TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – 118

                                          FROM THE PAGES OF PRESS HISTORY

'From the pages of press history', a write-up on Subodhini Press owned by the famed family of royal oculists, Thiruvananthapuram, The Hindu, 13-01-2018.

TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY - XXVI

                                                        THE ROYAL OCULIST

My write-up on C. Luke, the 'Royal Oculist' got published in The Hindu, (19-04-2014), Thiruvananthapuram edition.

TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY - IV

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS FROM VAIDYAN FAMILY

On my previous blog about Vaidyan C. Luke, I mentioned the prized possessions of the family. Mr. Kurian, who is my father’s friend was happy to show me those precious family heirlooms. I managed to take photographs of a few items.

An antique portrait of Visakam Tirunal Rama Varma, drawn by an unknown artist greets us when we enter the house. Many years back, the portrait (its lower part) suffered badly from silverfish attack. The damaged portion was removed and the painting was re-framed by Kurian’s father, Alexander Koshy Vaidyan.

Beside the portrait is a large framed photograph of C.Luke (which you can see in the previous blog), this picture is actually enlarged from an old family photo (seen below) dated 1880s.

(Above) Photograph of Luke's wife Mary (c.1930). Mary who hailed from a wealthy family owned many shops in Chalai Bazar, Thiruvananthapuram.

(Above) L.C. Koshy with his wife Elizabeth on their wedding day and L.C. Koshy in his later years.

(Above) Luke's medicine box, with small racks for carrying bottles safely and the 'chaana kallu' used for making medicines.

(Above) This circular stone block is an old clock! The markings on the surface of the stone are still visible. Now this stone is used as a step. The next piece is the map of Travancore, carved in wood.

TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY - II

VAIDYAN C. LUKE

Nowadays no one notices the small street named Luke’s lane near G.P.O, even those who know the lane doesn’t bother to know how it got the name. At the end of the street, there is an iron gate and a small board with the name ‘Kukies Holiday Inn’. Once you enter, you are inside another world, with an ambience you will never hope to find in the very heart of the bustling city. Here, time seems to have come to a halt. On the right is an old house with tiled roof, later additions have diminished its beauty and in course of time, it has lost most of its former grandeur. Once it was a fairly large ‘nalukettu’ with all traditional elements like the courtyard and ‘pattayam’. On the right side of the house is a very old sapota tree (Achras sapota) said to be around 200 years old.

This was the house of the great Vaidyan, C.Luke (b.1843-d.1894), the eye-specialist who surpassed even European doctors with his knowledge of traditional medicines, handed down from his forefathers. Luke’s ancestors were the members of Thayyil family of Thevalakkara. His ancestors were Brahmins who later embraced Christianity (Krishnan Nampoothiri and his wife Lakshmi Antharjanam (from Kothamangalam) of Thazhamangalathu Madam got attracted to the teachings of Christ and accepted Christianity. Thomman (Jr.), the only son of Krishnan (Thomman) and Lekshmi (Mariyam) learned Sanskrit and Medicine from Viratarajaguru and became a famous scholar and physician. During this period, Maharaja of Travancore invited Thomman (Jr.) to treat his mother’s eye ailment. Thomman succeeded in relieving the pain from the eye of the royal matriarch in the first attempt itself. Pleased by this, the King bestowed the title ‘Vaidyan’ to Thomman and his successors). Luke’s father was a well-known figure in Travancore. In a letter to C. Luke Vaidyan, Dewan Sir. T. Madhava Row says that he personally knew his father 'who was an able oculist.'

Luke and his brother came to the capital city from Kollam during the reign of Aayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma. As the practitioners of traditional medicine, they had to face many challenges as English medicine was gaining its hold in Travancore at that time. Most of the educated noble families opted for English medical treatment.

But the talented brothers with their sheer dedication managed to get the patronage of many noble families including the royal family. An important achievement in their career was their successful treatment of the Dewan’s son T. Ananda Row (b.1852-d.1919), in 1871 when the latter was preparing for B.A. examination (Ananda Rao went on to become the Dewan of the Princely State of Mysore). In a letter written by T. Madhava Row to Luke dated 28th May 1871 the Dewan expresses his gratitude to the brothers who treated his son’s eye disorder. “Two well known European members of the medical profession were successively consulted, but their treatment showed no permanent benefit…… You undertook the treatment accordingly. With apparently very simple appliances and mild treatment you were able in a very moderate time to accomplish what you had promised.” from these words of the Dewan we can get an idea of the simple treatment techniques employed by the brothers. The Dewan further expressed his gratitude by sending Luke a purse containing 150 British Rupees (a princely amount in those days), suggesting him to buy a watch or books with the money.

Luke was appointed as the palace Vaidyan by Maharaja Visakam Thirunal Rama Varma and he was bestowed with a Veerasringala. Luke was employed in Maharaja’s College (University College) as a teacher of scriptures. He played an important role in establishing the Syrian Church in Statue. Luke married Mary, the couple had three children, his eldest son L.C. Koshy was also a prominent figure, he was the curator of the Museum and was also employed in Huzur Kacherri and was the supervisor in charge of the street lighting.

The Maharajas College and the St. George’s Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Statue.

C.Luke's tombstone at the Christ Church, Palayam, photographed c.2017 (From the family collection).

C. Luke who served three kings starting from Aayilyam Thirunal to Sree Moolam Thirunal died in 1894; he was buried in CSI Christ Church at Palayam. The old tombstone with the inscription ‘Government Oculist’ is still there in the church graveyard.

Luke’s grandson Alexander Koshy, even though not a famous Vaidyan, kept alive his family traditions, treasured the knowledge handed down to him by his ancestors. Some old palm leaf documents on traditional medicine, antique furniture, photographs, portraits and the grinding stones in various sizes are preserved by the family members. Sir.T. Madhava Row’s letter (in the Dewan's own hand) to Luke is one of the prized possessions of the family archives. Kurian, the great-grandson of C. Luke who lives in a building adjacent to the ancestral house is proud to be a member of this illustrious family.

Before you step out of the gate and merge into the busy streets of the city, take a deep breath and look back, can you still see a man with his large headgear and black coat with the medicine box and people waiting to see him?

Sharat Sunder Rajeev.
12-10-2008.