USA Provincial Visits India

Fr. Richard MacDonald, SCJ, the Provincial of the United States Province, visited the SCJ India District from September 17th to the 25th. Arriving in Kochi, Kerala, Fr. Mac visited the communities in Kumbalanghy, and Aluva. The SCJs and students were very interested in hearing about the Congregation in the United States; they had many questions during Fr. Mac’s conferences.

After a long 20 hour train trip, he was welcomed by the communities in Guntur, and Eluru. For such a short visit, Fr. Mac covered a lot of ground, as he saw the reality of the SCJ India District.

Fr. Mac is welcomed, Indian style, by the Dehon Vidya Sadhan community, Aluva, Kerala,

AND, by the Dehon Prema Nilayam community, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

While in the Guntur area, Fr. Mac visited Ponnekalu Village. Below he is with some members of the Catholic community, in front of the church.

Some members of the village, who recently received SCJ grants to help them rebuild their homes, are eager to show off their almost finished buildings, as Fr. Mac stands VERY CLOSE to the edge.

At the nearby SCJ novitiate, in Nambur, the 9 SCJ novices give a hearty welcome.

Along side of Fr. Sebastian (Novice Master), Fr. Mac gives the novices information about the Congregation in the United States.

The SCJ theology community is in Eluru, a 2 1/2 hour ride by jeep from Guntur. With Fr. Kusmaryadi (Superior of Theology Community), Fr. Mac gives a conference to the theologians.

(click photos to enlarge)

Onam Celebration

Oman is an annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the foremost festival among the cultural repertoire of Malayalees, and falls during the month of Chingam (August- September as per the Gregorian calendar), the first month of the Malayalam calendar and lasts for ten days.

Though it is essentially a harvest festival of Malayalees. Mythologically it is linked to Malayalee-Hindu folktales. Onam is celebrated by people across all castes and faiths. Onam epitomizes the newfound vigor and enthusiasm of the season, and is celebrated with traditional fervor with visits to temples, family get-togethers, gifting each other clothes called Onakkodi, and lots of merry making.

Members of the Eluru community, in Andhra Pradesh, had its own Onam celebration. Everyone took part in the work of decorating and food preparation. The special meal was laid out on banana leaves.

Pookalam is an intricate and colorful arrangement of flowers laid on the floor. Tradition of decorating Pookalam is extremely popular in Kerala and is followed as a ritual in every household during ten-day-long Onam celebrations.

'Pookhalam' consists of two words, 'poov' meaning flower and 'kalam' means color sketches on the ground.

Sadhya means "big feast" in Malayalam a language spoken in Kerala , India.. Sadhya is traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a plantain or banana leaf; people eat sitting cross-legged on the floor.

The dishes are mainly cooked (plain boiled) rice, many curries, papadum, plain yogurt or buttermilk, banana or plantain chips, and two or more sweet dishes. The curries are made of different vegetables and are of different tastes. They can be made of yogurt, bitter gourd, mango, jaggery, etc. The idea of making many dishes in the Sadhya is that there will be at least two or three dishes liked by everybody.

(click photos to enlarge)