MCCEurope - Madras Christian College Europe Alumni

Minutes and Report of meeting held on 9th December 2011

2011-12-09T08:28:00.004Z

On Friday, 9th December 2011, thirteen alumni (President Jeevah Daniel, Secretary Daniel Ponnuraj, Prem Chandran, Vernon Seneviratne, CC Emmanuel, Sivanesen Machendran; Francis Ferdinand; Prakash Bettan; Lawrence Dhanesh; Suman Ipe; Pranay; Vasanth Sharma, Matt George, and Fern (Vernon's partner, making a total of 14) gathered for a Christmas meet and wish occasion at The Metropolitan Bar beside Baker Street Underground Station. It was a genuinely happy occasion (picture of chums Vernon on the left and Chandra), with food, drink and

laughter aplenty in a jolly pub atmosphere as friends who had not seen each other for months or even years caught up. Among the alumni there were venerable seniors in their 70s to youth in their 20s, all decked in Christmas hats and bobbles – courtesy of event organiser Vernon as well as Danny. The banter aside, it was also an opportunity to seriously discuss, participate and celebrate in 2012 whether in Chennai and in the UK the College’s 175 th year of its founding. It was a call for the alumni here to broadcast its earnest support to the College, and act corporately to help any way it can. There had been also concern about recent organisational arrangements that had led to a poor turnout during the November visit of the Principal, Dr Alex Jesudason. The Christmas gathering offered an opportunity to discuss these pressing issues, and prior to the 9 th December gathering Vernon circulated a detailed agenda to all alumni.

The meeting segment of the evening was to be kept brief but hearty discussions prolonged it. Alumni President Jeevah Daniel welcomed all and remarked it was amazing to see new and younger alumni of the Facebook generation. Apologies were received from Paul Sabapathy;Mohan Singh; Theo Gabriel; Rabi David; Garth Ezekiel; Anoop Madira; Rovin George; Tiju Prasad Kodiyat; Ram Kumar; Rajini Arthur; Sateesh Periyaswamy; Daniel Ezekiel; Aashim Joy; Raajthilak Gangadharan; Govind Balakrishnan and Auxilla Christina. In his inimitable style, the President remarked that “apologies were accepted, but would not be tolerated next time!” (Ed: Take note!)

The meeting resolved and unanimously agreed:
 That all formal links with the College be processed through the office bearers.
 That all lines of communication be open to all alumni, and information communicated to all.
 That if any member acts to represent MCC Alumni Europe or gives the perception he or she is acting so, information received in that capacity has to be shared with all alumni. Then one member or any others interested can be mandated to take charge regarding that particular event/s.
 That any meetings with the Principal or other College officials, unless it is a purely private matter – must be intimated to the office bearers.
 That names of the office bearers and contact details be published on the various websites or Yahoo email site and these be linked to the College website.

Preceding the decisions taken above, there were general discussions about the nature of communications, as to how much of these were external and/or internal, and what we were communicating, and with whom and how often. There is little inter-alumni communication, except in the case of the alumni in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where in the past some from the UK have attended events. But in the last two years links and communications with College have stepped up a gear, with MCC Alumni Europe hosting two Principals of the College in the past four years, besides other Professors including Dr CT Kurien and Dr Rani Siromani.

Among the new-comers (picture of young and old in festive mood) it was strongly felt that the alumni sites should be linked to the College website, so that those coming to a strange country have a point of access to the alumni in UK/Europe. They came to learn about MCC Alumni Europe through Facebook, since it is a powerful gateway to the Internet savvy youth. They also felt that the existing site could be developed further to generate greater awareness, and offered their time and skill knowledge. [In this context it was heartening to read on 11th December on the MCC Europe Facebook site this message]:

"Hi All, I did B Com in 1986 and am based in Schaffhausen near
Zurich - if any of you are here let's meet up - and are there any
alumni already in Switzerland? Would be great to meet – Sameer
Nagarajan, HR Director, Global Supply Chain at Unilever"

The above message from Sameer bears out the points made by the young Facebook family.Taking the point, the President said that an MCC legacy had become established in the UK but it was also time to streamline relations with the College, and seek out other alumni through the medium of the web.The 175th anniversary celebrations contributed to hearty discussions. The objective was to present the College with a gift/s to commemorate the event and one that could be done as soon as possible. Donating a bench or benches (picture of planned granite bench made in Pondicherry) would have an immediate and visual effect, and was the predominant view. Besides the bench idea other suggestions included setting up an endowment fund; donating computers and helping the College to develop a campus-wide wi-fi cloud.

The meeting agreed:
 That the alumni donate a granite bench or benches to the College to mark the 175th year. A suitable engraving should read: ‘With Fond Memories on the College’s 175thyear, MCC Alumni Europe’
 That Vernon and Chandra Emmanuel are authorised to collect and disperse monies regarding the Bench project. (As this minutes goes out to members information about the bench or benches have been circulated to members and donations sought.)
 That Prem Chandran (self-styled El Whip) during his visit to campus in January 2012 would undertake research as to what wi-fi or computer needs the College might have and how we could help financially.
AND FINALLY,
The President announced that a General Meeting will be held on the first Sunday of March, 4 th March 2012. Details to be announced.

The evening continued with a Quiz on the history of the College and its personalities. After ties in Round 1, a second set of questions followed, which inexplicably included one on London skating rinks (Ed: The entire nation is baffled by this question. We need a new Quiz Master next year?!). This time a tie ensued between Daniel Ponnuraj and Prem Chandran; and against all odds the latter won on the toss of a coin!! The petite and svelte Fern presented
the prize of the evening (picture). Mastermind: the Whip with bottle!

Matt K George, Minutes Secretary, after a fun evening.

MCC Principal and staff Visit to London, November 6/7, 2010

2010-11-15T11:07:00.001Z

Vernon writes:

