Back to the twin churches.

[Related Posts:
Churches on demolition line.
Response to post on church demolition.
Twin Churches - An Update.]

I have never been to the twin churches at Ramapuram in spite of having lived in Kerala for seven decades. But something about these churches haunts me. May be the sheer beauty of the structures evident from the photographs. May be the history behind these buildings. And of course, there is a frustration with the bulldozing policy of the Syro-Malabar Church to destroy historic church buildings and replace them with structures that lack sensitivity, ethnicity and aesthetics.

If the Church authorities want to build a new place of worship at Ramapuram it is their business. But if they want to destroy heritage structures, it is the nation’s business. The hierarchy would put forward the argument, as they usually do, that a new, larger church is required to accommodate the increasing number of devotees and they cannot afford to maintain the old ones as well.

This should not be a problem, though. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) restores and maintains monuments and heritage buildings. This has been done in several cases. ASI would not interfere in any manner with the management of the churches or the holding of rituals.

But the ASI has to be approached to undertake the task. Will the Church authorities or the people who are concerned do that? The official email of the Director General of the ASI is dgasi@vsnl.net

However, Church bosses are, I understand, trying to get around government objection and go ahead with the demolition.

See below what they plan to destroy:

(Please click on the photos for enlarged view.)

The Bangalore Quiz - Answers.

I have published the answers on the original post. Please click on the title to view it.
No one claimed all correct answers.

Poetry, for a change.

In 2005 I tried my hand at poetry. I sent the piece to a competition with some apprehension. The judges decided that my creation was, indeed, a poem and awarded me the third prize. It was published in an anthology, Winners Volume - 2 (British Council - Unisun. 2006).

The editors made the the following comment in the Foreword to the book: "Abraham Tharakan's minimalist poem captures the poignant reality of the transition from life to death". Well, here it is:

Transit

Scorching sun above
We, on earth
Entangled.

Sweat dripping down
To burning sand
Evaporates.

Into the unknown
We vanish too,
Eternally.

Across the black waters

Last month a cousin of mine asked me to advise his daughter about international travel. She was proceeding to the United States for the first time on a study cum training assignment.

I told the girl three things. One: never panic under any circumstance; keep cool and situations can be managed. Two: there might be jetlag after a long haul. Three: initially there could be problem with the American accent and difficulty in understanding what they say.

My first trip to US was in 1970. That was one week after a visit to Russia to assess that country’s tire industry. At that time I was the General Manager of the automobile tire project of Ruby Rubber Works Ltd and was shopping around for technical collaboration. Mr. KPU Menon, the then Production Manager of Premier Tyres accompanied me.

The Moscow tire factory was impressive. It had two parts. One was an old Ford tire facility that was dismantled and shipped out to Russia in 1942 to augment the war effort. The other was a modern automated plant with one million tires a year capacity, which was operated by about 350 workers. Most of them were women.

We were looked after well by the Russian government departments concerned. But all along there was a sense of insecurity. On landing at Moscow, our passports and the money we carried were taken away. In lieu of US dollars we were issued Intourist Coupons! Imagine being in a foreign country sans proof of identity and money, and without knowing the language.

A week after returning from Russia was the trip to Akron, Ohio, to the HQ of General Tires, which at that time was one of the tire majors in America. Our delegation was led by Mr. Mathew Marattukalam, MD of Ruby Rubber.

At the first meeting a General Tire executive made a presentation about his company. We didn’t understand much of what was said. After some hesitation I asked, “Can you have what you said translated into English?” There was brief silence and then the host’s Sr. Vice President laughed out. From that point on it was smooth sailing and later on we signed the technical collaboration agreement for Apollo Tyres, the company, which Mr. Mathew Marattukalam had promoted to implement the automobile tire project.

George Patton, the swashbuckling American general of WW II had a point when he once said that United States and Great Brittan were two great nations separated by a common language! Of course, ours was Indian English.

For me personally there was another happy outcome from the tie-up with General Tires – a great friendship with John Porosky, their VP for Indian operations.

Ends.

Note: ‘Across the Black Waters’ by Mulk Raj Anand is an outstanding novel about World War I in which over 65,000 Indian soldiers died. This work was translated into eleven European languages and is still in demand.

Dances for the gods.

Wherever a dancer stands ready, that spot is holy ground. - Martha Graham

Last Sunday (April 29) I was at the RK Swami auditorium near the Mylapore Temple, Chennai to watch the ‘Varshik Natyotsav’ presented by selected students of Raga Rasalaya. I attended because my granddaughter Susan Ann Isaac (12) was among the performers. It turned out to be a delightful evening.

