''Varthamanappusthakam'' is a
Malayalam travelogue written by
Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar, a
Nasrani Mappila
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...
kathanar
Kathanar ( ml, കത്തനാർ) is an ancient Nasrani Mappila term in Malayalam that means ''priest''. The term is still in colloquial usage, although not in regular formal use. It was anglicized in archaic English texts as ''Cattanar'' or ...
of the modern-day
Syro-Malabar Church. It is the first ever travelogue written in an
Indian Language. It was written in the 18th century (1790) but then forgotten, being re-discovered in 1935 and first printed in 1936 by Luka Mathai Plathottam at Athirampuzha St Marys Press in the year 1936.
''Varthamanappusthakam'' postulates that the foundation of Indian nationalism rests on the basic principle that India should achieve civic self-rule. Long before the debates on nationalism shaking the intellectual circles of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Thoma Kathanar offers a distinctive positionality as a minority Syriac Christian priest and subsequent administrator of the
Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Kodungalloor with transnational ties to Portuguese ecclesiology who nevertheless argues in favor of autonomous Indian civic governance. It gives the history of a journey undertaken by the author along with
Mar Joseph Kariattil from
Malabar Coast (modern day
Kerala) to
Rome via
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
and back. The manuscript of the book is kept at the St Thomas Christian Museum in
Kochi.
The historic journey to Rome to represent the grievances of Kerala's Syrian Catholics started from the boat jetty in
Athirampuzha at Poothathil Ittikuruvilla Tharakan’s home (a
Knanaya tax-collector who greatly funded the mission) in 1785. From
Athirampuzha they first proceeded to
Kayamkulam by a country-boat. The journey then took them to Chinnapattanam, as
Chennai was then known. From there they went to
Kandy in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
of today). From
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
they sailed to
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
at the tip of
Africa. They were to sail to
Portugal from there but adverse winds drifted their ship in the
Atlantic Ocean taking it to the coast of
Latin America. A further journey from the Latin American coast took them to their destination.
The journey to the destination took more than a year. While they were in
Europe,
Mar Joseph Kariattil was ordained in
Portugal as the
Bishop of
Kodungalloor Archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
- the first native Indian to get this appointment. The two representatives of the Kerala Catholic Church succeeded in convincing the church authorities in
Rome and
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
about the problems in
Kerala Church. On their way back home they stayed in
Goa where Mar Kariattil died. Upon realizing that his end was near, Mar Kariattil appointed Thoma Kathanar as the ''Governador'' (governor) of
Cranganore Archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
after him,
and handed over the cross, chain and ring, the tokens of his power, which had been presented to him by the Portuguese queen.
References
Travelogues
Indian travel books
1790 books
18th-century Indian books
Indian manuscripts
Malayalam-language books
Malayalam-language literature
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