TNB - Trichy: Thoughts on Christianity in India

In one of JM and my less intelligent decisions during our trip to Tamil Nadu, we decided to drive overnight from Kanyakumari to Trichy. Had we a proper driver (who wasn't hacking up a lung every 3 seconds or exacerbating his ingrown thumbnail by keeping the horn pressed), the drive might have actually been bearable. But to say the least, it sucked - and we didn't get any sleep either.

So in the morning we made it to Trichy, but we were so early, we didn't want to check in to our 24-hour checkout hotel to keep from getting booted early the next morning. So we climbed the Rock Fort Temple. JM was convinced that I pick really bad hills to climb after reading about Pavagadh and Girnar, so he was a bit hesistant. As it turned out, it was a really easy climb with a very quaint Ganesh temple at the top. The priests invited JM and me inside and offered us prasad. My first-note-out-of-the-pocket donation of Rs. 100/- got the other priest excited and asked also for another Rs. 100/-. He said it went to feeding kids at a local orphanage and showed me a very official looking card for an orphanage in Trichy. Then he asked me to leave my address in India, so come end of January, when they had a festival at he Rock Fort, he could send me prasad. So I left him Jayu mama's address. And my last Rs. 100/-. He noticed that my wallet was empty. So he attempted to give the Rs. 100/- back saying that he didn't want it if I didn't have any money left. Satisfied, I insisted that he keep it. I didn't know whether the kids got the money, but I DID receive prasad at the end of January from the Rock Fort Temple. Cool.

We then checked into the Hotel Mega (great name) and promptly passed out, having dismissed the driver until the next day so he could sleep. We woke up in the afternoon and decided to walk around the city. Except that Trichy is really big. Mercifully, it had an friendly, not-TOO-crowded (relative term...), and super efficient bus service. Cheap too. So JM and I hopped on the first bus that said they were going in the direction we wanted to go. We ended up at a catholic church - St. Lourdes - that looked like the architect didn't know too much about the Gothic style or just wasn't trying very hard. But the inside was far more interesting anyway. Painted pink and white with streamers it looked a bit like a birthday cake, but inside was a total haven of tranquility. Churches seem to be able to do that in a way that Hindu temples REALLY need to learn from.

But the most intersting parts were the blend of 'Hindu'-culture and Christianity. There were no pews, so everyone sat on the floor (which meant they didn't do the sit-kneel-stand calisthenics of Western Catholic churches). Many also left their shoes outside in proper Indian style. And those that didn't took them off before kneeling or sitting to pray. But the most amazing part of it all was how JM and I could just explore - no one to tell us to hurry up, no pushing, no shoving, no wanna-be-priests either. The priests were easy to discern - they were up in the front wearing robes that nobody in the church could possibly afford (or want to wear... seriously, Roman Catholic robes are just plain extravagant).

But why Christianity grew so quickly and was so popular became quickly evident. The churches brought the stillness of mind that is a mandir. The churches said everyone can reach God and can be redeemed. The churches said birth and caste do not matter. And the churches in India were saying that truly accepting Jesus as savior means living by his teachings. Well damn, of course Christianity was popular. The Christians were teaching the people to be better Hindus than the Hindus were!

Granted, saying everyone else is a heathen, as many Christian ministers do in India, isn't kosher in my mind, but I have a lot of respect for how Christianity is molding peoples' lives in good ways in India. They have a lot to learn from Sanatana Dharma and Hindus have a lot to learn from them.

After our church visit, JM and I just began to wander. We passed through a vegetable and fruit market - and one vendor was kind enough to give us a zapota fruit so JM could try it. We were in a quandary because we didnt' want to by a kilo of zapota to just eat one, so the vendor, realizing our plight, picked a good one and handed it to us. He tried to refuse the Rs. 2/- I gave him because a kilo only cost Rs. 10/-, but I made him take it. We weren't so much concerned with cost, just what we were going to do with a kilo of the stuff. Eventually we hopped on another bus number we had seen at the stop we left from and ended up back at our hotel. Wow, good public transport is amazing.