Booted out!

Today's Indian Express carries the masterful cartoon of Jagdish Tytler - old style Congress politician - and accused of spurring on the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

Look closely and you will see that the trade-mark goatee of Mr. Tytler is replaced with a boot print. The reference is to a shoe that was thrown at our home-minister a few days ago by a Sikh journalist, who was protesting at the 'clean chit' given to Mr. Tytler by the Central Board of Investigation - just in time for the general elections this month.

The Congress party has done an about turn after trumpeting Mr. Tytler's 'innocence' in the light of the CBI report. Yesterday it unceremoniously dropped Mr. Tytler and another veteran politician as their candidates from prestigious parts of Delhi.

I think that the shoe throwing epidemic has gotten clearly out of hand. The Bible teaches us to respect those in authority - even ones whom we are pretty sure are not adhering to the Shalom life. Daniel serving under the often brutal Kings of Babylon / Persia comes to mind. Paul speaks pretty clearly on this.

But what is more interesting to me is how shame seems to be the weapon of choice - and seems to catalyse some form of action - even if only temporary. We have had committee after committee examine the various atrocities / riots / communal clashes etc. and very, very rarely does anyone get convicted.

A single shoe - thrown at the Home Minister - not even at Mr. Tytler - has cascaded into Mr. Tytler being policitically too hot for Congress to handle. They are not admitting guilt in any way, but they want to distance themselves from a potential embarassment. Shame at work.

Someone said that in our society the concept of sin is not being found out. Not causing disgrace to your family / clan / jati / group. This certainly seems to be bourne out in the way that many cases are handled. We keep hearing the canards that 'our boys are good boys - they would never do something like that' etc.

But lets look east. In Cambodia an amazing trial is taking place:

The Khmer Rouge’s former chief executioner asked for Christian forgiveness this week on the witness stand. Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, is charged with overseeing the radical regime’s S-21 torture prison, where more than 12,000 Cambodians lost their lives.

A man who is credited with overseeing the torture and killing of so many is now asking for forgiveness. Can such a man be forgiven? He is the only one from his generation and seniority who is doing so. The difference between Duch and his colleagues who were active in the killing fields is that Duch has professed a conversion to following Jesus Christ. Press reports vary widely in their take on this - with some stating that Duch claims he was just following orders - to others (such as the one quoted above) talking about Duch asking forgiveness for his actions and taking responsibility for them.

I have yet to hear a single person - a single one - big or small - ask forgiveness for what they did against another religious community here in our beloved land of Bharat.

There is an emotional scene in the movie Gandhi which comes to mind: where the leaders of the various bands of rioters come into the room and throw their weapons down at the feet of the hunger-fasting Gandhi. Sadly, that seems to only happen in the movies.

We are a country poor in forgiveness - both the asking of it - and the giving of it.

Till true repentence comes - till real forgiveness happens - we will continue to have shoes hurled. And worse.

Last day of (pre)school

Enoch is already an educational veteran.

Having just turned 6 years old - he already has 4 years of school behind him!

He started out at Vasant Vihar Playmate Preschool in the Nursery section the year we moved to our Happy Valley flat - 2005. He was 2 years and 5 months old then. He then went on to junior Kindergarten next year. Near the end of that year we decided that he really wasn't ready for the next step - and encouraged by the wise words of Susan from our church - we talked to the school and asked them to let Enoch 'repeat' his Junior KG.

The school management was surprised (normally people ask the other way - can my son / daughter be moved up a year) but agreed. And so Enoch had a 'Second Jr. KG'.

This year he was in Senior Kindergarten - and has been enjoying it for the most part. The school is run by a Jain Trust (complete with a statue of Saraswati - the goddess of learning) in the main entrance foyer) and is quite forward thinking at the pre-school level. No tests. No telling in advance what the students are going to learn in order for their parents to mug up on it.

