7-7-2024
On Sunday 7 July, we were invited by Geo. His eldest daughter, Bernadette Claire, wascelebrating her first holy communion that day. After the church service, there would a big party. Well, big..... Geo said it was kept fairly limited: Close family and close colleagues, close friends. At a proper wedding, he said, where the extended family is invited, the number of guests may well reach 1,000. This day he expected only about 250 guests.
The little communicant sat in a brilliant white dress on a golden chair on the dais. In the hall we saw her sisters and nieces wearing identical dresses. Many people were dressed in their best festive clothes, but it was not compulsory. Geo had said it was a semi-formal/casual celebration. As usual in an Indian celebration, there were many words of thanks, and the photographer was busy photographing the guests who came to congratulate the star of the day. We thought to just stand in line to give our present, but this was not to be. We were again ushered past the queue of people waiting to congratulate Claire and have our picture taken together.
For the past few days, we had been wondering what kind of present we could give the girl. We don't actually know her, and what would be the custom here?
We asked the Fathers. They said: ‘Oh, a children's Bible, but that's what clerics usually do. Or a dress. But then you need to know her size.’ Right. Following this rule, the girl moght receive ten Bibles and fifty dresses.
We asked AIM colleagues: ‘We chip in together and give a gift card. Then they can pick something themselves.’ Good option. But not really our style.
Then I started thinking: What is usually given in the Netherlands on this occasion? The parents, often give their child a bicycle, if I remebre correctly. But beyond that....? I remember getting a tent, which I immediately wanted to camp in the garden with. And a set of cutlery. And I remembered that my sisters also had their own cutlery, given to them for their first communion. Traditionally a gift from the godparents. But I don't think that tradition lives here, since in India people usually eat with their hands. But still: It would make an original gift, with a (foreigh but Catholic) tradition and with a story.
However, special cutlery was not yet so easy to find here in Kochi. Knives, spoons and forks a-plenty, but all made of cheap, thin, stainless steel. Across town, we discovered a shop selling luxury pottery, porcelain, kitchenware and cutlery. We took the taxi and arrived at an indeed stunning shop. We can always really enjoy beautiful glasses, plates, pans. They sold many European brands, especially Italian and German. And the owner proudly told us that he also sells real Weber barbecues. We chose stylish cutlery from the Hepp brand and bought a spoon, a fork, a knife and a dessert spoon. They would have loved to sell us the whole range, but that seemed a bit excessive. We added a note explaining why this gift, and a Delft Blue figurine of two kissing dolls.
After giving our giftwrapped presents, they ended up in the pile of unopened packages. It is not the custom here to unwrap presents on the spot, and besides, Claire simply did not have the time, with all these family and friends waiting nin line for their photo-moment.
Next, a sumptuous lunch was provided for all guests, with two vegetarian dishes especially for me - we feel so respectectfully and well looked after here! Two courses of hot food and a dessert. Complimented by cups of fresh fruit juice. We filled our bellies again. After dinner, there was a round of Bingo! for all present, with five prizes being handed out. Unfortunately, we didn't win any. The end of the game was also the end of the party. We once again thanked Geo warmly for the invitation. Then we set off back to St. Albert's. The weather was nice and we had plenty of time, so we started walking. On the way to te party, we had taken a rickshaw, as the banquet hall was over 3.5 kilometres away. But now we felt we could use some exercise. We walked through a residential area, located between the Lourdes Hospital and the waterfront. Nice houses, empty lots here and there. Daydreaming about a waterfront cottage in Kerala, we walked on. Until we were so tired and heated that we no longer felt like walking. We stopped a rickshaw, which took us back to the College.There we had some time to cool off in the A/C of our room.
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