MCC Principal and staff Visit to London, November 6/7, 2010

MCC UK and Europe Alumni Association were pleased to welcome to London a delegation led by Dr Alexander Jesudasan, Principal of Madras Christian College, accompanied by 6 members of staff - Dr H Crosby Vijayakumar, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science & Dean of International Programmes; Dr D Arul Samraj, Head of the Department of Zoology, Co-ordinator Bio-Infomatics Centre; Mrs Miriam Samuel, Head of the Department of Social Work; Mr Purushotham Surendran, Assistant Professor, Department of History; Mr D Armstrong Doss, Head of the Department of Business Administration; Mrs M Blessy, Head of the Department of Visual Communication. The group had arrived in Liverpool on Tuesday 2 November and were on a business visit hosted by Liverpool Hope University. The trip to London was intended to give the visitors a few hours in the capital city which was a dream many of them had cherished for many years.
With the help of Rev. Solomon and his wife Grace at the Indian YMCA in Fitzroy Square, London, the visitors were accommodated there. The central location was excellent, particularly because, at the request of Dr Jesudasan, arrangements had been made for the group to be met at Euston Station, London and to be taken to the YMCA which is only a few minutes away.
Dr Jesudasan had also made a request, in advance, and asked if arrangements could be made for the group to be shown around London on Sunday 7 November. In the event, a suitable programme was drawn up, centered around the “Hop On Hop Off” London Tour Bus routes which incorporated a boat cruise on the Thames starting at Westmister Pier and ending at Tower Hill.
The welcome at Euston Station was warm and immediately full of bonhomie. Those of us Alumni who were able to be present immediately took to the visitors and they to us, as soon as introductions were made; we were chatting away nineteen to the dozen, recalling the events of Principal Alex’s last visit to London only a few months ago, talking about the unseasonably cold weather now and enquiring after friends and relations who had been or were currently studying or teaching at MCC.
On arrival at the YMCA, we settled into a more formal welcome meeting. We were joined by a couple more Alumni. Formal introductions were made and after Dr Jesudasan had expressed his gratitude for the way in which the UK Alumni had responded to the needs of him and his team, he outlined the purpose of his visit to Liverpool and gave us more details about their visit programme. He himself had made a one day visit to Queen’s University, Belfast a couple of days earlier and the whole team would be finally visiting Edinburgh to reinfoce the Scottish University and Christian links which were so deeply established with MCC from the very outset. The team were scheduled to depart UK in time to recommence their college duties back at Tambaram on Monday 15 November. They were able to get away for this particular visit to UK because exams were currently in progress at MCC and they were not committed to any duties connected with this exam session.
Principal Alex and the team then outlined the nature of their respective duties in their Departments and we all took part in recounting some of the more light hearted events that took some of us back many, many years. It brought us up to date with what was happening up to the minute at the College and on campus, and yet provided a good degree of nostalgia.
Apropos up to the minute aspects of college life, those of us the Alumni present were each delighted to receive from Principal Alex, a copy of the book co-authored by two MCC professors, Dr Joshua Kalapati and Dr Ambrose Jeyasekarn; the title of the book is: Life and Legacy of Madras Christian College, 1837 – 1978. The first copy of the book had been formally presented only a couple of weeks earlier to Mrs Savithri Devanesen, wife of the late Chandran Devanesen who had been appointed the first Indian principal of MCC in 1962.
We then took dinner together and afterwards adjourned, at Principal Alex’s suggestion, to a reception room on the 5th floor of the YMCA which provided a more intimate surrounding and away from the hubbub of the dining hall downstairs. One of the important spin offs of this get together was an acknowledgement of how important contributions from former students can be eg when appropriate talks on relevant topics can be delivered by alumni with appropriate background when they visit the campus.
Discussions concerning the following day’s tour programme then took place and the meeting ended at 9.30pm in order to give the visitors a good night’s sleep before what was sure to be a strenuous outing the following day. One of the highlights was to be the attendance at the 11am Sung Eucharist Service at Westminster Abbey; the other was the boat cruise on the Thames. In the event, both went off exceedingly well – particularly the service at the Abbey. More later!
Sunday 7 November dawned. The day was cold and overcast. The forecast was for a temperature of some 8 or 9 degrees C; some sunny intervals. Well, it was cold – very cold indeed – but we did have some welcome sunny intervals.
Two of us Alumni, Vernon and Chandra, had volunteered to conduct the visitors on the tour. Tickets had been purchased on line and, well clad for the rigours of the cold, we all boarded the open top bus at Whitcombe Street, just off Leicester Square in Central London. It was no surprise that everyone opted to shelter under the canopy that covered part of the upper deck! But we had an excellent view of the route and the important tourist attractions. It was a pleasure to hear the excited voices of our visitors as each attraction came into view: Trafalgar Square! Nelson’s Column! Piccadilly Circus! The Hard Rock Café! Speakers Corner! Marble Arch! Oxford Street The River Thames! Westminster and Parliament etc – and Big Ben! Cameras clicked away. Yes, and finally Buckingham Palace! Despite the cold, they had a whale of a time. If there was one disappointment, it was that we never did get a chance to pass Downing Street. Well, the Prime Minister will have to wait!
Well before 11am we were in Parliament Square. We walked all around but had to put on an additional layer of clothing because of the cold - despite the occasional breakthrough of sunshine. We felt so sorry for our visitors who are more used to consistent temperatures in the upper 20’s and 30’s or even higher!
Then we assembled before the magnificent Abbey, otherwise known as the Church of St Peter or Westminster Abbey. Finally, just before 11am, we were called in and escorted along with other worshippers to take our places in the magnificent cathedral. We could not help noticing the inscriptions on some of the tombs such as Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin who are of particular interest to those who pursued scientific academic studies.
We were delighted to be led to seats right alongside the choristers. No ordinary seats! These are seats where the High Commissioners of the various countries sit for official services such as the Battle of Britain commemorations! Wonderful! Who cannot be moved to hear and feel the resonance of the great pipe organ! The service began and those of us who wished to receive the holy communion did so. We listened intently to the sermon, sang the hymns and participated in the prayers led by President of the Clergy for the service and Sub Dean and Canon, The Reverend Nicholas Sagovsky. But the best was yet to come. Why ? Because, after the service and as we were ushered out of the main door, it was the Dean of Westminster Abbey, The Vey Reverend John R Hall, BAHonDD Hon D Theo FRSA Hon FCollT, who shook our hands. When he heard that we were part of a distinguished delegation from MCC led by the Principal Dr Jesudasan, he asked to meet the principal! Yes, security was alerted that Dr Jesudasan had just left the gate but we got him back and there followed an informal but warm 10 minute meeting between Principal Jesudasan and the Dean and Sub Dean of Westminster Abbey right by the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior! A rare and privileged few minutes for us. It was totally unplanned and unexpected.
We learned that the Dean was a frequent visitor to Calcutta (Kolkata) and that he had never been to Chennai. An immediate invitation was extended by our Principal Alex! Principal was asked by Canon Sagovsky to convey his personal best wishes to the Vice Chancellor of Liverpool Hope with whom he was also on first name terms.
And so to Westminster Pier to board the Thames cruiser. En route there, a generous member of our Alumni, Sivanesan, insisted on treating us all to a packed lunch, prepared by Tesco. Yummy! We ate our lunch on board. More photos while we took in the live commentary. Apparently, the tide was particularly high that day; any higher and we would not have been able to take the cruise!
We disembarked at Tower Hill. Some souvenirs were purchased and we then reboarded the Tour Bus to take in more destinations of interest, culminating in Buckingham Palace. Oh yes, that was special to our visitors, very cold though it was.
The day was waning; our visitors were tiring; light was failing and we had to plan the final route back to Russell Square which was walking distance from the YMCA.
And that was it. In no time we were back at Fitzroy Square. A quick freshen up for our visitors, a final vote of thanks to the Alumni from Dr Jesudasan and his team and a lovely prayer led by Principal for God’s gracious overseeing of the wonderful programme they had experienced and God’s Speed for all of us, the institution and the future.
A brisk walk along the streets of London back to Euston Station to catch the 19.02hrs train back to Liverpool – and then they were gone. Oh, one more thing: there was manna from Heaven; it came in the shape of 7 nicely packed parcels of YMCA biryani for the journey. Yes, Mrs Solomon made sure of that. Thank you Grace. Thank you Indian YMCA.
MCC UK Alumni who attended one or both days: Prem Chandran, Jeeva Daniel, Chandra C Emmanuel, Sivanesan Machendran, Daniel Ponnuraj, Vernon Seneviratne, Alfred Sharon, Mohan Singh, .

