Good God!

I haven't heard of any Christians going to Tirupati,8217; my mother, says about my proposed visit to Balaji. Can8217;t blame her for her v...

I haven8217;t heard of any Christians going to Tirupati,8217; my mother, says about my proposed visit to Balaji. Can8217;t blame her for her views, after all I am born and bred a 8216;Catholic8217;. If you add to that a dose of Catholic School Jesuit education and the fact that Mom8217;s eldest brother was a Jesuit priest and Mom8217;s twin sister a Catholic nun8230;you get the picture?

But that picture is a bit imperfect because almost all my friends during my school and college days were non-Christians. I have spent hours, days and weeks at friends8217; houses being the chief architect of the 8216;Ganpati8217; decorations; a fact that rattled Mom so much that she chided me every year that I had never made a crib at Christmas. Mom, I am sure, had only one prayer on her lips: 8216;Father forgive him for he does not know what he is doing.8217; Many non-Christian friends share her scepticism about my religious beliefs, but their lack of faith in my true Christian upbringing stems from the fact that I am a teetotaler: a trait much appreciated by their wives and an aberration in my character that their spouses put up with.

Now married and with two boisterous boys of 11 and eight, who have a similar upbringing to mine, I see the same 8216;Catholic8217; traits in them. Holi, Diwali and Ganesh Utsav are celebration time for all Indians and there are none more patriotic than they. They are the first to experiment with the colours at Holi, the loudest crackers at Diwali and lend a healthy volume to the resounding din of Ganapati Bapa Moria, Pudicha Varshi Lawkar Ya. Christmas and Easter times are, in their view, more personal and private celebrations, albeit with family and an army of friends of all creeds and beliefs.

It is this background that got my mother worried about my proposed trip to Tirupati. The visit for me is more out of curiosity than out of any deep-rooted religious sentiments. Well, come to think of it, my Sunday Mass ritual is almost an equivalent.

The trip to Tirupati has been planned by my office colleagues a month in advance, so it is with some concern that my wife tells me that it conincides with the weekend that my elder son is to get a prize at the annual school gathering. It is his first major scholastic achievement. However, I am making my trip to Tirupati for the die has been cast already.

Now, the gods have got even with me for being a fringe believer. While I shall be paying obeisance to Lord Balaji at Tirupati, ironically, my son will receive the same prize that I got in school at his age, the Ignatius Loyola Prize for scoring the highest in 8216;catechism8217;, or Catholic studies. I will miss that momentous occasion. However, my faith in God shall, I am sure, not be poorer for that!