From 8 to 16 May 2010, I was in Kerala, India. The primary purpose of my being there was to participate in the Asia-Oceania Congress 2010 of the Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis (SFO) which took place from the 8th to the 13th. The Asia-Oceania Congress typically takes place every couple of years, during which a not-very-large number of Secular Franciscans from various countries of Asia come together to share the progress of the Order in their respective contexts.

Kerala is a state in India. It is located on the south-western region of the country. Kerala's fourteen districts are distributed among Kerala's six historical regions: North Malabar (Far-north Kerala), Malabar (northern Kerala), Kochi (central Kerala), Northern Travancore, Central Travancore (southern Kerala) and Southern Travancore (Far-south Kerala).

With the two or three days that I had while waiting for my flight back to Malaysia after the Congress, I managed to visit some important and interesting places. This was in addition to those places that the organisers had already taken us in the course of the Congress itself.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:28 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The picture above depicts a typical sight of public transportation in the towns of Kerala (and maybe India as a whole). Such busses which roam the streets, providing a means of mobility from one town to another, are old and commonly ejaculate really thick, black smoke.

This is another common means of transportation. It is known as the auto rickshaw. They have exactly the same kind of transportation in Thailand, but there they call it the tuk tuk. It is supposedly cheaper to ride in one of these. But of course, that all depends on whether you're a tourist or a local, I suppose.

The car you see above is an indigenous production of India. It has been on India’s roads since the late 1950s and is still in production. This car is the Ambassador, which has been manufactured since 1958 by Hindustan Motors. It is a well-esteemed car because of its durability.

This was made in India too! Sure, this is modern India. But that doesn't mean elephants are no longer useful. Well, they probably don't use elephants to fetch human beings anymore, but they're certainly still entirely useful for the laborious transportation of logs and other heavy items.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:27 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Sitting on a bus and heading towards other areas of the city, this is the typical kind of sight you see through the window. People everywhere, little stores by the roadside selling ordinary things, dust and earth all around, and the polluted air is not to be missed either. The sight of the little stores are probably not alien to the Malaysia, as we also have similar stores around run by Indian Muslim people.

Part of the streets of Kerala is, of course, the kids of Kerala! They're mighty friendly. Or maybe it was the sight of a yellow fat man walking on their streets, looking totally alien from the shades they're used to, that made them run up to me to shake my hand, to ask me where I was from, and to ask me to take pictures of them. Lovely children!

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:25 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I visited the grave of the Blessed Thevarparampil Kunjachan, a priest who dedicated himself to the spiritual and temporal welfare of a marginalised set of people who were poor and exploited for generations. Blessed Kunjachan (Fr Augustine), son of Mani and Elizabeth Thevarparampil, was born on 1 April 1891, at Ramapuram in the Syro Malabar Church eparchy of Palai, Kerala, India. He was ordained priest on 17 December 1921.

Fr Augustine was of short stature and that was the origin of his pet name "Kunjachan" (Little Priest) in the local language, Malayalam. He was just an ordinary priest who could not claim eminence in any field of human activity. But he was humble, kind, service-minded and charitably disposed to the poor and the downtrodden people. He stayed in his own parish, St Augustine's church Ramapuram as one among the three assistant parish priests for more than 40 years, working specially for the uplift of the Dalits (suppressed people) - the untouchables.

After a brief period of serious illness Kunjachan died on 16 October 1973 at the age of 82. At his death the children and others told that `a saint has passed away'. At his funeral the priest who preached the panegyric, spoke well of his holiness in life, apostolic zeal, kindness of heart, love for the poor and other outstanding virtues. And towards the end of the speech he said to the surprise of all, "we are participating in the funeral of a saint. We have one more mediator in heaven." Kunjachan had the reputation of a holy man even while he was alive. People irrespective of caste and religion, used to approach him in their manifold needs and they got favours through his prayers and blessings. Within a few days after his death his tomb at Ramapuram became a centre of pilgrimage for people from far and wide.

The process of Beatification and Canonization started on 11 August 1987 at Ramapuram, bestowing upon him the title, "Servant of God". The "Positio super vita et virtutibus" was completed after ten years and was submitted at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 12 February 1997. The "Positio" on the heroic practice of virtues of the saintly priest was approved by Pope John Paul II on 22 June 2004 and he was declared "Venerable".

