Archcorepiscopa Dr. Curien Kaniyamparambil: A University of skills

Today (October 19) is dear and respected Kaniyamparambil achen’s tenth death anniversary. Even though he lived long and passed at a very old age, many in the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church and other denominations still miss him. It is not only his family; his two daughters and their family and other family members, but the church at large which still misses him. And ten years is a long time, considering people are forgotten in weeks if not months. There is something about him which lingers on in our hearts and minds.

 

For me whenever I take a book to read or start writing an article, I am reminded of him. Even though he did not have numerous degrees and did not teach full time in a university or theological college, in Thiruvalla and several parts of Central Kerala as well as Ernakulam and other places and some parts of the world, achen was a well-known scholar with an impressive list of publications. His knowledge of Syriac, his usage of poetic Malayalam and use of simple yet effective English made him stand out among priests of all denominations and religious leaders of all religions. The term used in Malayalam for a person who is well read and knowledgeable is “Adheham oru sarvakalashala aanu”, literally meaning “He is a university” and in everyday usage meaning “He is very knowledgeable and/or he knows everything.” In English we sometimes say, “He is a travelling dictionary or encyclopedia.” Achen was well read, very knowledgeable and wise. 

 

The old generation of people in India and Kerala were very, very special. With limited education they had many skills. Their skills were very useful to their community and their life thus was a blessing to many. In today’s time we have many people with lots of degrees but zero skills. The corporate sector complains about engineering and management graduates and says that there is a significant gap between academic training and industry demands. One of the biggest problems is the lack of various kinds of skills. The same thing can be felt in the field of theology and in the church as well. Candidates who are trained in theological colleges and seminaries lack the skills to do good and effective ministry in the churches. Again, the issue is the lack of various skills which are key to pastoral ministry. 

 

This is where Kaniyamparambil Archcorepiscopa is a guiding light for us. He converted his knowledge into skills. He knew Syriac very well. But many who know the language these days lament that it can’t be used in congregations as people don’t know the language. But achen used Syriac as a skill. In the church he used it to translate prayers into Malayalam and English and research on various topics of interest to the faithful and church. Outside the church he used it to teach Syriac to many youngsters so that they could learn Syriac as a language under the Mahatma Gandhi University and Kerala University. He also taught Syriac to prelates and priests of different churches. And finally, he used Syriac to speak to several Syriac speaking bishops and priests from several parts of the world.   

 

Archcorepiscopa Kaniyamparambil achen was content with his life. He was happy and peaceful with what he had and was doing. That is where there is a big difference with the priests of today. Many of them feel that there is no use to study, that they can’t use their education or research anywhere in the church and society and no one recognizes their scholarship. A transformation of education into skills could make a whole lot of a difference. Having a skill set is no easy thing because it is what no university or college can give us. We have to carve it out from what we have learnt. I believe Jesus also came down to the level of children, women and men through his skill set. He transformed his knowledge into skills of how to express love and compassion. 

 

I feel very happy and proud to have known and related closely with Kaniyamparambil achen (appachen to some and valiyachan to others). And I also realise a great lesson that he taught me and many others. Education is important but then having skills will make education effective. I hope that we use achen’s tenth memorial anniversary to remind ourselves that we have a lot to give to our church and community. We have to transform whatever we have learnt and read into the common language and common need of people so that both are benefitted. I would like to see young and old priests feeling satisfied with their work and ministry, knowing that they could make use of everything they learnt. Thank you Archcorepiscopa achen. For enrolling us into your university of skills. We have a long way to go, but we will surely reach our goal holding your hand and seeking your guidance. Please intercede for us dear achen.

Prayer for strength during grief

Give us we pray God the grace and understanding to grieve with those families who have lost a near and dear one. Show us the way to be with them, say words of comfort, be anything but judgemental, and offer our own stories of pain and grief as a means of empathetic friendship. Help us Jesus to offer hope like you did to Martha and Mary. We believe in you like they did and know that you are the resurrection and life. Those who believe in you will live even though they die. Lead us well Holy Spirit to pray for the departed that they rest in peace in paradise in the assuring presence of our fore fathers and fore mothers waiting with anticipation for the second coming of our Lord. May this hope lead us God to go to grieving homes with courage and strength to thank God for the life of those who move on to a better place while still being dear and valuable to their loved ones. Amen.

Rape: Passing the Buck

The accused in the Delhi rape case have not got a lawyer to defend them yet. It was reported that when a lawyer came forward, others objected saying that it was not moral to defend the accused because of what they had done. The case will not be taken up unless someone comes forward to represent the accused.

