The Oommen Family
Background-My grandparents:
My paternal grandfather, Samuel Oommen, was described to me by one of his contemporaries as "a very innovative man". My grandmother faithfully at his side, he, with sweat, toil and Godly fear, made poverty the proverbial grain that painfully accrued the pearl. Thus the Oommen boys and girls got their food, shelter and education, while the two candles that fed the fire melted silently, even prayerfully, in the background.
From left to right:
Standing: Ashok, My Grandmother, Vijay, My Grandfather, Annie (Poonen)
Seated: Susan (Ninan), Fred (my father comfortablty seated in his mama's lap!), Alexander (Sonny), Sukumar.
Elim:
Elim, the family home, the traditional, refreshing summer retreat for succeeding generations of Oommens, still evokes some of the best and most enduring, memories of childhood.
The Cottage: With just a few new tiles on that roof, you'd suspect that a photo from paradise dropped down onto your screen by some divine virus.
The Oommen Brothers:
Seven brothers, two sisters, the naughty nine, greedy little faces lining the old teak table at Elim, bubbling spirits flitting over the slopes of Quail Hill, later, stronger, have 'moved here and there over the surface of the earth's waters' (granted, sans creative prowess, but making, nevertheless, any place of their sojournment, all the brighter from the visitation. They have traversed four of Shakespeare's seven ages, and now with 'bellies, capon-lined, full of wise saws and modern instances', they promote the furtherance of all things Oommen.
Conoor:
Snugly nested between the lofty peaks of the Nilgiris, Conoor, despite brutal scars inflicted upon its serene face by the ever-expanding concrete jungle, still stakes its claim to be one of the most breath-taking spots in Peninsular India.
I'm not surprised the good book says- "He watered the earth with a mist..."