The Healing Mother of Velankanni Basilica and the Infant Jesus Shrine in Bangalore

Home , Nagore, Nagore Dargah, Velankanni

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Volume 17 Article 25

March 2013

Sacred Land, Common Ground, Contested Territory: the Healing Mother of Velankanni Basilica and the Infant Jesus Shrine in Bangalore

Vasudha Narayanan

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Recommended Citation Narayanan, Vasudha (2004) "Sacred Land, Common Ground, Contested Territory: the Healing Mother of Velankanni Basilica and the Infant Jesus Shrine in Bangalore," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 17, Article 25. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1535

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Narayanan: Sacred Land, Common Ground, Contested Territory

Sacred Land, Common Ground, Contested Territory: the Healing Mother ofVelankanni Basilica and the Infant Jesus Shrine in Bangalore

Vasudha Narayanan University of Florida

Nenjil aadum deivame . romantic music to refer to one's lover in a en ninavai aalum deivame hyperbolic way as a metaphoric god or manati! koyil ceykinren goddess. But these words are followed by makilnutu unnai alaikkinren the name that tells me it is not film music o deity (deivam) who dances in my Come, 0 lord, and reside with happiness in heart my heart, Come 0 Yesu.... o deity who rules my mind It is a song addressed to the baby Jesus, I will make a temple in my heart and, as I find out later, from a popular (mind) cassette "Wondrous child, Y esu." The With joy, I will invite you... words of the next song seem even more --Popular Song familiar-very pious, but sharing in the common idiom of Tamil piety rather than THE local tea stall blares the Tamil song as having a uniquely identifiable Christian tone I walk in a street near the shrine of the Infant to it: Jesus in Bangalore, in the state of Kamataka. The tune and words sound like tiru talam vanden any number of Tamil film songs I have un malar padam tola vanden heard. And, in fact, I do think it is a film I came to the sacred place song for it is not unusual in this genre of I came to worship the flower feet

Vasudha Narayanan is Professor ofReligion and has been teaching at the University ofFlorida since 1982. She is a past President of the American Academy ofReligion and "the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. She was educated at the Universities ofMadras and Bornbay in India, and Harvard University. Her fields of interest are the Sri Vaishnava tradition,' Hindu traditions in India, Cambodia, America; Hinduism and the environment; and gender issues. She is currently working on Angkor Wat and other Hindu temples in Cambodia with a fellowship from the American Council ofLearned Societies. Her latest book is Understanding Hinduism (Oxford, 2004). Recent articles include: "Vaisnava Traditions in Cambodia: 5-12th centuries. " Festschrift for Professor Dennis Hudson. Joumal ofVaisnava Studies. Fall 2002, "Religious Biography and Regional Identity" in Indian Islamic Traditions, edited by Richard Eaton. (New Delhi: Oxford); "Hinduism: (Her Spaces) "in Her Voice, Her Faith, edited by Arvind Sharma and Katherine K. Young (Westview Press, 2003); "Gender in a Devotional Universe" in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, edited by Gavin Flood (Blackwell, 2003) and "Embodied Cosmologies: Sights ofPiety, Sites ofPower " Presidential Address. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 71/3, Fall 2003.

