Page 9 - Demo

THE REVIEW
JANUARY’19-JUNE’19 9
PUNE AGM 2018
years ago. She said, ‘Who told you that?’ I said, ‘You said it on the mike.’ She said, tongue firmly on her cheek ‘It’s not true. I AM an Anglo-Indian, even though you’ll won’t make me one!’ She
said, ‘Barry, when I went to Trinca’s (a big-time happening restaurant on Park Street in Calcutta) in the late ‘60’s, this Keralite girl with a big bindi and a sari, I went to sing and I was a bit nervous because I thought there’s going to be lots of people and everybody would be wondering what’s going
in a cocoon, on an island... and you can’t afford
to do that in this day and age. Take the recent Kerala and Karnataka floods for instance. The Kerala branches—Cochin, Trivandrum— and Mysuru then Hubli sending forty thousand rupees, Coimbatore sending some money; Agra far away— got together and sent something. I got a call from Adra in West Bengal, saying, ‘Sir, we want to
send something.’ Then you had Trichy, Madurai, Ayanavaram, Pallavaram. People are not just empathising, but also reaching out. The Cochin youth, the members and committee actually went to four places to give this relief. So, friends, please take back this thought: we cannot live on an island or in a cocoon any longer. If you want to be a part of society in India, you also have to lend a helping hand. Don’t first ask: Are you a Christian? Are you an Anglo-Indian?If people are in dire straits or there has been a disaster we too need to do our best.
India Today
Coming to India, the truth is, dear friends, in
our India, there are many ‘Indias’. There’s a shining India, and a whining India; an India
that screams itself hoarse over trivial things on primetime television; and then there’s a quiet India, doing wonderful things for this country. There’s a struggling India, a fighting India, that suffers silently or faces life’s challenges boldly, with courage and conviction. There’s a wining and dining India, there’s a crying and dying India. There’s an India that needs to lose weight by choice, and there’s also a malnourished India that has no weight to lose, no choice to make. There’s even a caring India, and a giving India. But sadly, there’s also an oblivious India, an ignoring India.
In recent years, and this is important, one is experiencing another India: a judging India, a bullying India, an unforgiving India, an impatient India; an India that wants to dominate and
dictate what people should do and what people shouldn’t do, how they should lead their lives, where they can pray and where they can’t pray, what they can eat and what they can’t eat. We do not want that India, do we? We will witness, when we go back to our homes, all these Indias. Come friends, let us awaken our conscience, wrestle with it if necessary, and be inspired to connect with the India that needs us. The India in which
on. But guess what happened, Barry? They gave me a standing ovation because they were all Anglo-Indians! And they embraced the idea of somebody in a sari coming and singing Fever, and I gave them a fever!’
The point I am trying to make to you is the community has moved on, our children are being educated, we are an extremely friendly community and a community that is reaching out.
I want to share something with you: It’s wonderful what the community did for Cynthia Bosser,
the young girl from Podanur. We reached out to her, empathised with her and her family, and collected—you’ll be happy to know—about six
and a half lakh rupees for this girl who has to have a kidney transplant, which is around the corner. Three lakhs of that came from Professor Richard Hay, the Member of Parliament who got it sanctioned. The rest came from within the community and people outside the community. That’s good. But what is even better
is when you try and reach out to people who are not Anglo-Indians. And I know a lot of people who say, ‘That branch is helping people who are not Anglo-Indians.’ Well, are you a Christian? Did you read the parable about the Good Samaritan? If you only want to help people who are like you, then you’re not
a Christian. Obviously, you should not be depriving your members and Anglo-Indians to help others. But what’s wrong with helping others? If you’re not helping others in some way or the other, then you are living