Life @60

It seems “no room at the inn” is a common phrase in America.The story is of Mary and Joseph knocking on the door of an inn in Bethlehem. Mary is nine months pregnant with Baby Jesus, and the innkeeper refuses to give them a room. Just before he slams the door in their faces, he taunts them, saying they can sleep in the stable if they want to Mary and Joseph walk into the stable …Well, you know the rest of the story. Only thing is that the story gets a twist in my town.( where St.Thomas is said to have established a Church ; the first in South Asia) .The twist is “there is room in the inn for all”.

The first thing I learnt about life in a small town in Kerala is that you can never lunch alone. You will always have company, that too unexpected! Here literally Guest is God , expected or otherwise. Initially I used to marvel at the simplicity with which my mother would ask ‘just dropped in guest’ to join us for breakfast or lunch depending on the time. She would never worry if there is sufficient food for an extra person. Here I am, used to a city culture for the last 35 years, where guests are invited for a meal with so much deliberation and planning. All my protests and reasoning fall on deaf years. The struggle is on…For the time being “there is room in the inn for all”.