HINDU/CHRISTIAN HARMONY
By: Bennet Paes
In good ol’ days when Ramesh Naik was a young lad, his father faithfully took
him to church on 3rd December of each year to offer thanks to “our Goemcho
Sahib”. Ramesh is as good a friend of mine, as those good ol’ days.
Today, at the stroke of 2 (a time for an afternoon nap for sussegad Goans) he
annoyed me with a phone call. He said,” I am coming now”, and without even
waiting for a “no”, he dropped the phone and was right at my door with an
invite.
I could hardly read what was in the card. It was printed in Marathi with a
sprinkling of English, such as “ 8th December 2009”. He had fixed that date for
his daughter to tie the knot with a far away Goan groom.
With the passage of time “3rd of December” came to be too festive, for a
non-Christian function to be of any recognition, so he said he chose the next
auspicious day. He reminded me it’s the feast of “Coinsaum Saibin” (Our Lady of
Immaculate Conception) and a great day to celebrate. He even invited the Bishop
of Goa to grace the occasion.
Just imagine, a Marathi invitation card invoking a Christian day of
dedication! A stark reminder of the Hindu/Christian harmony of those ‘good ol’
days’ in Goa, still riding out a wave of present-day communal discord in mother
India.
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