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The Tamil songs, I heard later, have been recent years (Hall, Orsi 1997). Hall composed specifically for the Infant Jesus observes that historians of religion in who is enshrined and worshiped in America say that "while we know a great Bangalore. Sacred places and flower feet are deal about the history of theology and (say) standard tropes in Tamil poetry; every other church and state, we know next-to-nothing . set of poems in the works of the Vaislmava about religion as practiced and precious little and Saiva saints who Jived towards the end about the everyday thinking and doing of lay of the first millenium CE is filled with the men and women." (Hall 1997: vii) While glory of a sacred place and the flower feet of there are any number of shldies which look the deity. at the history of theology, or the institutional I had heard similar songs near the . stances and positioning, the category of Basilica of Our Lady of Health in "lived religion" has only now come into its Velankanni, in ct:he neighboring state of own in the study of religion in America. Tamilnadu. Velankanni is about eight miles The category of "lived religion" bridges from Nagapattinam and the site of a Marian the commonly perceived divisions of "high" appearance. Here, Mary is worshiped as and "popular" religions. The term "popular Arogya Mata, the Mother of Health. religion," much used by historians of the Velankalmi is a Christian site; Nagapattinam Refomlatiol1, caine to refer to those nearby has several Hindu temples; and a few practices that emerged between the official, miles down the road is Nagore, the home of institutionalized Christianity (also called a famous Muslim dargah, where the body of "elite" or "learned") and profane or "pagan" Sufi saint, Shahul Hamid (15th century) is culture. It was in these spaces that human enshrined. Similar tea shops, similar music, beings had autonomy and agency and similar, and sometimes, the same Hindu transfonned practices to fit in with local pilgrims. In Nagapattinam, there were Hindu cultures. "Lived religion" eschews the elite/ devotees; in Nagore, Hindu and Muslim; in popular, institutional! lay, high/low Velankanni, Hindu, Christian, and perhaps dichotomies. others I could not distinguish. There seemed There is yet another pair of categories, to be a similar crowd here in Bangalore not quite a dichotomy that "lived religion" largely south Indian, many of them Tamil or cuts through in this essay. These are the Kannada-speaking Hindus. I feel like I am categories of "ethnic" and "religious." in the set of an Indian movie, a blockbuster Christians in Tamilnadu are proud of their like '~Amar, Akbar, and Anthony" which, as ethnic culture, their Tamil heritage. There is one can hazard a guess, speaks of no neat divide between "Christian" and communal/religious integration in India. "Tamil." On-the-ground religion does not, in There have been many classical fact, fit neatly into these dichotomies or theological studies comparing Hindu and categories. In many. cases priests, Christian thought in India, but it is only institutions, and lay people come together in recently that rich studies on "popular perpetuating ideas or practices which some religion" are coming out. In this essay, I scholars call "popular." In other words, it is will explore one facet of "lived religion" for not the case that the priests and clergy do some Hindus and Christians in Tamilnadu "high" religion and that this is opposed to and Karnataka- the "on the ground" the practices of the common people. The relationship between Hindus and Christians. devotional exercises seen at Velankanni and This is literally on the ground, on the sacred the Shrine of the Infant Jesus in South India ground of Velankanni and Viveknagar, are part of every day life to millions of Bangalore. Hindus and Christians, men and women, "Lived Religion" is an important lens clergy, priests, and lay people. for the study of religion in the Americas in

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" 22 Vasudha Narayanan ~i I

The category of lived religion also Velankanni illumines and nuances what we can say about the relationship between Hindus and Located about nine miles south of Christians in South India. As can be Nagapattinam and about 150 miles south of expected, one cannot make generalizations Chennai (Madras) in the state of Tamilnadu, on the relationship~any description or Velankanni (also spelled Velanganni and analysis would depend on the historical, Vailankanni) is a popular tourist destination ritual, and social contexts. Historically, for Hindus. In fact, an internet search for while Hindus associated Christianity with this name will bring up dozens of tour hospitals and education, this may be less operators who have included this Basilica as true in the post-colonial era. Ritually, while part ofa package vacation. While there are Hindus may enthusiastically participate in hundreds of pilgrims through the year, the certain rites which they think of as "etlmic" crowds especially swell during the feast in some Christian places of worship, and for days for the Virgin Mary between late specific reasons, they certainly do not August and early September. participate in many other practices and do The received narratives recounted in not frequent all churches. In the social popular books sold near the shrines (Samy, context, while Hindus may have a cordial Gabriel, lrudayam, and Pankiras) as well as relationship with the Christian management internet sites, speak of how it all came to be. of a parochial school, where they have Three miracles are associated with this holy waited in line for several years to get place. The first narrative, located c. 1560, admission for their children's education, or speaks of a young boy who was sleeping have very good Christian friends, they may near a pond in Velankanni. Near him was a get very angry at some of the conversion container of milk which he was carrying to rhetoric and strategies exercised by his master. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful Christian missionaries. woman carrying a baby; mother and child In discussing "lived religion," I will were engulfed in effulgence. The mother focus on two churches well known in South asked him for some milk which he gave with India: the Basilica of Our Lady of Health at happiness. He proceeded to his destination Velankanni, Tamilnadu, and the Infant Jesus and explained to his master why the quantity Shrine at Viveknagar, Bangalore. These are of milk was less than expected. However, two of the most popular shrines among when he opened the container, the milk Christian places of worship for Hindu began to increase, and the pitcher became devotees. The forms of the deities venerated full. Master and servant ran to the place here are at. once familiar to Hindus- the where the apparition had occurred and Healing Mother at Velankanni, and the baby venerated the spot near the tank. Eventually Jesus in the Bangalore shrine. Hindus they built a little chapel there, and the pond worship the deity through many where May appeared was called Mata relationships-father, mother, lover, child, Kulam or Mother's pond. warrior-protector, etc. Perhaps the most The second story speaks of the Virgin beloved representations in south India are Mary appearing to a, lame boy who was the Mother and Child images-and it is these selling buttermilk near the same pond and that we see in Velankanni and in Bangalore. curing him. This is said to have been at the In Bangalore Jesus is not the Jesus on the end of the 16th century. He was apparently Cross or the risen Christ; it is the ever directed to go to a wealthy Catholic man beloved baby Jesus, spoken of in terms that who lived nearby and ask him to build a are common when addressing the baby church on the spot where she appeared. The Krishna or the child Murugan in Tamilnadu. church is supposed to have been built soon after this incident.