November 2010. ....."

Lunch with Dr Rani Siromoney, Sunday 19th September 2010

2010-10-19T22:04:00.002+01:00

From: mohan singh
Date: Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 5:16 PM

A synopsis provided by Dr Rani Siromoney of the power point presentation given by her on the occasion follows: In the mid fifties,

Noam Chomsky, the linguist who later turned to be a Philosopher, proposed a Mathematical model for Natural Languages-in this case, English. This model reflects the priknciple of “Parsing” normally taught in High Schools.

This model is “linear” ,or one-dimensional.

In the early seventies, Gift Siromoney, Rani Siromoney and Kamala Krithivasan, a very brilliant lady, the first full-time Ph.D. student of Rani Siromoney, who after her Ph.D joined IIT (Madras) as Professor, extended Chomsky’s model to 2 dim3ensions, and made use of kolam patterns as illustrations. The first model proposed was the “Matrix Model”-this generated a horizontal row of “Intermediates” and the , vertical generation took place in parallel.i.e. at the same time. This mode is not capable of showing the ratio between length and breadth.

To overcome this deficiency, a sedcond model was proposed which can show the proportion between length and breadth. Both the models were referred to (later) as Siromoney Matrix models and Siromoney Array Models.

In addition, Gift Siromoney conducted experiments with students who were familiar with and practiced the art, to find out how exactly, they learnt, memorized and retrieved from memory the complicated kolam patters. Very ofteten the “kolam practitioners” were rural ladies who were not highly educated.

He designed “kolam moves” to reflect the moves of the kolam patterns. This is in contrast to the “turtle moves” used in Computer Graphics- they are angular whereas kolam moves can capture the curved nature of the kolam patterns.

The last few transparencies reflect my recent research-. DNA Computing.

Unlike other branches of Mathematics and Computer Science, this branch is of fairly recent origin- with the advent of the seminal work of Leonard Adleman(of RSA fame- Rivest, Shamir, Adleman who discovered the first public-key Cryptosystem, which many use even today

The paper Contextual Insertion to solve the Square Tiling Problem, known to be NP-Complete. This paper was presented by me in addition to chairing 2 sessions at the Bio- Inspired Conference-Theory and Applications, in September 2010 in Liverpool Hope University which brought me to to the UK and enabled me to attend the MCC Alumni Get-together held at the YMCA, London..."

Dr Theodore Gabriel talks to the Institute for Advanced Christian Studies, on Christianity and Shi'i Islam, 5th August 2010‏

2010-08-25T17:18:00.006+01:00

Below is a message and the script of the talk by Dr Theodore Gabriel.

"...Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:32:14 +0100
Subject: Visit to MCC

Dear Mohan,
I had a most enjoyable visit to Tambaram and saw the salubrious sorroundings of the campus more or less in well-preserved condition. My talk was well-received and I was talking to an erudite congregation of lecturers and senior staff including the heads of English, Zoology, Tamil, and Philosophy. The Vice Principal chaired the session as Dr Jesudasan was away from the MCC. The questions asked were very stimulating so we had quite a long discussion after the talk.
The IACS is faring well and is embarking on a postgrduate course. Rev Somu Ross, the Director, spoke to me about this course on Religious Pluralism and Social Transformation. I suggested some relevant books and one of his requests was for us to contribute books for their library, which is necesarily in a fledgling state. Perhaps the alumni association wil lbe willing to help and I can select and send books if we can gather funds for this purpose. This is a suggerstion for the President and all members to mull over.

Regards

Theo ......"

Christianity and Shi’i Islam, Some Interesting Parallels - Dr Theodore Gabriel

At a first glance one would wonder what Shi’ism has to do with Christianity. What common ground can there be between Shi’ism and Chrstianity other than that shared between Islam and Christianity in general? That is the matter of shared patriarchs, prophets, and scriptures, monotheism (not very clear-cut in the Christian case) and the virgin birth of Jesus and his miracles. But I will argue that the parallels between Shi’ism and Christianity go far beyond these well known commonalities between Islam and Christianity.
In this paper I will take the majority Ithna Asha’ari beliefs and praxis as normative of Shi’i Islam, though I am aware of other branches of Shi’i faith such as the Ismailis and the Druze.
Shi’ism might have originated in a political controversy in 632 AD, namely the succession to Prophet Muhammad as the leader of Islam. But later theological contrasts with orthodox Islamic belief did develop, accentuating the contrasts between Sunni and Shi’i Islam. Some of these doctrines owed to the Mu’tazila, a group of rationalist Islamic philosophers of the 8th to 10th centuries CE. Due to Mu’tazilite influence some of the earlier beliefs held by the Shi’a such as the anthropomorphism of God have been abandoned and the literature disseminating these beliefs destroyed as unsuitable for onward transmission. The present Ithna Asha'ari beliefs crystallised in about 900 AD or shortly thereafter.

The hidden Imam:

Prominent and well-known in Shi’i belief is the concept of the Hidden Imam (al Qaim). He bears the same name as the Prophet and was Abul Quasim Muhammad, the twelfth Imam. He is believed not to have died, but to be hidden by the power of God, his life miraculously prolonged till the day of his return. The similarities with Christ exist in the fact that he guides the Shi’a community, though not present in the world physically, and is known as the Lord of the Age (Sahib as Zaman). It is clear that the Shi’a do not believe in the death and resurrection of the 12th Imam, though the title al-Qaim (He who will arise) seems to denote a similar concept. Nor do they believe in his ascension to heaven, though there used to be a belief he is in a far off place such as Jabulsa or Jabulqua. But he continues to intercede for the Shi’a with God and guide the affairs of the community even if invisible, just as Christ is alive, sitting at the right hand of God and inspiring and guiding the Christian church. The hidden Imam still appears to manifest himself in dreams and visions to the pious, just as Christ is believed to have appeared to his disciples at first and then after his ascension to various individuals, notably to St. Paul in the first century CE but also in contemporary times, to Sadhu Sundar Singh of India for instance.

