Puthu vilai area of Vellicode became the Secretary. Mr. Varuvel and a Mr. Antony Muthu from the Kallukundu area of Vellicode became the members of the Board.

        One day, in 1967, the Secretary Mr. Yesudhasan secretly passed a resolution to shift the society office from Kattathurai junction to a building at Vellicode junction. The building belonged to a Mr. Rayappan of Mulaethravilai area of Vellicode.

        After writing the minute, he came to the house of Mr. T. Vyakappan at night for his signature. The latter was reluctant to shift the society. Mr. Dharmanadhan, the eldest son of Vyakappan, opposed the resolution. He did not allow his father to sign the minute and snatched the minute book. Due to the pressure exerted by the Secretary, Mr. M. Varuvel and a few others, Mr. Dharmanathan relented and Mr. T. Vyakappan had to sign the minute. 
      Next day morning, about 50 people from Vellicode went to  the Society Office in about ten batches of two to seven. Every batch stayed in different strategic places like in front of the tea shops. The Secretary had instructed them not to confront anyone in Kattathurai but pacify everyone. He had told them that the objective was shifting the society, and not any confrontation or any criminal case. 
     When the movable properties were being shifted to a bullock cart, a Mr. Bhagan of a petty shop shouted loudly. He cried that "Vellicodians" were thieving the society. But his shrieks fell in the ear of the people from Vellicode only. Therefore, his face simply blanched with despair. 
Some people from Kattathurai reached the place panting and desperate. The Secretary told them that the  District Registrar had issued orders to shift the society to the Thuckalay Punchayat Union area. In order to convince them, he showed a fake letter received from the Registrar. A Mr. Sabariyaradimai, working as typist, played an active role for the preparation of the fake letter. Others from Vellicode tried to fawn on them. All movable properties were shifted within a span of 90 minutes and the face of the people of Kattathurai assumed the appearance of the setting son. They did not get the time needed to obtain a stay  from the court. Some people said that the Secretary had been taking necessary preparations for this for about one year. 

By

V.Sabarimuthu

26-3 Thattankonam

Vellicode

Mulagumoodu P.O.

PIN:629167

              

4. History of Gent's Federation

4

HISTORY OF GENT'S FEDERATION

                Mr. Antony Muthu was born at a house in the Kihzhakku vilai area of Vellicode in 1908 as the third son of a Mr.Michael. He had been a bachelor and Malayalam Pandit. He had been a Home Library fan. He died in 1944. Before his death, he had requested his elder brother – Mr.M. Dharmanathan- to allot a rent-free reading room for the benefit of the people. In deference to his wish, the latter allotted a rent-free room in the first floor when he constructed a new building abutting the high-way.

Gent's Federation Building

        Mr. R. Maria Michael from the Thattamkonam area of Vellicode  – my maternal uncle-, Mr. Cruz Michael from Kizhakku-vilai  area and Mr. Mariakkan from the Puthu-vilai area and a few others formed themselves   into an Association. They started a reading room -St. Xaviers’s Reading Room -in the new room in 1946. A Malayalam newspaper called Deepika was the first newspaper they bought. 

        Mr. Mariakkan was employed in Ernakulam and  he rarely visited Vellicode. Mr. Cruz Michael also left Vellicode. Mr. R. Maria Michael withdrew himself  from the scene when some young boys began to show interest in running the reading room. 

        Now, Mr. M. Michael of Kizhakku Vilai area approached the owner of the room to start an Association and the latter obliged. He then organized an Association called “Students Association” in the same room. The only condition to join it was that one must be a student.

