Yesterday Maggie said, "Let's go to Arthunkal." Arthunkal is a Christian pilgrimage centre in Kerala, about 65 km from my home. "Okay," I said. It's quite some time since Maggie and I went on a long drive. That was the only reason as far as I was concerned. For Maggie, the visit meant much more than that.
When we reached, the 9 o'clock Mass had just begun. Maggie chose to attend the Mass. Since that sort of prayer doesn't make sense to me, I decided to explore the church whose history goes back to the 16th century. It's then the Perpetual Adoration Chapel caught my attention. The chapel is a semicircular building whose door, the only one it has, remains closed. You enter and the door closes behind you. The atmosphere inside is cool and calm. When I entered there were just 4 or 5 devotees inside who were all praying silently. I sat down on a pew and closed my eyes.
Serenity surrounded me. Soon I was bathed in that serenity. I loved sitting there. A strange sensation gripped me and I felt happy to be there. It was more than happiness. I realised that prayer could make sense to me too. My prayer had no words, however. It didn't need any. I left that chapel after an hour or so with a rarefied feeling in my soul.
Don't take that too literally. I don't believe in a soul in the religious sense.
When the Mass was over, Maggie and I visited the old church that belongs to the 16th century. We spent some time in the holy premises before driving to the Thaickal Beach which is just a few kilometres away from the church. It's not much of a tourist destination.
The beach remains pristine because tourists haven't discovered it yet. There were some fishermen on the beach who were mending their fishing boats. They didn't look at the handful of tourists who wandered about the desolate beach like lost souls.
The silence was broken only by the sound of the waves that lashed the shore relentlessly. That sound had a music, as divine as the peace that descended on me in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.
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| Outside the church |
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| The church |
Don't take that too literally. I don't believe in a soul in the religious sense.
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| The Perpetual Adoration Chapel |
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| The old church, 16th century |
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| At the beach |
This is the first time I heard about Arthunkal. Nice to know about the Church as well on the beach. Today most of the beaches are crowded and polluted. Next time when I visit Kochi, I will definitely try to visit this place.
ReplyDeleteThe place is near enough to Kochi, just an hour's drive. There are a few more places of religious importance nearby.
DeleteVisit to Arthungal Church narrated so well that one could be transported there while reading it. This is one of the finest experiential writing straight from the heart despite the speed breaks from the head.Keep writing..Keep discovering..Keep on experiencing life..Keep on travelling on the road of time.
DeleteMy head insists on jumping in with the speedbreaks. But that's unavoidable given my scepticism about matters of the heart. I have decided, however, to give a try to a few more such places. Maybe, Vallarpadam next.
Delete"My Experiments with Beliefs" - in the offing....Gandhi Revisited..Internalised? Interesting.
DeleteIn fact the most beautiful are the places that are the least crowded and most popular with tourists. They have a beauty of their own that unique calmness about them as described by you :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I love calm and quiet places.
DeleteThere is a kind of peace emitting from the pics. Reading words of the post makes one calmer. Indeed it is a divine effect.
ReplyDeleteSome places distil peace!
DeleteNice to read about Arthunkal. Beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rupam.
DeleteBeautiful Post.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it.
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