About Us

In 1948, our father, Pottas Itten Verghese, decided to end his handloom business and pass the jewelry business to his children, choosing instead to live as a farmer. He bought land near Chatupara and started cultivating rice, sugarcane, and rubber. A house was built right beside the road in Chatupara. The water for the paddy fields came from a waterfall, originating from a stream up the mountain. Other farmers would wait their turn, but at times like 2 AM, with only a torch, he would climb steeply to the source of the stream to divert water.
The wild path he trekked was full of thorns, cobra (a type of snake), and rocky and thorny bushes. Once, coming home one night, he found that a snake had already made its way onto his bed before him!
In front of our father’s farm, there was always a sign by the Agriculture Department proclaiming it a “Model Farm.”
During those times, sugarcane was the primary crop. When harvesting, Tamils from Marayoor would come with bulls and huge pans about twenty feet in diameter to cut the sugarcane, extract the juice, and make tons of jaggery, which was stored in sacks made of woven palm leaves.
Every year, a sack of jaggery was brought to our ancestral home. It was a tradition for us children to sneak bites of jaggery stored on the attic.
Not just jaggery, but also dried wild boar meat was regularly brought by our father. Back then, there were no restrictions on hunting.
Our father felt disadvantaged by his lack of English education, unable to read or respond to official letters from the government or banks.
Therefore, he ensured all his children were well-educated. Two obtained degrees in agriculture. The children excelled in various fields: businesspeople, textile industrialists, Agriculture Department directors, doctors, pilots, bank managers, automotive engineers, and landscape architects, achieving doctorates and other high honors.
When our father became ill, it was John Pottas, who had left his job as a pilot, who returned to Chatupara to help with the farming. After our father’s passing, John and his wife, my beloved sister-in-law Ammini, became my guardians.
They continue to diversify the farming to include cattle rearing, goat rearing, ginger, cardamom, pepper, coffee, vanilla, and other spices. They are also active in politics and community service and now run “Pottas Fun World.” Their son Ajith, a prominent lawyer, and his wife Manu are also deeply involved in all their endeavors.
Many dignitaries, including the State Governor RL Bhatia, have visited their farm.