Starting the T M Varghese Foundation ..

When I was attending the College of Engineering, Trivandrum alumni global meet in Bangalore on 21, 22 and 23 of Dec 2012, I happened to strike a conversation with the former Union Minister and former IAS officer ( CET alumnus) Krishna Kumar.

In the course of the conversation, he asked me and my wife about our family, our native place etc and the conversation then went to politics. I asked him how he spend his time now out of active politics, but he told me that he is into advising the Congress party on some crucial matters and do take part in all party activities as assigned to him.

Came my question  whether he knew the first Home Minister of Tiru Kochi state, immediately after independence, T M Varghese. When he answered in the affirmative, he asked me how I knew about him. When I told him that T M Varghese was my grand uncle, he really got interested in the conversation. He mentioned how T M Varghese was among the most educated members of the Travancore State Congress at that time, having quit his legal profession at that early age to involve himself in attaining freedom for his motherland from the British.

Nehru giving away the boat race trophy to Nadubhagam chundan in 1952

Krishna Kumar also mentioned how in spite of his repeated efforts he had failed to come up with a suitable memorial for T M Varghese either in Kollam or Trivandrum. When he asked whether I could take over the responsibility and he would help me in all official capacity, I felt I should do something in my capacity to help maintain the good deeds TM Varghese did in Kerala society and the high standards of values, honesty and intellectual uprightness he followed throughout his life.

I am looking for like minded people from all walks of life, after reading this blogpost of mine,  who would like to work with Sri Krishna Kumar in this noble endeavour of raising a Foundation in memory of T M Varghese to do good for the society.

george