Paulose was born in 1932 into the Tharayani family, one of the six Orthodox Christian families that had come from Puthuveli to Mulappuram im the 1920’s, during the first wave of migration from the plains and lowlands of Central Travancore to the hills of Idukki.

These families bought 100 acres of land from a Nampoothiri man and built a church—Mulappuram St. George Orhodox Church. Enterprising and hardworking, they soon prospered and embarked on a path of upward social mobility.

After completing his Bachelors degree, Paulose enrolled for a BeD course in a college inChanganacherry. There he met Lillikutty who would later become his wife and soulmate.

“The truth is he fell for the songs I used to sing in college functions. But, of course, he would deny that”, Lillikutty chuckles. “Our families came from different backgrounds. My parents were teachers and they also ran a small business. We were staying in Thiruvalla, a place which was like a city compared to where he came from.”

“That is true. My area was almost like a forest at that time. Wild elephants frequently roamed in our land. So her father did not fancy marrying off her daughter to a place like that. It was only after her brother came and met me and then convinced her father that he finally agreed”, Paulose says.

Rev. T. C. Mathai, the first priest of Mulappuram St. George Orthodox Church was a member of the Tharayani family. When the church set up a school, it was named as a memorial to him. After Paulose completed his BeD course, the manager of the school, another member of the Tharayani family asked him to be the school’s headmaster. The manager even changed the rulebook and reserved the headmaster post for graduates, thus making sure Paulose would be selected without much competition as there were only two graduates in the whole region.

But Paulose chose to join government service and it was Lillikutty who became the headmistress. She was twenty two years old then, and was the juniormost employee in the school. “I used to be bullied a lot, but I was determined to succeed”, Lillikutty remembers with great pride.

From the series "HOME"