In the beginning he went to spread the gospel at night time after farming. He decided to commit himself to the ministry at the age of 17. Sadhu Kochu Kunchju Upadesi at the age of 11 accepted Jesus as his personal saviour during a meeting held in his home parish. He did textile business, and for some time he taught in a school. So he had a hard life and was forced to do many small jobs to make both ends meet. Income from the agriculture was not at all sufficient for their living. His father died in 1903 when he was 20, leaving a small piece of land and some loan. That was a terrible blow to his father who was already sick. When he was 14 years of age he stopped his formal education to help his father in farming.
He was an intelligent student and was top in the class.
That was his first attempt in writing poems. While he was there one of the teachers punished him for no reason and so Kochoonju wrote a poem ridiculing him. For this his classmates ridiculed him and so he left that school and joined an English medium school. In 1895 when he was only 12, he married Aleyamma, Vattapara, Kurianoor who was from a nearby village. He joined a nearby Mar Thoma Lower Primary school. He made ends meet by working as a farmer and selling the products of the field. She provided the support that Kochu Kunchju needed. He had a brother, who died at the age of two.Īs Sadhu Kochu Kunchju Upadeshi lived at a time when child marriage was an accepted custom, Kochu Kunchju was married at 12 years of age. He was a member of a large family of six sisters. His pet name was Kochoonju and his real name was M.I Varughese (Muthampackal Itty Varughese). His father was Moothampackal Itty and his mother was Mariamma of Perengattu Padickal. It was here he was born on 29 November 1883. Thus he came to be known as Sadhu Kochoonju upadesi.Įdayaranmula is a small village near Aranmula in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala. During his missionary work in Tamil Nadu, India, they called him Sadhu meaning, holy man. Malayalam equivalent of a preacher is upadesi. ĭuring his lifetime he was known as Kochoonju which was a contraction of the two Malayalam words Kochu and Kunju. He liked to spend time alone with Bible, to him the Bible was not a book to be read but an instruction book which should be followed in day-to-day life. His saintly life, self-control, self-denial, and commitment towards social issues made him a unique person. He always carried an umbrella and his Bible wherever he went. His eyes appeared to be piercing and his forehead was frowned as if brooding yet with a childlike impression.
He was about 175 cm tall and had very thin and frail body. He always wore a white shirt and white dothi. Kochoonju was a very distinctive person in appearance. Sadhu Kochoonju Upadesi ( Malayalam: സാധു കൊച്ചൂഞ്ഞ് ഉപദേശി 1883 – 30 November 1945) was a famous Malayali Christian preacher, poet and composer.
Laka St Thom Marthoma Church, Edayaranmula
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