Switch off

Now here's a secret of dad revealed. We were talking about Covid spreading across... the delay in vaccine, the increasing spread, mutation of the virus, all sounded grim... and since we don't have a TV, my better half was constantly on the phone and updating us every 5 mins..
Dad said, he always has a fortress around him, and he wont let anything come inside. I asked what? In other words he said, this is what is meant by 'switch off'.

This was taught by a Nigerian missionary, Michael. He and his wife from Satangulam and Nagercoil, were professors in Palyamkotai College. They were friends of Patrick uncle too.. They started the Reunion fellowship there.

While working there as professors, he had a burden to serve among the cannibals. They left their job and went as missionary to Nigeria. Being a muslim country, no christian missionaries were allowed inside the country. Just then the Educational minister there, looking at both of their education, told they can become DO there.  Thus both of them started working and slowly all the teachers under him, accepted Christ.

Then, with 7 of the teachers with him, he went to climb the mountains. He was wearing a thick coat, for it was very cold weather. On the way top, they stopped at night , in the morning he found no one. All the 7 had left.  Should he also turn back? The cannibals were real!. He decided to press forward. he meets a bunch of them with sharp weapons. They surround him. He kneels down and shuts his eyes and prays. After sometime, he opens his eyes to see all of them prostrating down before him! They must have seen some vision? may be an angel? They take him to their leader.. They give him a rooster to be given to their tribe leader.. The Leader in turns gives a rooster to the missionary. They exchange the roosters! And he stays with them learning their language. In 3 months, he learns it! It is told their language has only 100 or so tones/words... he records, and learns it. He slowly starts teaching kids and the adults. He opens a school for them. The President of Nigeria comes to know of it, and even visits the place. Who wouldn't want to see the transformations among cannibals!

The couple have a daughter, who finished her MBBS and continued as a doctor there. They both earned well, being DEOs, but as per the rule in Nigera, they were not allowed to take money out of the country. So they left it to their daughter.

He had travelled  in train with dad sometime back. That's when he taught this trick. The secret weapon. If someone is talking ill about you, you can just switch off your mind and do not let it process in your mind.. to find out more about it..who said it, or who heard it or what will they think about it. Dad said, he just prays and hands over the issue to God, and then switches off his mind. He is completely off, and never thinks or brings it up and even lets the person who brings it again, not to bother.  That's the end of it! If you can't do anything about it, why munch on it?

Knowing dad, I have seen him do this quite often! It has imbibed in me too... but now I know the name of the secret! haha!

Vilungi

That was dad's name when he was a little boy. He had two whorls at the back of his head and 1 big whorl at the front of his head which gained him his name.

Vilungi meant he swallowed. He swallowed his parents. When dad was 2 , his parents died. They were murdered.

Growing up, the whorl got him another name, kuruvi koodu.  When he was a teacher, his hair was so thick and twisted right in front of his forehead, it looked like a snake ready to attack.   Dad had never seen anyone with that whorl in front, except for a little boy in a Home. He was in front row of dad's program and he called him aside to ask about his family. The little boy also was an orphan.

Dad continued, his Palm reads that he'll die by the age of 30. And only because of Christ , he's still alive.  He became our curse , so we could live.

The Map stories

Amy was arranging the India map puzzle. Dad had one look at the colorful puzzle and he was puzzled! He said, you get things like this? I said yes.. He asked for the cost. Dad was shocked.  

He said, there was a time, when they had to take so much pain, to get a map.  Dad had made each state- the size of a door. They went to the Survey department, to get the total number of people, christians etc. Percentage of christians was 0.001 percent.. 1 in 1000 was a christian.  Dad collected these data dilgently.  This was, while preparing for the 10 year plan during the Emil Jebasingh Era. This data was used to find out where the need was, and send the missionary accordingly. 

Dad made 12 big size albums, for 12 leaders in FMPB. These albums had each districts, villages, and the number of churches in each villages. This data was collected by going to every district, streets, and data derived.  He said, those were the days, when we had such burden to painstakingly collect so much of data, to send people to the unreached villages. 