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The third "big" miracle is said to have Every Thursday, the Deccan Herald, the happened at the end of the 17th century when local newspaper in Bangalore has dozens of the Virgin saved Portuguese sail6rs from a paid "thanksgiving" testimonials. These violent storm in the Bay of Bengal. The public testimonials thank the Infant Jesus of sailors were thrown ashore in Velankanni on the shrine in Viveknagar, Bangalore, for the 8th of September, the feast day of the fulfilling various petitions. From the names Virgin Mary. In gratitude they built a on these testimonials, and those on the chapel, 12 feet by 24 feet with a dome. The shrine's website, one can discern that some building underwent major changes several are Hindu and some Christians. Since times. In 1962 Pope John XXIII raised it to several names are common to both the level of a minor basilica. (Gabriel et al. communities, it is not possible to know the 5-12) Located, like the Nagore dargah, on religious identity of all the people who post the sea shore, it is swept by tropical breezes such messages. The thanksgiving is offered and multitudes of pilgrims. And Nagore for Jesus' help in solving a domestic or too, like Velankanni, has its own story of professional problem. how the saint Shahul Hamid saved a Dutch The Infant Jesus Shrine is relatively new ship and its sailors from sinking. to the landscape of Bangalore. Around the While these three miracles frame the mid nineteen sixties a parish priest saw a narrative history of Velankanni, there are rose garden and thought wistfully that it hundreds of other miracles that are attested would be a good place for a church. After to by devotees. People come in search of saying a cycle of nine novenas a day to the promotions, marriages, cures, success in Infant Jesus of Prague for two months, his business, and a host of other wishes, and wish was fulfilled and the land bought for pray to the Mother. Although there are any the church. In 1969 the foundation was laid number of reasons as to why the pilgrims and by a .series of what seemed to be come here, the site is specially known for miracles-all of which happened on healing. Thursdays-permission was granted for the The special feast for Mary is held, as in church to be built there. Several many parts of the world, in late August, construction projects ensued and several early September. The celebrations have a miracles have been reported. While there are uniquely local-they are not called "Hindu" crowds everyday, the long lines coming for color as they do in the urs, the celebration "darshan"-viewing-of the Infant Jesus on for Shahul Hamid, down the road. The Thursdays are especially long. People kneel annual festivals for Shahul Hamid, Arogya before, bow down Hindu-style, bring Mata Mary, and the Hindu deities in garlands, or light candles for Infant Jesus Nagapattinam all begin with the raising of a and petition him. A church shop sells silver ritual, sacred flag. This marks the official and stainless steel oil lamps, normally used commencement of the festival; in for votive rituals in Hindu traditions, Velankanni the ritual flag is raised on candles, cassette tapes, booklets etc., telling th August 29 ; the lowering of the flag us how it all came to be. th denotes the end on September 8 • An Hindus flock -literally-to the Infant estimated 1.5 million· people come to Jesus shrine regularly, or go to the witness and participate in the festivities. Velankanni Basilica on pilgrimage. The Liturgies, cultural events, processions in the land where these shrines stand are road, private devotions, are all part of these considered to be sacred and the votive celebrations. practices similar to the ones they perform in Hindu temples or when they frequent the The Infant Jesus Shrine, Bangalore local dargahs where a Sufi saint is enshrined.

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Narayanan: Sacred Land, Common Ground, Contested Territory 24 Vasudha Narayanan