The doctrine of Raj’a (The return of the Hidden Imam):

The doctrine of Raj’a has many affinities with the avowed belief in the return of Jesus. The Hidden Imam has the title Al Muntassar (The awaited one). The time of his return is indeterminate though many signs of the imminent expectation of the Mahdi have been given just as Christ postulated that there will be signs of his return as the judge of the world, in Luke 17 for instance. In the Shi’i case the earth has to be filled with injustice and tyranny before the Mahdi returns. He will lead the forces of righteousness against the forces of evil led by the one eyed Djall who seems to be the counterpart in Shi’ism of the anti Christ mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The Sufyani, a descendant of Abu Sufiyan, who featured prominently among the Qur'aysh rulers of pre-Islamic Mecca, is a tyrant who will arise from Damascus. These enemies of the Imam will be defeated in one apocalyptic battle, the surrogate of the battle of Armageddon described in the book of Revelation. So just as in the Christian case of Armageddon, the defeat of the Djall and the binding of the Devil by Imam al Mahdi will usher in a thousand years of the reign of peace, happiness and prosperity in the world.

Signs of the return of the Mahdi:

The twelfth Imam has to be a descendant of the Prophet. This has echoes of the prophecy that Christ is of the line of David. The return of the Mahdi will be preceded by great calamities and disruption of peace. There are many signs that will precede his emergence from occultation. A general and very important sign is that he will come at a time when there is great confutation, intense disputes and violent deaths. People are afflicted by disturbances and great fear. Calamities will fall upon the people, so much so that a person will not find any shelter to protect him/her self from oppression. Similarly the Book of Revelation says:

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people concealed themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:15-16)

There will be battles and fitna (chaos) before his appearance. Every time a fitna has come to end, another will start, spread and intensify. The people will be troubled to such an extent that they will long for death. The similarities of the conditions described in the Book of Revelation and some of the prophecies of Christ are obvious.
Shi’i sources speak of the red death and the white death, namely death by the sword and death by disease. It is interesting that a figure called the Pure Soul will be assassinated. A similar event is recorded in Revelation Chapter 11 when two witnesses to God are assassinated by the Anti-Christ. The Arabs are prophesied at this time to have thrown off their foreign yoke, a prophecy recalling Israel indicating the imminence of the return of Christ, except that Israel is substituted for Arabs in the Christian context. Earthquakes and a fire in the sky that will cause all people to turn red is another sign of the return of the Mahdi. A similar event is predicted in the Book of Revelation regarding the sun (Revelation 16:8) when people will be scorched by the intense heat of the sun. The ignorance of the world is said to be worse than in the days of the Jahiliyya. The Bible also talks of the iniquities and moral depravity of the world before the return of Christ.
The expectation of the return of the Mahdi is an event that gives great hope to the Shi’a, especially when they have been persecuted as the underdogs of the Muslim world for much of their history and also in contemporary times when they face troubles of many kinds, political , economic and social. The Parousia in a sense has the same impact on the Christian community. The world ruled by the Mahdi and the Kingdom of God ruled by Christ are in many a sense one and the same. The restoration of the world from evil is a common theme that characterises both events.
A further similarity is the fact that Jesus predicted that imposters would claim to being the returned Christ. (Mark 13:22) Similarly some figures in the Islamic world have also claimed to be the Mahdi, notably the Mahdi of Sudan well known in connection with the death of General Gordon of Kahartoum, and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahamadiyya.
The centrality of Christ to the Christian church is echoed in the Shi’i community by the immense importance they accord to the role that the Imams play. The person who is not in touch with the Imam is said to have died in Jahiliyya (age of ignorance), just as the person who has not accepted Christ and has not known and followed his teachings is said to have lost the opportunity for eternal life in God’s presence. The Prophet and the Imams, his direct descendants through his daughter Fatima, are believed by the Shi’a to have been created even before Adam as the primordial light and this belief parallels the Christian belief that Jesus was existent even before Abraham or indeed the creation of Man. (John 8:58).
In Sunni Islam, after Prophet Muhammad there is no particular figure that occupies a position as highly exalted as the twelve Imams of Shi’ism. The four rightly guided Caliphs (Khulafur Rashidun) were the representatives of God on earth (Khalifat Allah). The Abbasid Caliphs called themselves Khalifal Rasul (representative of the Messenger, that is Prophet Muhammad). The word Khalifa may also signify stewardship and succession, since they were successors to the Prophet and also stewards of the Islamic ummah (global community) of their time. The Caliphate was abolished by Kemal Ataturk soon after the First World War. The Sultan of Turkey was the last Khalifa proper.
It seems that the Khalifa was more of a political than a religious leader though the title Amir al Muminin (Commander of the Faithful) was applied to them. The position of the Imam in Shi’a Islam is completely different and due to the belief in an innate gnosis they are like the Prophet believed to be infallible and having an innate God given knowledge of right from wrong. This is more in conformity with the status of Christ in Christianity, sinless and having transcendental knowledge of present, past and future, than with the Khulafur Rashidun. It is also to be noted that the latter were elected democratically with the consensus of the Sunni community rather than by descent, a circumstance that was to be one of the reasons for the Shi’i schism. So the Imams of Shi’ism had more in common with Christ, the descendant of David and of special lineage and birth than the elected Khalifas of Sunni Islam. The rise of Ulama (scholars) in Islam to some extent attenuated the role of the Khalifa in Sunni Islam in religious matters. On the other hand the Imam has the eternal function of interpreting the divine law and guiding the Muslim in the spiritual path. The Imam is called Hujja (Proof) and Hadi (guide). This duty (Wilaya) is still being carried on by the Imam in occultation, though to some extent the modern concept of Naib Imam (Deputy of the Imam) implies that some of these functions can be fulfilled by some of the living scholars or Ayatollahs such as present in Iran.

Baraka (holiness; inner light)

Shi’i veneration of the Prophet and his family (the Ahl al Bayt) is unique. This family is above all others. As I mentioned earlier they have been elected by God even before creation. They have been blessed with Baraka, a special holiness or a divine light that confers on them sinlessness (Isma), infallibility and direct knowledge from God through ilham (inspiration) distinct from wahy (revelation) which is how the Qur’an was transmitted. This innate knowledge distinguishes them from other religious leaders, and is conferred on them by a Spirit from God. The Baraka or holiness is inherited from the Prophet through his daughter Fatima, his special progeny who is believed to have been conceived shortly after the Prophet’s mystical journey to heaven, the Mira’j.
This mystical inner light has similarities with the concept of the Holy Spirit in Christianity. The Spirit was conferred on Christ by God at his Baptism by John the Baptist. Later the Spirit descended on all Christians on the Day of Pentecost and continues to manifest itself in many Christians. The Spirit can confer super human knowledge, visions, prophecy, healing and the ability to perform miracles. It is believed to issue from God and in the Catholic Church and other non-Orthodox churches from both God the Father and God the Son.
The knowledge that the Spirit gives is not mediated by human reasoning nor does it come from the human intellect. It is directly from God, a kind of gnosis. The Spirit when it dwells in the human being can confer sinlessness and in the Epistles seems to be the entity through which the grace of God against sin is mediated. In short it can at least make a person less vulnerable to temptation and the weaknesses of the flesh. This is very similar to the Baraka postulated in Shi’ism which makes the Imams sinless and infallible, and the many superhuman capabilities that they are believed to possess. The aql (divine wisdom) and the hikma (esoteric knowledge) that the Imams possess are the unique gifts of God to the Ahl al Bayt.