Mr. S. Mariakkon, a foundermember,going to market on 8 May 2012

         Mr. R. Muthiah B.Com. H.D.C. was the first President,  Mr. M. Michael was the Secretary and Mr.S. Mariakkan from the Erattan-vilai area was the Treasurer. Mr. A. Arulappan from the Swamithara-vilai area and Mr. B. Soosai Michael from the Thattankonam area were the Vice President and the Joint Secretary respectively.
          Mr.T.Maria Susai B.A. (Hons)B.L. of Swamithara vilai area - younger brother of my father- inaugurated the Association in 1954. He gave Re.10/- as donation and said that Re.10/-given by him would grow into Re.thousands of crore.
              A characteristic feature of the Association was that the students of other castes and religions in and around Vellicode were admitted as members. A Mr. Sundaram -  a Hindu- of Aynimoottu vilai area and a Mr. Sukumaran -another Hindu- of a neighbouring village –Kallu-vilai- were active members. In fact, Mr. Sukumaran had been functioning as Secretary for some time.

           The Association was started with the object of promoting the physical and mental development of the youth of the Vellicode area.

        Accordingly - for physical development - volley- ball  was introduced in Vellicode in the school ground. Many volley-ball tournaments were conducted. Onam ball tournaments were also organized during the Onam festival. Mr. Subramonium from the Kannannoor was a good Onam ball player. 
            Moreover, training in " Aasanam" - a kind of yoga - was given to a few interested boys. Mr. Muthayyan from the Chevidivilai area of Vellcode was the Yoga Master. In Aasanam,  the boys have to maintain static sitting or stretching positions to build stamina and concentration. I had seen Mr. Mariakkon standing on his head inside the reading room.

              For mental development,  a Tamil newspaper- Thina Thanthi- a Malayalam newspaper-Malayala Manorama- and an English newspaper-The Indian Express- were regularly purchased. President Mr. R. Muthiah had been giving subscription for a newspaper for many years. Besides, subscription was given to Kumutham and Aanandavikidan- two Tamil weeklies- and Then Oli- a Tamil monthly.

          As the members grew old, its name was changed into Gent’s Federation. All office bearers retained their respective positions. The condition that one must be a student to join it was relaxed.   

.        

       One day,  the ‘Founder Secretary’ resigned and  Mr. V.S. Ambrose B.Sc. B.T. of Mundavizhagam village was elected as the new Secretary.

     Now, books were collected from all over Vellicode. Two wooden bookshelves were made. In order to buy glass for the shelves, they had gone to many places before zeroing in on Thiruvithancode. Mr. A. Arulappan of Swamitharavilai area was in-charge of the books.

       A “Debate Club” was started and many social and political issues were periodically debated.

Mr. C.Francis, a founder member of Gent's Federation , is sitting  in his house .

        Further, a hand written “Termly Magazine” was published corresponding to the three terms in schools and colleges.  Mr. C. Antony Joseph M.Sc. from the Thirvatti area of Vllicode, Mr. Joseph B.Com. from the Kizhakku vilai area and Mr. B. Soosai Michael were the editors for English, Malayalam and Tamil respectively. Mr. C. Francis used to contribute some highly critical articles and they were  either rejected or published after much debate. 

        Further,  a “Drama Unit” had been started  mainly for social satire. It had secured the first prize in a drama competition conducted by the Thuckalay Punchayat Union. The Director for the "Drama Unit" was Mr. M.Innasimuthu of Erattan-vilai area and it was called M.I.Muthu Team 

      The people of this village had been studying Malayalam until the R.C. Primary School, Vellicode switched over to Tamil in 1956. Thina Thanthi became a boon for the people to learn Tamil.

        One of the beneficiaries of Thina Thanthi was Mr. M.Innasi Muthu. He had studied up to the second standard only. He was a palm- tree climber. He started reading Thina Thanthi newspaper with the help of others and began to read well.  He gradually became an expert in politics.  In fact, he was the Socrates of Vellicode. As early as in 1966, he said that India was being ruled by Tata and Birla and not by the representatives of the people.  I heard his words and they still reverberate. In fact, it happened to be the dominant theme of my work present in www.howeverythinghappenedinindia.blogspot.com.
           

        Some youngsters got employment/ educational opportunities by virtue of the advertisements in these newspapers.

