- A bird on a lamp-post outside my great grandmom's place
My great grandmother is 97 years old. She has a house in Pallikal, a rural area filled with fields and cows and rice fields. An empty cowshed lays next to an almost empty house. She inhabits it, with two helpers, who cook her food and take care of the estate. The house has a large mango tree next to it. It has long-stopped giving fruit, but it still stands, watchful over the house. The architecture is very traditional, unlike those of my parents and my grandparents. It consists of a single story, with an inner and outer courtyard, a veranda and a kitchen extending out into the garden.
My mum used to play around there, apparently having been chased by dogs and taking care of calves. The number of stories she has of the place is enough to fill a typical Ruskin Bond book.
But most of these places are empty, and the house is one of few traditional Keralite houses left standing.
It has been almost custom among the community to emigrate, to other parts of India, the Gulf, or more recently the US and especially Canada, then return when prosperous, build a large house of mansion and then retire there. Whenever I visit Kerala i get transported from one old person's house to the next. With this large ageing population, the question arises: What happens to the tradition when the next generation is gone.
- a wood carving of Jesus on the door of my relative's place
Despite being a minority religion and occasionally being at odds with the prevailing faith of the time, Christians in Kerala have often enjoyed a position of privilege. With some of them converted from upper caste families, they retained their high-caste status, bestowed by the Rajas of Kerala recorded by copper plate inscriptions. As a result, the community has been able to leverage that economic advantage to emigrate, set up businesses and travel more easily.
The God Of Small Things is a book written by Arundhati Roy. It won the Man Booker prize and is one of the best works of Indian fiction. The book discusses caste issues in the modern Christian community, as well as events relating to divorce and generational trauma. Though it may not paint the most accurate picture of the community now, it does share some insights into experiences of the community.
I wanted to contrast the beginnings of the community with the way the community moves into the future. It is uncertain to what extent the practices and traditions endure for generations to come. Will there be reform? Change? What happens to Churches set up outside Kerala? Will they spread to other cities too. These are all questions to which I have no answers. The only thing I know is that the community back home is still alive, and they keep the churches and the faith alive by their traditions.
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