instance, sometimes, pilgrims may initially Inculturation, Ethnic-Tamil, or offer a wax candle model of a head or a Religious-Hindu Votive practices? torso and, when cured, offer a silver etching. This traditional votive exercise is based Hindus of all castes and economic classes on notions of simulative magic, frequent the Velankanni shrines III visualization, and divine grace. By offering Nagapattinam, and in Chennai, as well as a metallic etching resembling the ailing the Infant Jesus shrine in Bangalore. They organ, one is visualizing-very palpably-that light candles, say their prayers, shave their part which needs healing. The cure is said to heads as an act of piety, or offer silver happen magically and/ or through divine models of various parts of the body. The grace-devotees do not make the fine latter practice is very common in Hindu distinctions that anthropologists and temples, Muslim dargahs, and some theologians work with. Hindus think of this Christian shrines in South India. Anyone as their custom and think they are who seeks a cure or relief from illness will worshiping a divine power in the way they buy a small flat piece of silver which has an know best. Christians, on the other hand, etching of that part of the body which is think of this as a Tamil custom, a local, ailing and place it in the offering box. These ethnic custom. And the clergy are at pains etchings are sold by the many vendors to point out-in the official texts-that this nearby or by the local institutional is not "simony," the practice by which authorities. When cured, they may return to spiritual favors are "sold." And indeed, the do the same ritual again. Thus, if one custom is quite local and although not suffers from persistent migraine attacks, one unheard of, is not well known or practiced may buy a small flat silver (or what passes north of Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka. The for silver) piece with a head etched on it and common custom in some temples and many drop it in the donation box. Hindus call this dargahs in northern India' is for Hindu silver piece pratima (Sanskrit for "image"); pilgrims to tie a little thread around one of most people call it malar (Tamil for the steel bars, marble carvings, or pillars, "flower"). If one has several ailments, one with one's wish in mind. Thus, the votive can cover all bases and simply buy an ritual . of presenting silver or metallic etching of a whole male or female body as etchings is quite Tamil in its origin and is an offering to the Mother of Healing or to seen wherever the Tamil influence extends the Infant Jesus. in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. . Nor ~re these facsimiles limited to body Other votive practices which are organs. Among the most frequently bought common to both Hindus and Christians, and etchings and models are houses, cars, and which are local in nature, are seen in motor bikes. These are bought and offered Velankanni. Pilgrims bathe in the sea-a if one either wants to successfully buy or common Hindu activity on certain days of sell a house or a car. Students and budding the ritual calendar-and some shave their authors buy little .carvings of pens or books hair. Some Hindu pilgrims take a vow that for success in examinations. In the they will roll with their bodies around Velankanni basilica and the N agore dargah, temples (anga pradakshinam). This is now both of which are on the sea shore, local done at Velankanni. It is acknowledged people frequently offer etchings of fishing explicitly that these are local practices: boats. These metallic pieces come in varying sizes-the smallest is about one inch by half Pilgrims from all over the country an inch, and the larger ones may be as big as and even other countries flock to the six inches square. There are some slight site, bathe in the sea, have their regional variations -in Velankanni, for heads shaved (the hair later being

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auctioned by the priests), and then Saranam, saranam, saranam .. .I take walk on their knees or roll up to the rejilge, I take refuge ... shrine, lending a unique Indian I came to the sacred place touch to the entire ceremony. He [ie, Jesus] said that the child and (Internet site #2) god were one he spoke of the way Bathing in the sea, shaving of the hair, and for us to become a child rolling to the shrine are Hindu idioms of I came to the sacred shrine worship. Christians also participate in some (sannidhi) of these forms of worship but liken them to to worship the feet of the child wearing a sari or sometimes to wearing a I lost myself in the babble ofa child forehead mark-although Hindus may I forgot myself connect some of these .customs' as religious, I came to the sacred place they are more in line with what we may call I came to worship the jlower feet "civil religion" in India. By and large, Hindus bring their piety and practice with Saranam is to take refuge; it is to surrender them. Though not unheard of, they seldom . oneself totally to someone who can protect do typically "Catholic" rituals like the you. Vaishnava and Saiva poets sought the stations of the cross unless they are told that deity as a refuge, and the word saranam or will deliver the miracle they hope for. From saranagati is used in many Hindu their lens, what we have is Christian communities as the ultimate act of devotion. apparition, Hindu fonns of piety; Christian This surrender or seeking of refuge was vision, Hindu frames; Christian ground, articulated by the poets when they were in Hindu rituals. anyone of the many Saiva or Vaishnava shrines (san n idh i) where the deity is Sacred Land, Common Ground enshrined. Thus, words like sannidhi, saranam, and "sacred place" (tiru talam) all Velankatmi is several centuries older than push the right buttons for a Tamil-speaking the Infant Jesus shrine. Many pilgrims audience, whether Hindu or Christian. consider it as hallowed ground, a sacred These idioms of worship are now seen in the place (Tamil: tinc talam). The Tamil words popular songs available in CDs or cassette "tiru talam" are used to speak of the Saiva tapes. Add to these words the lively beat of or Vaishnava holy places where there is said Tamil film music, and the messages flow all to have ,been a hierophany. The language over, between and through the fuzzy used for articulating this sacrality, therefore, boundaries of the local Hindu and Christian is certainly very Hindu. From. Puranic traditions in this specific pilgrimage context. literature to popular songs, from patriotic The most common tepn for pilgrimage literature to personal declarations of in Sanskrit and, by extension, in Tamil, is intention (sankalpa) before commencing a tirtha yatra-literally, traveling to sacred ritual, Hindus extol the sacred land of India, places. Many Hindu pilgrims also used to America, or wherever they are, and their walk on pilgrimage routes (pada yatra), and town in particular. This trope of pilgrimage these terms are used to describe the and sacrality of places so common in India pilgrimage to Velankanni. (Samy 29) It is is not popular in modern! post-modern certainly true that as is the case with many topographies. While the written materials major Hindu temples, we see pilgrims do not speak about this sacrality of walking towards the holy place from several Velankanni or Infant Jesus, the popular miles away. More important, during the songs in cassettes reaffirm the notion. festival days, there are ratha yatras, or chariots pulled by devotees. Seen in many

