The lasting legacy of Idayankudi’s transformation

Arriving at Tirunelveli in 1841, scholar-missionary Robert Caldwell set about turning around the lives of the Nadars

A few sarakontrai trees ( Cassia fistula) in full bloom and a variety of trees, particularly giant tamarinds, on the campus of the Holy Trinity Church in Idayankudi in Tirunelveli present a contrasting look to the period when Robert Caldwell arrived here in 1841. As the scholar-missionary had reminisced later, there was hardly anything but sand and palmyras, and he even had plans of relocating himself away from the neighbourhood.

Today, the transformation and the lasting legacy of Caldwell, who authored the Comparative Grammar on the Dravidian or South-Indian family of Languages, are ubiquitous in Idayankudi. One should climb the bell tower of the church that was constructed under his supervision in order get a bird’s eye view of the development. Even after a century, the church retains its pristine condition. A few boys tried to strike up a tune by tapping the bells and music filled the air.

In less than a century, the educational efforts of Caldwell turned around the life of the Nadars, whom he referred to as Shanar. As Y. Vincent Kumaradoss, the biographer of Caldwell, points out that research carried out in 1938 on the social and economic conditions of Christians in Madurai, Ramnad (Ramanthapuram) and Tirunelveli found that “there is not a single avenue of service, private or public, in which Nadars are not found, not only in these districts and other parts of India but in most parts of the globe where Tamil Christians are found.”

When he arrived in Madras on January 8, 1838, Caldwell was 24 and worked there for three years. Though English education proved effective for missionary work, Caldwell was convinced that “masses can only be reached through the vernacular.”

Of course, missionaries were already working among the Nadars and Caldwell, during his journey on foot from Udhagamandalam to Idayankudi through Tirunelveli, had seen newly-created exclusively Christian villages, such as Mudalur and Nazareth. “He finally reached Idayankudi by the end of 1841, having covered some 1,300 km on foot since leaving Madras in July,” said Mr. Kumaradoss.

The magnitude of his achievements could be understood only when one takes into account the realities of the time at Idayankudi.

“At the time I speak of, it was not customary for either men or women to dress better on Sundays....the filthiest of the clothing of the people could only be equalled by the oppressive odours that arose when they assembled at Church,” Caldwell had remarked in his reminiscences.