THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Christmas eve, when the bells jingle in celebration of Christ’s arrival on earth, the monks of Sri Ramakrishna Mission will sing the carols of good tidings.The ashram’s chapter in Thiruvananthapuram is organising its first-ever Christmas carol to join the league of Ramakrishna Maths in the country which have long had elaborate services on the holy night.The baptismal carol of the ashram in Sasthamangalam is being held under the initiative of Swami Tatwaroopananda, who took charge as the head of the math in Thiruvananthapuram early this year.“At the Mumbai ashram, where I spent about 25 years, we would have a large gathering of devotees on the Christmas eve,” remembers Swamiji.“We would invite priests and nuns from nearby churches who would address the devotees. A senior swami would read from the Bible and another from the sermon on the mount. A representative of the math would also speak on the cosmopolitan foundation of Sri Ramakrishna Mission and the significance of celebrating the birth of Christ.We would then sing carols and all the devotees, ascetics, priests and nuns would join in,” he says. In Thiruvananthapuram, the celebration would begin with a reading from the Bible and the gathering would be limited to the inmates of the math and a few devotees for this year, says swamiji. Meticulous by habit, swamiji offers a worn sheet of paper which has the lyrics of the carol songs sung at the maths typed on it. It contains the lyrics of traditional carols such as ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’, ‘O Come, All ye Faithful’ and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’.Also typed in Hindi is a song in Sanskrit. “That is a Sanskrit carol song sung in Ramakrishna Maths for a very long time. It was penned by one of the ascetics of the mission who did not sign his name under the poem. The song has been handed down to the inmates of the mission over many years and now, nobody knows for sure who authored the lines,” says swamiji. ‘He thath, dayitasmakam duloke yosi samsidhitah...’ the song reads.“The author is praying to Christ, who is hailed as the father and redeemer, to guide him through the ordeal of life,” explains Swamiji and hums the tune for us.Trained in singing bhajans and playing the keyboard, swamiji was one of the lead singers of the carols in Mumbai, he confesses after much probing.Fr C Joseph, former vicar of St Joseph Metropolitan Cathedral, Palayam, welcomed the initiative as “rejoicing in the universal message of peace”.“Christians observe the birth of Jesus Christ as a religious ceremony, but it also has a universal message of peace. All those who wish peace for humanity will rejoice on the occasion,” he said.
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