Songs of joyappachan

 

I was vexed;

Of my wide roads which I always travelled by; Of my narrow one foot ways which I never walked by...

Dear Friend,

At the corridors of that school; it is written on a wooden board about the philosophies of Life. It didn’t make a sense to me in those times. But those are short; beautiful too. Years after; In recent times, when i saw it again in the shelves of a Gift house in our small town, I pondered its connotations. In a gesture of philosopher’s thick content full, my 10 years old cousin girl told me in bold underline. ‘Achaacha, Jeevitham oru Yathrayaanu’ (Life is a Journey).I know, she heard it from the Sunday sermons. I got doubted, whether it is the same priest for the last 15 years.

I derived a statement (equation) from the two old and popular axioms of life. Journey is beautiful. Though there were some unseen restrictions, those four years in college gave me a little more freedom to travel. Two beautiful destinations of those journeys were, one was nature and other was Man. In the evenings of Saturdays and Sundays, mostly we were out of the hostel rooms. There was always an inspiration for our journeys. Sometimes to know, sometimes to serve, sometimes to experience. Always it was rich and renovating ourselves...

Once we travelled to Johns Hospital, A hospice for mentally challenged people. I still remember the Men’s Thrivathira performed by us to make them happy. All were really doubted at the end of that Journey; who are really sick? We or They! Even there were some journeys to do a little tough labour. Who will forget that two heaps of crushed rocks at the roadside! One in the group put a comment by seeing the heaps. Oh, Ithre ullo. But later he suffered! Oh It was just like the dewatering of sea! While travelling back, we got the long back seat of the bus. Like an untuned FM radio, we started to sing the stories of Christ. It was spontaneous outpour of mind; Out of unknown Joy. Later it became a ritual of singing gospels in the journeys; until the Bus conductor commented it like; Song is good but Sound is unsahikable...

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey
we are spiritual beings on a human journey”

                                                  Stephen Covey

My Love to you,

Subin.

Father’s elder brother, One Mr. Joy appachan.. If we ask him to sing a song for a prayer, he will sing (!) his old and golden song... ‘Akkarakku yathra cheyyum zion sanchari’... Once, I stayed with him for two days...Both days he was singing the same song before the prayer...I know, throughout the year, he sings his one and only favourite..Once I asked him to change the song...Hmm,(Sighing)...Zion Sanchaari njaan...He started in a familiar ‘Ox’ raga.

Singing may be a heritable talent; But Is singing same song is so!

Mother Francia

Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”

Albert Schweitzer

Dear Friend,

I was brought up in a town where each and everyone have their own independent life. Even they don’t want to move to other families for a help. Sometimes they felt it would affect their prestiges. From such a times, I was moving from my town to North to pursue my graduation. That four years of learning gave me an opportunity to understand myself as a ‘Frog in Well’ as well as World outside of me is different and needy. The Guide towards this different world was a beautiful woman in my life; Mother Francia.

Mother(Sr.) Francia is a member in a community of sisters; Dharmagiri(?).Dharmagiri sisters are running a charitable trust under the name; Vikas. In the last years of my graduation I was a usual visitor of Vikas. They are bringing up a few tribal children there. Children were so shy that they always ran and hided under the bushes while seeing us! Those days when we first met her; Mother was actively involved in community services like giving awareness of cultivation, earnings, education and supporting families in a small colony financially!.we expressed our interest to work with her.

On the next Saturday, she called us to help an old lady .She didn’t tell much about her situation. In that morning when we came to the town, a jeep was waiting for us in the front of the MBMM hospital. Behind the Jeep,'Mother’ was sitting near to her new patient. On the way she told her story; It was tough to digest. Old woman was mentally and physically weak. Nobody was there to care her in her home. Someone in her neighbourhoods told the situation to Francia. She took the charge to nurse her!

“So Mother, where are we going?”.Someone asked. “There is a Hospital turned Home at a place called njayapalli; near Thattekadu. she can get a good treatment there”. After an hour’s journey, jeep stopped at the front of that Big House. While alighting from the vehicle, old woman was struggled with pain. She sat on a wheel chair and sisters took her to the nursing room. We went with her to each room of that hospital to see the inmates. Behind each faces; There were stories. We listened to their experiences and life. It was a new world for me. I never expect too. Some were paralytic, some were mentally disturbed, Some were bed ridden, some were lonely. Mother was silently telling us “There is a World outside your campus and your family which is in Need”.

Mother was always happy by our presence and she started to dream big things. It was her initiative to arrange a seminar to empower a group of women in a colony!. Now I know; I missed her a lot!.But memories are rich. Whenever I visited kothamangalam, i tried always to see her. But not happened...She was always busy at Service.

My Love to you

Subin.

 Once, Mother Francia was admitted in a hospital due to Back pain. Crazy boys like me and Emi used to visit her in Saturdays and Sundays to eat oranges. Where ever i go, I have a habit of showing off myself; I don’t know it is good or bad. On that day I took her (Loha) Holy dress from the table and tried to fold it. She told to some other sisters, “Nobody is here to get him out of this room”. I thanked God for her back pain; Otherwise!