by Roy Chacko

It was in 1947 or may be in ’48, at the Travancore University Annual Sports meet at the University Stadium in Trivandrum, a small built, bare footed unknown girl in skirt and blouse totally out ran the well-known popular glamour girl and record holder for 100 yards sprint, to create a new university record.

That caused a sensation among the University students, lecturers and among the sports loving people in Trivandrum.

Nancy Baker, daughter of Marie DeCruz and Abubaker, was the record holder for this event and there had been no challenger to her supremacy. She always ran in shorts and spikes, unusual attire for sportswomen in Trivandrum in those days. The other participants ran in saris pulled up with one hand or in long skirts with half saris pulled tight across their left shoulders and tucked into the skirts.

The fact that Nancy ran in 'shorts and spikes' was in itself a great attraction for all the students and the general public!

Naturally, this was the most popular event of every annual sports meet in the University.

That year, at the line up for the finals there was this unknown, tiny and bare footed girl in skirts. At the last moment, she tucked in her skirt and when the whistle blew, she took off and ran a race of her life to win the race with a big lead. There was great excitement as a new bare-footed girl in skirts had beaten the famous Nancy Baker in 'shorts and spikes' with a wide margin in 100 yards.

Poor Nancy was in tears. That day, Nancy had many sympathizers in Trivandrum. Justifiably so. Sadly, she stopped taking part in this event ever again. No one heard of her after that day and we wondered what had happened to her. Poor Nancy. We missed her and her attire at the next annual sports meet!!

The winner's name, her college and her timings were announced on the loudspeakers. Her timing was a new University record for that event!! She was one 'Elsie Varki' from the Women's College, Trivandrum!! Loudspeakers those days were NOT hi-tech and as usual, her name was not clear. It sounded like "Erachi Varathu" and that name stuck among her new admirers, particularly the men students in Trivandrum. From then onwards, she was hero "Erachi Varathu" to all the students!!

We went to the finishing area for this race to see the girl who had beaten Nancy to be the new record holder. I could not believe my eyes!! The tiny bare footed girl in skirts, the girl who beat Nancy to be the new record holder was our Kunjoonjamma from Thazathangadi!!! Three cheers!!!

She was very pleased to see me, a known face. I congratulated her on her great performance and we chatted for some time. It was obvious to all those who were present there that we knew each other. Many of the spectators, particularly the college students, were most jealous that only I knew 'the hero of the day' and that she had spoken to me!!

Everyone wanted to know who this girl was, her full name, her pet name, where she came from, her college, her subjects, how I knew her and all other details about her and her family. There were many, particularly those from Kottayam and nearby areas, who claimed to know her and her family. I doubted those claims. Some even claimed to be her cousin but among all the men students present there, I was the only one she talked to on that day!!

Well, they were fully justified in being jealous, as the hero of the day, 'Erachi Varathu' and I talking to each other was against the then Travancore University Rules in vogue, regarding girl students talking to men students in public !!! So, that day, for no fault of mine, I became a 'kutti hero' though she ran and won the race, beat the most popular Nancy and set a new record, Roy Chacko was the only student who knew and the 'hero of the day' talked to!!

Three Cheers to Good old Travancore University days !!

by Andrew Anil George, 12 years old, Kuwait

The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. There is a moral and even spiritual dimension to human clothing. So do we need a dress code in church?

The Holy Sanctuary is the replica of heaven. During our 'Holy Qurbano', 'The Living Sacrifice', God's body and blood is present in the church, from the invocation of the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist says in Psalms 29:3: "Ascribe to the Lord, the glory due, worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness". Surely, the holiness of our public worship taking place in heaven, where appropriate clothing seems to matter.

During the early days of Israelites, they used to carry the ark of covenant with them. It was placed in the Holiest of the Holy in their temple. Only consecrated people wearing sacred garments, were allowed to enter the place of The Holiest of the holy. Our madbaha represents the Holiest of the holy, where the God is present. So, when we go to the church, we are coming to face to face with God. It is like Moses encountering God in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3). Our madbaha also represents the burning bush. Moreover, God commands Moses to take off his shoes in Exodus 3:5. This is why we take off our footwear before entering church. So, there is definitely some dress code when we go to church.

I Corinthians 3:17 tells us that, "Our body is sacred, respect it and not defile it in anyway". Our body is the gift from God, made in his image. Through, dress and appearance, we can show that, we know how precious our body is. So never expose ourselves. We are expected to dress for the solemn and sacred celebration of the Holy Mass modestly.

On the other hand, it is always the heart; God is looking at rather than exterior. However, what we wear to worship our Holy pure God, maybe an indication of where our hearts are. We deceive ourselves when we breezily claim that God doesn't care what we wear to church. God cares about our hearts, and what we wear is often an expression of our hearts. Thus our worship attire may matter more than we think.

Suppose, we are invited to have lunch with US President Barrack Obama. We will be thrilled and will be preparing for days about, what to wear, what to speak to him, etc. The President of US is nothing compared to what God is! How come we don't feel awe stuck in meeting God? When we go to Church, we are going for the biggest meal.

Finally, Holy Qurbana is the center of attention in the church. We shouldn't wear any revealing or sharp colored dresses that draw attention to us rather than Holy Qurbana.

To conclude, dress modestly and in good taste, according to the standard of society, we live in. Those recognize the real presence of Lord, Jesus Christ in the church; they pride themselves on self respect and choose best for the Lord.

About The Author:

Andrew Anil George is the son of Mr. Anil George and Mrs. Minimol Parampil. He is 12 years old and is studying at an Indian School in Kuwait. He has a sister, Angela Grace George. Anil and his family attends St. Basil Indian Orthodox Church, Kuwait.