As we discuss the morality of rape, it has struck me so hard that our society has become a mass of people who keep passing the buck. The blame always has to be on someone. On the one hand there are several people who are openly asking for a death penalty, others who are asking for close to inhuman steps to be taken on the accused, and on the other there are political leaders, spiritual gurus and others who have the audacity to question the girl who was raped and killed. They continue the assault by putting forward suggestions that women should dress modestly, not go out after dark and beg for forgiveness if anyone tries to violate their body.

In the entire discourse one cannot notice the absence of self examination, the acceptance of one’s own blame and the crimes committed by one self. Instead everyone is happy to put the blame on and pass the buck on to someone else. This can be seen in all fields and by all institutions.

The police force says that teachers should teach the students well and conscientize them on gender equality and respecting women. The teachers say that children learn their initial lessons from home and are influenced by their parents and therefore they should be a better example. The parents blame religious leaders saying that they are not teaching moral education and religions are themselves very sexist. The media joins the chorus and picks on politicians, the politicians pick on the film industry and all of them have now got together to blame the six accused. But take a look at each of them.

The police force makes simple things like filing a complaint, a woman walking into a police station, and providing protection to women, a very difficult proposition. Teachers and educational institutions are guilty of not encouraging equal conditions for girls and boys, being insensitive to the feelings of girls, keeping girls and boys away from each other and being over protective and indirectly pushing through presuppositions about each other which are not even true in the first place. Parents bring up girls and boys in a different way and still hang on to age old clichés about what they should do and how they should grow up. They also think that time with children can be made up by buying them gadgets and not engaging in any serious talk. Religious leaders and institutions are totally oblivious and blind to how girls and women are totally ignored and are only a part of the system and are no where close to being joint leaders and functionaries. Religious spaces are not open and safe for women as well. The media has over the years ignored several rapes and has not reported several cases were Dalit women were raped. In a country were rapes happen everyday, the media has not reported enough. Advertisements which form a majority of the revenue for media houses portray women in a poor light. Many advertisements show women as mere objects of desire and attraction. This does not give any parity or confidence to them. Politicians in turn pick on the media, the film industry and even Western culture saying that all of these are the culprit. Instead of relooking at laws, making people aware and serving the people well they also look to blame. The film industry is also quick to join the band wagon to blame politicians. But seldom is any introspection done on the kind of movies made. If Indian movies have only moved from renaming the cabre dance as item number, what does this speak of how women are characterized in movies in India? Which Indian movie actress is being marketed as a strong actor rather than a size zero or a curvy bodied voluptuous woman? Why are love scenes and bikini clad women shown when it has nothing to do with the script? Are women portrayed as smart, suave or just plain dumb?

If we want to blame the list is endless. The main thing is that each one of us is responsible in our own way for the plight of women in our country. But we are not willing to accept this. The buck does not stop here, rather the buck is passed on…and on.

The Pain of a Tragedy

How does it feel when life becomes death?
When the very air we cherish turns into a noose around our neck?
Who will know that what they see are the scars of a battle unexpected?
And the hurt will never heal but only be forgotten by years of neglect?

How could this come on us with no warning sign?
Despite our collective thoughts of good to all?
Who will take responsibility for the thousands buried together?
While the ones above are still reminded by every breath?

How many generations will suffer for an irresponsible act?
Will ill-distributed compensation cover up the fact?
Who will bring the guilty to justice?
Even as we grimace in the pain of unfulfilled promises?

How trivial have we become in your pursuit of glory?
Gassed were we, our entire city became a gas chamber in a hurry?
Who will hear us amidst the deafening shout for a new India?
When all we remind you of is an old and forgotten tragedy?




(The Bhopal gas tragedy took place 25 years ago. The victims still await justice while the guilty remain scot-free. Almost 25,000 people lost their lives due to the irresponsible act of the Union Carbide company. Successive governments have not ensured that the deserving got the help they needed. We have conveniently forgotten this ever happened!)

Let the Tamils go!

Blood, gore and violence disturbing sense in this nonsense
I suspect whether human concern bounces off pride in armour
Thousands lie buried in silent tombs pierced by shrapnel
As the dead fall, the living flee wishing to continue life

Is Prabhakaran and the LTTE worth the lives of innocent women and children?
Will bombs lead disturbed minds into submission?
What is my religion when it kills others?
Where is my faith in the middle of blatant destruction?