        Some students used this Library-cum- reading room to enrich their knowledge. I had been a regular visitor during my school days and it inculcated me with a reading habit. I owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. M. Antony Muthu, and others behind this Library.
          The Gent's Federation did some other social works also. Thus, during that time, the R.C. Primary School had a "Labour Week". With the help of the students, the Association laid a 6-feet path to connect Vellicode school ground  with the Thiruvatti area. Valvachagostam Punchayat President Mr.J.Nesamony opened it.  Later, it became a narrow path is a different matter. 

        After Mr. V.S. Ambrose B.Sc. B.T. had resigned, Mr. I. Sabarimuthu B.E. - from the Puthu vilai- area became the Secretary. Mr. Sabariyaradimai of Kattuvilai area was in charge of the books. The key to the room was transferred from   Mr. A Arulappan to Mr. D. Jesudhason from the Kizhakkuvilai area.  Now, some students  returning from the Kattathurai High School and some other people  began to give trouble to the owner of the house. Therefore, he asked the office- bearers to vacate the room.

       Thus, in 1973, the Library was shifted to a shed offered by Mr. Muthaian of Thattankonam area. The present writer purchased The Indian Express for two years. However, the owner wanted his shed for his own use. The new Secretary shifted the movable assets of the Library to his car shed.

        The office bearers and many members left Vellicode.  There was no one to offer a room. Therefore, the movable assets – two book shelves along with the books, two benches and a desk- were donated to the R.C. Primary School, Vellicode in 1978.

        Though it is a digression, it is pertinent to note that in 2004, Mr. R. George – younger brother of Mr.R. Muthiah B.Com.H.D.C –donated two cent of land to the Government to establish a Library. Accordingly, a library building has been constructed using the M.L.A. fund of Mr. Velaudhan M.L.A. The library is being run by a  part time Librarian.

        

        By
V.Sabarimuthu
26-3 Thattankonam
Vellicode
Mulagmoodu P.O. PIN:629167

3. Highlights of the 2011 Festival

3

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2011 FESTIVAL

      There were some memorable speeches in the 2011 annual festival. 
      Rev.Fr. Y. Xavier, on 15 September 2011, pointed out that Jesus Christ was born to Virgin Mary at a time when women  had been stoned to death for their sexual offences.  It may be noted that the story behind Kumara Swamy Temple is that Valli had been born in a family of Kuravar Caste as given in Chapter 2 of www.temples-and-churches.blogspot.com

          On 16 September 2011, Rev. Fr. Leo Alex mentioned that the father of Jesus Christ was a carpenter, and the latter used to  assit the former. Further, he emphasized that all Disciples of Christ were workers like fishermen, farmers. He said certain things with the meaning that a farmer must get, say, Re. 100/- for every cucumber produced by him. He deplored that due to the marketing conditions he did not get even Re. 1/-. He added that the farmers and workers must be duly compensated by the society so that they too would enjoy all amenities just like any other people.

          He, further, said that the red-flag stood for the amelioration of the living standards of the workers. Actually, this flag – in India - exploits them.

          On 18 September 2011, Rev. Fr. Dhen Singh said that man - as a rule - gets maximum pain from his loved ones- father  from his son and vice versa. Despite this, he said, that man is to love and to be loved.

       Some photos, taken on the last two days of the festival, are given below.

2 Our Lady of Seven Dolours Church

2

OUR LADY OF SEVEN DOLOURS CHURCH

             The Our Lady of Seven Dolours Church, Vellicode, was a  stone church constructed using chisel or hammer dressed rubble. It was a fusion of Indian and European architecture. It stood on a big rock at Vellicode in the Tamil Nadu state in India.
              As in many other churches, there were three doors in front. They represented Father, Son and Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible. There were four side doors. They represented the four apostles who wrote the Bible. Ten pillars represented the ten commandments.

