The only landmark of Venmony, a quaint village on the banks of the Achankovil river near Chengannur in Alappuzha district, has long been the Chamakkavu temple, set within what was once a sacred grove teeming with monkeys. The Achankovil takes a surprising detour in front of the temple. For this writer, Chamakkavu holds a more intimate resonance: it is the family shrine where generations of newborns were ritually dedicated as symbolic slaves to its formless deity.

Yet this seemingly obscure village has produced two of India’s foremost scholars—cousins who not only shared a lineage but also their names and even their pet names. They are Dr M.A. Oommen, the economist, and Dr T.K. Oommen, the sociologist, who passed away recently at the age of 88 in Haryana. Both were affectionately known as “Baby” among family and friends. (Venmony is also the native village of BJP leader and former Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai.)

Born into middle-class peasant families of the Mar Thoma Church, Malayil Abraham Oommen and Tharailath Koshy Oommen stood steadfastly for secularism, inclusivity and pluralism through their academic and public engagements.

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“I was six years older than him, and we were close from childhood,” recalls M.A. Oommen (94). “I vividly remember how he fell grievously ill after a snakebite on the temple grounds. It took him months to recover.” He also remembers attending the centenary celebrations of their alma mater, the Mar Thoma High School in Venmony, in 2020, along with T.K. “I taught there for a year after graduation, when he was my student,” he says. The cousins remained in close touch throughout their lives. T.K. is survived by his wife, a........

© Mathrubhumi English