He then remembered an incident close to his heart. Dad was in one such district - Ramnad, collecting the number of church details. He had travelled to some interior village for collecting data and would be back in the Ramnad town after 5 days. He was invited by the CSI Church of Ramnad pastor to preach in the service in the following Sunday. This was in the 70s. Prabhu was 1 year old.  Mom has sent a telegram stating that the child is seriously ill.She had sent it to the CSI Church, Ramnad.  The pastor could not reach dad. Those were the days, when we had no cell phones.  Dad arrives 5 days later to the CSI Church Ramnad on Sunday morning service to preach. The moment he steps in, the pastor hands over the telegram from home. Dad reads it. Puts it in God's hand, and puts the telegram in the pocket. After the service, at 11 AM, he rushes back to catch the bus to Nazareth. He reaches around 11 PM that night. The whole village was sleeping. Dad looks inside the window, to find Prabhu sleeping in the thotil.  God takes care of his children.

Sunder Raj

We were talking about fasting, and I suddenly remembered one of Dad's friend, who passed on to heaven, while fasting. I was very little, when I met him. He had a long beard. He wore vaeti. Two things, that's not easy to forget.  

He worked as a RTO officer, and later got a Tahsildar promotion. He had also been to an Island in Atlantic Ocean for 3 years. Dad usually accompanies him for the fast. But this time, he wanted to go alone. He told his only son Jacob, not to bother checking on him every week.  Being in RTO office, he had access to many places. He went to a hill near Vellore. He had been on a 21 day fast.  This time, he refused to have even water . 

His son, a school manager, went to check on him on the 12th day. He found him in bed, peacefully rested. He found blood marks on both his armpits. He had entered heaven on the 10th day. What a glorious way to go to heaven. 

He had 3 daughters. Once when he visited us, my brother, had kept asking my dad something. Uncle interrupted and asked my brother, what he wanted. My brother had said, I want a cycle. He told him, to go to the corner, kneel down, and pray to Jesus for a cycle. Immediately my brother had run to the corner to pray aloud. Shortly, uncle left and returned back after some time with a brand new cycle!

He also had talked to my mother  and asked, how long was her service. Mom had 18 years. He had then told her that there is a policy, by which, you are eligible for pension, if you have 20 years of service. So he said, I will get everything ready, you work just for 2 more years. Dad had not known then, but my mom later had insisted and the application was filled, and mom got a teaching job in Bentinck Hr Sec School. The rest is history as they say! 

  

Panicky?

Lilybel had fallen off the bed and we were worried. Dad prayed  and was talking about faith and trust when he suddenly mentioned, how he was told by a doctor that my brother was very sick.

He must have been just in his early twenties... He had accompanied dad for a  program in tenkasi. It's a known fact at home, that he and I have sensitive stomach.
During that trip, my brother's stomach acted up so bad, he had to be taken to a hospital. It was a big hospital. Dad left Solomon Anna with him and continued for the night program. They finished and returned the next morning to the hospital to see him. He was on drips as he had lost lot of fluids. A nurse had just then have some injection, and the scene altered in a matter of seconds. His pulse dropped and he wasn't breathing... The screams of the nurse got utmost attention and the surgeons who had come for the surgery in the adjacent operation theater rushed here. Dad was pushed outside the room. He could glance and see the doctor on the bed pressing his heart. CPR? They gave an injection to revive him. Praise God,he was saved ! It looks like the nurse administered a wrong injection to him.

Dad said in situations like this you should never panic. Your eyes must be on the Lord.

2 Chron 20: 12

Dad told this months ago and I got time to pen it down only now! I couldn't remember other details he said...and now when I asked he's not in story telling mode! Anyway can only check with my brother to find out more!

Dad's first meeting

Dad was painting in his art room. He had his pilayar painting on one side, and a painting of actress Vijayanthi mala on the left.  Emil Jebasingh uncle entered the room. He did not stare at his painting, nor uttered anything about it.  But invited dad for 3 day Gideonear camp in Panavilai.

