Sister Carmel House
A small temporary wedding hall, without much pomp and show. It is decorated only by handmade hangings of coconut leaves and coloured paper. It is partly covered by a shamiana. Tiny lamps are also lit inside it.
In the centre there is a specially decorated ‘mandapam’ where the wedding takes place. The items necessary for the ceremony like garlands, flowers, lamps, fragrant sandal sticks etc. are arranged there properly.
In this small ‘pandal’, the marriage of a poor Hindu woman is going to take place.
Behind this decorated pandal, you can see a beautiful modern building, built recently. This is the Sister Carmel House, constructed by Kottaram Koshy to keep up the memory of his only sister i.e. Sister Carmel. This small but elegant building and the compound consisting of ten cents are surrounded by a wall.
The Ladies Care Home of London is now known as Sister Carmel Ladies Care Home. All over the world, including Mexico, that pure and virtuous lady is being, commemorated like that. The Vatican has noted that many rich persons were cured of their illness through her meditation.
Two auspicious events were going to take place there on that particular day. One was the inauguration of the Sister Carmel house intended to work as a centre for the protection and sustenance of women. The other event was the marriage of a poor girl.
Guests began to gather. Koshy’s family and the relatives of the bride and bridegroom welcomed everyone. Thankappan, Joshua, Salamat Sudhir Khan….. everyone had come. They greeted each other and began to talk.
They also shared the news about the case regarding the murder of Sister Carmel. All the four criminals had been arrested and punished by law. The three men who killed the sister were underground criminals and terrorists of Mumbai. The master brain and the financier of this project was a big business man of Mexico. He had been engaged in the sale of women at the international level. All the four villains were undergoing life imprisonment.
It was this businessman who hired the terrorist group of Mumbai for this task. The reason for it was some of the disclosures of Jessica, who was the disciple of Sister Carmel.
“These rogues were arrested because of the cooperation of the British and American investigation agencies with our own Police.” Sudhir Khan remarked.
Joshua said – “Life imprisonment is not enough for these scoundrels. They should be beheaded as done in the Gulf countries.”
“Koshy sir went to the Mumbai court and pleaded for justice to his sister. He argued that the murderers should be given death penalty. But it was in vain. He is still sad and disappointed about it. Salamat reminded them.
“Though not hanged, they were caught and punished. That itself is a great achievement.” Thankappan said happily.
A blue ribbon had been tied across the front door of the Sister Carmel House. Kottaram Koshy cut that ribbon, using the scissors that Aleyamma handed to him. Thus the Sister Carmel House was inaugurated. Everyone applauded and cheered.
The next happy event- the wedding- was about to take place. There is a little known story connecting both these functions. Let us unroll its pages too.
In that neighbourhood there was a happy little family of a carpenter. It consisted of the father, mother and a beautiful young daughter.
The head of the family was an excellent carpenter. He knew no rules of economics or of family budget. He spent the money he earned every day and lived happily. As he was strong and skilful he had no agonies about the future.
But one day, quite unexpectedly, this expert workman was seized and carried away by the claws of the vulture named death.
His wife and daughter who had lived joyously till then and did not know how to face the challenges of life, were shocked. They stood paralyzed and grief-stricken. All their hopes had turned to ashes.
Gradually, they consoled themselves. They decided to work as daily laborers in the construction sites of Jacky’s father.
Both the women were innocent and good-natured. They had no enmity, hatred or dislike to anyone. So all the people felt compassion and sympathy for them.
More people came forward to help them.
A suitable bride groom was found out for the unmarried daughter. Many offered money, ornaments and assistance. The advocate Kottaram Koshy, the beloved and adored saviour of the poor people of the locality, was ready to meet all the expenses of the wedding.
The wedding took place with proper rites, jubilation and the blessings and prayers of all the participants in the ceremony.
Kottaram Koshy, his wife Aleyamma and their daughter Sherin were in the front row, guiding and witnessing the whole function. After completing her post-graduation, Sherin had joined for the LLB course.
The newly-wed couple greeted Koshy by giving him a dhakshina (auspicious gift) of one hundred and one rupees placed in a fresh and tender betel leaf. They touched his feet and sought blessings.
Kottaram Koshy blessed them by placing both his hands on their heads. He also gave them as wedding gift a cover bulging with rupee notes.
Every one applauded. The next ritual was that of welcoming the newlyweds into the Sister Carmel Home. This was followed by the sumptuous feast arranged in the Pandal.
After all these celebrations Koshy and family said good-bye to the others.
Koshy’s car entered the cemetery of the local church.
Two graves were well-decorated there. They were the graves of Samuel of Kottaram House and of his daughter, Sister Carmel.
Father and daughter slept side by side. The two graves were built in the same manner, with the same measurement and adorned with the same type of crosses. The design of the tombs was also similar. Flowers brightened the place around the tombs.
In front of both the limbs, Koshy and family lit candles and prayed. Their dear ones were sleeping there. Koshy’s eyes were full. Tears fell down from the eyes of Sharon and her mother like drops of wax from the glowing candles. Even the bright sun appeared dim. They were about to return home.
A dove which had been sitting on the top of the church tower cooing flew down and sat on the cross at the tomb of Samuel. Then it flew up and down and settled down on the cross above Sister Carmel’s grave.
Koshy thought that the pure white dove was like his own sister.
A multi-coloured rain bow and flashes of lightening appeared in the sky.
That day was the first anniversary of Sister Carmel’s death.
(The end)
