Biking in Bangalore

On 26 June 1978, my father and my cousin Pradan annan bought a cycle for me. It was a Hero ladies cycle. In those days, it was a very common kind of cycle, but one rarely sees it on the road these days.

It was a tall cycle and I could not reach the ground if I was sitting on the seat. To get on, I used the technique of giving the cycle a push, with my left foot on the left pedal and my right foot on the road behind me and then jumping on. The ample space in front between the seat and the handle bars allowed me to swing my right leg over to the pedal on the other side even when wearing a pavadai, which is a long skirt. The bike did not have gears, and this made negotiating long stretches of uphill roads rather difficult. For three years in school and two years in college, I took the bike wherever I went. It became so much like a part of me, that I found it awkward to walk on the road without it, as if I did not know what to do with my hands.

Most high school kids in my school had bikes. I remember one time when almost the whole school biked over to Lalbagh for the annual flower show. It was a long distance from Richards Town but was good fun. We had asked for a holiday saying, “How could we ever get to see the flower show if we kept having school?” Mr. Flack, knowing that we were actually fishing for a holiday, told us to cycle up to Lalbagh and return to school. We had hoped that we would have the day off, and now, the only way we could avoid school was by actually biking the distance. I think we had some teachers biking with us as well.

After five yeas of cycling, I stopped almost completely because two of my friends lost their mothers in road accidents, and I found that I could not cope with the traffic. Cycles of this type have all but disappeared from the roads these days, but not from the memories of many young women of bygone years.

I can see myself whizzing down hill from Clarence High School towards Tannery road on my way home . . . in the rain . . . against the wind . . . soaked to the bone . . . shivering . . . but free . . .

Thank God

We received this email from Philip’s brother’s wife this morning with the subject ‘Thank God.’ It describes the days leading up to her husbands surgery and how thankful they are to the Lord.

We thank God for helping us go through this difficult time. We also thank all of you who supported us in prayer and for your encouragement.

Two weeks back Surendar had severe pain in his abdomen, and the pain was spreading to the chest area, his back and so on. He was treating himself with Gelusil (antacid), soda, garlic pearls etc, because he had eaten a heavy meal for lunch that day and thought that the pain was some gastric pain due to indigestion. It was a Saturday and nephew Naveen was there after our weekly Bible study and offered to take him to Vadamalaiyan Hospital. He refused saying that the pain will go away after sometime. So Naveen went home.

Even after midnight, the pain did not subside.

Amazing Grace

CNN reports today: Hundreds of people sang “Amazing Grace” and prayed Friday evening as they gathered at a City Hall in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, to mourn the victims of a shooting spree.

Great hymns, because of their beautiful verse, and apt and familiar tunes give people a sense of comfort, a sense of standing on something solid when everything else seems to totter and fall. This may be likened to the sense of comfort that one may experience in a cathedral with stained glass windows and pipe organ. The very wood of the ancient mahogany pews offers a sense of stability.

Americans are so fond of this hymn, Amazing Grace and invariably sing it in all solemn occasions. And yet the words would seem so out of place in most of these occasions, because they talk about the wretchedness of sinners without Christ and the grace that saves those who have been found. I cannot see how these words can offer any comfort in a public gathering where such sentiments are alien. I conclude that the main culprit in this anomaly is the beautiful tune.

The tune of this hymn is special to me too and brings with it many distracting memories that I could do without, struggling as I already do to worship God from my inner man in spirit and truth. Finding an alternate tune was not difficult as it follows the common meter. Singing to the tune of “The Lord’s my Shepherd” was a bit confusing because of the similarity of tunes. I thought the tune of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” was perfect.

Another such hymn is ‘Just as I am without one plea,’ where playing the introduction is enough to set off some into bursts of copious tears.

A cross as a pendant on a chain

Whether a girl can wear a cross as a pendant, whether a church can have a Christmas service, whether a person can do shopping on a Sunday after church, or whether a woman can pray aloud during a church service, are not matters that can be resolved with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. It is possible for godly people to answer either way in any of these matters, depending on the circumstances. What is important is that people understand the issues involved. My sincere opinion is that we would spare ourselves of much pain if we could only stop short of laying down rules and strictures and set forth good principles instead, to be followed in a spirit of forebearance.

Case 1: A cross-shaped pendant

Recently, a brother in Christ was concerned that another sister, he had just been introduced to, was wearing a chain with a cross as a pendant and felt that this underscored the fact that she needed to be taught the very basics of Christianity because she was breaking the second commandment of the Ten Commandments. He believed that Christians must never ever use the symbol of the cross. Much as I wonder about the appropriateness of a cross being worn as a casual piece of jewelry, I do not quite see things in black and white like this. He was also opposed to the use of this symbol on Bible covers or in illustrations and so on.