CSI Christ Church, Munnar

We had a lazy breakfast of puri-sabji, omelet, cut fruits and tea and embarked on our first day of sightseeing - along the Coimbatore direction. The first stop was CSI Christ Church. An impeccably clean and neat building, all stone though I am not expert on these matters. Surprisingly, there was a notice to keep the footwear outside. You generally see this instruction outside the temples. Anyways, there was no one inside. It was all quite except for one guy who seemed to be the caretaker. Frankly, I was relieved not to find anyone inside. Our religious places are generally so crowded that it is difficult to get a face-to-face with the Almighty even for a second. Another different thing about this church was that there was no statue of the Christ. Instead, there was a, what I believe is called, a fresco.

The caretaker told me that eggshells, sugar and lemon peels were used in the construction of this church. I remember that the same ingredients had been mentioned as been used in construction of some forts in the program Ekaant on Epic Channel. It makes the construction sturdy. I asked him if there is a daily service. He said that the service is only on Sunday mornings and in 3 languages - Malayali, Tamil and English. A pity. I would have very much liked to attend it but we would be gone before Sunday. We sat there for a while - savoring the peace and the quiet. Then made our offerings and left. I am sure I would cherish those moments for the rest of my life.

Needless to say, it was an auspicious beginning to the rest of the trip.