             The central portion of the church stood on 14 arches. There were two windows above every arch for lighting and ventilation.Because of big doors and windows, there was ample air circulation inside. It had tiled roof. 
       There were ten stone pillars in the middle. Besides, four pillars remained attached to the walls. 

The base stone

     Each stone pillar stood on a big piece stone. The circumference of this base stone was 8 feet, and it was 2.5 feet thick. There were eight major faces and equal number of minor faces to each stone. 
     Further, each door frame was made of single piece of stone. Each step also was made of single piece of stone. No wonder -among the churches - it was the Taj Mahal of this region. 

Statue of Mother Mary in the Our Lady of Seven Dolours church,  Vellicode.

          The deity was a 2-feet tall beautiful wooden statue. It was east facing.

        There was a belief that the deity in the above church granted knowledge and education to the seekers of knowledge. In fact, the preponderance of the educated people in this village is greater than that in other catholic villages of the Kanyakumari District. There are many post-graduates, doctors, engineers and government employees.  Late Rt. Rev. R.Anony Muthu, Bishop of Vellore, was a native of Vellicode. It generated four priests and several nuns. 
            A  few members are blessed with money.
        In 2010 , many members wanted to construct a concrete church after demolishing the present one. It did not materialize. Some believed it as a miracle of the deity.

         Besides, many believers got relief from various ailments or fulfillment for their demands.  As a token of gratitude they offered jewels or money to this deity.

          The 10- day annual festival used to start on the second Friday of September. 
     The church cars – called chapparams- were taken in procession on the last day morning and on the night of the penultimate day.

             Vellicode is situated about 50 km south of Trivandrum, or 22 km north of Nagercoil in the National Highway - 47 (NH-47).
             However, the people of the village, in 2019, considered this church as a symbol of slavery. The reason was that the present writer's father- Mr. T. Vyakappan- constructed it. He received the subscription from the people for the construction. He, started the work in 1950 and completed 95 percent of the work, in 1960. 

                However, everyone in the village used to say that Mr. Vyakappan constructed it. Some priests sowed the seeds of poison in the mind of the laity. This was the reason for considering the church as a symbol of slavery.

                  Mr. T. Vyakappan constructed this church on a public property - a big rock.

               Therefore, the present writer requested the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Madras High Court to prevent its demolition.

         However, the political work of the present writer made the Government and the High Court to give green signal to the villagers for its demolition. Otherwise, they might not have picked up courage to demolish it.

           The present writer wrote letters to Bishop of Kuzhithurai, Bishop of Kottar, Arch Bishop of Madurai and the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India to protect it from demolition.                       However, all letters ended in vain.

            The above church was pulled down on August 26, 2019.

             A new concrete church is being constructed in such a way that about 50 per ccnt of it stands on church property and the rest stands on public property.

                  V. Sabarimuthu

                    25-12-2020.

1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF VELLICODE

1.

A BRIEF HISTORY  OF VELLICODE

            The name of present Vellicode until about 1800 AD had been Thippili. A house of a  then- called Brammakula Shathriyan was the first house to appear in Thippili.
              It is said that a plant called thippili cured cough. There were many thippili plants in that area. Therefore, that place acquired the name Thippili.
          Then the Brammakula Shathriyans were chased away and some others occupied the place. Some Brammakula Shathriyans returned to the nearby area. This area is  now called Vellicode.
           The land documents until 1949 mention this place as Vellicode Pandarakkattu Vilai , presumably because Brammakula Shathriyans belonged to the Royal clan. Pandarakkattu Vilai area was exempt from land tax.
              The present R.C. Middle School, Vellicode, had been called Thippili School. A number of documents support this inference. 

               The people living around the Thippili pond and some people at the Vellicode junction even now consider Vellicode as Thippili.           

