Woman's 1940s Diary Becomes Archive of Hope in Kochi

Between 1938 and 1942, Eliamma Matthen wrote nearly every day in her diary. Her husband sat in prison, her eight children needed care, and the family money was running out.

Chalakuzhy Paulose Matthen, a banker and co-founder of Travancore National and Quilon Bank, was arrested in October 1938 after the bank failed. British authorities charged him with conspiracy to defraud the public, holding him without bail for six months before a trial that many considered a sham.

He received eight years of rigorous imprisonment, later reduced to five. While he remained locked in Trivandrum's criminal block, Eliamma carried the weight of everything outside those walls.

"Desperate days. Justice nowhere. I fail," she wrote on November 4, 1938. But despite moments of exhaustion and fear, she never truly failed.

Her diary became both record and refuge. She tracked the details of her husband's case, wrote religious reflections, and poured out her emotions onto the page. On particularly difficult days, her handwriting changed, with multiple underlinings and ink blots revealing the intensity of her feelings.

By October 1939, financial pressures had mounted severely. "There were about Rs 70 in the safe and I was counting that for this month's small expenses. It is all gone!" she wrote.

Still, Eliamma kept going. She wrote letters to Chalakuzhy in prison, managed the household, and maintained her daily practice of writing. Her diary wasn't written for an audience, but as the years passed, it became clear she wanted this story of resilience shared.

Why This Inspires

Sarah Chandy, Eliamma's great granddaughter-in-law, discovered the diaries in 2024 while researching her own daughter's Indian ancestry. The project deepened when her grandmother-in-law, the last family member with living memory of Eliamma, began dying.

Donated to the Kerala Council for Historical Research in 2009, the writings now anchor an exhibition called "Lilies in the Garden of Tomorrow" in Kochi. Chandy spent months accessing archives across India and London, combining diary excerpts with family photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters Eliamma wrote to her imprisoned husband.

The exhibition even includes a fiber chain and cross that a fellow convict made and sent to Eliamma through Chalakuzhy. Staged photographs show family members embodying Eliamma's memory through posture and gesture.

Chalakuzhy walked free in January 1942. The diary had witnessed every day of that journey, transforming personal struggle into a testament of strength that would inspire generations to come.