The idea of Passion:
The natural death of Prophet Muhammad to some extent excludes an element of passion from Sunni Islam. But the Shi’a were persecuted for much of their history and thus they may even have developed a persecution complex which leads to distinct practices such as taquiyya (dissimulation, hiding the fact that one is Shi’a). It has to be remembered that the early church was also heavily persecuted by both the Jews and the Roman rulers. This was mainly because they were considered as heretical by the Jews and as an esoteric and less well understood religious sect by the Romans with practices such as drinking blood and eating flesh, a total distortion of the Holy Eucharist. The reason for the persecution of the Shi’a was initially political but later on also for their beliefs and practice diverging somewhat from orthodox Sunnism. The appellation Ghulat (extremists) had been applied to them even in the early phases.
The Shi’a believes that all the 11 Imams died as martyrs to their cause. The twelfth Imam went into occultation mainly due to persecution. The greatest martyr of all was Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet who died in the battle of Karbala on 13th October 680 AD. This was a grievous battle in which the companions of Hussein were heavily outnumbered, just 72 against a 40,000 strong army, and the forces of Yazid, the self-appointed Caliph brutally killed Hussein and his baby son Ali Asghar. Hussein fought very bravely to the end even when all his companions had been decimated by the Sunni army.
This tragic incident and martyrdom is very central to Shi’i ethos and informs strongly both their piety and attitude to life. The commemoration of this event on Ashura, the festival, involves self mortification which can only be construed as an attempt to share in the sufferings of Imam Hussein. Imam Ali was killed by the Kharijites, some of his own followers, and Hassan his elder son died a natural death, though there is a Shi’i belief that he was poisoned under the orders of Muawiyya, the usurper of the Caliphate. But the martyrdom of Hussein is indisputable and is therefore the first major tragic event in Shi’i history.
In the ritual enactment of the death of Imam Hussein on the 10th of Muharram (the Ta'ziya) there are similarities with the celebration of the Passion of Christ, including the re-enactment of Christ’s sufferings and crucifixion such as the one in Oberammergau. This is a day of celebration as well as grief, and the enactment is also an opportunity for catharsis. The Rawda Khani (recital of the sufferings of the Imams) is an occasion for displaying grief just as Catholic Christians might hold events and discourses expressing grief at the sufferings of Christ. Fasting and prayer and wearing of black on Good Friday are ways in which the mourning and grief is expressed. The remembrance of the sacrifices of Christ and Hussein have many points of convergence such as extreme self-sacrifice and severe physical trauma as when Hussein is wounded mortally several times but was still conscious and speaking until his head is cut off. Also the courage that Hussein displayed in refusing to acknowledge the illegal caliphate of Yazid is similar to the great courage and steadfastness that Jesus displays in standing up against the hypocrisy and hollow piety of the Jewish religious establishment of the day. The patient endurance (mazlumiyyat) of injustice and oppression that the Imams displayed is evocative of the passive and patient suffering of Jesus.
The tomb of Hussein in Karbala is a place of pilgrimage and piety for the Shi’a as much as the Holy Sepulchre is for Christians. The commemoration of persecution, injustice and brutality in the death of Jesus and Hussein is a factor that can unite Shi’i and Christian religious ethos and practice.

Justness of God and human free will:

Theologically speaking the Shi’a are in divergence with Orthodox Sunni Islam in the concepts of the justness of God and freedom of human will. The Shi’a have been strongly influenced by Mu’tazilite thinking. The Mu’tazila were a group of Islamic theologians in the 9th to 10th century who accepted logic and rational thinking though Islamic doctrines were their starting point and ultimate reference. They strongly denied anthropomorphic thinking about God considering anthropomorphic references in the Qur’an as symbolic, not literal. They were known as Ahl al Adl (people of justice) who argued that God cannot be responsible for our wrong actions, but that human freewill and choice was permitted by God to make life a time of testing (taklif). This was contrary to orthodox Islamic thinking which saw divine will as the ultimate source of everything that happens in the world.
The belief in the absolute justness of God and adoption of Greek rationality and other aspects of Greek thinking brings the Shi’a approximate more closely to Christian thinking on the matters of sin, freedom of will and human responsibility. Lack of freedom of will can negate human responsibility for good and evil actions and thus make divine judgment and eschatological rewards and punishment problematic.

In conclusion I will not argue that these isomorphisms and paradigm affinities between Shi’ism and Christianity are developments arrived at as the result of deliberate imitation of Christianity by the Shi’a or even the result of spontaneous and cursory inter-religious cross fertilisation. But the fact remains that there is remarkable common ground between the two faiths that can be the basis for fruitful inter – faith dialogue between Christianity and Shi’i Islam. The Shi’a occupy some strategic regions of the world, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, and others. At a time when Shi’i nations and groups are generally seen as hostile to the West and by implication to Christianity by the media and the general public these similarities can easily be overlooked and not acted upon to engender better inter-religious harmony in the world.

MCC Europe Alumni - Summer Galatta - 15 August · 11:00 - 17:00 , Fairlop Waters

2010-08-07T07:29:00.000+01:00

Dear All,
Its been a couple of years since we had a major get together and the next one is being held at Fairlop Waters in Essex near Ilford. The 15th of August is appropriate, seeing as how its both our Independence Day as well as a Sunday and its summer, so the setting and time is great! We would like as many of you to come along either by yourself, with your partners or with family. All are welcome! A map of the venue along wi...th details on the various ways to get there is attached. Information on Fairlop itself is available at www…………This is an informal get together of all the Alumni available here in the UK and it would be a wonderful occasion to meet up with old friends.

Professor B.M, Arthur is here with us in the UK and he will attend as he did the last time we met. Rev Duncan Forrester and his wife Margaret may also be attending subject to Duncan's health permitting him to. This information is being put up on our site as well as the Worldwide web site in the event that anyone from outside the UK may be here during this period. You are all more than welcome!

To defray the expenses we request a nominal £10.00 per head to meet the immediate costs of rental of the Hall at Fairlop and for food and drink. The meet is scheduled to start from midday and, apart from vacating the Hall by 6.00pm, can go on till whatever time everyone wishes to stay.

We would like to ask all of you to make an effort to come along to what promises to be a very enjoyable day and to relive the spirit in which we all spent our years in Tambaram!

