South Indian Names

Sometimes at EarthFoot we have problems figuring out the names of our widely scattered hosts. Among the most perplexing names are those found in southern India. When hosts T.S.Parameswaran & his wife S. Saradammal joined up with their program  Hindu Life in and around a Wonderful Old House, in Kerala, southern India, I asked their son Santhosh to explain. Here is what he replied:

T S Parameswaran Namboothiri is my father's name. T stands for the family name Thannikkatt Illam (Illam means a home of a Brahmin family). S stands for my grand father's name -- father's father (Sankaran). Nambbothiri is the name of the cast (Hindu - Brahmin). Parameswaran is the name of my father.

S Sarada-Ammal my mother... Here S stands for my grand father's name - mother's father (Subrahmanyan). Sarada is the name of my mother. Ammal is again a cast name (hindu - brahmin).

Hope the above is clear.