Screen Test

  •   Mon, May 14 2012
  •   Rtn Edwin JF DSouza

May 15, 2012

It was just about five years back that I read in one of the Jesuit Alumni Journals  that a certain Kuriacose was honoured for his 40 years of service in the  refectory of St. Joseph's Hostel in Bangalore.

He had joined  a couple of years before I became a hostelite in 1967 in St. Joseph's. Kuriacose or Kuria as we called him was young, handsome and sturdily built and although his job was to wait on us, he showed no sign of trying to be friendly with us with some ulterior motive of being tipped every now and then. He did his job of serving us at the table and that was that. At times when we were late for lunch or dinner he would know we had a tough day at the college (or somewhere else) and would serve us an extra portion yes,  but he wouldn't stick around to accept our "thanks."

He had no habits; an ardent reader of Malayalam Manorama, an occasional beedi, puffed hiding behind the massive pillar of the U-shaped hostel and yes, he would never miss a Hindi movie on a Sunday, were his habits, if one would call them so.         
He and his friend  Thangappan  would leave the Hostel around  2 in the noon on a Sunday and stand in the queue  for the tickets for  a 3.30 pm show.

It was on these Sunday afternoons that Kuria became very dear to us, (most of us were Hindi movie buffs) when we wanted him to stand in the queue and buy us the upper stall tickets. We would go on time for the show after having downed  a chilled beer at Basco's and "bada khana" at St. Joseph's. 

Thangappan would buy tickets of a lower stall for himself and Kuria and the latter would  buy us the upper stall tickets. He would never keep the change even if we insisted.
 
Many a times we had  offered to buy tickets for both of them so that they could enjoy the movie in the upper stalls. Kuria had firmly declined.

Once, when my insisting (perhaps, super-charged with an extra lager) was more of a command than a request, he looked straight into my shifty eyes and said. "Sir, I can see the screen the best from wherever I am sitting."

It took me some years  to recognize and learn the chaste, innate  philosophy practised by Kuria in his  life. Status stalls could be "bought" with money anybody's money.    

No matter whatever status that we are in today, we owe something, at a juncture somewhere  to the Kurias who have come into our lives and have left indelible foot prints. 
Rtn Edwin JF DSouza
To submit your article / poem / short story to Daijiworld, please email it to news@daijiworld.com mentioning 'Article/poem submission for daijiworld' in the subject line. Please note the following:

  • The article / poem / short story should be original and previously unpublished in other websites except in the personal blog of the author. We will cross-check the originality of the article, and if found to be copied from another source in whole or in parts without appropriate acknowledgment, the submission will be rejected.
  • The author of the poem / article / short story should include a brief self-introduction limited to 500 characters and his/her recent picture (optional). Pictures relevant to the article may also be sent (optional), provided they are not bound by copyright. Travelogues should be sent along with relevant pictures not sourced from the Internet. Travelogues without relevant pictures will be rejected.
  • In case of a short story / article, the write-up should be at least one-and-a-half pages in word document in Times New Roman font 12 (or, about 700-800 words). Contributors are requested to keep their write-ups limited to a maximum of four pages. Longer write-ups may be sent in parts to publish in installments. Each installment should be sent within a week of the previous installment. A single poem sent for publication should be at least 3/4th of a page in length. Multiple short poems may be submitted for single publication.
  • All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format or text file. Pictures should not be larger than 1000 pixels in width, and of good resolution. Pictures should be attached separately in the mail and may be numbered if the author wants them to be placed in order.
  • Submission of the article / poem / short story does not automatically entail that it would be published. Daijiworld editors will examine each submission and decide on its acceptance/rejection purely based on merit.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to edit the submission if necessary for grammar and spelling, without compromising on the author's tone and message.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to reject submissions without prior notice. Mails/calls on the status of the submission will not be entertained. Contributors are requested to be patient.
  • The article / poem / short story should not be targeted directly or indirectly at any individual/group/community. Daijiworld will not assume responsibility for factual errors in the submission.
  • Once accepted, the article / poem / short story will be published as and when we have space. Publication may take up to four weeks from the date of submission of the write-up, depending on the number of submissions we receive. No author will be published twice in succession or twice within a fortnight.
  • Time-bound articles (example, on Mother's Day) should be sent at least a week in advance. Please specify the occasion as well as the date on which you would like it published while sending the write-up.

Comment on this article

  • joshua, banglore

    Wed, Aug 22 2012

    if any of the readers were ex residents of st.joseph college hostel in shantinagar, please comment and get in touch with me, we are celebrating 75years of the hostel, and would love to get in touch

  • Krishna Rao, Bangalore

    Wed, May 30 2012

    We all hostelers would have fond memories of 'Kuria'. A stern facade behind a tender heart.

  • Dr.Anand and Geeta N Pereira, Sakleshpur/Mangalore

    Mon, May 21 2012

    Kuria was always admired by the hostel boys for his dedicated service. Rarely did he ever smile and never got to know him closely in spite of my two year stay at the St. Josephs Hostel.

  • Shabnam, udupi

    Thu, May 17 2012

    Could anyone tell me how do we submit articles to Daijiworld?

  • Richard Mendonca, Mangalore/Abu Dhabi

    Wed, May 16 2012

    Dear Edwin, very good sharing.I salute Kuricose for his personality. People always wait to get a chance to escalate in earthly pleasures, there will lot many sharing of this kind in the life of people. I realy welcome such writing and thanks to Edwin for sharing this to the public.

  • alex,

    Wed, May 16 2012

    There is greatness in everybody, and service is the greatest of labor, Kuria proved it.

  • CGS, Mangalore

    Wed, May 16 2012

    Kuriacose,Tangappan, Malayalam Manorama,Chilled Beer,Beedi,Bada Khana.Hindi movies...very interesting write up by Edwin J.F.!!

  • Alban D' Souza, Udyavara Mumbai Doha Qatar

    Tue, May 15 2012

    Good write up- Edwin noticed somethig in an individual like Kuriacose. This is a good observation of one's life. So many people come in our life come and go small and big but the good thing will be un-noticed. This is something we can think of. Dear Edwin we want more observation/experinece from you to read about like the one .

  • Lance D' Costa, Mangalore/Abu dhabi

    Tue, May 15 2012

    A good writeup, with a moral for all.

  • George Menezes, Bangalore

    Tue, May 15 2012


    I am amazed at the impressions created by Kuriacose upon people during his humble and wonderful service tenure. Nice to see individuals like Edwin observe others sincere and persuasive behavior and document it. Nice and touchy article.

  • Bennet Vas, Mangalore

    Tue, May 15 2012

    Good article and the moral of the story was spot on !! Today waht we see is "STATUS" bought - not "EARNED"


Leave a Comment

Title: Screen Test



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.