Kumbanad Naduvilathu Family

Naduvilathu family is a Branch of the Kumbanattu Kudumbam or Kumbanad family of Kumbanad, Kerala. India.  The founder of Kumbanad family is Late Mr. Easo Panickar. Kumbanad was originally the name of the family but later Kumbanad has became the name of the village

Easo Panickar's great grandson Late PC John's (Padinjattedathu PC John Upadeshi's) family is known as Naduvilathu Family.

PC John had two sons. The Elder son John Mathews moved to Chethackal, Ranni from Kumbanad. John Mathews has three sons and four daughters.

The Younger son NJ Chacko stayed in Kumbanad.  Mr. NJ Chacko B.A., B.T. served as headmaster of the Noel Memorial High School, Kumbanad for many years. His wife Achamma Chacko and two sons (N.John Jacob and Dr N.George Jacob) and family are still in Kumbanad.  Third son N.Mathews Jacob and family is living in Canada. The forth son Sam N Jacob is a fulltime evangelist doing Lords work in Banglore, India.    NJ Chacko has seven children, four boys and three girls. Daughters are Alice Mathai(Canada), Grace Abraham Thomas (Elanthoor), Sally Kalloor (Kottarakkara).

History of Kumbanad Family

Mid 18th century a hindu by name Rayasam Pilla was attracted by the teaching of Christ and became a Christian and later lived in a sage in Kumbanad forest. He took the name Yohannan. In about 1758 he came to Eraviparoor and met one of the then warriors by name Easo Panickar- Panickar is the title given to him by the then King in recognition to his military service. The sage soon took his residence in a tree house in Kumbanad. One of the sons of Easo Panickar by name KochuEaso Panickar also followed and stayed with him and later settled in Kumbanad.

Later KochuEaso Panickar took the legal ownership of the entire Kumbanad forest and later given it to his children. This KochuEaso Panickar was the founder of the Kumbanad family or Kumbanattu Kudumbam.

Among the wild animals Elephant was the main occupied in the Kumbanad forest and the word Kumbanad means Kumbhi-nadu or place of elephants.

Kumbanad Family Church

The fathers built a church building in middle of the Kumbanad estate and maintained independently. Later the church and property was legally transferred to the MarThoma Church in 1909 A.D. This Church is still there in the center of Kumbanad and is known as Kumbanattu Valiya Pally.

Reformation and the Brethren

In the second half of the 19th century John Arulappan (1859), Tamil David and Words Worth ( 1894) came to Kerala and conducted numerous revival meetings. They were respectively from Brethren, Anglican (CMS), and Wesleyan (Methodist) Churches. The preached the gospel of salvation by faith. This initiated a new look to the traditional outlook of the MarThoma church.

Rev PE Mammen (Kumbanattu Achen)

In AD 1896 a baptist missionary by the name Gregsan came to the place Ayroor near Kumbanad and preached gospel. Later he conducted a series of bible studies on the Epistle to Romans and taught that through water baptism a believer identifies with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and becomes a disciple of Christ. Rev PE Mammen (Kumbanattu Achen) was one of the attendees of these meetings. Later he went to Kunnamkulam and took believers baptism. Bro Handley Bird administered the baptism. Later Rev P.E. Mammen left the MarThoma Church and became a gospel preacher.

PC John (Padinjattedathu PC John Upadeshi)

Kumbanattu Naduvilathu PC John was a person of radical outlook touched by the teaching of Tamil David started questioning of the MarThoma Church. PC John started to attend the bible classes at Ayroor along with a small group who later became the pioneers of the brethren movement of the then Travancore.

One of those days the priest of the local MarThoma Church, while preaching he said the good seed and the tares has to grow together with in the church and the teaching of separation is not applicable for the church. For this PC John responded and said sawing was not done inside the church but in the field which is the world. The priest annoyed by John's remarks manhandled him physically by beating him on his cheek. For that it is reported that he showed his other cheek and priest beat the other cheek too. Then PC John shook the dust of his feet and said good bye to MarThoma Church and he has never stepped the church building even once - even for the burial service of his dear ones. This above mentioned episode happened at the Kumbanad Valiya Pally.

After the conversion of PC John an incident occurred with a labourer. Beatings of labourers were very common in those days. One day he beat a servant once and he could not sleep that night. The next day at sunrise he rushed to the laborer's hut and begged for pardon. At that time he was about 23 years old.

Breaking of bread service without any priest

After the separation from the MarThoma church 4 brothers (also cousins) met in one of the houses in Kumbanad and broke bread without the invocation of any priest. They were PE Mammen (Kumbanattu Achen), his brother PE John, PC John (cousin), and PC Chacko (Another cousin). There were a few others who also attended but did not take part in bread and wine.

After about 7 years Bro E Henry Noel a missionary from England came and settled in Kumbanad. PC John worked along with Bro Noel as an evangelist. They toured various parts of central Travancore and established churches. Most of the distances they covered on foot, cooked their own food, camped in houses of strangers.

Noel Memorial High School

Bro Noel purchased 6 acres of land. Later there was long legal battle in the court. PC John gave full support and later Noel won the case. Later a Malayalam School was started at Kumbanad. PC John and his eldest son John Mathews Sr took the lead and got the government approval and built the needed buildings. Later with the initiative of John Mathews Sr it became an English High School. Thus the present Noel Memorial High School, Kumbanad came into being.

PC John and his wife Saramma lived as an ideal pair and stood for the faith. He had two sons, John Mathews Sr and NJ Chacko, and six daughters. He was very particular that his children should be married only to believers.