Our Lady of Vallarpadam

National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Vallarpadam (also known as Our Lady of Ransom).

The recently built Rosary Park infront of the church.

The church website gives the history and detials on the observances at the church.

Christ, the Guru

Wood carving of "Christ, the Guru" at St. Antony's Friary Church, Madivala, Bangalore.
The original mosaic art is on the facade of Dharmaram College, created by Joy Elamkunnapuzha.
Prints of oil painting reproduction of the same can be bought from The Christian Musicological Society of India. Image and the text given below is from http://www.thecmsindia.org/ .

Joy Elamkunnapuzha drew the original design in 1977, and V. Balan executed it in mosaic style on the facade of the Chapel at Dharmaram College in Bangalore, India. Christ is presented here as a yogi in meditation under the sacred peepal tree. He is seated in padmaasanam, the lotus posture. The calm and compassionate look on the face depicts the image of the ideal guru , spiritual teacher, in the Indian scriptures. The hand gestures show jnaanamudra, the sign of imparting knowledge and wisdom that dispel darkness (the Sanskrit term guru is a combination of gu, "darkness," and ru, "that which dispels"). The red color on the hands and feet shows the nail marks from crucifixion. They are the signs that St. Thomas, the Apostle of India insisted on as proof of Jesus's resurrection (Jn 20: 24-29). The equal-armed cross is presented in the form of a flower. The flame represents both Christ and the devotee alike; it is a reminder of two complementary sayings of Jesus: "I am the light of the world" (Jn 8:12) and "You are the light of the world" (Mt 5: 14). The two halves of a coconut, often placed at the forefront during religious rituals in India, is a symbol of self-sacrifice. The chalice with bread and grapes represents the sacrificial gift of Jesus in the holy Eucharist.
M. P. Manoj made this painting in 1993. Manoj made a few modifications in the original design, including a different color scheme. The entire figure, except the circular ring holding the lamp, is made of triangles, symbolizing the Christian concept of God as a trinity of three persons. Instead of the earthen lamp in the original, the flame here comes from a hanging oil lamp ( tuukku vilakku). This kind of lamp can be seen at traditional homes and places of public worship, especially in Kerala.

-- Joseph J. Palackal

Our Lady of Rosary, Murikkumpadam

The chapel and the statue of The Queen of the Holy Rosary, popularly called Murikkumpadathamma, was established by the Portuguese missionaries. The chapel was destroyed by floods twice and after both instances, it was reconstructed by devotees on a grander scale.
In 1996, a new, more spacious church was constructed behind the chapel, thanks to the perseverance and support of the devotees. But the chapel itself, where the statue of Holy Mary is placed, still attracts a large number of the faithful.
Every year, on April 30th, Holy Mass is celebrated with asthappadu, and throughout the month of May, special prayers (vanakkamaasam) are recited every evening at 7:30. The feast is concluded with the celebration of the Holy Mass and a procession carrying the statue of Murikkumpadathamma.

The scanned image and the translated text given above are taken from the booklet published by the church for the feast of May 2007.

Cruz Milagres Church, Vypin

Here is a video created from the images of my parish, Cruz Milagres (Kurisingal) Church, Vypin.
Hymn courtesy of CAC, Cochin.

Jerry Amaldev

Jerry Amaldev talks about the evolution of liturgical music in India - Google video.
Some devotional compositions of Mr. Amaldev can be found at www.nirjhari.net, available for free download.

Sisters of Mannarkad

An interesting travel-essay by Sir William Dalrymple on Mannarkad in Kerala where Virgin Mary and Bhagavati are considered to be sisters!

"Yes, yes, the Virgin Mary is Bhagavati's younger sister," explained Vasudeva, the head priest, matter of factly, as if stating the obvious.

St. Francis Church, Fort Kochi

Built in 1516, this is one of the oldest European Churches in India. Vasco da Gama's body was originally burried here. . Now this is run by the Church of South India. This church was a stone's throw away from my school, St. John De Britto's.

There is a Wikipedia entry for the church.


Location: Near Parade ground, Fort Kochi.

Infant Jesus Church, Ernakulam

This church is very close to my heart as I got married here! A small, but beautiful, portugese church right opposite to the Ernakulam highcourt. I am grateful to my brother and sister-in-law for inculcating in me a fondness for this church even much before I got married.
The altar here, though simple, is very spectacular:

Location: Opposite Highcourt, Ernakulam

The Church of Our Lady of Hope, Vypin

I did my primary education at the Lady of Hope Anglo Indian School, Vypin, which was attached to this church and the Cannosian Convent. The church overlooks the navigation channel and Fort Kochi beyond that, lined with Chinese fishing nets.

Location: Fort Vypin, Kerala

Built in 1605

About this site

Two years ago, I was driving around in Cochin, my hometown, with my brother and we were casually discussing the architectural beauty of some churches there and suddenly an idea struck me that I should go on a photography expedition of the churches in Ernakulam, someday.

The desire to do this became more intense, when I visited my Parish church, The Cruz Milagres (Kurisingal) church, Vypin (where I spent almost 22 years of my life) last year. The painting of the Pieta at the altar was amazing, something I couldn’t appreciate much during my childhood days, and something you won’t find easily at the churches in India. Though I can’t afford to go on a prolonged photography tour of the churches now, I decided to photograph as and when I visit these holy shrines, on my not so frequent trips to my hometown.

The Pieta at the Cruz Milagres (Kurisingal) church altar, Vypin

It is also interesting that Fr. Isaac Kurisingal, who was the parish priest at the Kurisingal church some years ago, has chronicled the history of some of the important shrines in the Goshree islands (including that of Kurisingal Church). He did this mostly by talking to elderly people in this area, who have been through generations, and by collecting information from various other sources in this region. This also inspired me to give some web presence for Fr. Isaac Kurisingal, whom I have not met personally (though I have attended his service).

I am a huge fan of Church music. I am a bit sad at the current heavy use of keyboards and drum machines in Malayalam Christian devotional songs. I relish those days at my parish church, when the parish singer (there is a designated singer on the payroll of the church) used just the organ (original, not electronic) and sang beautiful hymns during the service. He used to play one song during the communion and when the song was over, he improvised the tune on the organ to fill the communion time. He passed away in the '90s. In my last visit to the church, I saw a keyboard in place of the organ. I asked the current parish priest about the organ, he said that it was tucked away in the closet as no one was using it. It was quite predictable, as the tuning and maintenance of an organ is a laborious and expensive task.

Though the title says so, this site is not restricted to the churches in Kerala alone. And apart from the church photos and information, you can find some pieces on Christian music, related books and music reviews. Hope you will find this site interesting.

The photographs posted here are taken by my family members, with a Sony point n’ shoot camera. Please feel free to reproduce these photos in other publications. A copy of the material or link where it is used would be appreciated.