Meet the Founder — Thomas George Vellaringattu

Thomas George Vellaringattu

Founder, IndianFamilyTree.com

“Every life has a story. Every family has a history. Every loved one deserves to be remembered.”

A Personal Vision Rooted in Family, Love, and Remembrance

My name is Thomas George Vellaringattu, and I am the founder of IndianFamilyTree.com.

I have always believed that family is one of the most precious foundations of our lives. Our parents, grandparents, siblings, relatives, friends, and ancestors shape who we are. Their sacrifices, achievements, traditions, values, and memories become part of our identity.

Yet, as generations pass, something deeply valuable is often lost.

We forget the names of our ancestors. Old family photographs disappear. Stories that grandparents once shared are no longer remembered. Families move to different cities, states, and countries, gradually losing touch with their relatives and ancestral roots.

And when someone dear to us passes away, their memories are often scattered among relatives, old photographs, newspaper obituaries, and personal recollections.

I created IndianFamilyTree.com because I believe these precious memories should never be lost.

Why I Started IndianFamilyTree.com

India has a remarkable tradition of strong family relationships.

Our families extend far beyond parents and children. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, distant relatives, and lifelong family friends form an extraordinary network of relationships, affection, responsibility, and mutual support.

Our ancestral homes, native villages, places of worship, family gatherings, weddings, festivals, and reunions connect us to generations before us.

However, modern life has changed how families remain connected.

Millions of Indians now live away from their ancestral villages and hometowns. Many have settled abroad, while others have migrated within India for education, employment, and better opportunities.

Although technology has made communication easier, it has not necessarily helped us preserve our family heritage.

I wanted to create a digital home where Indian families, wherever they live, could reconnect with their roots, discover relatives, preserve their histories, celebrate family relationships, and remember those who have passed away.

That vision became IndianFamilyTree.com.

Free Memorials — Because Every Life Deserves to Be Remembered

One of the most meaningful parts of this initiative is our commitment to providing free online memorials for Indians.

A person’s life should not be forgotten simply because there is no permanent place where their story can be preserved.

Our memorial pages are designed to become lasting digital tributes where family members, relatives, and friends can celebrate a life and share their love and remembrance.

Visitors can:

Create a free memorial for a departed loved one.

Add photographs, biographical details, and personal memories.

Share stories, condolences, and messages of remembrance.

Light a virtual candle, offer virtual flowers, or share prayers.

Remember important anniversaries through our memorial calendar and reminders.

Connect memorials with family trees and community or religious institution pages.

Family members can also request to claim an existing memorial, subject to verification, and enrich it with more accurate information, photographs, and personal stories.

Whether someone was a prominent public figure, a respected teacher, a farmer, a homemaker, a parent, or an ordinary individual who lived a quiet and meaningful life, every person deserves dignity, recognition, and remembrance.

My hope is that these memorials will become treasured family archives, accessible to future generations.

Bringing Families Together Through Family Trees

IndianFamilyTree.com is about much more than remembering the departed.

It is also about strengthening relationships among the living.

Our family tree platform is designed to help families document their ancestry and build a shared record of their heritage.

Family members can collaboratively maintain records, add photographs, record important family events, communicate with one another, and organize reunions.

We envision each family tree as a living family archive, where grandparents can share their memories, parents can document their family history, and children can discover their roots.

Families can preserve their historical records while adding new generations as they arrive.

Imagine a child born decades from now being able to discover the photographs, stories, achievements, and relationships of ancestors they never had the opportunity to meet.

That is the enduring value we hope to create.

Preserving the Heritage of Our Villages and Communities

Family histories are closely connected to the places where our ancestors lived.

Our villages, towns, cities, churches, temples, mosques, schools, and community institutions form an essential part of our shared identity.

IndianFamilyTree.com aims to bring these connections together through geographically organized community and locality profiles.

We are developing ways to connect family records and memorials with hometowns, ancestral villages, and participating community institutions.

For example, churches and other religious or community organizations can have dedicated profiles where memorials associated with their communities may be grouped, while respecting family preferences and religious traditions.

This can help preserve the histories of entire communities, not merely individual families.

I believe that every Indian village has countless untold stories worth preserving.

Connecting Indians Across the World

Today, Indian families are spread across the globe.

From Kerala to California, Goa to London, Punjab to Canada, and Tamil Nadu to Australia, the Indian diaspora carries its family heritage wherever it goes.

IndianFamilyTree.com is intended to help bridge those geographical distances.

We want people to rediscover relatives, reconnect with ancestral homes, learn about their family histories, and maintain meaningful relationships despite living thousands of miles apart.

Our vision also includes multilingual accessibility so that people can contribute family stories in the languages they know and love.

A grandmother in Kerala should be able to share her memories in Malayalam, while her grandchildren living overseas should be able to discover and appreciate those stories.

Technology should help unite generations, not separate them.

More Than a Website — A Legacy for Future Generations

I see IndianFamilyTree.com as a long-term social and cultural initiative.

It is not simply a genealogy website or an obituary directory.

It is an effort to preserve India’s immense family heritage, strengthen relationships, encourage remembrance, and create a lasting digital archive of ordinary and extraordinary lives.

Our goal is to make remembrance accessible to everyone, with free memorials and affordable family tree services that can support the platform’s continued development.

We are also exploring ways to improve family collaboration, privacy, multilingual participation, local heritage documentation, and community involvement.

Most importantly, I want IndianFamilyTree.com to remain a platform built on love, compassion, respect, family unity, and the dignity of every human life.

An Invitation to Every Indian Family

I invite you to become part of this initiative.

Begin by remembering someone you love. Create a memorial for a parent, grandparent, relative, teacher, neighbor, or friend whose life deserves to be celebrated.

Start documenting your family tree. Speak with your elders. Ask them about their childhood, their parents, their grandparents, and the places where they grew up.

Collect old photographs. Record forgotten stories. Reach out to relatives you have not contacted in years.

Encourage your children and grandchildren to participate.

Every photograph preserved, every story recorded, and every family relationship rediscovered is a small but meaningful contribution to our shared heritage.

My Personal Message

As we grow older, we begin to appreciate more deeply the importance of family, relationships, and memories.

We realize that material possessions may come and go, but the love we receive, the kindness we share, and the memories we leave behind are what truly matter.

Our ancestors gave us life, identity, traditions, and values. We owe it to future generations to preserve their stories.

IndianFamilyTree.com is my humble effort to help make that possible.

I welcome your participation, suggestions, and support in building a meaningful resource for Indian families everywhere.

Together, we can create something that lasts beyond our own lifetimes.

Let us remember those who came before us, cherish those who are with us today, and preserve our family heritage for those yet to come.

With warm regards,

Thomas George Vellaringattu

Founder, IndianFamilyTree.com

www.IndianFamilyTree.com⁠

“Preserving Memories. Connecting Families. Honoring Generations.”

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