Dear people:
With a Christmas Wish, may I send a little update concerning what I have
been up to here in India---particularly as of the past few weeks. As some
will have heard by now, with dear Germana gone to her eternal rest I am
faced with a somewhat difficult decision: whether to remain domiciled in
Goa, which I have come to think of as 'home', or return to 'Home and Native
Land' Canada (Atlantic Region) where my ancestors over five or six
generations have propagated in an ever widening circle.
One of my few regrets, about the twenty-five year retirement-sojourn in
Goa-India, is that I did not sufficiently address the challenge of becoming
fluent in the local Indian language (Konkani) or the National lingual
overdrive of Hindi/Hindustani. Germana spoke fluently in a patchwork of
Indian languages, and probably because I had depleted my second-language
energies in the process of becoming 'officielment bilangue' for Public
Service work in Canada (mid-seventies), I would sit back and let Germana do
the talking. Over India's vastness, one encounters more than twenty 'major
languages' and dozens of 'dialects'; we Canadians make a fuss about becoming
conversant in two; most of my friends here are fluent in at least three or
four---or more! We cynical Anglos had a joke, going around the Canadian
Public Service network: 2 B 'officielment bilangue' 1 should be able to pick
up the phone and firmly utter, "Je regret". Now I want to get back some of
my French. Providentially, I find that the TV5 Monde Channel on our Tata Sky
Platform features TV Quebec items on regular basis---films & good
documentary things, with English sub-titles! Also, I note with interest that
a large portion of the sub-titling is done in Quebec.
Of course, the other concern has to do with the future: might not I be a
burden on some hapless nurse or nursing home worker here, trying to figure
out what I'd like for breakfast? While English is a lingua- franca, in Goa
and major urban centers for most official government, professional &
commercial work, the boys and girls deployed for 'the heavy lifting'
(domestic servants/nursing aides/hospital ward attendants, etc) are
conversant only in their mother tongue.
Spirited and kindly niece (Lisa), resident in Halifax/Dartmouth (Canada's
East Coast port city) invites me to lodge in a studio-apartment
configuration in her home, and share meals at family table. So, while I will
never forget 'India's sunny clime' and the delights of Goa/India cuisine, I
am pretty much at heart a Canadian Maritimer, and the adage 'home is where
the heart is' should ring true in my case---physically as well as
metaphorically. Beautiful little Prince Edward Island is where I spent my
childhood and youth, and I boast among Indians about coming from 'Anne of
Green Gables Country'; but I did Naval Training in Halifax and should be
content there---with a caring niece to shield me from 'the foggy, foggy dew'.
Incidentally, a dear disabled lady friend in Bangalore has been a lifelong
'Anne with an E' Fan!
Over the past year most of my spare time has been spent editing a
biographical book---about one who has been an inspiring influence on me here
in India. Rev. D.S. Amalorpavadass, or 'Father Amalor' as he was familiarly
known, led the post Vatican II movement for interfaith and inter-communal
harmony in India. Germana & I were blessed in the experience of spending
several extended periods in his Mysore retreat-premises, modeled on the
'Indian Ashramic' tradition; during the 'eighties' we were in attendance for
the full series of his moving discourses, most of which have now been
rendered in published format. With Fr. Amalor's tragic death by (road
accident in 1992) I had almost lost touch with Anjali Ashram, until some
blessed impulse led me back there---about four years ago. Then, there
emerged the book-publishing project, with me appointed Member of the
Editorial Board and responsible for all the text editing. In addition I have
been able to contribute to the Ashram Agenda in a number of other ways, and
become an active participant in Anjali Ashram affairs.
I decided that before departing India (now set for March of 2012) I should
again visit Anjali Ashram and 'say an Ave' there for Fr. Amalor, where he
lies buried at dead center in its beautiful dome-shaped 'Mandir'---an
Indian-Temple version of 'worship-space'---in short 'a church'.
