These quaint little treasures of heritage that dot our highways, winding village roads/pathways and know as “Santo Kuris” in local parlance, have stood like sentinels for centuries lending a distinctive character to our landscape. They have always been a part of our lives with happy childhood memories woven around these sacred edifices that have over the years also acquired a very important cultural and historical significance.
The sight of an old antiquated white-washed Santo Kuris often opens up age old files on my rusty hard disk, taking me to the unhurried days of yore; the summer evenings when old and young would gather around the neighbourhood Cross for the litany. Unlike today, the time schedules then were only approximate – Those who congregated early would engage in lively discussions over hot topics of the day till the others trooped in. At times, the bonhomie discourses got so engrossing that it seemed like everyone had forgotten about the main business of the day!
But now and then, one of the elders would look around and if he saw enough people would say “koreia murea?” If the response was “Koreia” everyone would spring up and the litany would kick start with full gusto and fervour with little boys and girls literally blowing their lungs out – for which they were generously lauded by the seniors.
After the litany, the elders were treated to ‘Kop’- a shot of pure unadulterated fenny – which they gulped down in a peculiar ritualistic fashion.
Nostalgic stories apart (they can wait for another day), what actually made me write this, is the disturbing sight of an age old Santo-Kuris brought down to make way for a modern one in my village. Why would anybody want to replace the Priceless Treasures of great nostalgic and heritage values with soulless concrete boxes? But as they say, good fortune and good sense seldom go together – some of us know the price of everything but the value of nothing! While all over the civilized world heritage structures are being preserved at considerable costs, here a section of the ‘novea rich’ appear to be vying to make a statement by doing exactly the opposite! It is very painful to see age old Crosses (history in stone) being bought down with increasing frequency. Why can’t the necessary alteration be done if needed to meet modern needs and the surroundings beautified instead? Perhaps it is time the church steps in to halt this disturbing trend, otherwise our aesthetically designed crosses that our ancestors so lovingly built and preserved, a legacy that we are duty bound to pass on to posterity and the heritage character of our villages will be lost forever.