Dad was hesitant. Emil uncle, put his hand around dad's shoulder and said, God needs artist( kalaigars) like you. He quickly left.. Dad was working in Uthumalai then. Emil uncle had gone house to house and invited 300 people.

Hesitantly, dad went for the program. He met Mr.Washingston, who heartily invited him in the venue.  Sticking around that day, he was sure, he was out of place. So he got his bag, and walked to the bus stop.. There Mr. Manicaraj Thiraviyam met him, and asked why dad was leaving. He said he had to go, and dint seem to belong here. Mr. Manikaraj Thiravium, insisted and requested dad to be there for the 'Sandhya' program alone, and then leave. He brought dad back to the camp.

He saw a  neatly dressed- tucked in shirt and trousers a man, to whom dad asked, 'Have you come for this meeting?' questioningly.. for he must have seemed out of place.  Seated dad was alarmed to see that fine man, walk up the stage and preach. He was Mr. P. Sam. Dad had a notebook and pencil. Seeing P. Sam uncle's animated speech, he started sketching him in his notebook vigorously.. He  finished all the pages in the book, with the drawings.. He was engrossed by his animated movements.... As the sun went down, he couldn't sketch more.. He started listening to the preaching and when there was an altar call, to lay your lives in Jesus arms, dad went forward.

Rest is history. But it takes a leader, to make that one-on-one touch and a burden for each other.

Mr. Israel Devaraj when he left Bethel bugged off the food, dad brought him back from the bus stop, mom cooked good fish curry and promised that whenever he felt homes sick, he needs to drop in, and he can have fish.  Another missionary a M.A graduate also who had packed his bag and left, dad brought him in, and told him that God needs such people for translation of Bible and that he will do it soon. He went on ahead to translate the Bible in malto.  Praise be to God alone.

Dad's eagle's story

There was a terrible storm coming down.. Dark clouds were looming, lightning, and thunder echoing the sky. The wind was blowing hard. Perched on a rock by the river was a large eagle. The river was overflowing, the rush of the water was loud and alarming. Each thunder sounding in the background, would make any heart skip a beat.  The eagle was just sitting there, watching all this.

A second eagle, spotted a carcass, floating down the river. The water was flowing fast and loud, but the free food - a dead donkey smell wafted in the cold air, made the eagle's mouth water... The food, just happened to cross the eagle and it couldn't resist taking a peck of the delicious food. It sat on the carcass and began to eat the flesh.. But unknown to it, its feet, was going down the rotten flesh, the sinews and tendons of the donkey flesh had intertwined on the claw of the big bird..   The river was flowing down the crag, into a great big water fall few meters away, the noise of the water fall was loud amidst the thunder and the bird flapped her great big wings to fly. But alas, her feet, was deep into the flesh, and she couldn't free herself to fly into the air. Her struggles, were met with the rapid flow of the gushing water, down the crag and she fell with the dead donkey.

A third eagle, was not distracted by the gushing river, the lightning, the storm clouds or the thunder . It lifted its head, flapped her wings, and zoomed high up into the dark sky, for it spotted a light silver lining  unseen by human eye, it gathered the wings,and used the stormy weather, as a fuel to fly high up into the dark sky to go above the storms.

Dad stops his stories after this every time, and looks right into our eye. What kind of eagle are you?


I thought this story is in the ' Streams of the Desert', but  it wasn't. That book, has lot of eagle stories. But this is a variant- dad's version :)

The struggles.

The topic then turned to, how difficult the path is for a missionary. Patrick uncle losing his son, packianaharaj losing his son.
Dad then said about Rhenius a German missionary who had preacheed the gospel and started 431 churches in the South. When he died, he was not allowed to b buried inside any church compound, but he and his daughter were buried in the street .

Or how Sawyer the rich merchant , was responsible for building sawyerpuram church, sawyerpuram village, and helped financially for building churches in mudalur, Nazareth and many other companies churches. He also built houses for lakhs of people with his own money. History records of how his horse was shot. How he died nobody knows , but was brought to Clarinda church (where he was residing). Ringeltaube  went to attend he funeral and records that his wife and 6 children were there. Since they did not feel safe they left to Kerala and settled there. For all that he did, the reward is only in heaven.😓

The devils on the run

Dad continued about how the hell was actually created for the devil and his inmates. Not for people. But devil is taking the people along with him. He enters man and plays havoc. The same place that God resides in a Christian. He shudders at the name of Jesus.