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Hindu temples which can afford them, these Washington DC. The oratory was dedicated are giant temple-on-wheels requiring several on August 15, 1997, a day after India's hundreds of devotees to pull them through celebration of 50 years of independence the streets. The most important one in India from the British. The golden statue of is usually held in June in the Puri temple in Arogya Mata, 'the Mother of Health, an Orissa, where lord Jagannatha is taken in a identical replica of the original, had been procession. During the Velankanni festival, consecrated earlier on May 30, 1997 in there are ratha yatras everyday. Three Velankanni, India and brought to the United chariots are taken out every day with Mary, States. While the oratory was a gift of the St. Anthony, and St. Michael; on the Indian American Catholic Association in penultimate day there are six chariots and on Washington, D.C., Tamil-speaking Hindus the last day, seven. Common to some other also contributed to this event. large churches, as Joanne Waghorne has shown, they are also distinctive from the Lourdes of the East: A Place in the Hindu ones in many minor details. Tamil, Indian, Roman Catholic, and (Waghorne: 25) Waghorne, in her study of Trading Maps the chariot festival at Avur, also shows how these festivities and rituals are acceptable to Velankanni is not just local and Tamil the institutional Catholic hierarchy. This although its appeal is largely to Tamil happens when the festivities pose no threat speaking pilgrims. The Clergy there speak to the institution; if their lineage is of the shrine in national and international ecclesiastic; and if one can place "the terms. Prayers are said to be offered in all history of the festival within a strict Church Indian languages and on behalf of people of genealogy" (Waghorne 2002: 18) all religions. (However, most of the services It is not just the vision of Mary that is are in English, Tamil, or Malayalam, with venerated in V elankanni, but in the other south Indian languages being used perception of many devotees, the land itself during the festivals). Given the diversity of is holy. So popular is the church in the Indian population, anything that flows in Velanki:mni that it has now spawned a few the direction of creating harmony or unity is "branches." The Velankanni shrine in seen as good. Internet sites articulate what Chennai / Madras was built in 1972 by Rev. is reiterated on the ground over and over P.T. Arulappa. This shrine too, like the one again; the representation of many languages near Nagapattinam further south, is on the and many religions is said to make " the shores of the Bay of Bengal. While shrine a symbol of communal amity and 'III inaugurating it, the then chief minister of national integration." (Internet site #2) 1'1i • Tamilnadu is supposed to have said that one It is not just a claim for national should worship in the Chennai shrine before integration; Velankanni also maintains an one went to the one near N agapattinam. integral connection with both the Roman The Chennai shrine for the Mother of Catholic and the western world, on the one Health and Healing in Besantnagar is hand, and the "Far East" on the other. "To located close to a famous Hindu temple-also the 'Far-East,' the Shrine at Vailankanni is relatively new-in the area. This is the temple the replica of Lourdes" says Rev. Gabriel, to the Goddess Lakshmi. Within a short and, in fact, he subtitles his book "Lourdes distance, therefore, we have two powerful of the East." Later, he reiterates this point: female deities. Hindu devotees go to one or both; Christian devotees, of course, go only Even to the people of the far-east, to one. In recent years, Velankanni has also Vailankanni is 'Holy-land' and it been installed at the Basilica of the National becomes a long cherished goal that Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in they should one day or the other

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step into this Shrine during their life Qadariya order, but lives and is physically time. (Gabrielet al. 3) interred in N agore. These connections and the power of the But it is not just sacred for the people of the place lead one to a simple conclusion: "Far East." Velankanni seems to be at the "Vailankanni is the most important crossroads of the east and the west, the destination and almost the synthesis of all liminal land in the maps. For Catholic Marian Sanctuaries for the pilgrims of the pilgrims, Velankanni is connected. with other world" (Internet site #1). sites of Marian apparitions-Lourdes, Fatima, The shrine for Infant Jesus is much etc. (Gabriel et al. 4) Pope John Paul II is newer and self-consciously modeled on the said to have referred to it as "the Lourdes of one in Prague. While the church is very the Orient" on July 4, 1988. (quoted in Samy popular, articulations of the intnnslc 37) More important, just its timeless sacrality of the land are just beginning to sacrality is reiterated; the official website of emerge as in the songs quoted earlier. The the Velankanni church highlights its ancient, books also say that the shrine is built on land historical, trade connections with Rome: that was originally a rose garden. Roses, of course, are sacred to Mary. Our Lady of Vailankanni devotions The two churches are very different in down through the centuries have their location. Velankanni, although close to proved the Shrine to be of divine the town of Nagapattinam, is still off the origin and has assumed beaten path for most Indians. It is also international character. Mary, the known primarily by word of mouth, and, focus of unity at Vailankanni, is a although there are pilgrims from many clear proof of international, places, most are of Tamil origin. Its location multicultural, and religious on the shores of the Bay of Bengal helps hannony ..... Readers may be startled most promoters make it as part of a package to learn that Vailankanni was once a tour in south India. The shrine of the Infant port and there is evidence to prove Jesus, however, is very urban, very centrally this. Historical notes reveal that located in a large,booming city. Bangalore people in this area traded with has grown extensively with Ij.ome and Greece, the ancient telecommunication companies. The people commercial centers of the western who come regularly to this shrine are largely world. In the course of time, locals who live in the city which has, in N agapattirram expanded and this addition to its Kannada-speaking citizens, a tiny ,commercial center sizeable Tamil population. When people go (Vailankanni) gradually lost its to Velankanni, it is frequently a pilgrimage importance. (Internet Site # 1; italics or one combined with a v8,cation tour; when added; repeated largely from people go to Infant Jesus, it is because they Gabriel et al.: 2) are there in the vicinity of this powerful shrine. Hearing this, we have a sense that this is not And how do the Hindu pilgrims just an accidental site for the Marian perceive these places? Obviously, there are appearance. This site was long connected many viewpoints, and perhaps as many with Rome; it was always meant to be. One reasons as the number of Hindus who come may note in passing that similar claims are here. But some patterns are discernible and made in the N agore dargah: Shahul Hamid emerge when one speaks to the pilgrims. I is connected with different parts of India, have spoken extensively with family, makes pilgrimages to the middle-east, is friends, acquaintances, as well as random spiritually connected with a1-Ji1ani and the

