Teachers' Day; Valiya Kolleri Koorma family where 130 members are teachers

PANOOR: This family can be called the ancestral home of teachers. This is the Valiya Kolleri Koorma family of East Kadirur in Pattiam Panchayat. 130 teachers in the branches of the big family tree. About thirty of those who came to the family as in-laws are teachers. The fifth generation is in service. More than 160 teachers.

VKK Gurukkal is the first teacher in the family. Sanskrit scholar VKK Gurukkal was the first disciple of Vagbhatananda Guru. He is the son of Koorma Mata, the third daughter of Valiya Kolleri Koorma Kunjiyamma. There are 53 teachers from this family alone. Nine teachers in the lineage of Mata's sister Manikyam.

Koorma Kunjiyamma's sister Korumbathi has five children. 15 teachers in elder daughter Bachi's family. This includes VK Gopalan, who was the principal of Tagore Education College in Pondicherry. 30 teachers in the line of the second daughter Chemmarathi. Sculpture teacher Vatsan Koorma Kolleri and KK Surendran who was a teacher and geoscience observer are among them.

VKK Gurukkal's brother Kunjikannan's family also had 10 teachers. His daughter's son P Srinivasan is a National Teacher Award winner. Teacher and poet Pattiam Ramakrishnan is the son of Kunjikannan's brother Mandhan Gurukkal. Kollanandi Achuthan, who was a Hindi professor at Kannur SN College, is also a member of this family. This family has three schools.

VKK Gurukkal: Born 1892

VKK Gurukkal, the first teacher of Valiya Kolleri Koorma, was born in 1892. Gurukkal founded the South Pattiam UP school in 1914. This is a Balika Gnansala started for the education of girls. A noted alumnus is Actor Srinivasan. Manantheri UP School and Gurudeva Memorial LP School in North Kolavelloor were established by Gurukkal. About 90 teachers from the next generation, including Nayana of the Manantheri UP School and Adarsh ​​of the Mokeri Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Higher Secondary, are still alive. Seven daughters of Gurukkal also became teachers. Gurukkal's son-in-law Kanaran Master's wife Madhavi Teacher was the daughter of Vagbhatananda's brother Kunjiraman. Their son VP Balakrishnan served as AEO Kozhikode. Grandson VK Sudhir was also AEO.