Celebrating a church

The St. Pauls & St. Peters (a strange pair?) chapel at Koyambedu that we frequent has been upgraded to a church. The promotion has been long overdue but since the over 200 families of church-goers (or -comers) here didnt request it until recently (while the other smaller chapel in the area got it after a signature campaign), it continued to be under the Broadway Cathedral.

The celebration was marked by the priest reading out the Patriarch's order, followed by the achen's speech (which was interrupted by crackers bursting outside) and the Catholicos anthem. After the mass and offerings, the parishioners were treated with laddu, and a breakfast of idiappam-veg kuruma (since most devotees are off non-veg for 8 days beginning Sept.1, it is the ettu-nombu period here taken in deference to the Virgin Mary), uzhunnu vada, coffee and biscuits.
A pious Ammachi (granny) took out the ring on her finger to make the first offering for the new-born church. I was not so benevolent, but did make a contribution like the biblical widow whom Jesus set as an example!
Lunch was at Sanjeevanam, a health restuarant started by the Medimix group. http://www.cholayilsanjeevanam.com/health_res.htm
Went for the Rajakeeyam (Royal) meal, where you proceed from uncooked dishes (like salads) to semi-cooked veg to full-cooked veg and red rice and white rice and sambar and other stuff. It is followed by payasam and at last honey (for digestion) and pan (betel leaf with veg stuffing, for a change). This is supposed to be the ideal way to have your meal. The bearers tell you as they serve, the order in which each food is to be taken. They wait for you to finish each course before they serve the next round. I felt like I was back at school, with my classteacher peering over my head to see if I have polished my lunch box!
So my kitchen was closed until evening. Went out for a stroll in Loyola college in the evening. It was good to breathe some fresh air (except at the stables/pigsties/cowsheds). Envied all the hall-guys and wished I were back in college. Walked up to LIBA, where V had done a short-term course years ago. So his jog is never complete unless he takes that route.
The campus church is undergoing renovation, and is not open to visitors. http://www.chennaibest.com/discoverchennai/sightseeing/worship01.asp The Jesuit management has gone for a bright beige paint for the exteriors in place of its natural grey. The interiors had an ugly oil paint when I last visited it.
Amen.