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pilgrims, and there are some remarkable sacred spots, some places have divine beings similarities in their answers. who, though they are beyond s-6.ch earthly Most Hindus go to Velankanni or Infant desires, are merciful and powerful enough to Jesus for the same reasons they may go to a help those of us who are still caught in this dargah. They do not go to all Christian worldly web. Divinity is both generic and churches and certainly not to mosques to specific. Generic enough to appear in many pray-they go to particular sites of the places, but forceful, powerful because it is "other" religions where there is said to be local, it is in the form of Arogya Mata or "power." Hindu pilgrims tend to call it Infant Jesus. And they recognize that power "shakti;" Muslims call it "barakat." This as being that of Mary or the Infant Jesus; it power is perceived to be in the presence they is not Parvati, Durga, or baby Krishna. In feel in the holy place; in the narratives of other words, it is not a simple "mushiness" miracles; the ritual of being in the same of confusing religions and rituals. People place and same time with others who share who come here may have never heard of the in this hope. They go with petitions or for "One Truth, many paths" dictum that many thanksgiving, or because it has become the urban educated Hindus articulate. They tradition in their family to go there. recognize that the paths are distinctive, How then do the Hindu pilgrims though perhaps similar. perceive these shrines? As places of power, Despite the format of the rituals, when like the many sacred places in Hinduism. Is they visit Velankanni or the Shrine of the the deity absolute? One may get many Infant Jesu~, Hindus know they are not in answers for this question but devotees· think yet another temple. They recognize that this of the Mother of Health and the child-God to is a Christian place of worship; the be sources of power and compassion. This is Velankanni shrine is near the Mahalakshmi one more revelation of power, one in which temple in Besantnagar and, certainly, they can participate with the right rituals. Hindus know the difference between the And the right rituals turn out to be Hindu, two. But they also believe that in some local community ones-rolling on the spaces, the spiritual power that their friends ground, offering silver etchings of one's or neighbors testify to transcends body parts, bathing in the sea. The "elite," institutional identification and categories. the priests, participate and encourage this And do they think of themselves as "popular" religion which they articulate as betraying their faith when they go to these "Indian" and "Tamil." temples? The answer here is not so much a But the· power, the participation in "yes" or a "no;" it may be more accurate to Christian venues, is sharply limited for the say that this is not a relevant question for millions of pilgrims. The power is here, in many Hindus, especially when they do not Velankanni, or in Infant Jesus, or in anyone think ofVelankanni or IqJant Jesus in terms of the many specific shrines dotted all over of institutional affiliation or control. For south India-St Anthony's church in Madras, many Hindu communities-though there are Arokia-mariamma in the Shrine Basilica of many notable exceptions-pluralism extends Our Lady of Health in Shivajinagar, beyond social orientations and reality; it is Bangalore, Sister Alphonse's chapel in theological. It is perhaps this feature that Greenways Road in Madras, and so on. distinguishes many Hindus from their These are preferred pilgrimage spots; Christian neighbors who may live and Hindus do not frequent all churches or participate in a diverse, pluralistic society, shrines. They do not, for instance, go but theologically be connected to a certain regularly to Sunday mass at the deity exclusively. Christians, after all, neighborhood church or frequent local ordinarily do not go to Hindu temples. mosques. Only some places are deemed as There are several notable exceptions here,

