Another Feather to Your Life

A year gone and another comes in. Some people think it is cyclic and are too optimistic - others fear it is passing by and forget to appreciate what life is all about. We celebrate life one day at a time.
Definitely there is a bit of confusion with feasts and celebrations over the past one week. It looked sort of like jumbled up toys. Too rich a liturgy for a distracted sort of me – the birthday (JESUS) to Martyrdom of Stephen, of St. John, the Holy Family to Mother of God and NEW YEAR. Anyway I am not questioning the wisdom of the Church.
My own movements were a bit of over exaggeration. Back from North Italy (Piemonte) on 28th Dec. and out to Marche - S. Severino on 29th and to Marcerata the next day or to Civitanova the following day. In fact, I did spend in these three places for the NEW YEAR 2010 – the eve, the day, and the night fall. What a nice way to bit farewell and welcome.
A NEW YEAR 2010 FOR ALL - LIVE TO LOVE ANOTHER YEAR

Children have the upper hand

If we have the eagerness to celebrate life as much as children do, we definitely have fewer problems. It’s -9o here at Cassine on 20th December 2009 and the cold is – well imaginable but that’s not going to stop them from pulling their mother’s apron to the piazza to ride on the trenino, visit the presepe, and most importantly tickling the aging at the hospice to moments of laughers with their presumptuous gifts and Christmas carols. I see the impatience of these children to celebrate but such impatience would have been a treasure in our adult world.
And watch out, we are definitely going for a white Christmas. Some think it unfortunate but I think it is romantic and poetic so the song reminds us. In truth, it takes you back to the manger.

It's time for Christmas

Be it in the Christian world of the West or the world of other faiths, Christmas is still phenomenal to our planet. In a sense Christ is proclaimed worldwide even if it is for many a season of profit making. Bringing together families, relatives, friends, acquaintances and communities definitely is the height of Christmas regardless of one’s faith. I always loved and highly value this aspect of coming together.
Unconsciously this thought was conscious to me as we (me and Breson) spent our time with friends from S. Elena di San Severino Marche on 13th December 2009. They (eight in number) came to Rome for no particular intention if not to visit us and exchange Christmas wishes. That make a lot of sense to friends.
We passed off the day having nothing to do in particular (that wasn’t the purpose) but found no sufficient time. We participated at the Angelus with Papa at St. Peter’s Square, enjoyed ourselves a leisure lunch to the self service Ciao Restaurant at Termine, make a merry go round the city – passed the Christmas stalls, visited P. spagna, fontana di trevi, monte citorio, Pantheon, P. Navona or along the trastevere. This is good for a meaningful Christmas celebration in context. We can definitely carried forward such wonderful experience into the Christmas event and pray for each other more concretely even when one is not physically present to each other. I offer the same complement to everyone, friends in particular to a happy Christmas preparations and to the meaningful celebrations.

See friends of the Day (video clip).

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FEELING AT HOME IN NAPLES-POMPEII

I, together with Breson and Marwein make a dashing visit to Naples-Pompeii on 5th and 6th December 2009. In a word, I felt quite at home. As you alight the train, you will be surprised to see the leaking roofs at different parts of the station. Walk in through the street, you sense the shit all over, you will not be surprised of the blasting horning from all directions and if you are crossing the road you got to be very careful, they get right through you. People are definitely rough and tough and rustic and less discipline. And of course, they look suspicious too. There is sufficient disorder here and I felt at home at the very first sight as we ourselves are from a house of disorder-India. I made no comparison with other cities of Italy, be it in its orderliness, beauty, aesthetic and artistic consciousness or whatsoever. Naples has its own originality in its disorder. We had a different experience altogether.

UPS! THERE WE ARE!

The brothers and sisters of North East India wandering around in Rome came together for a headcount at UPS on 29th November 2009. We were not less than 50 present for the Holy Mass at 12 noon and of course later for the grant fellowship meal. It was a wonderful occasion to meet fellow brethren, many of whom we already know or at least heard of and never met or seen. We had ample time to interact among ourselves and to find out how we all are doing out here. It was also a good day out to refresh ourselves away from books and computers screens. To sing those familiar hymns at the mass, say prayers that are homely, those typical tribal cuisines–apparently unattractive though, but leaves no trace of it at the end, etc. means a lot to a pilgrim away from home. So much better, but we have to take leave of each other sooner than expected; for we must go miles before we sleep.

We may be far from home but we have a family here (see traces of it in the video clip).

Say a Prayer for Her

(Remembering Alungphy, a cousin and friend. She passed away on 23rd November 2009).

Alung - my sister, Let this little picture I photographed on 6th January 2007 be our point of connection and consolation. I left a copy for you before I took leave of you. I am sure you took a good look of it yourself before you took leave of us. I heard you passed off peacefully. That doesn’t lessen my grief though. I wrote to you sometime last year and you were grateful to me. The last time I spoke to you over the phone, I sense you were anxious about something and… I promise I shall keep it. Forgive me for not been there to lay you to rest. But I promise you will be my first host on my return home. I will be there on my knees at the Church’s grave yard before your tomb’s stone – I promise. Tonight I offer your soul to the Lord (with veryheavy hearts though) in the offering of His body and blood at the Eucharistic table. I did it for you, all alone. Now, go in peace my sister.

You my friends, whisper a prayer for her as you listen to this music.

New Places-New Experiences

Any journey to a new place is an adventure. You cannot pre-determine too many presumptions. We got to be prepared to face any circumstances, expected and unexpected. But the worst thing that can happen-happens unexpectedly. A weekend, free from your normal routine can be a wonderful idea if not habituated. To visit Leuven has been contemplated for quite sometime especially to pay a visit to compatriot Stanis and exchange few pleasantries, a chitchat of everything. Breson Paul and I took off for Leuven on the 13th November by Ryaniar at 08.30 hrs. Everything was in perfect order until the first disaster struck. I realized my mobile phone gone missing. I felt the ice flowing right through my spine and to think that I may never ever again hear some people. I felt part of me going missing – the inability to communicate. The second disaster and the first casualty of the missing mobile came immediately. Fr. Stanis who must be at the station to pick us up is not around even after two hours of waiting and the link by now is cut off with the mobile gone. He seemed to have disappeared for ever only to discover later that we were then looking for each other at the twin parallel stations. This is true and still happens in the modern hi-tech world when a quantum of it gets disrupted. The rest you can well expect. How we found each other - in fact we had no time even to evaluate the entire episode. We had too many things to talk and too many places to reach in this short time. Leuven is known worldwide for its love for knowledge and for producing well known theologians, educationists, philosophers etc. The entire atmosphere actually speaks for its importance. Brussel, the capital city definitely is far modern in contrast to the cute little antique city of Brudge or the city of Kent immortalize by the famous painting – The Mystic Lamb. Take a trip on the video clip.