Looking forward to hear from you
MCC Europe Alumni

Dr Alexander Jesudasan in London on Wednesday 19th May 2010 atDr Alexander Jesudasan in London on Wednesday 19th May 2010

2010-05-19T07:21:00.001+01:00

From: mohan singh

My thanks to everyone who attended the lunch to meet with Dr Jesudasan and
his family.It is only with excellent teamwork, dedication and invaluable contributions
from the members of the Association it was possible organising the
get-together. I am most grateful to all of you for your assistance.Again, my apologies for any inconvenience caused with the unavoidable changes
in the programme at such short notice.Attached is the list of those who attended as well as of those from whom
apologies were received.Dr Jesudasan has kindly presented a gift dealing with the College to Thiru
Daniel Ponnuraj, Secretary of the Association for his untiring and hard work
in carrying the flambeau of the College in distant shores. (Sorry I have no
inkling of what is within the golden wrappings of the gift!) I understand that Dr Joshua Kalapathi of the College Philosophy Department is
writing a history of Madras Christian College. I am sure he would welcome
any contributions members make in bringing the college history alive.
From Theodore Gabriel

Dear Mohan,
Congratulations for organising such an enjoyable get
together and felicitation party for the Prinicpal at very short notice. Your
enterprise, hardwork and efficiency is admirable. You did indeed collect
together some stalwarts (I exclude myself froim this category) such as
Mangalraj, Sabapathy and Vernon Sen for the occasion

Best wishes

Theo
From Vernon Sen

Dear Mohan,

Just want to echo Theo's words of thanks to you and all those who managed to give Principal Alex what will be documented as an excellent, warm and memorable welcome to London by our 'Chapter'. Theo's modesty noted! It was good also to see Paul Sabapathy and Ruth. Even the weather was in our favour.

It was clear that Princial Alex and his family were touched by the efforts of all concerned. The convivial atmosphere in an otherwise canteen but studious environment would have spoken for itself. Dr Richard Bingle was also very relaxed in our midst.
It is heartening to learn that the College appears to be generating a good deal of new impetus in the various initiatives that Principal Alex told us about; it is particularly heartening to hear about the monthly newsletter that will be available on the website for us all to see.

If you are curious about how the afternoon ended for the Principal and family, well, I can inform you all that I did my tourist guide role in as best a fashion as I could!
We took the tube to Waterloo, then emerged and walked towards the dramatic sight of the London Eye - up close and personal. They were very taken with the panaromic view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben as we turned the corner. The family's camera was clicking away as the Thames flowed regally by. I could sense their excitement!

I then guided them across the Thames on Westminster Bridge and they marvelled as visitors do whilst standing in the shadows of Big Ben. There was even a Scottish Piper in full flow on the bridge.
Then, Ah! Parliament Square! Unfortunately, 'tent city' greeted them. I explained the tradition of allowing protesters the right to demonstrate but also said that public opinion was mounting against the facility and soon it may come to an end. Many have had enough of the squalor that marks the centre of one of London's most prestigious squares.

Then on to Downing Street and they craned their necks to get a glimpse of No 10 through the heavily fortified gates. I did get a nice photo of the family with the street name "Downing Street'' in the background.

Time was moving on and, cognisant of the need to get them back to Euston Station to catch the 5.30pm train to Liverpool, I decided that after a quick glimpse of Westminster Abbey, it had to be the final stop next - Buckingham Palace - which was high on their list of places to see in London. Well, we walked there via St James' Park and after they marvelled at the sight that greeted their eyes, and I expained the meaning of the Royal Standard flying in the breeze, they took their last photos and I bade them farewell and put them into a taxi and sent them on their way to Euston Station.

So ended the quick tour of London of the Jesudasan family. They realised that their limited time meant that they had to sacrifice visits to The Natural History Museum and St Pauls.
I sensed, though, that they were tired but very happy with what they had achieved.

There are a few photos that I shall send on to all of you in due course.

With every good wish and an expectation that some of us might meet up before the summer is over...
And so I get wearily into bed. It has been an unexpectedly tiring but fulfilling day
Good night all.

Vernon

Summer BBQ Party - London 26th July 2009

2009-06-10T11:17:00.000+01:00

Please mark the dates on your diary... !!!

Click here to register for the meet

VENUE
Ilford - Please register for venue details to be emailed ... Time : 12:00 pm onwards or call 07766353644.

Lawrence & Nirupa have kindly provided their garden as the venue to host the MCC Europe Summer party 2009.
( Car parking is free on SUNDAY, nearest Rail station is Ilford, Plenty of buses from GANTS HILL tube station and London city Airport and am sure there will be some very good hearted gentlemen like Mr.PC will offer a lift from the station/ airport)

Please can you let me know if you
1. Have a Inflatable swimming pool for kids. 2. BBQ Grill, 3. Picnic Table
3. Standalone Stereo with a collection party music ( baila, kollwood, bollywood etc ), 4. Recipe for cocktail/mocktail party punches from the hall days ...
P.S. This will be the last year for some of our alumni's, don't miss the chance to give them a proper SEND OFF party.

1956 to 1959 batch (left) of MCC graduates; and the alumini at the reunion after 50 years.

2009-06-08T20:27:00.008+01:00

SOURCE: http://www.expressbuzz.com/

Nalini Ravichandran

50 yrs on, they walk down memory lane

A photograph of 1956 to 1959 batch (left) of MCC graduates; and the alumini at the reunion after 50 years.

CHENNAI: It was literally a walk down memory lane for the surviving members of Madras Christian College’s batch of 1956 - 59. Fifty years have passed, but Professor Ebel still remembers just about everything about his students, who are all in their late 70s. The college held its golden jubilee reunion of the 1956 - 59 batch of BA Hons and MA History students on the college premises on Sunday....

Pre Christmas Dinner - MCC Europe Alumin, Kingston Upon Thames, London

2008-12-06T21:45:00.002Z

Meena and Garth Ezekiel have kindly invited all MCCians for an informal get-together at their home in New Malden on Sunday, 14th December 2008 at 1700 hours.
Dr Garth Ezekiel was a resident of Heber Hall, C block (1965-66).
George, as always, has generously offered to supplement the Ezekiels in meeting the catering requirements. Of course, we can all bring our own victuals and the 12-year old malt (!) to share...
Geroge Oomen was a resident of selaiyur in in the late 60\'s
And we are mixed bunch from the 40\'s till 2006 ...
RSVP via this link http://www.polldaddy.com/s/0D992F5A6858E4C0/ or call us at 07766353644 to get further details

We also like to wish all of you guys a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
http://mcceurope.blogspot.com/
http://www.mcceurope.com

Happy Diwali Wishes

2008-10-27T09:59:00.001Z

Happy Diwali to you and your loved ones. May peace and prosperity light up your lives
- Warmest wishes, Matt

Duncan's lessons

2008-10-07T18:05:00.005+01:00

For the benefit of those who did not attend the meeting on the 4th October with the Forresters, below is the transcript of the speech delivered by Dr Theo Gabriel on the occasion. Thank you, Theo, for providing the script.

