Father Charles

Onto Coorg finally. The Tibetan Golden Temple in Kushalnagar was my first stop. Exquisite. There, I met Pempa Tshering, a monk who almost convinced me to stay the night and participate in meditation there. He showed me some of the ways of praying in Buddhism, using wheels built into the walls that circle the back area of the temple grounds. Large spinning wheels were also in various buildings for people to spin while in meditation and a long circuit around stone monuments provided the chance for stuppa, a form of prayer (?) that involves walking or running around the circuit. His broken English made it hard for me to understand the full intricacies of the Buddhist forms of prayer.

Next was the bamboo forest of Nisargadaama where I met a group of students from Bangalore. The 9 of them had hired a people carrier and convinced me to go to Ooty (Tamil Nadu) with them for the night and then be dropped off the next day in Madikeri, the place of my accommodation for the night, as arranged by Father William from Mysore. After 10 minutes in the car, I was uncertain and decided to follow instincts and got off at the bus station at Kushalnagar to get the bus to Madikeri. Father Charles (friend of Father William) was waiting for me after all and it felt wrong to cancel on him. The Bangalore guys were very understanding and I felt a twinge of regret for not following on that random path that promised a lot of fun.

But the next days in Madikeri was worth it. At my request, Father Charles arranged a stay for me in a convent on the church grounds. He is a relatively young priest and always seem jovial and fun - I warmed up to him immediately.

My stay in Madikeri is the most peaceful days so far. I'm planning to stay from Wednesday until Monday, 6 days worth of prayers and spiritual awakening. There was little else to immerse myself in, and I'm glad for it. The much-heralded beautiful scenery of Madikeri is obscured by a permanent fog that comes with the continuous rain. It poured non-stop in my first few days, ended for an hour or so on Saturday, only to start up once more. I found out that the rain was from a cyclonic depression that had devastated Indonesia and flooded parts of Karnataka and neighbouring states. So not just my English luck with the weather here then! I feel like a piece of London has come with me - it is cold, raining and I am wrapped up in 4 layers with a scarf and still feel it insufficient at times. I'm starting to miss the heat of yester-weeks. I developed a cold on Saturday, my second in only a month. Traveling is not agreeing with my health!

The sisters here are amazingly kind. Sisters Smitha, Severing, Ranjitha, Chinnarani and Sonia welcomed me immediately into their folds. They looked after me as a special guest at first but eventually allowed me to wash up, cook and do my own chores. I felt like a part of their family. I prayed with them in the mornings and evenings, cooked (incl. two Vietnamese dishes… yummm!), went to daily mass, sang, played hymns on the keyboard during meditation in the chapel and the church and observed lessons and taught songs in the Catholic school that they oversee. I could feel my deepening faith take on a new form and a new understanding. I now understood the purpose of such pure lives. I had always wondered how it helped humanity to have a group of people confined to a convent and away from society but the realisation dawned on me while observing the heartfelt prayers of the 9 'candidates', 15-year olds who have recently committed to the convent and were beginning their journey on the road to becoming nuns. What I learned in Fatima was shown here - that the prayers and sacrifice of individuals counted greatly towards the reparation of sinners: for the remission of their sins and for their conversion. As Merce also pointed out, their lives are also an example of the work of God.

Mother Superior Smitha, Sister Severing, Sister Ranjitha, Sister Chinnarani and Sister Sonia (The Sisters of the Little Flower of Bethany)

They each have such a special place in my heart that I feel it is important to mention them each individually. Sister Smitha defies the standard image of a strict, totalitarian Mother Superior. She makes herself as one of the sisters, is kind and warm. Sister Severing is motherly and always good-humored, with a bit of childish innocence in her despite her 50s age bracket. The two are headteachers of the English and Karnada Medium schools respectively. Sister Ranjitha looks after the household and teaches the candidates. She's also the queen of songs, singing harmonies and running games and she indirectly taught me a very special song I shall be singing constantly. Sister Chinna is only a year older than me, specialising in dance and cooking. She seemed shy at first but we got on like sisters after a few days of warming up. Finally Sister Sonia, my kindred in singing. She knew and appreciated many of the beautiful hymns I've brought with me and we spent the last few days singing together. She is only 21, the youngest of the sisters, is always smiling and giggling. The latter two are becoming dear friends to me.

I'm tempted to stay. I can make my home here for another few weeks. They are my family now and I loathe the thought of not being able to see them again. In a few years when I can return, they will probably be scattered around the country as their rotations continue. The sisters are trying to make me join. If only.

I'm now staying an extra day, until Tuesday, for my work here is not done. I'll be playing dress up tonight (in saris and the like!), recording songs for Sonia, celebrating my birthday (in advance of next week)… so many things left.

It's difficult to stop the waffling and gushing when I feel so much for them! Summarising events that have been memorable: a resurrection, or a reminder in fact, of my first love - Mathematics! I observed two lessons, from 10th and 12th standards. The pace the teachers move at is staggering. Pupils tune out for 2 seconds at their peril! You won't be able to keep up. It's amazing they manage as it is. The standard is unsurprisingly higher - their syllabus includes things I only came across at university. A classroom smaller than my own in London sits 75 students, compared with my 25. But somehow, it all works. Still, I dread to think of all the marking! I'm rethinking my consideration of teaching abroad.

Next, a wedding, (A WEDDING!!). Anyone who knows me should know of my inexplicable love for the Indian wedding and I finally came across one at St. Michael's church, where I'm staying. I was in awe of the wedding dress - a beautiful white-creamy sari bedecked with jeweled trimmings. The bride looked beautiful. The sisters convinced me to go to the reception, unfortunately, only a small introduction to the full wonders of the weddings I've heard about. My wedding dream is still to be realised.

Earlier in the week was a trip to a coffee plantation deep in the forest in Madikeri, owned by a sweet Catholic family (Betts and Rebe) that I met in church. I admired their relationship - both were from Kerala. Betts showed me around his coffee plantation (beautifully scenic) and filled me with agricultural knowledge. On the way, I attracted two leeches, one on the lips the other on the arm. The experience forced me to conduct a self-strip search for fear of the presence of more leeches. I won't be walking around any more plantations in the rain for a while.

On my last night, Sisters Sonia and Chinna took me to Rajaseat with an all singing all dancingmusical fountain. I loved it! The blaring catchy tunes played were accompanied by a visual feast of water display from the elaborate fountain capable of making the water dance in the most spectacular way. I enjoyed every minute of it! And apparently, there's an even better one in Mysore (which I sadly missed). I didn't think a better one was possible. Next time then. My companions made it an even more memorable night due to the closeness I felt with them. This was the first time out with them away from religious or school settings so we were on more of a familiar level. We talked, laughed and ate delicious junk food at the nearby well-known stalls. Sister Chinna commented that due to our close ages (21, 25, 26) we were like sisters. At that point, I really thought of them as family.

My last morning, Sister Smitha insisted that I was accompanied by Sister Sonia to get the scheduled bus to take me to Wayanad. I couldn't think of anyone better. While waiting for the bus, I taught her the hymns that I didn't get a chance to record, so we passed the time singing together. The pace at which she learned the songs made her truly my kindred sister in music. A lovely end.