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but that seems to be the general rule, at least of tradition, and customized; Hindus of in the perception of Hindus. every stripe are actively engaged in Thus, Hindus acknowledge that they choosing and adapting stories and practices, most often go to Hindu temples, but on both "within" and "without" their traditions, occasion (or for some people, regularly), customizing them, making them relevant. they frequent dargahs or specific Christian The words "within" and "without" cannot be churches for time-sensitive reasons. This is, precise; as we have noted several times in perhaps, yet another expression of the wide, this short essay, borderlands are fuzzy capacious tent they loosely understand as ground. What we have not elaborated on is their faith. In matters of requesting favors, how these issues are also getting to be \ they feel comfortable going to alternative contested territory. venues. Almost no Hindu is here in the The customary practice may belong to church to plead for moksha; but for that one's sub-group, or larger group, or may be matter, most .of the yo\vuger devotees do not "borrowed" and adapted from other sources think of moksha even in the Hindu temple. Hindus encounter and embody these And it would be somewhat unlikely that narratives and practices through their even an elderly Hindu who goes to these relationships, both synchronic and shrines thinks of Arogya Mata or the Infant diachronic, with families, communities, Jesus as the person who gives them moksha. nature, and deities. Thus, although there However ephemeral or tenuous this line, it is may be many texts of ayurvedic healing, perhaps this that marks the boundaries most Hindus who know them would have between who passes as a Hindu and who as learned of them through a grandmother, a a Christian in this particular context. In other neighbor, or a friend. Pilgrimages to contexts, .of course, the lines are much Velankanni or visits to the Infant Jesus sharper. And most certainly, the lines are Shrine also begin this way. And when one very clear when it comes to who one's goes here, one carries a garland, fruits, daughter or son should get married to and flowers, bathes in the sea, r.olls on the who gets to conduct rituals of birth, ground, offers silver pratimas or, when so weddings, or death. instructed, do nine-hour novenas.

Custom Narrative and Practices: Shared Ritual Space, Contested Borderlands and Fuzzy Ground Territory

The rituals performed in the church or the It is not just Hindus who carry out their own dargah are local ones practiced by various rituals at these shrines. As we saw earlier, Hindu communities in South India. The the church rituals may include forms of world views, beliefs, practices, and Hindu religiosity such, as the chariot traditions of Hindus are not just based on the festivals, raising and lowering of the written texts. While arguably there are (temple/ church's) ritual flag to mark the many deeply moving and philosophically beginning and concluding events of a sophisticated texts in the Hindu tradition, the festival and so on. For a while there had enduring experiences that most Hindus have been a strict watch over such issues of of their traditions come through what one accommodation by the Catholic church, but may call "custom" narratives and practices since the mid twentieth century, such that are deeply connected with their accommodation and inculturation is not just embodied c.osmologies. The term "custom" accepted, it is encouraged. The music, is used primarily as an adjective but also as processions, etc. are familiar ways of a noun; it refers to received narratives and expressing piety 'in Tamilnadu. Hindu practices that are all custommy, that is, part pilgrims identify with the music and the

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procesSIOns. The lyrics and "code" words situation. If the Church maintains a are familiar, the tune catchy. The chariots "foreign" culture, they are considered to be pulling the deities and saints are common in an alien religion; if they adopt local many places-is it possible that an customs, they may be accused of using local unsuspecting Hindu may think of these as forms for conversion purposes. expressions of just another Hindu Most Hindus devotees do not worry community? And is such an impression about local ways of worship seen in meant to be deliberate? Velankanni when they are there. However, Christians here think of Tamil as their a rising anger is seen in another context-the native language, their\mother tongue-this is perception of the aggressive strategies the way in which they express their piety. adopted by the many Christian churches in From the viewpoint of many Tamil the process of evangelization. And one of Christians, many of the traditional rituals are the main ways in which this program is not accomodation at all. They consider the carried out is through inculturation. Let us customs as part of the ethnic heritage; take, for instance, a statement issued by the shaving the head, for instance, is also done Consultation on Evangelization and by Tamil Muslims in dargahs. They think of Inculruration organized by the Federation of the Tamil customs as their heritage and do Asian Bishops Conference in March 2000, not believe there is any "accommodation." in Bangalore, India. They said that "Since On the other hand, there is a political the Church in Asia is a community on dimension to this inculturation. mission,evangelization is its central task. It In many parts of India, however, enters into every aspect of human life. "Hindu" or "local" customs are now being Inculturation is an inseparable element of used to present the messages of the Bible. evangelization." (Internet site # 3) It further Thus, forms of the performing arts familiar suggested that there should be a consultive in India-music, dance, etc., can be deployed team of experts to plan the activities and that to spread the teachings of the gospel. What "a core group be formed to prepare a do we make of vegetarian kitchens, saffron seminar kit on inculturation, to be made use saris for nuns, sannyasi robes for priests, of by the local Churches for their animation straw mats for meditation, yoga, Sanskrit work" The statement called for greater use epithets, or calling Jesus or God the Father of media resources. for promotion of as Sat chit ananda? Many Indian Christians people's cultures. The primary message that think of this as a spontaneous expression of came through was reiterated in suggestion their faith. In post-colonial India, people number 4 of this document: 'Since have just begun to come out of the cultural evangelization is' the central task of the colonization and explore and be comfortable Asian Churches and therefore of all the with their own local and national cultures. Offices of the FABC, 'Ye recommend that This has coincided with accelerated the dimension of inculturation be present in globalization and modernization. Politicians the activities of all other Offices of the and Hindu activists, and now many Hindus FABC." (Internet site # 3) across the spectrum' believe that by It is this programmatic way of picking presenting Christianity in "Hindu" (they do and choosing local culture to help in the not think of this as "Tamil" or "ethnic") spread of Christianity that upsets many forms and media, they are misleading the Hindus., Again, it is context-specific-during unsuspecting pilgrim or devotee. To a large the pilgrimage and while hearing their extent, this would not be relevant in urban friends speak about their faith, the familiar i centers such as Bangalore, where the practices seem to fit in with the milieu and i .1 devotee can be quite sophisticated. The also articulate the Hindu devotee's faith. I problem prima facie seems to be a "no-win" When one pulls back and considers this as !I

