As places of worship get ready to reopen their doors, our sutradhaars discuss what this could mean for the city and its faithful in these uncertain times
Photo used for representational purpose. Pic/iStock
“Pheroze, you’re late. I’ve been waiting outside the Cathedral for a while now. I decided to move here ever since the caretaker began to get suspicious after he heard a few odd sounds, all thanks to my best attempts to tiptoe across the pews and benches. Anyway, what happened? Why so long?” Lady Flora was her usual impatient self, Sir PM noticed. “Well, I was at the fire temple, you see. You must’ve heard about the reopening of places of worship. So I was there, overseeing a few arrangements that needed to be done,” he answered, hoping to show off that he was in the know, and perhaps, his friend wasn’t aware of this most recent development. He was wrong, of course.
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“Old news, my dear. I’ve been hearing murmurs throughout September. I’ve got my sources, too,” she replied, cheekily. That statement was partly made because she enjoyed chiding her friend and waiting for his almost immediate reactions. It was always fun, she chuckled, under her breath. “Pheroze, so tell me, why were you at the fire temple?” Lady Flora prodded. Her curiosity would’ve put even Sherlock Holmes to shame, Sir PM thought. “You see, I am on the advisory board. It involves a lot of managing of affairs…ensuring we are ready to welcome back worshippers,” he replied. “You mean as a “silent” member,” she laughed. Sir PM managed a half-smile. “But it’s a positive sign, don’t you think? After the tough year, and the second wave, this will bring a smile to the faces of the faithful. The missus is happier to finally return to the fire temple,” and then he lowered his voice to add, “…plus, she is thrilled to meet all her friends after ages, and that too, in the same space.” Almost as if he imaged Mrs. Mehta would overhear his rant.
“I think it’s a good, reassuring move, though we will never know what it could trigger off, with all this talk of a third wave,” the cautionary tone in Lady Flora’s voice was noted by her friend. “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right. We cannot afford to have a severe third wave. Everyone dropped their guard in the first few months of 2021, and look what happened,” sighed Sir PM, adding, “Just the other day, the good Dr Viegas was telling me how back in the day, when the dreaded bubonic plague cast its ugly head over Bombay, its citizens took a long time to come out of the trauma. In this rush to get back to life in this ‘new normal’, he said, we cannot forget to continue with following safety protocols, else we will all have to pay a very dear price,” he reminded. Lady Flora was soaking in all of this and was quite impressed too. “Well, Pheroze, I believe this time around, all those it is up to those who head these places of worship for all faiths to instruct and guide the faithful to be conscious of these guidelines. It is a terrific opportunity for them to instill these rules at the start itself because as you would know, we are already in the middle of the festive season that will continue all the way till the end of the year. On the one hand, I can imagine how devotees must be missing their prayer time inside places of worship, but we cannot throw caution to the wind, like the last time this happened,” Lady Flora’s serious tone made it pretty clear what she felt about the whole development.
“So tell me, my Lady, “What’s the mood like at the Cathedral? Is the congregation happy to return to hear mass in person?” enquired Sir PM, keen to hear his friend’s side of things. “Pheroze, things are pretty standard procedure here, like it was for the earlier reopening. We’ll keep the numbers down obviously, and being a large space with sufficient scope for social distancing norms, it should be easy. I’m happy to report that all measures will be followed,” she rattled off, adding rather coyly, “And I hear the Captain will also be returning to hear Sunday service here…” That last line led to the arching of eyebrows on Sir PM’s masked face, Lady Flora could see.
“Pheroze, I get the sense that people feel the need to reconnect with God inside a physical space. Prayer can be a great healer, so I hope it all adds up to a calmer state of mind, especially on the back of what we’ve all experienced,” Lady Flora added. Sir PM liked the sound of that. He too, couldn’t wait to step inside the fire temple with the missus and hope that the city rises above this pandemic. Everyone, he believed, could do with a little help from up above.
mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana
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