We have prayed every day with Enoch before he goes to school. He now has come to the last day of pre-school. This June he starts Standard 1. Hooray for education! Another 12 years of study stretch out ahead of this little man!

Bombay House

Far from the maddening crowd - on the first shoulder of the hill top that is Khandala at the top of the Western Ghats lies the town of Khandala. A small place - where the Hindi author Prem Chand once lived - it is usually just passed in a moment by folks moving towards Pune or the more well-known 'hill station' of Lonavala.

For the Eichers, Khandala has been a small gem over the years. Early in our growing up one of Dad's missionary friends allowed us to use a house they had there for the occassional family weekend. We would walk up to the place from the small railway station and spend a weekend in the rain, reading Readers Digests and enjoying the quiet.

Then there was the famous (infamous) Easter weekend hike undertaken by the Mumbai Eichers. We set out to walk up to Khandala from Karjat. It was a 2 day hike for us (I was about 13 at the time) and we seriously underestimated how little water there would be in April on the way. We were badly dehydrated by the time we got to the missionary's bungalow.

Finally, since we came to Thane, we discovered the Convent of Jesus and Mary. This beautiful place - called "Prayer House" hosted us for two memorable weekends early in our time in Thane.

What better place to go for our joint 40th B-day weekend - especially as Sheba's birthday was on the Saturday?

The only hitch was that the sisters in Prayer House were having their own retreat that weekend. So they helpfully suggested that we request the neighbouring sisters in Bombay House to accomodate us.

This they did. Bombay house is over 200 years old it seems. Built as a missionary convent it felt like we stepped back in time.

Which we had, of course. The ancient wooden timbers, and the palatially high ceilings, the crumbling glory of the large empty place brought to mind both Enid Blighton stories of castles and skulduggery - as well as the more austere thoughts of the early nuns and their life out in the jungle areas.

Jungle was exactly what we wanted. The place is situated in a lovely strip of forest that is part of the diocesian land, and the bamboo thickets and second growth trees make for a beautiful strip of birds and quiet. Just how jungly it is was reinforced by the nuns telling us on our welcome that one had gone to take one of their dogs to the vet - because an animal had attacked it and damaged its throat. Monkeys don't do that - but leopards do.

Asha and Enoch enjoyed the trees and rocks.


As did their happy parents.

We did have a few small mishaps: it turned out much hotter than we imagined - and we were much more tired than we thought - hence slept a lot - and Asha managed to step on a thorn which went clear through her shoe sole into her foot. Asha's foot hurt her for most of the time - but we managed to overcome these with a smile and prayer - and enjoyed a most wonderful time together.


There is nothing like having a family Sunday worship in the shade of a large clump of bamboo - overlooking the view down the Ghats.

It was entirely appropriate to remember Palm Sunday - when the pitifully small crowd welcomed the Prince of Peace - riding on a donkey into the dusty city of Jerusalem. The four of us worshipped this once and coming King through song and prayer and word out on the hillock overlooking His creation.


As Asha and Enoch grow up - one of our goals as a family is to give them a wealth of wonderful memories. Through the generosity of our friends, and through the grace of God operating in real-time, we experienced some of that this weekend.

It seemed barely possible that we were already heading back to the station after saying good bye to the dear Nuns of Bombay House. When shall we meet Sister Serena, Sister Jude and Sister Anthony? Hopefully soon!

Climbing

OK, many years after rock-climbing yours trully couldn't resist a bit of bouldering.

The face is approached!

And up we go - this is fun - and easy it seems!

Nice warm, solid, blasted rock from an old quarry face.


Aha! Near the top the problem starts.

How to get up the last bit.

Just before the top I come to a slight overhang. Legs start to wobble. Am I losing my grip?

Meanwhile below me the young ones are trying out their own moves.

To cap it all - our mobile starts ringing in my pocket - I am starting to get nervous and my leg is starting to shake. The shoes are also quite loose and slippering - definitely not suited for rock-climbing. Really wish I had a rope from above at this point.