It is a great honour and privilege for me to be speaking at this event for the felicitation of Professor Duncan Forrester, a truly reverendissimus magister. I actually think that Prof Forrester is the last of his kind; I mean the legendary figures of Madras Christian that includes personages such as Dr Boyd, Prof. McPhail, Prof. McNicol, and Prof. Martin, Dr Kibble and Dr Devanesan. Allow me to digress a little and tell how I met Prof McNicol in Edinburgh. I was travelling from Aberdeen where I was a student to London for research when at Edinburgh the tall and distinguished figure of Prof. McNicol entered my carriage. Seeing an Asian face he came to me and asked me "Are you an Indian?" I replied "I am not only an Indian but was also your student in Madras and a member of your choir in Anderson Hall". Prof McNicol was very happy to her this and graciously invited me to visit him in Edinburgh. So I went and was Prof. McNicol’s and Mrs McNicol’s guest for a few days. There he showed me some photographs taken in the college. The most interesting one was of some students climbing the trellis work of Selaiyur Hall, in short making an illegal entry into the hall after midnight. It amused me greatly that Prof McNicol had waited patiently camera in hand at that late hour to catch the culprits red handed. But these professors loved their students so much. At a time when it would have been easy to be imperialistic, patronising and supercilious they were nothing of that sort but behaved so decently and affectionately to their students. They dedicated themselves wholly to the progress and well being of their wards. This is what has made the college so great and brought it up to the high standards it has maintained over many decades. Christian colleges in many places have gradually lapsed into money spinning enterprises. They have sacrificed the high ideals and standards and sense of social justice at the idol of Mammon. That is why I am wary of the interference of dioceses into the affairs of Christian. It is better for the college to be wholly autonomous. If the criteria of social justice and merit are sacrificed for what are euphemistically called donations or capitation fees but are really bribes, then this great institution will go the way of many other Christian colleges. I know that colleges require substantial funds but this is not the way to go about acquiring them. Then they will become elitist institutions catering only for the rich, and exclude those who are talented but indigent. I hope this won’t happen to our alma mater. Prof. Duncan Forrester is an eminent figure in the world of academia. He has occupied distinguished positions. Chair of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology, Principal of New College and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity in Edinburgh University, Chair of Research Assessment in Theology and Religious Studies of the UK and has therefore made a significant contribution to theological training in this country. But he is also a prolific author and through his many books has had an impact on wider society. The sense of social justice permeating in his books is especially significant and I am sure his Indian experience has been a significant factor in the formation of his outlook and ideology. I wish Prof Forrester and his wife many more years of service to the academia and the larger society.
Dr Theodore Gabriel

Associate Senior Lecturer and Hon: Research FellowTheology and Religious Studies

University of Gloucestershire

Cheltenham

United Kingdom

Ex Alumnus of Madras Christian College, Tambaram......"

Baila Mela - MCC Europe

2008-07-19T10:25:00.006+01:00

I enjoyed the Baila Mela immensely. It has been quite some time since I met fellow Alumni from the MCC and it was nice to renew acquaintances and meet new faces. It was a bonus to meet the ebullient and cordial Prof. Mangalraj and catch up on news of some of my teachers at Christian. His speech brought back nostalgic memories of the Boyd days and was very reflective of the MCC spirit. It was particularly delightful to meet Mrs. Gnanadoss. While a student I had gone with fellow Maths students on weekends to his house in the campus and enjoyed their hospitality and moreover I was a member of the Bishop Heber Chapel Choir which Prof. Gnanadoss conducted. We liked his laid back style of teaching. He used to come and sit with students in the class and mark the internal examinations. An adaptation of the Oxford tutorial system, I suppose. He also used to teach subjects outside the Honours syllabus so might have stimulated the interest of some students in advanced Mathematics.
The food and music were excellent. The orchestra though small produced a lively sound and rhythm. I had to leave early but I am certain that after the mighty seniors left and I had to go back early for my daughter to get back to Birmingham there was some frenetic dancing. There was ample evidence of the dedicated work and planning of the office bearers and the executive committee and I congratulate them on a well-organised and delightful party. I am sure that this will become a landmark in the history of MCC Europe.
Best wishes to all
TheoDr. T. Gabriel

WHERE DUTY, RIGHT AND HONOUR LEAD.

