User:Nikhildpal

Alapatt Palathingal
'''==Alapatt Palathingal Family is one of the oldest and aristocratic families in Kerala(India). Here is a brief account of history of the same.=='''

Effort to trace the history of Alapatt Palathingal Family has been started long before the formation of Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattuyogam. After the formation of the Family Association two decades back, our prime target was to trace the historical evidence related to the family and to create a family tree based on that. A detailed Family Tree (genealogy) was drawn after years of selfless and concentrated effort led by Rev. Fr. Issac Alapatt CMI. Our Family Tree is spread over a period of three hundred years and it shows ten generations of family history. As history of a community is closely related to the geography of a place and cultural influence of the concerned religion, we made a detailed study of Kerala History (including history of Kochi State), History of Kattoor and History of the Christian Church. As part of the research related to history, we went through plenty of land documents, birth records in various churches and write -ups by our forefathers. Historical Records of Kottakavu(Parur),Parappukkara, Enammavu, Pazhuvil and Edathiruthy Churches were scrutinized. Moreover we collected relevant historical information from Alapatt Mana in Parakkadvau, Kalathymekkatt Mana in Moozhikkulam, Mazhuvanchery Mana, some of the Namboothiri houses in Pazhuvil and Lakshmana Temple in Moozhikkulam. These efforts would not have been complete if our forefathers did not keep proper records in the earlier times. There is no doubt that their accounts of the historical facts helped a lot in our effort to write the history, the family tree in particular. It is believed that one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, St. Thomas came to Kerala in 52 AD. He attracted some Brahmin families to the path of Christ and they adopted Christianity. According to traditional belief St. Thomas created seven Christian communities here. One of the thirty two important Brahmin villages in Kerala in that period was Moolikulam (now Moozhikulam).A “Mana” (Namboothiri House) named Alapatt Mana in Moozhikulam is the origin of Alapatt family. In that period one of the young members of Alapatt Mana accepted Christian faith and he then settled in Moozhikulam itself even though he was not acceptable to the Brahmin Community. It is traditionally believed that Alapatt families spread all over the world with different branches and different sub names originated from there. Even after all these years there is still an Alapatt Mana in Moozhikulam. Alapatt Palathingal Family is one of the main sub divisions of Alapatt Family. Other major divisions of the family still reside in Kattoor and Karanchira. In the governing period of “Kulashekara” and “Perumpadapu Swaroopam” some Christian families including Alapatt family migrated to new places to do agriculture and business. In the later years of 1600s attack from the “Marikkars”, military heads of Samuthiry, was another reason for the settlement in other places. One of the sub divisions of Alapatt Family settled in Parappukara in Thrissur District of Kerala. They chose to live in the northern side of the Bridge over Kurumali River in Parappukara. In the early 1700s that particular branch of Alapatt family was called Palathingal. From Parappukara a “Karanavar”(family head) named Varu of Alapatt family migrated to Kattoor, Thrissur in 1731. He settled in Edathiruthy near Kattur. There are evidences to show that he lived with his family in Kattoor in 1736. In 1746 he built a “Tharavattu Pura” (a traditional Nalukettu house) near the bridge in Parayankadavu, Kattoor. Varu had four sons namely Vareed, Anthony, Chummar and Poulose. The successors of Varu are the Alapatt Palathingal Family members. Like all traditional Christian families Alapatt Palathingal Family looked after the religious, moral, economic and educational betterment of the family members. All these years the family has stood by its cherished values and thrived on the traditional cultural influence. Family Tree of the Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattuyogam was published as a book in 2001 namely ‘Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattu Charithram’, Part 1. It has precise descriptions of important personalities, family connections and other relevant facts. Earlier we had published a Family Directory showing addresses, telephone numbers and other details of family members. The detailed history of Alapatt Palathingal family, namely ‘Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattu Charithram’, Part 2 (Thalamurakalilude) was published in 2003. By going through the above mentioned history books published by the Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattuyogam, one can see that Alapatt Palathingal Family has given birth to plenty of important personalities who served the society, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church as well as the State. Bishop Mar Dr. George Alapatt (who is from the Karanchira Alapatt family on his father's side), Msgr.Ephrem Palathingal, Rev.Fr.Vincent CMI, Mother Mariam Magdalena CMC, several other priests and nuns. Mothers of two Catholic Bishops are from Alapatt Palathingal Family. Some of our family members have served the nation by working in IAS, IPS, IFS and IES cadre. There are others who are professionals like Scientists, Doctors, Engineers, Chartered Accountants, Advocates, Teachers, Businessmen and Industrialists