Stop the elephant’s pursuit in the jungle
Too many fall unawares in the weight of the mammoth’s rumble
Don’t sow hatred in strict paddy patterns
Fleeing they are, don’t shoot them from behind

Life is still so feeble in the spic and span stable
Stop getting a kick from spilt blood among the weaklings
It’s time to stop, so let’s do just that
And retain whatever humanness remains intact

Emptiness

Emptiness, a deep sense of nothing
A feeling of what is ‘not’
That which stirs and moves
But lies hidden in layers of emotion

A stone on still water
Causing ripples in one direction
What starts ends sooner or later
Stillness and emptiness settles in once more

Emptiness reflects beingness
There’s nothing, which means something
The pain and uneasiness remain
In a place where we have never been

What if I die today?
Will my emptiness go away?
But where will I go today?
Behind my emptiness, with it or leaving it behind today?

Tera kya hoga kaliya?

(Picture from rediff.com)


The year 1975 has been etched in the history manuals of Indian cinema. That year Ramesh Sippy’s ‘Sholay’ (Flame or Embers) was released and ever since the movie set and broke records in India and all over the world. It grossed in atleast 60 million U.S. dollars and ran for five years consecutively in the Minerva theatre in Mumbai. Truly it is a movie which has been unmatched in it’s public acceptance.

The movie as such is about hero’s and one specific villain, Gabbar, played by Amjad Khan. He is on the one hand a dacoit, a rule unto himself and feared by the nearby villagers. In the absence of a rule by law, he himself becomes the rule and the law. My aim here is to see the commonalities between Gabbar and the present mode of functioning of the government in India by highlighting four critical dialogues in the movie. In the event of a public outcry in our country in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, it is noteworthy (in a satirical way ofcourse) how we can draw a similarity.

Gabbar’s henchmen get beaten up by two people (played by Dharmendra and Amitabh) and they come back to the dacoit's den with their heads hanging in shame. Gabbar questions them and is angry that they were beaten by two, whereas they were three in all. He points his gun at the main person in the three and tells him, ‘Tera kya hoga kaliya?’ (What will happen to you Kaliya?). Kaliya the dacoit answers, ‘Meine apka namak kaya.’ (I have eaten your (salt (literal)) food and remain loyal to you). Gabbar answers, ‘Ab goli ka.’ (Now, eat my bullet). After shooting all three men, Gabbar says, ‘Jo dar gaya, samjo mar gaya.’ (Those who are afraid (fear), will die. Death is imminent if fear overcomes you).

The Mumbai attacks have opened a can of worms. Everyone is blaming everyone else. But who thinks of the common person? The one who can’t even complain because of fear and lack of resources. The common person who is used in every election for votes and to stand in big crowds and clap for the leaders. The silent ones who listen to every bid of their so called masters. After a life long following and unrelenting loyalty, there comes the time when they need help from the ones that have used them so much. In true Gabbar style, the politician/leader will say, ‘Tera kya hoga kaliya?’, followed by the frantic cry by the commoner, ‘Meine apka namak kaya.’ After an eerie silence the leader says in total disrespect, ‘Ab goli ka.’ And then the electioneering will continue and people will be galvanised and ghettoised with the war like slogan, ‘Jo dar gaya, samjo mar gaya.’

Touch me not

All my life I wished to be touched
Every time I saw someone I thought of their touch
Time and time again every movement and moment became a disappoinment

What was wrong with me?
Was it my looks, my colour, my clothes or lack of them?
Was I not capable of attracting anyone to me?

Hope turned into despair
Hard feelings turned to excruciating pain
Life turned into death

So desperate was I for touch
That I would go into the fields and run my fingers
Over the grains and flowers, spread them on the soil and dip them in the streams

And then someone came
But so distanced was I from anyone’s touch
That I ended up muttering ‘I don’t want your touch’, ‘I don’t want your touch’

“Death, who are you???”

Death, you can never claim victory
For I was dead the day I was born
When I was claimed by one, and kept away from another
Sanity was forced through, with insanity

Death, you can never scare me
For I was scared and scarred by all the injustice and the hatred
Scared numb that I am scared no more
Fulfilling and conforming not, to what I was ‘meant’ for

Death, you cannot take me away
For I was never accepted here anyway
Isolated and ‘islanded’ was I in existence
Pushed into a corner of subsistence

Death, don’t ever smile at me
For I was always smiled and laughed at
Seen was I a burden, a blot in the land of eden
A blot which could with a smile, be conveniently done away

Death, don’t draw any conclusions
And never write me away
For however I sway, I will have my way
In my land, I will, in all happiness lay



(This poem is dedicated to the people of the earth, who are deprived of land, humanity and basic amenities, in the name of development for a 'few'. It salutes the spirit of the people who fight on for their rights, even in the midst of the violence and injustice leashed out against them.)