Sant Cruz Baslica, Fort Kochi

Santa Cruz Baslica, Fort Kochi, another old church from 1500's. A beautiful memory.

Grape Vine

Capiar Roy's grape vine at the back of the sacristy.

Marian Tower dedication

There was a travel mart Exhibition going on at Bolghatty for which I wanted to go to very badly but could not. So when the bus I was traveling from Ernakulam reached the Bolghatty stop I leaned across from where I was sitting to have a look at the way to the exhibition ground. It was then I saw this rather tall girl in green salwar standing in the front of the bus.

When the bus reached the Church stop, most of the passengers from the bus got down, since it was the Sunday after the feast (Which was on a working day) lot of devotees were visiting the church and the bus when it stopped had created a mild road block too. I got down through the back door and crossed over to the other side. When I reached the other side and looked back at the bus, I saw this girl in the green salwar lying flat on the hot sun-scorched road senseless and some fellow church goers running up to her.

While she was crossing over to the other side of the road to the church by the front of the bus a biker who came up from behind the bus without seeing her, rode straight into her. Who ever were around her, ran up to her, tried to lift her up, but she remained unconscious, with no power in her limbs. I feared something worse, and stood watching motionless from where I saw her first.

Surprisingly after a few minutes, we all sighed a huge relief when she responded, actually it was the fear and the shock from the hit that made her go numb. Except for a few bruises on her forearm there was no other serious injury. I hope.

Lady of Ransom church, freshly painted for the feast. The first shot of the new towers after its completion. The towers were dedicated today.

Lady of Ransom feast 2010

24th September, 2010. I got there, very late, after all the festival ceremonies were over. It was raining very hard, most of the roads at Kochi were flooded, besides it was a working day too.

"Jeevanadham" is the publication of the Arch Diocese of Verapoly, it has become very popular lately. A brain child of the His eminence late Dr. Acharuparmabil. Here in this picture is the police aid post. There were hardly any reporting of trouble during the feast week.

The day was mostly overcast, with sun breaking out once in a while. Inside the church it was pleasant with all the flower decks and lights.
The renovation they are carrying out on the church is not yet over, but to devotees it did not matter, they came in hundreds all these week.
The new bell tower just behind the sacristy, not yet operational. They are still using the bells at the front.
While I was inside the church, holding the quiet hour with many others, this man broke out loud in hymns in pure Latin. It was such a joy to hear that. There are not many left who can sing hymns in Latin. Years ago they have converted all the hymns to Malayalam. There was a time though when the mass was celebrated in Latin here. Obviously this man is from that generation. May god bless him and keep him happy.
The Meenakshi Amma's stall. Her family traditionally provide the drink for the devotees.
The pandhal where they celebrated the high mass during the Marian Pilgrimage. Devotees who came from "Kulachal" held their wake in this tent.
Its true, I am not that bend on taking pictures of the church as I used to be, this here would have been beautiful sight at night with all the lights. But some how, I did not had the drive to go to Vallarpadam at night. Distractions in my own life is messing my priorities.
The ads of the sponsor of the feast. May all the blessings and peace of our Lor be upon his family.
Lady of Ransom Altar on the feast day.

We had heavy rain on the feast day, another low pressure and cyclonic condition as per the weather report, quite a few of them this year. The road to the church from the Vypeen - Ernakulam road was flooded, with the big buses of pilgrims from far and the local cars made it a big irritating block. The volunteers who were helping with all these where really tired from the long week of service and the crowd during these days.

Forgive me, I was thinking out loud, "the old boat days were better" and few fellow pilgrims, agreed laughingly.

The feast

Lady of Ransom feast from September 16 -24. Here is a picture from a week earlier, the church getting ready for the feast. See the flower decks on the ceiling.

Marian Pilgrimage

Marian Pilgrimage, this year I did not go. My mother did. A big event, where everybody from the neighboring churches make a pilgrimage to the Lady of Ransom.

A picture of Mary's Slaves I came across surprisingly at the Light house at Pudu Vypeen, near Vallarpadam.

Psalms 4:6-7
There are many who pray:
"Give us more blessings O Lord!,
Look on us with kindness!"
But the joy that you have given me,
is more than they will ever have,
with all their corn and wine.

Joy was our director's driver, where I have this temporary lectureship. He drove only the top executive's at work. So naturally our ways never crossed except, perhaps at the college cafeteria or at the library where I sometimes found him reading where we exchanged pleasantries, briefly.
During the last semester exams there came a situation, some answer sheets of a particular exam need to be hand delivered at the university the same day itself. So it happened the authorities assigned me to take them along with Joy.
It was a pretty long drive, so on our way we got talking. I found Joy to be happy, hardworking, honest man who has evolved well and matured on his spirituality well in tune with his fifty something age. I kind of admired him and thought, what in life might have given him such deep insights.

It didn't took long on our way, before Joy with a sad expression told me, inspite of everything he has a fire of anguish burning in him. I was surprised, 'cos if there was any fire inside, it was not showing at all.

Joy had married early, his wife was a simple Malayalee woman who was happy with his love and what he earned. They had only one child, a daughter, whom Joy and his wife brought up very well. He had expected she would do well in studies, but somehow she couldn't go further than her plus two where she failed.

So when a marriage proposal of a boy from reasonable back ground who was working in "Gulf" came through a friend Joy thought it was Gods will. He married his daughter of in the best possible way he can afford. For Joy and his wife, it was a time of thanks giving, 'cos he has completed one of the most critical responsibility of a father who has a daughter, to settle her in a family way with reasonable means.

But unfortunately Joys happiness was very short lived. In less than a month, the boy who married Joy's daughter sent her back telling, she did not know how to cook. The boy's parents did not have any problem, his relatives and friends did not have any problem, but the boy said, she did not know how to "cook".

Obviously Joy's daughter did not had any physical defects, so the problem was some thing in the way the boy thought. It seemed, his life in the strictly controlled society of Saudi has made him addicted to "some" TV channels which they get there through satellite and he had some kind of high expectations which this simple girl from a local village with zero world view could fulfill.

The boy had returned to his place of work and its been over six months since the girl has come back to Joy. What surprised me most was, Joy was not bitter at all. He did not talk bad about the boy, he did not found fault with his daughter, instead he told me, as long as he live he will look after his daughter as best as he can.

Even though I could not say much, infact I did not had much to say since his own spirituality has helped him to deal with his troubles the best way. We spent around four hours that day, driving and all the while after hearing his anguish, I felt, that boy who married Joy's daughter is seriously mistaken and there "will" be a change of heart soon. That is when he comes home on next vacation. We all know, living in Saudi as an employee is a "Monkish" life.

I told him so. He said, "if he understand what life is, good for him.

PS: Joy is not the real name.