Its quite interesting to just sit back and think of all those persons whom you meet in your life time. It is even fascinating to think how few of them have made a difference to your life and what would have happened if you had not met them at all. Well, in my case, I would have been working in my farm back in native than sitting in a cozy chair in a centralized AC building working on my desktop computer. At times, I feel the first option would have been better than the later though J… just kidding.
I met him when my parents started to get tremors while going through my progress card. It was certainly on a declined curve as the stock market in India on 2001 recession time!
If I start explaining why, it might become an autobiography of my childhood and let me admit it will not be that smooth reading J whatever be the reason, I was not doing justice to the intelligence that God had invested in me and I had no clue how to come out of the mess. I was bad in most of my subjects and my exam results were dangerously close to the failure marks.
By the grace of THY, somehow my parents came to know about a residential school under the surveillance of CMI Priests and somehow managed to get an admission after lots of effort – thanks to my brilliant marks card. There I met the man who carved me into shape – Fr. Kuriachan - Our warden for hostel and faculty for English.
When I joined, the hostel was still under construction and it was with even our effort I must say that the hostel became a finished one. We made the lawn, set the sprinklers, moved big heaps of mud – but never felt we were forced to do it. We were enjoying every bit of those moments. There I got my first lessons on teamwork and realized how beautiful is the feeling of sharing. There were 100+ students in the hostel who had come from different families with different cultural background, but he made us feel as if we are home! We went hiking, swimming at our near by lake … we were free birds but always under the surveillance of Fr. Kuriachan.
It was not just my marks which started improving, but my health, and also whatever talents I was gifted with like… singing, playing instruments, sports, games… you name it. I performed on stage first time in my life and the kind of support I received from my friends and he was tremendous. He taught me what self-believing is all about and last but not the least…how you manage your time – the most precious entity in this world.
When I finally came out of the school grading first class – which would have been just a dream if I had not met him – my parents were the happiest persons on earth. I could still remember the smile at my dad’s face when he first saw my mark sheet. Even a million dollar would not have matched it.
Now, residing at the IT capital of India, working in an MNC as a Sr. Quality Assurance engineer, I just can’t stop thanking God for the opportunity he had given me and my family to meet Fr. Kuriachan. I must confess, I had lost contact with him for few years until last April when I finally traced where he is now. I along with my dad, mom, wife and kiddo went to meet him and it felt really good to see him after so many years. Time has taken its toll on his appearance, but his spirit and charm remains the same. We spent some time together and re-winded few golden moments. Few embarrassing moments, sweet moments… but we all enjoyed
When it comes to the purpose of our existence in this world, I believe it makes sense if we make a positive impact on others life than just living it out. I envy Fr. Kuriachan for it as many were blessed with his presence and sure THY would still use him to touch others heart!
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