Credit: Special arrangement.
The unfurling of a white sheet on a table at a wedding generally portends a hearty meal. But guests at a wedding in Basavanagudi were treated to an unusual fare as the 60-foot scroll had several names and pictures printed on it.
It was the family tree of Rammohan V C, who displayed his dream project at his nephew’s wedding. “I had seen a few people drawing up their family trees and felt a need to have one for our family too,” says Rammohan, who goes on to point out practical needs of having a family tree. “For instance, one needs to know the names of ancestors while performing one’s forefathers’ last rites,” says the retired government official. “The biggest challenge is gathering details,” he adds.
Giri Tirumale, a retired techie who has started recording his family tree, agrees. “Many relatives had to be coaxed into sharing information,” says Tirumale, who recalls a cousin describing his folks as being “technologically and motivationally challenged”.
The Jayanagar resident says he was struck by how memories of an entire generation vanish with the passing of a family member. “What I realised was how families made humble beginnings in villages, moved to Bengaluru, then to other parts of India and the far corners of the earth,” says Tirumale, who had to reach out to cousins across the globe.
The family tree also shows how societal customs change over generations where marriages were mostly within the communities. “Today, our family trees have a fair sprinkling of foreigners,” says Tirumale, who has scanned hundreds of negatives, restored fading prints and even used AI to achieve the likeness of images that were distorted.
His family trees contain several black and white photos of family events, graduations and studio shots, revealing the changing attire and hair styles over the ages.
Today, his family trees have become working documents with kids often referring to them for relatives’ birthdays and family links.
Entrepreneur Nagarjuna Panyam’s family tree is a repository of rare photos and wedding cards dating back to the 1800s, and a go-to document for his brothers and cousins scattered across cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad in India, and abroad.
“My uncle turned 100 this year and his family planned a big celebration. It was nice to gladden their hearts as I was able to put together some photos and memories from his early years,” says Nagarjuna.
Zarryl Lobo’s family has been keeping their lineage recorded in a Bible, which was a common practice. It goes back to 1886. “Record keeping was part of tradition and the family Bible was central to any house,” says the Lavelle Road resident. It was passed down from generation to generation. The records up until his sons’ birth were updated by his mother. About 10-11 years ago, he added the names and dates-of-birth of his daughters-in-law, and later his grandchildren.
The names, location and occupation of the family members, and dates of their birth and death are all hand-written. “The Bible is old so the pages are brittle. I am not sure if the pages came with the Bible or have been added later. The texture of the pages are different from the rest of the Bible,” he explains.
With inputs from Rashmi Rajagopal