          There exists a strong belief that St. Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, landed a Colachel and came to this village in 63 A.D. They say that he had constructed a small church near to the present Thippili pond. The church was dedicated to Heavenly Mary. After some struggles, it was shifted to Kovilvilai in Vellicode before moving to Thiruvithancode - a place about 5 km south. The church at Kovilvilai was dedicated to Our Lady of Seven Dolours. Historians say that Kerala had maritime business links with the Mediterranean countries from  77 BC. The coins found in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapulam reinforce this view.
               

          
          According to a - real or imaginary- story, a King of  Venad , one day, paid a visit to the temple at Thippili in Vellicode. It was the festival day in the church at Kovil vilai. Kovil vilai is just 700 metre east of Thippili. The King -on that day -issued  an order to shift the temple to the western part and the church to the eastern part of Thippili. Accordingly, the church was shifted to the present place and the temple to Valvachagostam.
         Mr. B. Soosai Michael (Retd.Teacher) and one or two old people say that St.Thomas had built the church by the side of  the temple at Thippili and it was temporarily  shifted to Kovil vilai in deference to the wishes of the King. In support of this, they point out that the original name of the present R.C. Middle School,  Vellicode until 1940 had been R. C. Primary School, Thippili.  Therefore, they say, the  school had been shifted from Thippili. Alternatively, it indicated the importance of Thippili.

     Further, it is believed that St.Thomas preached to the elite. Therefore, he might have constructed a church near the temple. 
          It must be noted that even now some families belonging to the Nair community live in Thippili and also in the Vellicode junction. In those days the ancestors of Nair community were considered  as the elite. Now there exists a claim that their ancestors had been the original inhabitants of Thippili and therefore Vellicode. 
    However, it must be noted that the people of a particular community got the name Nair only in 1875. Before 1875 they were called Suudrar.
    There is a pond-  temple tank –  in Thippili. Near to this pond, some big stone slabs of an ancient structure lie even today  - 1 November 2011. They surfaced in January 2011 while digging the place  for planting rubber saplings. 
      The above stone slabs do not possess any inscriptions, sculptures, carvings  or   writings although one or two contain long narrow cuts on the surface. 

A stone with a narrow cut.

Stone slabs dug up at Thippili in Vellicode in 2011. A narrow cut can be seen on the surface.

      

Some other stone slabs that surfaced at Thippili in Vellicode

           Retired Teacher Mr. Thobias,  from the Mela-vilai area of Vellicode, says that the stone slabs do not convey any religious  message. 

Mr. Thobias (Retired Teacher) from the Mela-vilai area of Vellicode standing at Thippili

   My close examination confirms his conclusion. In fact, these archaeological remains do not portray any deities. Perhaps, they belong to the 1st century - before the advent of Hindu religion.

Mr. V. Sabarimuthu at Thippili

      However, Mr. R. Justin of Kalanvilai area of Vellicode says that some of these stone slabs resemble the stone - steps present in the Valvachagostam temple given in www. temples-and-churches.blogspot.com
           I saw a few stone steps in the pond about 50 years ago. Therefore,  a temple might have existed at Thippili.

The pond near to the temple/church at Thippili

      However,  the quality  of the stone slabs is comparable to the stone baptism-tub present in the church believed to have been built by St. Thomas at Thiruvithancode and hence a church might have existed in that  place. 
           Did any technology exist in 63A.D. to make such stone slabs? The experts say that the rock workers in ancient days used to create big cleavages in suitable rocks using chisels.

         
   Whatever happened in the past, no one in this village -except the Nair                   families at Thippili  - now considers anyone as a descendant of the people who lived in this place  in 63 A.D.  None in this place claims that his ancestors had been Hindus either. Even in the case of Nairs, some people believe that they came from Kerala. 