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part of a larger strategy, as something Kulandainathan.) The History of the constructed, their displeasure and hostility Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of increases. At issue is this: are the local Health Vailankanni (The Lourdes of practices, rituals, and symbols so integrally the East). Veilankanni: Published by embedded within the larger Hindu culture to the Church. be taken out of their context, used to articulate the Christian faith, as a way of Hall, David D. 1997. Ed. Lived attracting new converts, and thus be turned Religion in America. Princeton: against Hindu traditions themselves? It is Princeton University Press. not the issue of inculturation, then, which is the problem, it is its linking with conversion lrudayam, Very Rev. Fr. G. AmI issues. These issues are also associated with and K. Maria Pankiras. 2002. The perceived grievances; for instance, say many History of the Shrine Basilica of our Hindus, the central government which does Lady of Health, Vailankanni (the not think twice about walking in and Lourdes of the East). Shrine managing Hindu temples and revenues will Basilica, Vailankanni: Bishop not dare to tread on the sacred ground of Gabriel Publication. (An Updated minority territory. Version of Rev. Gabriel's work) Fifty years ago, inculturation was not even an issue. There were still restrictions Kulandai iyesuvin jepach chendu. within the church on how far 1997. (Meditative collection on the accommodation could go and India was also Infant Jesus). Tamil Publication, no still in the early years of post-colonial rule. author, Viveknagar, Bangalore, 560 Ironically, under colonial rule, Christianity 047: Infant Jesus Shrine. remained by and large a foreign religion. Ironically too, a Christianity that is in the Orsi, Robert. 1997. "Everyday process of Indianization may even fit into Miracles: The Study of Lived certain notions of how one may be a Religion." in David Hall, ed. Lived "Hindu"-geographically and culturally-but Religion in America. Princeton: in the process, sweep the rug from under the Princeton University Press, 3-21. Hindu's feet. Many of these perceptions are . layered simultaneously in a new era of Raj, Selva J. and Corinne C. heightened political consciousness. Dempsey. 2002. Popular Meanwhile, thousands of Hindus. throng at Christianity in India: RUing between the ports o( power at Velankanni and the the Lines. Albany, NY: State Infant Jesus Shrine, praying, worshiping, University of New York Press. pleading, glorifying, and fulfilling vows. It is through framing and reframing concepts Samy, R.K. Fr. 2002. Veilankanni: and practices in ways that one is familiar The Earthly Sion. Veilankanni: with that we continuously create and change Published by the Rector and Parish the bricolage of our religious imagination. Priest. Sacred land, common ground, shared ritual space, contested territory. Waghorne, Joanne Punzo. "Chariots of the Godls: Riding the Line Sources Between Hindu and Christian in South India" in Popular Christianity Gabriel, Rev. Fr. 1995. (Along with in India: Riting Between the Lines, S.L., I Arokiasamy, P Xavier, D. Corrine Dempsey and Selva Raj, Amudhan, A. Philomin Raj and S.

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eds. SUNY Press, 2002, 11-37. Arputa kulantai iyesu. Viveknagar, Internet site # 1: Bangalore-47: Infant Jesus Shrine. http://www.vailankannichurch.org/a Madras: Lauvi Productions bout-vailankanni.htm Vanden un tirupadam. Viveknagar, Internet site #2: Bangalore 560, 047:' Infant Jesus http://www.9nholidays.com/velanka Shrine nni/ourlady.htm Miraculous Infant Jesus. Internet site # 3: Viveknagar, Bangalore560 047: http://www.fabc.org/oel evan incul. Infant Jesus Shrine htm

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