2002-07-20T13:37:00.004+01:00

Under a banner proclaiming "Where duty, right and honour lead" - the key words from the alumni prayer of the college, about 45 former students based in the United Kingdom got together on the afternoon of Saturday, July 20 for food, fun and friendship.
The venue, Barham Park Lounge, Wembley, almost resembled the campus at Tambaram with its tall, shady trees and a cosy but spacious hall, a landscaped garden and a surrounding park. To cap it all, the good Lord sent us perfect sunny weather; those familiar with the tempestuous English weather will know what a heavenly blessing this is.
The event was organised as a family social day and the ladies and children numbering about 15 added colour and life to the occasion. But the crowning glory of the day was the presence of Mr S. Menon Marath, (1930-33, English Hons.)with Nancy, his wife of 63 years. Menon is a sprightly 91 and an author of six novels, three of which have been published. In Menon's days college was located in Parry's Corner and there were no halls as we know it. Can any other chapter claim to be fortunate enough to have an active member of such vintage!!!.
Another special attendee was Mr E Joseph John (46-49, St Thomas) who was visiting London. After an illustrious career in East Africa and later at Lovedale, he now lives in Kumbanad in Kerala. His presence exemplified the international character of MCC alumni. His profound recollection of everything MCCish bolsterd the score of St Thomas's in the heritage quiz that was subsequently held. Without his input, St Thomas's would not have scored many points!
Dr Richard Bingle (who lived in the campus as a young boy during 1935-44),Mr Kuruvilla Thomas (42-46, English Hons/Heber Hall) Mr N Jeyasingh,(55-59, Heber/Botany) were some of the other veterans whose presence lent history and prestige to the occasion. Then there were the baby-boomers Sixties kids, led by Mr Mohan Singh, and too many to mention individually.
As seems to be the case, we started the get-together with some good food. This time our vice-president, Geroge Oommen (68-72, Selaiyur/History), had organised the tasty food - huge quantities of biryani rice, tandoori chicken, chana dal, naans, thairsadam (yoghurt rice), pickles and Madras poppadoms - with a little wine or beer to go with it. (Yes, we did have fruit juice and mineral water too for those who wanted a change!) Those who know George are aware of his larger-than-life personality. But wearing a chef's hat and apron his joviality was doubly infectious, while he made sure that everyone tucked into the food. In an instant the crowd gelled into the good old Tambaram spirit.
A brief meeting and introductions followed after lunch. MCC Europe has decided that all our meetings would commence with a silent prayer of thanksgiving to our parents/guardians who enabled us to attend a college of such richness as MCC (and also paid for it). We hope other chapters will follow suit.
The following business was then decided:
1) That, Dr Duncan Forrester, Dr Richard Bingle, Mrs Gnanados and Canon Ivor Smith Cameroon, who nurtured the United Kingdom alumni till now, along with Mr Menon, he being the senior-most alumnus, be declared guiding members of MCC Europe. They are exempt from all charges applicable for our activities. In the hearts of each one of us in Europe, we have given them the keys. Please continue to guide us to where duty, right and honour lead. There is no greater way to thank them.
2) That, a registration contribution of £20 per member, £30 where husband and wife are alumni and £5 for students be made. It was clarified, though, that these are notional sums and whatever contributions that members make would be gratefully received.
3)That, members above 60 years old are exempted from registration contribution.
4) The MCC Europe web site was formally launched with a three-cheer ovation for Jayavelan, (91-94, Commerce/Selaiyur) our webmaster who designed the site and took care of the setting-up costs. Please visit the site at http://www.mcceurope.org/ to keep yourselves informed of all our activities and announcements.
After these announcements, the day flowed into artistic heights, starting with an Carnatic recital by Manju, wife of Madhu Madhavan (87-92, Maths/Heber). The solemn but inspiring melody silenced the crowd, but at the end the cries of "encore" were heart-warming, and Manju readily obliged. The second recital took Carnatic music to its divine best; all we can say is that those unfortunate to miss it, missed something unique.
As MCC has always stood for the best of East and West, the Carnatic recital was followed by a rendering of Que Serra Serra by June Rabi David (wife of Rabi David, 88-89, Econ/Heber). June brought out the musician in those present by letting them join in the chorus. But when she sang the part of being a mother, Rabi was too shell-shocked to join in the chorus!
With two superb pieces by alumni wives who did not study at MCC, we had to prove that we knew more than just hall songs. Sumy Kunchacko (68-69, Philosophy/Women's Hostel and wife of Jacob Tharakan (67-69, Econ/Selaiyur) stepped in and saved the day. The Malayalam song that she sang was so moving that it captured the hearts of all those present and proved that we from MCC cannot be taken for granted.
By now the stage was set to fan the flames of the old rivalries and the group divided into their halls. Wives of alumni naturally joined the four authentic Martin Hall members, easily making up the largest group.
Knowledge and wills were pitted in the MCC Heritage Quiz and Dumb-Charades. For those of you who are interested in knowing more about your alma mater, check out the Heritage Quiz on the website. The quiz triggered lots of positive recollections of our college and we can now probably claim to be the best informed chapter of alumni. Going by the results, Dr S Radhakrishnan continues to be the best-known alumnus as the question "Who was the philosopher President of India?" was one that everyone answered correctly. Bishop Heber Hall scored a narrow win over the others and won a bottle of red wine.
In Dumb-Cherades, ably produced and conducted by E. Anbarasan (88-94, English/St Thomas), every one excelled in the parts that they acted out that if MCC was a drama school, we all would have passed with distinction! Martin Hall was the winner by a wide margin and received a box of chocolates (Was this rigged? Ed).
It was by all counts an enjoyable afternoon in the company of younger and older Tambaramites, sharing memories of times past and present. For those of involved in MCC Europe, the venture is proving to be a new island of strength. After tea and biscuits we all left around 6.30pm, wondering whether the poet who wrote the famous line, "if there is a heaven on earth it is here", was also an alumnus!
(Jacob Tharakan – thanks to Matt for the editorial touches)

FOOTPRINT FOR THE FUTURE

2002-03-10T09:52:00.005Z

SUNDAY, March 10, 2002, should go down in history as the day MCC alumni displayed their determination to revive and reinvigorate the London chapter and extend it across Europe. This does not suggest that there has not been an active movement in existence in this neck of the seven seas.

Ruth took her lead from a visit to London of Chelladurai Williams, the secretary of the Chennai chapter of MCC. At the Indian YMCA in Central London after a sumptuous lunch, which proved to be a planet away from Nair's mess (literally) hall concoctions that passed for food, after introductions all round, Chelladurai acknowledged that the Chennai chapter, too, was constantly looking for ways to rejuvenate itself. Listening to Chelladurai in the 40-strong audience were former residents of Heber, Thomas's, Selaiyur and Martin, and veteran IGs, whom many a hall warden would have dearly liked to garrotte with his dhoti.

Soon enough the euphoria was riding a crest and a committee was duly elected. Presiding over MCC Europe is Jacob Tharakan (1967-1969, Selaiyur); his deputy, George Oommen (67/70, Selaiyur); secretary Ruth Kattumuri (80/96, Martin); and committee members Rohini Thomas (1996-98, Martin), Rabi David (89/91, Heber), Anoop (91/94, Heber), Daniel Ponnuraj (94/97, Thomas), Jeeva Daniel (87/91, Selaiyur), Jayavelan (1991-94, Selaiyur), and Anbarasan (1988-94, Thomas). It was a mix of seniority and impetuous youth, which even Solomon in his wisdom would have approved of. What was most telling of the new spirit was the desire of the youth to serve as office bearers. With Jacob in the chair, open discussions ensued and one of the first decisions adopted was to call ourselves MCC Europe, rather than to ghettoise ourselves to one metropolitan city. A pan-European alumni association offers a richer tapestry of cross-cultural contacts, and could possibly lead to a joint tamasha in, for example, Paris or Amsterdam. While forever remaining umbilically linked to our Tambaram alma mater and the motto "In Hoc Signo" (In This Sign), in a historical context it was this new footprint for the future that marked this meeting as one of a kind.

The winter dusk fell swiftly but the flow of chatter would not subside, and a substantial number adjourned to the more convivial setting of the Mortimer's Arms to continue conversing over a few jars of beer. New contacts were made, calling cards were exchanged and invitations proffered for home visits. One alumnus, studying for his Masters of Law, was immediately put in touch with an old boxer from Selaiyur who could furnish him with source material for his dissertation. The value of such meetings spoke volumes.

If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the emails that buzzed the next day were evidence of the success of the enterprise. On logging-on at work on Monday, a first message flashed: "It was absolutely terrific meeting with all of you and I look forward to doing this more often in future. I will try and organise a small binge at my place this summer for all. Will let u know dates etc after the sun starts shining." A second said: "The spirit of MCC seems to bring a bonding between people, even when we were meeting for the first time. Look forward to more great times." The third was from the newly elected President: "It is all giving a good feeling. After all MCC must have been a powerful place to experience, what else can explain that rather instant bonding we all felt in London on the 10th of March. Thank God for MCC, thank God that we all went thru that campus." That, in essence, says it all.