The Wider Scene
This whole Eastern area, is now seen as a cornucopia of natural resources. There is a big debate about how to exploit it and who is going to benefit. Too heavy export
of raw material robs future generations, processing is polluting and takes away land from those now inhabiting the hills. Mining unless done very wisely means huge ecological damage so
a big debate in progress with all sort of vested interests involved. There is very little confidence and trust here that justice will be done even when promises are made as too many have
been broken in the past.
The Koreans are ready to come and invest billions in an integrated steel plant using the coal and iron ore in abundant supply but there is huge opposition to their plans
and Maoist rebellions in the deep back country against the usage of the land for this purpose. The Industrial mindset that has little time for ancient burial sites of the value of the land to future
generations is up gainst a more classic and traditional view much as the lst Nations people in Canada hold. Progress as the modern 21st Cent mind set holds is clearly possible but who is
going to pay the price and what are the long term consequences of such exploitation? All this is up to for grabs in these parts.
Not much talk about around the need for agricultural reform beyond the outcry against the wastage brought on by inadequate storage leading to rotting and eating up by
rodents. In reality, as in most of these are urban dominated systems, agriculture is short changed in favor of the city man so prices for procurement remain low. The need for consolidation
into bigger holdings to bring in industrial farming is not in the debate at the moment. The larger retail chains are progressing and will move in this direction but to date they are also up for
grabs as deserting the local shop keeper who offers credit and familiarity is still an open question. The big city urbanite is doing this but he or she is still a minority compared to others.
The best thing that has happened this week is opening an Internet shop at the local shopping strip of 5 stores which more or less serve this compound. Somehow they
have developed a wireless hook up with a small wayside village place about 5 miles away and got a good signal which they can then hire out to others. So I hope they do well as it is a much
needed facility here. The other dial up types presently operating are not open to all and are very tiresome and slow. So the modern world is creeping up! Cell phones are ubiquitous with all
but the lowest peasant in control and then heavy usage. There used to be a land line and a booth at the shop but this has all gone in the faces of the ever present and cheap cell phone.
This place down at the coast about 5 miles away, Bhimil, in fact in history was a Dutch settlement of the Dutch East India company with a port and two churches built, one of
them 400 years ago now restored as a type of tourist place being part of the history of the area. Now that Visak port is more or less saturated there is talk of doing more here again. In fact all
up and down this coast there is pressure for ports and jetties to take out mineral resources ˇV coal bauxite iron ore. But great opposition from local fishing people and farmers who fear loss of
livelihood and pollution.
We boarded the same plane at the airport in Hyderabad for Visakapatnam a town on the East coast of India named after one of the Hindu gods
linked to Shiva ˇV Visaka. A huge statue of whom over-shadows the town from a nearby hill. Today, Visak is a thriving port for ore exports, a
Naval base and a steel mill as well as an important educational centre housing the University of Andhra with close to 30,000 students within
its embrace. Visak like Trichy, Bangalore and Hyderabad also features an updated modern airport in sharp contrast to the out-moded military
style airstrips from which they have evolved.
Here we are on more familiar territory as Colin has been coming since 1995 to teach the M Th class. We enjoy the warm hospitality of the
founders home along with the three little girls of Johnston and Helen Titus who are very pleased that Aunty or Grand-ma has made it this
visit.
The British Empire experience is kept alive each year by this celebration of Indiaˇ¦s liberation along with the
remembrance of the heroˇ¦s of that period Mahatama Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others. Here are the school children of the 750 member Niwa
Jivan (New Life) educational institution, Kindergarten to High School. They all dutifully sing the Indian National Anthem break then salute
the flag and best of all receive a special candy to celebrate the happening!
The M. Th class is one of four students 3 of them continuing through from last year and one new man who begins his first year. All have some pastoral experience and aspire to teach in
theological institutions. I have sent them out to various Churches in the city to gain information about cultural adjustment in the congregations and then assess the impact that is being
made on the Christian and wider communities. They have responded well to this challenge providing them a legitimate opportunity to expand beyond their usual bounds. One man went to
the Roman Catholic which is a large community in Christian India comprising 83% of Indian Christians.
The RC has a long history going back to the days of the Portuguese navigators of
1492. Some of the most respected Christian educational, institutional and medical facilities of India are RC. This group is more indigenous, less dependent on foreign funding sources than
the Protestant 17% group. Syncretism is a major question for many in this group which has adopted numerous Hindu characteristics. Another man came back with warm appreciation of the
welcome he had received from a largely indigenous Gospel Hall style group which has as its founder and posthumous leader Brother Baght Singh, a man of Sikh origin who found faith whilst
studying in Canada. This group is strong with 3 congregations in the city. Another has gone to St. Peters in the city. This is part of the Church of South India a more ecumenically orientated
group. The fourth man has gone to a Lutheran church near his home. Each place has given them opportunity to study the impact of culture on the formation of the Church in India.
It is the compulsory fasting month for dedicated Muslims preceding the Hajj ceremonies in Mecca. The moonˇ¦s progress to full and then to the new arriving Id moon
which will mark the end of the month is awaited with anticipation. In this area there are special foods cooked for the occasion. A popular one is Haleem a kind of biriyani but unfortunately
we are too far out of town to get samples as it is available only at select locations from 18.30 to 23.30.