Varthamanappusthakam is a Malayalam travelogue written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar, a Syriac Christian priest. It is regarded as the first travelogue in any Indian language. It was written in the 18th century but then forgotten, being re-discovered in 1935 and first printed in 1936 by Luka Mathai Plathottam at AthirampuzhaSt Marys Press in the year 1936. Varthamanappusthakam postulates that the foundation of Indian nationalism rests on the basic principle that India should be ruled by Indians. Long before the debates on nationalism shaking the intellectual circles of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Thoma Kathanar vehemently argued that foreigners should be kept away from India and that it should be ruled only by Indians. It gives the history of a journey undertaken by the author along with Mar Joseph Kariattil from Malabar Coast to Rome via Lisbon and back. The manuscript of the book is kept at the St Thomas ChristianMuseum in Kochi. The historic journey to Rome to represent the grievances of Kerala's Syrian Catholics started from the boat jetty in Athirampuzha in 1785. From Athirampuzha they first proceeded to Kayamkulam by a country-boat. The journey then took them to Chinnapattanam, as Chennai was then known. From there they went to Kandy in Ceylon. From Ceylon they sailed to Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. They were to sail to Portugal from there but adverse winds drifted their ship in the Atlantic Ocean taking it to the coast of Latin America. A further journey from the Latin American coast took them to their destination. The journey to the destination took more than a year. While they were in Europe, Mar Joseph Kariattil was ordained in Portugal as the Bishop of KodungalloorArchdiocese - the first native Indian to get this appointment. The two representatives of the KeralaCatholic Church succeeded in convincing the church authorities in Rome and Lisbon about the problems in Kerala Church. On their way back home they stayed in Goa where Mar Kariattil died. Upon realizing that his end was near, Mar Kariattil appointed Thoma Kathanar as the Governador of Cranganore Archdiocese after him, and handed over the cross, chain and ring, the tokens of his power, which had been presented to him by the Portuguese queen.
