“and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”
Early February 1988, a Saturday evening in Chennai, India, me an eighth grader, was bubbling with excitement with the prospect of watching the “Burning Hell” movie that night. The movie was to be played at the MRF Prayer Fellowship organized by my Chithappa (Dad’s younger brother). We made the long stretch from Besant Nagar to Tiruvottiyur by bus. And yes, the movie lived up to it’s reputation. By the end of the movie, I was shaken up and ran to my Chithappa and asked him if I can get baptized as soon as possible. The reason being - I wanted to go to heaven and not the burning hell when I die. As always, Chithappa encouraged me to think it over and pray about it. I got baptized the following Sunday. Although, I wouldn’t recommend anybody to get baptized for reasons as such. I’m forever grateful for my Chithappa’s role in my Soteriology, or what my thirteen year old brain knew of it back then.
I constantly think of what it means to be a human being. It’s a continuous evolution. It’s not a be but a being. Apart from the one incarnate Son of God, who taught us what it means to be a human being, there are ever so many extraordinary humans who have shown me what it means to be human - from a Mother Teresa or a Jean Vanier. But, it was my Chithappa, who for me, was a tangible and embodied expression of a human being. In fact, it was his iconic humanness that influenced my wife and I saying our “I do’s”.
My Chithappa was a beautifully woven mix of fine attributes - kindness, love, gentleness, and at the same time, a strict and firm disciplinarian. The very diverse flood of people who thronged at his funeral - the orphan children, the beggars, celebrities, pastors, and all who loved him - showcased how his life had touched so many lives.
Every time I think of him, Aragorn comes to mind. This wonderful character from Tolkien’s classic - Lord of the Rings, is the ultimate warrior and at the same time a teacher, a singer and a healer. Chithappa was both physically and emotionally strong, but at the same time, he carried a sweet, gentle and caring spirit that would embrace any soul. My Chithappa was Aragorn to me. He stood by me in the lowest places of my life and at my joyous heights.
Little did I know that when I spoke to him over the phone on the 12th of November that it would be my last conversation with him. That phone call too, was a gentle nudge from the divine.
If only I could emulate a fifth of what he embodied in his life here on earth, I would have warmed my Chithappa’s heart.
I love you Chithappa!
Your Denny Pullai