Jairaj, Chandini and Jicky; meet army family of 'Army House'

ALAPPUZHA: Father, mother and only son in the army. Their house is called Army House! The army house at Muhamma Mutathiparambu on State Highway 40 has another feature. A large cannon-shaped courtyard well.

KB Jairaj, a retired colonel and native of Vaikom, Chandini, a retired teacher of Army School, and Major Jicky Jairaj are the army members of the house. Chandni's family house 'Prasant' was demolished to make 'Army House'.

Jairaj's father, late Bhaskaran Pillai, served in the British Indian Army during World War II. Jairaj joined the army as an officer after studying at Kazhakootam Military School, National Defense Academy and Indian Military Academy. He retired with the rank of Colonel after completing 37 years of service.

Chandini, who spent time in various states with Jairaj, returned home and completed her B.Ed when her husband got a posting in Kashmir. After the birth of her son, she joined the Army School in Delhi as a teacher in 2000. She was the Principal of Gujarat Army Pre-Primary School and also received the Army Best Teacher Award twice.

In 2015, Jicky joined the Army as a lieutenant in the electronic and mechanical engineering department. Jicky's wife Swati Verma, a native of Himachal, is a business journalist with Thomson Reuters Corporation. Chandini's mother Chembakavalli Amma (Retd PWD) also lives in Army House.

Cannon for memory of war

Colonel Jairaj had participated in the Kargil War. The well in the yard was built in the form of a cannon to preserve the memory of the war front. A travel agency called Dream Escapes was recently opened to liven up the retirement life.