Dad was saying how we have to pray for Indians everyday. To get saved. How he used to name the devil (like Kali) and he stopped. We were like why? He told of an incident, where he was praying in the name of Jesus and  binding the devil.. suddenly something dark appeared in front and was begging him not to send them away. Dad was trying to say 'S Jesus'  aloud but he couldn't... There was some pressure/current..like  when you are near a electric line. Slowly the darkness grew hands and legs and it jumped near dad and sat and put his hands together pleading don't send us away. By then dad shouted Jesus and it jumped across dad and ran away...the dogs outside barked and chased it away from the compound of danishpet!
Dad was in art room then and he went home to sleep after that. Dad says that was the time he got diabetes. He said  you can pray with 2 or 3...but not alone. After 4,5 days he said while sleeping he saw a big foot...a shoe the size of a room trying to stomp him.he heard a big banyan tree falling...don't take it lightly he said. It's a warfare and be on guard always. Wear your armor!  And be holy...any small slip devil can take you as advantage.

We

We will reside in him. Scripture portion for Bible reading for family prayer was John 14. And dad was saying about how God and Jesus raises in us, as per verse 23.. Thus there is no room for fear or anxiety.  God Almighty make of heaven, Jesus and Holy Spirit dwell in us. And they help us daily as we deal with tough situation

Dad was saying about when he had to meet a collector Krishnamoorthy, who was known to be stubborn, unfriendly. The PRO had already rejected dad's plea. Dad prayed and claimed this verse and others..he who is with u is greater than he  who is in the world.. the collector had no time to read the request letter, he asked what was in it. Dad said that he was a terrorist, a chain smoker , a drunkard who has now changed. He being an artist drew pictures to tell how he got changed. And the exhibition is for  that. The collector wrote down in green ink in the same paper addressed to the same pro. Reserve the best place, and we will incur all the cost for the exhibition..he kept writing!

Dad and vegetables

I was sorting the vegetables my husband had got around 10pm. I was exhausted and there were 2 bags of vegetables. I was mad that he got so much on the middle of week. It looked like it would last for 2+ weeks.

I was grumpy and was telling why he had to buy so much when he could have gotten it fresh every week. Dad was nearby and he said, you should be thankful for these vegetables. He said arulmani annan would say that it is grace that vegetables end up in your home. From the farm to the market and then to our home. As he walks inside the market, he sees only God's grace and goodness all around.

I perked up to see him and nodded that I agreed too. He was right. Dad continued, 'once Gospel Rathan were on a trip and got enough rice for the journey. They thought they could get some veggies on the way. But they travelled nearly 500 kms, but couldn't find a single vegetables shop or a tea shop! I asked why? Dad said those people didn't have vegetables...

Must have been a dry land I assumed. Well, so I resumed sorting and storing my veggies in the fridge, thanking God for his mercies and grace for the veggies! 

Dad's childhood

Lilybel was blabbering in her sweet voice. Dad remarked, yazhinidhu, kural inidhu enbar, tham mazhazhai sol kelathavar'.

Dad then said he knows lot of thirukural. Though he doesn't like studying, he had infact studied lot of thirukural, that he remembers them till date! He fondly reminscended an incident when he was a kid. He never did his homework. He never had answers for the questions his Tamil teacher asked. And he was always made to stand up on the bench. So dad used to get up on the bench the moment he entered. His Tamil teacher asked why are you standing on the bench, he used to reply, I don't have any answers for I didn't study.  This happened frequently, that the master got angry and got up from his chair with raised hand to beat dad. As he stepped near, he seemed to have sprained his hand and stepped back moaning because of pain! I said this reminded me of the King on old testament who raised a hand against a prophet and was paralysed! We both laughed. Seems God had plans for him that time itself. From that time onward, the master was careful in handling dad!