Raga Rasalaya is a private school of dancing where a limited number of students is admitted and taught personally by the guru, Mrs. Radha Srinivasan who is a well-known exponent of the Pandanallur style of Bharathanatyam.

The program started on time with Pushpanjali and Mallari, saluting the God of dance, Guru and Mother Earth. This was followed by a prayer to Lord Ganesha and another invocation, Alarippu. Then there was a Muthuswamy Dikshithar song on Swaraswati, Goddess of Learning.

The main item of the evening was a Ragamalika, Bhavayami Raghuramam, the famous creation by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal of Travancore on Ramayana. Radha Srinivasan had choreographed it into a dance drama presenting the great epic in a nut-shell. I must say that Susan Ann performed creditably along with three senior artistes. Her role was Lakshman.

But the best part of the evening was an impromptu depiction of ‘Krishna nee begane baru’ just before the Tillana, by Radha Srinivasan. Her class was evident.

After the satiated audience left there was Drishti Puja to ward off any evil eye on the performers. This was something that I had not known about. I believe that it is a ritual carried out privately after the spectators have gone.

The image of the postal stamp and the Martha Graham quote given at the beginning of this post, are from India outside my window It is an interesting blog.

Ends.

Also see: M.S. Subbalakshni – The Queen of Song

The Bangalore that was, 60 years ago!

These photographs of Bangalore were taken in 1946. Can you identify the buildings /locations? Try. Ask your friends as well.

Add these questions to the quiz: 60 years back,
What was the name of MG Road? South Parade.
Bangalore was part of which State? Mysore State.
Bangalore had how many cars? Not less than 656 cars.
A couple of clues are in the pictures.

I'll come back with the answers after three days.

Town Hall area

MG Road. Higginbothams on the left

Brigade Road.

Mayo Hall

This is where the IT hub is - Hosur Road!

Oriental Building (LIC)
View from MG Road towards St. Marks Road.

The car number is BAN 656.

(Photos provided by Narayan Thampi, Cochin.)

Today, May 5, 2008, I received the following email

"hi,
perhaps you did not know but you have on
your blog copies of my pictures taken by me in 1946
they are
brigade road
mayo hall
oriental building
car ban 656
surely the gentlemanly thing to do is to give me credit
for them as Ronnie has done on his Bangalore web site.
He is the only one I gave an OK to although I have no
problem with you posting them if suitable credit is given
All the best to you . Its great to see how Bangalore
has prospered
Antony Loach
Vancouver BC"

My failure to give proper credit is highly regretted.
Abraham Tharakan.

Also see:

Bangalore Memories: Cricket, hockey and the traged...

Gunboat Jack, a Bangalore hero of the past

Hockey days in Bangalore

Church demolition - addenda.

Three pertinent questions are raised by ‘anonymous’ about my post Churches on demolition line.

1) Is there any chance whether the Cardinal in Cochin will be able to prevent the demolition?

2)Who is funding these activities?

3)Can these funds be used for more appropriate purposes like teaching the priests the value of cultural heritage?

The Cardinal who is the Major Archbishop and Head of the Syro-Malabar Church can certainly prevent demolitions of old church buildings. Being a learned priest, he certainly would be aware of the importance of preserving the heritage landmarks.

But does he have the will or the capability? The Ernakulam Archdiocese, the seat of the Cardinal, is already involved in court cases regarding attempts to demolish two Parayil built churches - the family’s private oratory (1869 - see A Kerala Tharavad.) and the beautiful St. Rafael’s Church (1859) at Ezhupunna. There could be more such litigation relating to other churches.

Once the Cardinal came out with a strong statement deploring the construction of chapels and other structures flush by roads and disruption of traffic by church processions. An admirable stand. But nothing really happened.

Now, about the funds. Some of the churches like Ramapuram, are rich because of large number of offerings by devotees/pilgrims. Many Non Resident Indians also contribute generously. For them it is a payback to their home church, which of course is noble. But unfortunately, instead of restoration of old churches, the concept of building anew came up. Can the priests escape the responsibility for this? Can anyone conceive of old temples being replaced by modern structures?

The money can certainly be used for much more worthwhile purposes. When incompetent people play architect, cost of construction escalates and concrete monstrosities result. It is a pity that the Syro-Malabar Church (as far as I know) does not have design parameters for its churches. A classic example of the approach of the Church authorities is described in Laurie Baker - A Tribute.

A place of worship, like liturgy, should reflect the hopes, aspirations, ethos and history of the people who are to use it.

Ends.

Also see:

Amazing Grace.