Easter Sunday

To day is Easter Sunday, on which day, Jesus Christ was said to have resurTo day is Easter Sunday, on which day, Jesus Christ was said to have  resurrected from His Tomb.Let us go to my nostalgic memories.   I had developed love and admiration for Him, the Jesus Christ, right from my childhood.This is in spite of my orthodox brahmin family background, in the sixties.May be, because, I had my schooling in a christian missionary school.Or it may be that, I had a christian, or rather two, as my best friends, later in high school.  I still vividly remember, while in my elementary class, going to the church inside our school complex.I had loved the total silence and the divine atmosphere.We had been taught to kneel in the church while praying.The prayers had been mostly for passing out the exams.Even without any request for the Lord, I had visited there many a times, just to feel that serene ambiance.  Passing high school, didn't procure me a college education, thanks to my very strict father, who felt that, girls, if educated more than the basic schooling, will start thinking independently and their adaptability to the social structure will get reduced.And that meant, while I was waiting for the right time to get a suitable alliance for my marriage, I had to be at home.  In our house, that was more like imprisonment.Fortunately, this paved way for our developing a good reading habit, and take to other extra curricular activities.My elder sibling and I had a fascination for art, and engaged ourselves in drawing and painting pictures that impressed us.They varied from the 'Ananda Vikatan' daily calenders to pictures from magazines like Kalki, Kalaimagal etc.These magazines were forbidden for us, by our father, though our mom who brought these from her office library for her reading allowed us liberally to go through them.  While in school,I had the opportunity of participating in drawing and painting competitions, at school and also outside.I had won the first prize always.While our father procured art materials, he also disliked our being engaged in this past time ignoring all other duties entrusted upon us.  This Madonna and the baby Christ was one drawing I had done, then.Though I had drawn a few more of the same subject, I had given them away.I was surprised later, after my marriage and leaving for another town, when my father gave them to me during one of my visits to our house.He had preserved them during the course of three shifting of houses!  Even when I look at them now,I am astonished at the ease with which I had drawn them, without any assistance.Rather I always indulged in my favorite activity, in total secrecy!