TESTIMONY 44

TESTIMONY 44

Names: Mr. Hanaswamy S., 

Mr. Michael K.R., 

Mr. Arogyaswamy A., 

Fr. Athirupam (Parish Priest, Kothapalayam, Tamilnadu State) 

Address: Manathidal Village, Tamilnadu State 

Relationship: Direct Witnesses 

Date of Written Witness: 1968

The following are the witnesses about Brother Joseph Thamby who was at Manathidal, Kothapalayam and Pachamalai in Tamilnadu state: 

1. Hanaswamy S., Manathidal, Tamilnadu State 

2. Michael K.R., Manathidal, Tamilnadu State 

3. A. Arogyaswamy, teacher at Manathidal, Tamilnadu State 

4. Fr. Athirupam, Parish priest, Kothapalayam, Tamilnadu State 

According to Hanaswamy S., (native of Manathidal), about the year 1933-34, Brother Joseph Thamby came to Manathidal with two boys (one boy's name is mentioned as Cassian) and established the Third Order. First members joined were the mother of Hanaswamy and another woman. Since Manathidal was not yet a parish, Brother Joseph Thamby used to take people to Michaelpetty parish church to attend Mass. At that time, Fr. Gnanadhikyam was the parish priest. He went to the Bishop requesting for a priest to stay at Manathidal and a priest was sent here. Almost three or four years he was here in Manathidal. 

According to Michael K.R. (native of Manathidal), Brother Joseph Thamby came here with two boys. He came to pray with those two boys in the old church. Some thought he was from a low caste because he was black and so thought of beating him, but realizing he was a sanyasi, they tolerated with him. He told them that he came here with the permission of the superior. Then he asked them for shelter. He established here the Third Order. He was establishing peace among the people and preparing them for the celebration of the feasts of the locality. He told them that he comes from Pondicherry and he belonged to the Vellala caste. When he succeeded to get Fr. Ignatius as temporary priest in-charge, he went away saying, “There is a priest now to take care of you. So, I go away now to some other place.” They requested him to stay back with them, but he went away from there. When children do not obey, he used to kneel down and beg them to obey. He also knew how to make statues. He made the statues of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Antony of Padua, Sacred Heart of Jesus and kept in the church. When people asked him to paint, he broke the statues saying that he will be remembered afterwards, which he did not want. He was dependent on the people for his living. He was sometimes getting money from rich people and distributing to the poor. 

According to A. Arogyaswamy (teacher at Manathidal), Brother Joseph Thamby came to Manathidal in 1933. At first people thought he was from a low caste and wanted to drive him away from the Church. Soon they realized that he was a brother. He was staying here in tin shed near the Church. He was gathering people to Michaelpetty parish to attend Mass on Sundays and first Fridays. He established the Third Order here. He himself built an altar to St. Stephen, which is seen even today; the altar was plastered in the year 1953. When Fr. Ignatius came here, he went to Pachamalai, 5 miles away from Kothapalayam parish Church. There he was distributing clothes to the hill people, who were half naked. He was staying there in a hut. 

Here in Manathidal, he worked for about three years. He went away in 1936. Manathidal parish was formally established on 26 January 1942 when separated from Michaelpetty parish. Fr. Stephen was the first parish priest of Manathidal on the records. 

According to Fr. Athirupam, while he was in Kothapalayam parish, Brother Joseph Thamby remained 10 days with him before going to Pachamalai. From Kothapalayam, he went to Thondamathurai and then went to Pachamalai. He went to Pondicherry to collect clothes, especially jackets to give to the aboriginals of Pachamalai. They were half naked. He collected money too for them. When money was given to them, the chief-ten threw the money away as it was not their custom to keep. The forest officer was against Thamby, because he tried to stop the exploitation done to the people. One day the officer beat Thamby. Thamby complained to Fr. Athirupam, the parish priest, who spoke with the higher officials and the officer was suspended.