Meanwhile the process of the miraculous cure of the clubfoot of a boy was undertaken, and the findings were sent to Rome for consideration. After a thorough investigation of the miraculous nature of the cure, made by competent personnel in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI approved it, opening the way for Beatification. Venerable Kunjachan was Beatified by Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church on 30 April 2006 at the very same village Ramapuram where he was born, worked, died and buried.

The Feast of Blessed Kunjachan is celebrated on the 16 October every year.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This is the famous Divine Retreat Centre, Potta, which is very well-known among the Indian Catholics in Malaysia. They frequently make trips to this retreat centre and invite speakers from there to speak in Malaysia. The Divine Retreat Center or Potta Ashram is a Catholic Charismatic Renewal ministry. It has been run by the Vincentian Fathers since 1950.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

If you haven't seen the Indian Classical Dance, you haven't yet witnessed the wealth and depth of the culture of India. Now, I have no idea how the Indian Classical Dance is to be defined accurately, but it's nothing like the usual Indian dances you watch on television. It's intricate and highly cultured. The subtle movements from the tip of the head right down to the tip of the toes and fingers are amazing, to say the least. Even the movement of the eyes tells a story. Of the many things I saw in India, this was one of the most fascinating. My amazement was compounded by the fact that these dancers were mere children.

And then, there was also this Indian classical music group which performed for a long time on stage. I was just sitting there throughout the whole time, being fascinated by how they carried their tunes and by the skilled crafting of their intricate music of which I had little understanding. But the group obviously very much enjoyed their own music and played it exceptionally well. Again, I'd never heard a "band" playing such music - it was, on all accounts, a surreal moment for this Chinese Malaysian.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:21 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The above picture shows the provincial house of the Order of Friars Minor (Conventual). They have not been in Kerala very long, as for many decades now, Kerala has been conquered by the Order of Friars Minor (Capuchin). Hence, their infrastructures are still rather new, since they arrived in Kerala only in the 1990s (if I haven't got my history wrong).

This is the Chapel of the provincial house, where Mass was celebrated in the early morning of the Sunday. Kerala is mostly Syro-Malabar Catholic, whose liturgy is rather different from the Roman Rite. The entire liturgy was sung from the beginning until the end, and the language used was Malayalam. The altar server certainly had a larger responsibility to bear than the servers in the Roman Rite Masses.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:20 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This is where the tomb and shrine of St Alphonsa is. Saint Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (19 August 1910 – 28 July 1946) is a Catholic Saint, the first person of Indian origin to be canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church and the first canonised saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

She had a poor, difficult childhood and experienced early loss and suffering. She joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, and through them completed schooling and made her permanent vows in 1936. She taught school for years but was plagued by illness. She died on 28 July 1946, aged 35. She is buried at Bharananganam, Travancore (present day Kerala) in the Diocese of Palai.

Claims of her intervention began almost immediately upon her death, and often involved the children in the convent school where she had taught. However, she is not known to have involved in any acts of charity or philanthropy during her lifetime. The cause of Sister Alphonsa began on 2 December 1953 in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palai and she was declared a Servant of God. She was declared Venerable on 9 July 1985 by Pope John Paul II. Her beatification was declared 8 February 1986 by Pope John Paul II at Kottayam.

Hundreds of miraculous cures are claimed for her intervention, many of them involving straightening of clubbed feet, possibly because of her having lived with deformed feet herself. Two of these cases were submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints as proof of her miraculous intervention. The continuing cures are chronicled in the magazine PassionFlower.

On Sunday, 12 October 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced her canonisation at a ceremony at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.

Standing at her tomb, I observed how people took turns to come to the grave to venerate St Alphonsa. Obviously, there were also many there who wanted her intercessions and her blessings on themselves and their children. In the picture above, you can see that a mother has placed her child to lie down on top of the tomb; for what purpose exactly, I have no idea.

This is where a relic of St Alphonsa is kept in a class casing inside a chapel for veneration purposes.

Posted by SK in Kerala, India at 8:19 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)