Travel by public transport in India is pretty challenging for one of my age,
and I could not be satisfied with simply boarding a 'jet plane' and flying
so high above the whole of South India as to miss just about everything
happening on the busy thoroughfares. Flying at forty thousand feet altitude
simply vaults you from one concrete jungle to another; I decided to 'splurge',
and with young Oxford-grad friend 'Solano' to be travel companion we planned
a car-hire Tour covering a two thousand km loop through South India
(Goa-Deccan Plain-Bangalore-Mysore-Coorg Region-Mangalore; and then back to
Goa) over the space of seven days. We luxuriated in a wonderfully
comfortable Toyota Innova vehicle, with first overnight spent in Bangalore
for visit with friends there and then on to Mysore and Anjali Ashram the
next day, for a two-day stay; then through the gorgeously scenic Coorg
District with its roadside 'coffee mills', and pepper-vines thickly clinging
to trees. To Mangalore, where we spent an hour admiring the chapel of
Aloysius College---painted in the fashion of the Vatican Sistine Chapel, by
an Italian Jesuit artist in 1882. There was one other stop between
Mangalore and Goa---the colossal Hindustani monuments and caves of
Murudeshwar, which I leave you to 'google' rather than try to describe. So,
instead of vaulting from one concrete jungle to another, we coursed through
the arterial system of this incredibly dynamic country. I guess our only
complaint would be for the endless road construction delays; surely would
not want to cover those roads by Volvo bus!! For those who like to 'compare
prices', the car rental @ 19 Indian Rupees per km and 500 per day stipend to
our Driver, settlement for just under 2000 km mileage was 40,000 INR---in
Canadian Currency roughly 780 CDN---go figure! Our three nights spent in
hotels averaged about 900 Rupees per (if my arithmetic is right that would
be just under 20 CDN for double room in very decent hotel. Stay away from
the big 5 Star Resorts, though---prices starting @ 3000 and going upwards
sky-hi!
Our hosts at Anjali Ashram most cordially welcomed us, and somewhat to my
embarrassment honored me with what I can only describe as VVIP treatment.
December 8th & 9th were spent in the Ashram, with all of us participating in
the Ashram program beginning with 'dyana' (meditation) under a magnificent
banyan tree an hour before daybreak, with the dawn chorus in full surround.
This, followed by Mass in Vatican approved (but not thus far permanently
adopted and promulgated) 'Indian Rite'---originally conceived and designed
by Fr. Amalor. Our wonderfully competent young Hindu-boy driver would join
us at Mass, and receive at communion-time a dew bedecked morning flower.
After the evening meal in the Ashram there is tradition of 'Sat Sang', an
hour or so of sharing among the residents under direction of the 'Acharya
Guru'. Occasionally Sat Sang may take the form of shared entertainment; one
young priest performed a classical Indian dance (Bharatnatyam); there was
singing; and my contribution was to recite from memory poems that had been
favorites of my Germana (Byron, Keats and Shelley), and the Robert Service
monologue I had 'learned by heart' while still a college-boy---The Cremation
of Sam McGee. Many of those present needed to be told about of 'the
Klondyke' and 'gold-rush madness' of 98', but in light of that little
backgrounder I think 'Sam McGee' scored quite a hit!
On leaving I was most greatly honored to receive as parting gift, presented
by Fr. Louis and Sr. Mariella (ever-faithful Disciples of Amalor), several
of the silk and fine-wool shawls presented to 'Swami Amalorananda' on
ceremonial occasions honoring his lifetime of service to Indian Society and
Church.
So, that's my story for now. Germana's younger Sister (Sarita) inherits the
'Betim Flat', which has been happy home to us in our twenty-five years of
retirement. I could remain in it for so long as I need; but even fond
memories of boyhood and youth suggest I had better now be back in my
'Atlantic Region'---of 'True North, Strong and Free'.
Goa-India; Dec-11
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