            

          Now, Vellicode is considered as a village of immigrants. There exists a belief that the earliest immigrant - called Mallan Asan - came from  Thenkasi in the Tirunelveli District of the Tamil Nadu State during the reign of King Mathanda Varma ( 1728 -1758) and settled  in Vellicode. Most of the people are his descendants. They now live in different areas of Vellicode namely Puthu Vilai, Erattan Vilai, Kizhakku Vilai, Kattu Vilai, Mela Vilai and Thiruvatti. They are collectively called Arapparai family.
            However, even in this matter, some people say that Mallan Asan - due to a disturbance in Tenkasi- came to Vellicode  in 1300.
       Some others say that Mallan Asan was a decedent of  Moni Asan who lived in Vellicode long before Mallan Asan. They refute the Tenkasi origin story.
              The origin of the word Arapparai may be noted. A house - in those days - had four parts corresponding to the four directions. They are Padipparai,Vadakkathu, Thekkathu and Arapparai. They correspond to the eastern, northern, southern and western parts respectively of a house. 
        A Mr. Innasimuthu - a descendant of Mallan Asan- had been living in a house at Oothankkara area. He had been a physician. When the people went to his house for treatment, his wife used to say that her husband was sitting in Arapparai.  The people later called his descendants and the children of his ancestors living in this area as ones belonging to the Arapparai family.
    Innasimuthu had five sons- Mariakkon, Mathodian, Mariandran, Savarimuthu and Swamiyadian. Son of Mariakkon was Vyakappan, his grandson was Sabastian, and his great grandsons are the present day -2012- Mr.Mariakkon and Mr.Sinkarayan born at Erattan vilai area.  
          A man called Swamiyadian settled down at Swamitharavilai. Some of his descendants are now present at Thattamkonam. Some others live at Avarivilai. 
             A prominent member of Thattamkonam was Innasimuthu. He had been a teacher in the school in Vellicode.  He died as a bachelor about 70 years ago. He had translated some inscriptions found in palm tree leaves into the modern Tamil.  I possess some of them.
                 A Mr. Rayappan was the brother of the above Innasimuthu. He had two sons -Maria Sebastian and Maria Michael - and three daughters - Viakulamariyal, Veronica and Theresammal. Veronica died as a nun. Viakulamarial was  my mother.  

          A man called Viakan alias Mickael came from Mulavilai and married a woman from Vellicode. He lived at Pazhaya Veettadi in Vellicode. The name of his son was Savarimuthu. Savarimuthu had a son called Dharmanathan through his first wife. After the death of his first wife, he married another woman. She also died. Then he married another woman.
        The above mentioned Dharmanathan married a woman from the Thuruvatti area of Vellicode. He had three sons - Varuvel, Vyakappan and Maria Susai - and a daughter- Viakulamariyal. Vyakappan had three sons - Dharmanathan, Sabarimuthu -the present writer- and John Bosco.

          About 20 per cent of the people of Vellicode - mostly educated people - have migrated to other parts of India. A few people are living in other countries. The population is  steadily decreasing. 
      Now (2011), there are about 500 houses in this village. 90 per cent of the people are Catholic Christians . The rest are Hindus of various castes.
      A Middle School is functioning under the Bishop of Kottar.  The poor standard of this school, affected the progress of the village for about 30 years since 1980. 
            There is a catholic church in Vellicode.  
           There exists  a co-operative society.
           A water supply scheme was started in 1984. 
          A private Higher Secondary School has been established recently.
         A small library-cum-reading room and a market have also been started recently. 
       Some voluntary organizations function for social works. 
      The village has been conducting a joint feast from time immemorial. 
      There had been  a Devasahayam Pillai carnatic drama till the recent past. 
       A reading room had been functioning for about 30 years under different names- Xavier's Reading Room, Students Association and Gent's Federation.

By V. Sabarimuthu
2011.


     About 50 per cent of the people live below the poverty line. About 40 per cent belong to the middle class. The rest moderately rich. There are three or four rich people.



By
V. Sabarimuthu
26-3 Thattankonam
Vellicode
Mulagumoodu P.O.
PIN:629167


Note:  Now (2016) many people are falling below the poverty line. This is due to the low prices of rubber and coconut. Unemployment problem also haunts many. A rough estimate shows that about 50 percent of the people are below the poverty line.

V. Sabarimuthu