But, ah! A solid hand hold. An old root which had worked its way into the rock. I tested it and found it to be absolutely solid.

With this beauty of a hold I was able to take control of things. Mobile. Switch it off - and put it up on the top. Now to take off that shoe - up it goes too. One foot barefoot, one foot shoed - I now look for another handhold.

Found one. A mantle shelf manuever and up I go.

It all looked very easy afterward. But there were moments of panic (and prayer by Sheba who took these shots).

The next day we have the turn of the younger generation.

Not the same face, but still wonderful to climb up with them a bit.

Onward, higher!

A sober note

Amidst all the blessings we have received as a family - this note:

Last night we admitted a woman who the government hospital would not take.

Her leg was gangrenous. She was bloated. They said she did not need admission.

We nursed her through the night.

This morning she died.

Another person with HIV who has left this world. Leaving behind a teenaged son, a daughter who recently eloped and an early twenties son.

There are many strands to this story, but we have lost another friend. Her neighbours - two HIV positive ladies who help in cleaning the JSK - saw it all. We need lots of healing as we live through these deaths.

No newspapers will carry her death. It will be a quiet cremation. One of the many taking place as the disease continues

80 year celebration

We were blessed to have 80 plus folks gather on the evening of the 2nd of April to join us in thanking God for 40 years of Andi and 40 years of Sheba!


Meeting on the terrace of our building, just above our flat, on a warm summer evening we were able to review the amazing 4 decades we have lived through. Charting our lives over the years in a presentation peppered with priceless shots from our kiddie and not-so-kiddie days (thanks Mum and Amma for sending the pics!) we were amazed to see just how good God has been to us over the years.

Over and over again we came up to this simple but vital reality: we are blessed. Blessed with wonderful, sacrificial parents. Blessed with the knowledge that we are loved and accepted for who we are. Blessed with amazing siblings. Blessed with tremendous educational opportunities, wonderful teachers, loyal friends. Blessed to know Jesus from an early age. Blessed with parents and grand-parents who prayed for us. Daily. Blessed with superb opportunities to put our training into action, to work with some of the most challenging people around. Blessed with colleagues and church-members who are broken and brittle like us - but who are being moulded into the image of our Lord.

This God-drenched sharing was followed up by a short and stirring meditation on the Bible by Stanley Nelson. He looked into one of the many overlooked couples in the Bible: Jehosheba and Jehoiada. Princess and Priest. Married to each other. She took the initiative to hide the only true heir to the throne and both nurtured and prepared the boy king Joash for his eventual rule (2 Chronicles 22:10-12). The key that Stanley brought out was this couple's willingness to put down their own opportunities in favour of what God wanted. She being a princess could have legitimately staked her claim to the crown - or her children's claims - he being an astute and popular leader could have put himself foward too. The end result was a kingship that flourished under their guidance - and Jehoaida being buried with the kings. Would that we will be faithful and not use our positions to pursue our own selfish gain (Isaiah 32.8). On the other hand -what opportunities their are - big and small - to see the wonders of the Kingdom lived out in our midst, in our time!

After the talking there was time to eat! Chicken biryani makes anyones day in our opinion!


Towards the end of this time of celebration I noticed something. My upper cheeks were hurting. Then I realised why - I had been smiling so much that the smiling muscles hurt. The last time they had hurt like that was at our wedding at the end of 99! Hopefully it will not be another 10 or 40 years before that happens again!


We are so grateful for all our dear friends who turned out in force - and the many friends and family members who have been praying, sending greetings and loving us from a far. What a rich inheritance we have!

Milestones Part II

Just could not resist posting this picture of Sheba as a baby. Who would have known then the paths that she has travelled - and the many, many lives whom she has touched.

How much potential there is in each child, in each life!

We are so grateful for all that we have received - and want to be good stewards of the days that we are given.