A Tribute

"You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing”. Luis Buñuel (1900-1983)

I remember Vallia Appacha (Grandfather) in his last days who though he had lost his memory on whether he had one motta (egg) or more, could succinctly remember his younger days. His family and achievements were very dear to his heart. An engineer by profession, he planned towns, built dams, raised buildings, and many other civil structures. Being the eldest of many brothers and sisters he was largely responsible for their upbringing. He later raised his own family of 7 children. Every time he spoke of them he came alive with those memories. The tharavadu (family house) he built in Ernakulam has always been a home away from home for us. On the plaque outside our family prayer room are the words in latin Ora et labora - Pray and work. Carved in wood. Our Vallia Appacha (Grandfather) helped build our church in Ernakulam, and also had a passion for building low income houses for the poor and needy.

I have nostalgic memories of all the fun I had during our long summer holidays. Climbing the guava tree, mango tree, playing dark hide and seek, going to Lotus club, chatting with the office staff, playing in the children’s park, and so many activities which kept us very busy. Vallieappacha (Grandfather) and Vallieamchie (Grandmother), Alexappacha (Alex Uncle) and family, Achaappacha (Acha Uncle) and family, and so many others were there to take care of all of us. We are really blessed that we can continue in these traditions to meet and to have the support of our large family.

As we grow older and open our diary of memories, Appacha (Father – Dr. Benjamin Pulimood) figures as our major support and strength. It feels like he coauthored many of the chapters of our book of life. Appacha (Father) continues the family tradition of work and prayer as a motto for life. A life centered on God is a life that is a prayer. To get five different lives to come together morning and evening to say prayers was quite a task. Yet Appacha (Father) persevered and today we continue to pray together as a family and stay together through thick and thin.

Appacha (Father) was blessed to grow up as the youngest son of a business man. He trained to be a physician from Trivandrum Medical College. He was well known for his outstanding leadership in sports as he represented the state for football, hockey, and tennis. As a son of a prominent member of the church, he was regular at church. At a Billy Graham evangelistic campaign, he gave his life to Christ. From then he decided that he was going to serve God in the best way he can. He met my mother at CMC Hospital, Vellore, while doing his senior residency. His family and friends all encouraged him saying that she was a good Christian girl with a strong commitment to serve Christ. They got married by the end of the year. After getting his membership from Edinburgh UK, he returned to CMC Vellore (http://www.cmch-vellore.edu/main.asp) and served there for 30 years.

As children we were expected to go to church, and Sunday school, and rest on Sundays – although I enjoyed skipping Sunday school and swinging on the Banyan trees with the monkeys and sometimes my buddies. Sunday was never complete for us until we heard the CMC (Christian Medical College, Vellore) choir sing the final blessing after the evening service.

A charismatic leader of the Church, Appacha (Father) represented the church to World Council of Churches, and attended and chaired many church related organizations and meetings all over the country and world. Being in CMC we had the privilege of meeting with many Christian world leaders and were influenced by their thoughts and their work.

“Christ is all to me”, is how the old hymn goes, written by one of Appacha’s (Father’s) patient and spiritual guide, D.T. Niles. So it is for Appacha (Father). I remember on countless occasions asking him “why don’t you make some more money and have a comfortable life”. But he patiently explained his calling to serve. As the Bible says once you put your hand on the plough you should never turn back. I could see that there was nothing that would change his mind. He worked extremely hard and was greatly blessed spiritually and helped many spiritually. God continues to greatly bless all of us by providing for all our needs.

Appacha (Father) is a passionate Christian Servant. His sacrifice and dedication to his mission to serve God with his heart, mind and soul through CMC is something to be greatly admired. This passion to serve continues to burn in him, as not a day passes when he doesn’t think of, advise a patient, speak to a staff, or chat with a friend associated with CMC. His love for us and for CMC is almost the same. He made us realize that when we learnt to let go and let God do his work in us, we would have a deep and rewarding relationship with God.

D. T. Niles says, “The only way to build love between two people or two groups of people is to be so related to each other as to stand in need of each other. The Christian community must serve. It must also be in a position where it needs to be served” (This Jesus ... whereof we are witnesses, p. 25). Appacha (Father) has great compassion for the larger community especially the poor and needy. He makes us stop and examine our hearts and minds to determine whether we are living our lives only for ourselves and our families, or whether we are looking at the needs of the community and those around us. Do we see those who are hurting and are we there to comfort them?