We were talking about tirukural for Amy and the things they were taught in school. Dad said he never understood his essays. He used to go to theri with his bag and write the heading of essays in small papers. He would then bury them in sand. And ask God to help him select 5 essays. The 5 essays he selected would be memorised word by word and he would write it down by heart. Thankfully those 5 essays are the only ones that came in the sslc exams. He cleared the exam too? Same thing happened for his teacher training, where out of 100 essays, he nailed the 5! 

He then detailed how he went to Thisayanvilai, 2 kms from idaiyankudi give it for a Catholic School interview. The father said, he has to come again for the interview wearing pants. Dad owned only vetti. He can get a pant cloth in tirinelveli, but it was 40 kms away. And you don't get readymade pants. So it has to be stitched. That would take time. So dad didn't pursue that job. Soon he was offered a govt job in uthumalai as a headmaster, teaching 3,4,5 std! It worked well as it was a govt job!

Dad as a kid
Dad used to hide some masala items,oil in the garden( thotam) he had some favorite trees guava, mango etc. Where he used to climb and sit on a branch for hrs. He always had a catpult in one of his pocket. He used to catch squirrels, remove their skin, apply masala and roast them in fire and eat. His partner in crime was his cousin periyadurai, who also had a catpult in his pocket always!

Our House - Adventures.

Each room in our so called haunted house, brings back loads of memories. Our pattima (dad's mom's sister) lived with us. Once it was raining and mom took the clothes hanging outside into the house...A snake must have been on the saree, that it fell down. Scared, it may enter the rooms, where we children are, she closed the door. There was no power as well. With all the commotion, we thought it was a thief who entered in. The family residing upstairs, came down too. We opened some doors, which we had permanently closed. Legend says, that one of my brother hid under the cot. Without power, it was difficult to spot the snake. But they found it near the calendar bundles and I think they killed it? My memory is very thin here. Not sure, if it had bitten my pattima, or amma on the big toe.. or was it another story?

I have seen 2 big snakes dancing standing intertwined in the garbage area ( corner of our home). There had been scorpion visits too. When it rains, all these seem to find its way to our house.

I used to walk from the main road to our home every evening. Earlier I used to stay at Ranjan house till my brother brought me in. I remember being stranded in front of our big gate. Tiger the dog, was jumping up and down on the other side. I stood scared for a long time outside.

Tiger was a cross of Alsation. It was purely white. Once a deer had stood near the MCC compound wall and our Tiger had snatched it and brought it in. It was a small deer. It had caught him by his neck and was bleeding. We somehow rescued the deer but he was bleeding and it stopped. The folks upstairs took it away. Don't know where.

I remember me and praveen burying a toad. I guess prem had dissected it, to see the parts and then stitched it back. He had put it in water, to see if it will survive, sadly it didnt. So I guess Praveen decided to give the toad a decent funeral. We put it in a box, burried it and covered it with a plastic glass, mud on it, and a stick cross and a wreath made of grass. No one was crying, so he hit me and I cried. Some tears for the toad! haha..

FOnd memories of pattima, drying her hair-saying 'velavula' The famous world war 3, that occurs often thanks to me, between my eldest and youngest elder brothers. I was a cry baby, and Praveen often pulled my hair or legs and I would cry.. which infuriated my elder brother Prabhu,and they would fight so madly. I remember once, mom was so furious, she locked prabhu in the center room, because the fight was getting out of hand. He was furious for more than an hour, and then we heard him tearing books, papers. We went from the bedroom, to the corridor, to peak into what prabhu was doing. HE was tearing Praveen's school books( the cover alone) sitting there and sulking. We waited even more, till Prabhu got bored and went back to his room. The books were in a mess!

Prabhu used to help me with all the book covering and labelling. He was my album artist for all and every school work. He used to write beautifully. I learnt lot from him.
Praveen had lot of little cars, that he used to play with. Vroom vroom went the cars, up and down the hills( makeshift bedsheets, pillows and stuffs). I had my baby dolls with me near my pillow.