Leyon Lopez of Puthenthope
About the establishment of Government Hospital Puthenthope
During the Second World War, government rations were stopped for an extended period because the trains used to carry goods were canceled. The people of Kerala were left with nothing to eat other than depend on what they got from their land. The farmers survived with what they cultivated. What is left for the families who depend on fishing in the coastal region? People started starving to death and then cholera became an epidemic in the early 1940’s.
Epidemiologists use the basic reproduction number R0 to quantify how many new infections a single infectious individual creates. For Covid-19, the maximum value was 6.33 in Germany. During that cholera epidemic, R0 could have been around 20. The death toll was very high.
During that cholera pandemic, there were no hospitals nearby in any coastal region in Trivandrum. The urgency of a hospital was the prime requirement for survival. Leyon Lopez of Puthenthope was the unselfish social worker, preacher, and contractor raised to the occasion. He brought the compelling issue to the Diwan of Travancore with the help of his friend, Pattam Thanu Pilla. For that purpose, to save many lives, he walked the walk up and down until he succeeded in establishing the Government Hospital to Puthenthope which was established in 1946. It was a great mission he accomplished single-handedly to save the community. At that time, Puthenthope Government Hospital served people in around 250 square kilometers. The nearest hospitals were Ulloor Hospital (present-day Medical College) and the General Hospital about 15-20 km away.
The Fateful Tragedy
For the hospital, Leyon Lopez traveled up and down in the rain and got the flu. Unfortunately, during the opening ceremony of the hospital, he got seriously ill in 1946. From the allopathic medicines kept at the palace for the Travancore Rani’s delivery, one penicillin the miracle medicine at that time was also brought to save his life but was in vain. At the deathbell, when his brother-in-law Ancely Pereira asked, “To whom are you giving the guardianship of your young children,” he said, “To Jesus.” And breathe his last. That untimely death never marred the love among the siblings or extended family members of Leyon Lopez.
The hospital was opened to serve the community but Leyon Lopez passed away quietly leaving all seven young children and his wife, Jonia Lopez in great distress. Immediately after that, his three elder children (Titus Lopez, Pauline Lopez, and Benjamin Lopez) went to Malay to settle, and three younger siblings (Celine Lopez, Anucletus Lopez, and Stella Lopez) did not want to go. Later, the youngest became a Mother Superior (Mother Superior Blaise Mary), the first Sister from Puthenthope.
Leyon Lopez Theatre Festival
About 25 years later, the Puthenthope community started the Leyon Lopez Theatre Festival as a mark of his respect. It was organized by the elected committee of Jai Hind Vayanasala of Puthenthope. During the dedication, one of the eminent persons, George Netto said, “Leyon Lopez was the unselfish and dedicated social worker who loved and served this community to the fullest.” Are there any unselfish social workers, today?
Leyon Lopez Theatre Festival was locally known as, “Nadakoltsavam.”
The winners were awarded the Leyon Lopez Trophy which was donated by Benjamin Lopez from Malaysia. The first trophy was donated in 1971. When a troupe consecutively won three times in a row, the trophy was given to them. Then, he donated the second trophy in 1978.
In three decades, around 160 theatrical troupes from around the state participated in the Leyon Lopez Theatre Festival during every Christmas season until 1998. Alencier Ley Lopez, the grandchild of Leyon Lopez, was inspired by this Theatre Festival and participated from his childhood as a child actor. He went on to become the best film actor. His accolades are many, including the Kerala State Film Awards.
Government Projects Undertaken
Prior to this hospital project, Leyon Lopez was behind building the Chackai Bridge and the Puthenthope-Kaniyapuram Road. Unless he was involved, this road would not have reached at present Puthenthope Junction but somewhere in the north about a km away as in the draft of Diwan’s architects.
When the Chachai Bridge that he built was destroyed in the flood, he sold his property in front of the Vayansala (present Kasalakkal) to a Tamil Pandi and rebuilt it immediately. In those days, Chachai was a dock and Pettah was the terminal railway station. It was a very important bridge through which all goods were transported to Chalai Bazza from the then-terminal railway station, Pettah. I am certain that today’s government contractors won’t do that but simply blame it on nature!
Later, he gave away half of his property at the Puthenthope Junction free of cost and was allowed to construct the road through his property in order to make it straight. That was an unselfish act for a right cause which is very rare today.
Property deeds for the Community
Earlier, the entire property of Puthenthope was ‘Puthuvel.’ Puthuvel properties were not owned by temples but by the Travancore King. In the early 1940s, Leyon Lopez secured the property deeds for the community from the Travancore Kingdom. Since then, all those ‘Puthuvel Puradam’s were converted to family properties. That was quite a history.
Life as a Preacher
In his earlier days, he studied Tamil only to learn the Bible that was printed in Tamil. The first Bible in Malayalam came 104 years after it was first published in Tamil. After preaching, he converted many people near the forest region and brought them to live in Puthenthope. He treated them as his own children. During the baptism, he gave his own children’s names to them. The relatives of Paulose (KSRTC) who live near the Panchayath Office knew that.
Lessons for Generations
Do you know anyone who established a government hospital about eight decades ago all by his own effort for the community? During this pandemic, many of us could understand the value of his unselfish work that he did 77 years back during the last pandemic of cholera. We did not face any pandemic in recent years. The reminiscent of the last pandemic tells us, “Don’t take anything for granted.” During this pandemic due to SARS-Cov-2, Leyon Lopez’s grandson Dr. Godfrey Lopez is serving the community as the resident doctor at Puthenthope Government Hospital.
Had Leyon Lopez, the unselfish generous man with full of love and empathy lived longer, he could have been a powerful social activist and a political leader who could have brought many positive changes to the community. But the fate was different and he had gone too early.
Today, many forest dwellers, traitors, and thugs have already reached Trivandrum to make policies for you and to order how to live. In reality, you do not have your own representative other than some unknown people who make you believe that he represents you in the legislature. After 75 years of independence, when you have no clean running water to drink and sanitation standards, what kind of civilization are you talking about? Poor vote banks, wake up!
Dr. Leo Rajan Pereira
(New York City)