Zero Hour for St.Thomas

Last Friday was the monthly staff meeting and the CEO, Solomon carried in his container of unusual managerial styles (filled with snickers bars). After passing out the candy, he spends an entire first hour of the two hours in an activity named Zero Hour, when any of the staff can bring up any questions to anyone else. I believe it named as it was intended to have Zero productivity and Zero relevance to day-to-day office activities. One staff asked me "if so many Indians go to America to receive an education, why would American come to India for internship?" Another asked "Madam Rosy, why the government passed a law against littering," which is second-natured for most people here. And I followed up with a question as to " why, if the government passed a law against littering, there are still no public garbage receptable anywhere in Chennai?" Then, Samadhi asked very seriously,"why is oil prices going up?" And Solomon spent some time explaining the concept of supply and demand. Solomon also asked me to ask a question and I, still curious about the pervasion of religion in this city, asked how Christianity came about in India? According to him, Christianity arrived here in the 1st Century AD (around the same time that Buddhism disappeared), on the coast of Kerala, brought here by St. Thomas, one of the Apostles. Coincidentally, Keral is also known by Indians as "The Country of God" for other unrelated reasons. It also believed that, St.Thomas then spent the rest of his life establishing the religion in the region. He died in Chennai, chaseed by an anti-Christian mob, and the very place he died is where the current day St.Thomas Church stands. So, based on what he says all these different relgions have co-existed for a few milleniums. Later on, bringing up the same topic with the family I am living, they also added that, since the religion was founded, all these different religious branches have existed peacefully in South India. And it has only been recently with, politicians stirring up the people to rally their votes , that they've seen more local religious conflicts. Similar, but on a more tempered scale, to Kenya.

Side-by-side religious murals. Hindu diety and Christian saint represented by the artist with the same face.