Wedding bells

Today was the wedding celebrations of two of our staff members: N. Edulamma who worked in the kitchen for 8 long years was married to Mr Raju.  In another marriage ceremony, Paidamma, another of our kitchen staff, was happy to marry off her daughter (in the pic beneath) in the nearby Gollalapalem village.  

Br Castilino, Fr T.V. Jose and Br Anil represented the community for the marriage functions of daughter of the Paidamma and the marriage of Edurlamma. They were very happy to see us and were delighted with our presence. 

Earlier in the month, Edurlamma was given a small farewell in the commuity, with Brothers expressing their gratitude for her yeomen services for the community over the last 8 years.  The Brothers also offered her a gift as a parting token of remembrance. After the marriage, the newly married couple was invited for a meal with the community and especially to introduce Edurlamma's better half, Raju (seen below, cutting the cake together). 

Non-teaching Staff Picnic

The non-teaching staff took a day off after the Brothers left for their Christmas vacations for a trip to Vizag.  They visited Kailasgiri temple, watched a movie, had lunch outside and a relaxed stroll on the city beach in the evening. They were accompanied by the administrator, Br Castilino.

Staff picnic

On February 18, the domestic staff of the Seminary were treated to a one-day picnic to Annavaram. While for some of the members it was a picnic, for the others it was also a pilgrimage. Besides the famous temple of Lord Satyanarayana at Annavaram, the picnikers also visited the street childrens' rehabilitation home in Devipuram (Sabbavaram), the temple at Devipuram and the Talupulamma Temple on the outskirts of Tuni.

All in all the seven staff members had some relaxed time out. Here are a couple of photos of the day...

Laxmi's wedding

This evening was the marriage of Laxmi, one of our kitchen staff, at Vizag. All the other staff members, except Appa Rao were present for the occasion. From the Teaching staff, Fr Rector, Fr Devadas and Br Castilino too were present for the occasion.

The wedding began sometime in the evening after 6 and went on upto 9.30. The muhurtham was at 7.30 for which all of the staff were present. That was followed by a simple meal at the same venue, a community hall near the bridegroom's place.

Laxmi joined the kitchen staff nearly 7 years ago as a helper and was chiefly responsible for the main table and the serving of the bowls in the refectory. Of course, she also lent a helping hand in the kitchen everyday.

God bless her and her new life!

Farewell to Lakshmi (Feb. 8, 2011)

This afternoon we had a short felicitation gathering for Lakshmi, one of our cooks, as today was her last working day. She is getting married this weekend on February 12, 2011. The Brothers had collected some money which was handed to her by the course leaders and on behalf of them all, Naveen spoke a few words. Fr Devadas too appreciated her six year long service to the community and wished her well on our behalf. Asked to speak, we thought Lakshmi wouldn't, but she did stand up. After a couple of moments of silence, she blurted, "All are looking at me!!" Everyone burst out laughing. She then spoke just two sentences, and we were all in tears.

I do not have parents. All I know is Fr (pointing at Fr KT Jose, the Rector) as my father and Annapoornamma (another senior cook) as my mother. These two friends of mine (pointing at Kasi and Yedulamma) looked after me as their own younger sister. You all (referring to the Brothers) are my brothers. I am eternally indebted to you all!

She could not continue any more. Neither did we want to embarrass her further. We concluded with a prayer. For an orphan, uneducated and typically rural girl to stand up before a group of 90 young men and speak with such meaning and depth, there has to be a driving force. It was surely her sincere commitment to her job and her confidence that this was her family.

God bless her!