As a teacher he was well appreciated and loved by his students. He wanted students to live responsible lives and above all to be committed to God and their work. He cared for them and prayed with them and us for their needs. He inspired one of his gifted students to depict a painting of an Indian Jesus caring for a sick patient. This painting hangs in the main hallway of CMC. He was able to capture the vision of Ida Scudder and pass it on to students for the need for committed Christian healthcare professionals in the backward village communities of India. Meeting Ajit Singh at Orissa, whose wife Pushpa delivered Nikhil my son, exposed me to this dimension of Appacha (Father). Here was Ajith, serving in what is probably one of the most backward areas in India, saying that Appacha (Father) had been major influence in his life

Appacha (Father) was at the forefront in Academics. Being in CMC he had carved a stature for himself in the national and international medical community. He was Principal and later Director of the medical college for many years. He was Secretary and President of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology; attended and chaired medical conferences abroad and in India; and presented and published papers. He is well recognized in his field and many come to listen to him teach and lecture.

As a holistic healer he is well sought after. His devotion to his work with the touch of the Spirit of Christ in him makes him an exceptional physician. As children we were exposed to pain and suffering at a very early age. Our conversation on the dining table was often serious discussions about some patient’s health or treatment. His skills as a physician are greatly admired. The standards that Appacha (Father) has set and preserved help to groom some of the best healers in the world

Love is his greatest strength. Appacha (Father) and Amachie (Mother) gave us a lot of hugs and kisses. They taught us the importance of caring for one another’s needs. We grew up on a campus where we were sheltered from the evils of society. The greatest gift parents give their children is unconditional love. Their unconditional love for us as children has been the key to all our successes and support in all our failures.


Simplicity is his hallmark. He lives a very disciplined and holy life. In his early years wearing white khadi pant and shirt was his way of expressing patriotism to the struggle for freedom. After a point it seemed like his way of expressing simple living. He lives a life centered on God and not on money. Comforts and luxuries were last on the list of the Pulimoods in Vellore. We were happy with what we had. The joy of being a family together, simple lifestyles and simple food. We learnt to appreciate the nature around us, climb trees, climb hills, ride bikes through the villages (Edanchath and Otterri), and swimming in Kassam. We played a large variety of games and built a wide network of friends many of whom have become like family. He taught us to be thankful for God’s blessing of having a very stable family

Mercy, Tolerance and Patience for all types of behavior – There are some who don’t appreciate his approach, but this doesn’t deter him from being kind to them. He always helps everybody, even though they may give him a hard time. He is unaffected by the behavior of people who are rude and out of control. Over time he always manages to calm them down. To have a son like me must be his biggest test in tolerance and patience. I must have brought home any animal I could catch on our campus, some of them were pretty weird as pets. I had squirrels, mongoose, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, different varieties of pigeons, a kite (hawk family), parrots, sparrows, chicken, ducks, fish, butterflies and beetles. He patiently took care of them when I got bored. But his support has been a source of great comfort and strength.

Humility is another great hallmark. He reaches out to all in need. Always with a caring smile, open heart and mind full of concern for them. On countless occasions we accompanied him to Palamathi hills to minister to the poor people in the villages. We visited RHUSA many times where we could see many of his colleagues and students hard at work serving the neighboring village communities. His desire to establish Ida Scudder Ward in CMC is an expression of his passion for the poor and needy which instills in us a desire to serve them in whatever way we can.

Openness, Integrity and Candor. Our house is always open to all our relatives and friends. This is a blessing because we got to know so many of them and spend many long holidays sharing their homes as well. At work also he tried hard to make himself accessible. He always left our house open to students to come and discuss their needs and problems. Our house was always open for SCM to host their meetings on Sunday and Class prayers for medical students on week days. The first thing he did when he became Director of CMC was to put in a little glass window on the door. Anyone who wanted to see him could flash their face, and if he was free, he would quickly take time and step out and sort the problem out. He has never been threatened by smarter physicians than him. He encourages both his colleagues and students to excel and makes them work toward providing world class treatment in an Indian setting.

Too often we underestimate the power of a smile, a touch, a kind word, a listening ear, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. (Leo Buscaglia)

Joy is another great strength. I remember walking the hallways of CMC with him, there were so many people who knew him and stopped to talk with him. He always had a contagious smile and something good to say. Even when things were rough, we would never know, because he was always very enthusiastic and bubbling with a lot of energy.

What can be more rewarding than to live a life of faith where you are doing what God has called you to do, passionately serving those who are in need, and sincerely teaching the young to care for the sick and suffering ? What can be more important than to live a life faithfully devoted to ones calling, offering ones life, gifts, talents and resources to God as a sacrifice? God will use them in our everyday life to help strengthen His children and bring glory to His name. What can be more challenging than to not be anxious about the future, but living in hope that a loving God will provide for all needs.

I am thankful that the same Spirit of Christ that works in him continues to work in the hearts of his children and grandchildren. I would like to wish him a very happy 70th birthday and many more joyous blessed occasions like this one. I end this tribute with another hymn by D. T. Niles whom we used to often visit as kids when he was sick in CMC Hospital Vellore. "Saranam, Saranam, Saranam."