Author: Boby Jacob
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: October 31, 2002
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=12231
I haven't heard of any Christians
going to Tirupati,' my mother, says about my proposed visit to Balaji.
Can't blame her for her views, after all I am born and bred a 'Catholic'.
If you add to that a dose of Catholic School Jesuit education and the fact
that Mom's eldest brother was a Jesuit priest and Mom's twin sister a Catholic
nun...you get the picture?
But that picture is a bit imperfect
because almost all my friends during my school and college days were non-Christians.
I have spent hours, days and weeks at friends' houses being the chief architect
of the 'Ganpati' decorations; a fact that rattled Mom so much that she
chided me every year that I had never made a crib at Christmas. (Mom, I
am sure, had only one prayer on her lips: 'Father forgive him for he does
not know what he is doing.') Many non-Christian friends share her scepticism
about my religious beliefs, but their lack of faith in my true Christian
upbringing stems from the fact that I am a teetotaler: a trait much appreciated
by their wives and an aberration in my character that their spouses put
up with.
Now married and with two boisterous
boys of 11 and eight, who have a similar upbringing to mine, I see the
same 'Catholic' traits in them. Holi, Diwali and Ganesh Utsav are celebration
time for all Indians and there are none more patriotic than they. They
are the first to experiment with the colours at Holi, the loudest crackers
at Diwali and lend a healthy volume to the resounding din of Ganapati Bapa
Moria, Pudicha Varshi Lawkar Ya. Christmas and Easter times are, in their
view, more personal and private celebrations, albeit with family and an
army of friends of all creeds and beliefs.
It is this background that got my
mother worried about my proposed trip to Tirupati. The visit for me is
more out of curiosity than out of any deep-rooted religious sentiments.
Well, come to think of it, my Sunday Mass ritual is almost an equivalent.
The trip to Tirupati has been planned
by my office colleagues a month in advance, so it is with some concern
that my wife tells me that it conincides with the weekend that my elder
son is to get a prize at the annual school gathering. It is his first major
scholastic achievement. However, I am making my trip to Tirupati for the
die has been cast already.
Now, the gods have got even with
me for being a fringe believer. While I shall be paying obeisance to Lord
Balaji at Tirupati, ironically, my son will receive the same prize that
I got in school at his age, the Ignatius Loyola Prize for scoring the highest
in 'catechism', or Catholic studies. I will miss that momentous occasion.
However, my faith in God shall, I am sure, not be poorer for that!
