Making of the Encyclopaedia | Prof. George Menachery | Part 11

        Saturday Evening Post

Making of the Encyclopaedia

From the Horse’s own Mouth

George Menachery

Eleven

So far we have met four of the members of the Encyclopaedia’s Board of Editorial Consultants: Dr. E. R. Hambye, Dr. Xavier Koodappuzha, Dr. Paul Varghese, and Dr. A. M. Mundadan. Now we shall meet another. Dr. Joseph Kannath invited me to a two day workshop being conducted at the Pastoral Orientation Centre of the KCBC at Palarivattam, Ernakulam. At the end of the first day, after supper, I decided to take a stroll in the beautiful campus. I saw that Fr. Dr. Albert Nambiapparambil was already taking a walk there. I joined him and he greeted me with great joy. He was a Deputy Secretary of the National Seminar Committee of 1969 and had played a part in inviting me to the National Seminar.

This is how it came about. We had started the Institute for Lay Leadership Training in 1967. At first the managing director Prof. P. P. Peter wanted to start a model boarding house to train young students. He was thinking that if he were appointed warden of the St. Thomas’ College Hostel he could run it like a model boarding house where formation of youngsters could be carried out. But that appointment did not come through. Then I suggested that an Institute for Lay Leadership Training could be set up to give training to all sections of lay people. To begin with we decided to conduct  a ninety day residential course for post S. S. L. C. students. We announced a Rs. Hundred per plate dinner at which Bishop George Alappat would be present and participants will be able to converse with the Bishop. This was a novel programme and we were able to rope in one hundred participants, mostly businessmen of Trichur. Of the ten thousand rupees thus collected we spent less than a thousand rupees for the dinner and with the nine thousand rupees saved we were able to finance the residential course. For this training course I was asked to prepare a detailed syllabus. In addition to classes connected with the Church there were classes in public speaking, short story writing, making a wall magazine, running a weekly newspaper, and even clay modeling and cooking. Afterwards when the POC was started its founder director Dr. Kannath visited our Institute and was highly impressed. He took copies of our syllabus and said that some of these items could be implemented at the POC. When the Kerala Regional Seminar as one of the preparatory seminars of the Church in India Today National Seminar was organized with Dr. Kannath heading the organizing committee,  at the St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye in December 1968 I was invited as a participant of the Leadership Training Group.  My interventions in my own group and in the plenary sessions were noticed by many, Fr. Dr. Adappur, s.j. among them, who was planning to shift the Head Quarters of the Newman Association of India from Bombay to Kochi with himself as the National Director. The then National Director of the Newman Association was Fr. Blaeguer s. j. who was now also in charge of organizing the National Seminar. I was the National vice-president of the Newman Association of India from 1964 to 1972. One day when I was chatting with Dr. Adappur in one of the seminary verandahs Dr. Albert Nambiapparambil, one of the seminar deputy secretaries, joined us. Fr. Adappur told Fr. Albert that it was people like me who should participate in the National Seminar. Dr. Nambiapparambil said that he would look into the matter. I think it was Fr. Nambiapparambil’s suggestion to Fr. Balaeguer that got me invited to the National Seminar. After the National Seminar Fr. Albert congratulated me on my interventions and especially for the effective manner in which I had presented the historic resolution and later he wrote a whole article on me wherein he recalled the events of that last ‘fateful’ night at Dharmaram. 

When we were walking together at the POC campus I broached the topic of the Encyclopaedia and gave him an outline of what I was trying to do. He wholeheartedly appreciated my efforts. Then I asked him to contribute an article. He said that history was not his field and that he was mainly interested in conducting philosophy conferences and promoting dialogue with other religions. At the time he was the secretary of the Dialogue Commission of the CBCI. I said that dialogue was a major field being covered in the Encyclopaedia. He  then agreed to write an exhaustive article on the development in the field after the Second Vatican Council. I sought the names of scholars who could contribute to the Indology section of the Encyclopaedia.  He suggested the name of Swami Siddinadananda for the major article on Hinduism. He also agreed to be on the Board of Editorial Consultants of the Encyclopaedia.

Let me quote a few sentences from the article mentioned above:

“A motion was before the board that managed the affairs of the “Church in India seminar of 1969” being held in Dharmaram College, Bangalore to the effect that there be only one rite in a place, i.e. that there be one jurisdiction. I recall the efforts made by Mr. George Menachery to gather enough signatures from among the participants to bring in a motion demanding the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Oriental Churches to the entire nation. It was great that his, our, efforts succeeded. Both the motions were discussed in the meet. There was much tension among the participants. A reconciliation formula was brought in; the other two motions were withdrawn. The reconciliation formula was moved and accepted. Let me not go into the details. I admire the courage of a young George Menachery who stood firmly his ground amidst strong opposition.

“A Pioneer With a Vision: I recall Mr. Menachery moving around with his vision for an “Encyclopedia of Thomas Christians”. I am not a historian. My interest, if any, was that of cultural integration, that of Interfaith Dialogue, philosophers’ meet. Because of his friendly pressure, I recall putting down a few pages for his great work. He masterminded that great work, A Gift to this Church. It is a matter of joy and pride for me that I could on many occasions point to this work of Menachery, the Encyclopedia as something precious for us all.”

……………………………………………….

“I remember Mr. Menachery going around collecting, preserving the precious symbols, candle-sticks, oil-lamps, stones of the Syro-Malabar heritage from different churches and spots. He organized exhibitions of these reminding members of his own community and the outsiders not to forget the past. Rather his attempts gave a new boost to the self-esteem of the community. Here is someone who raised warning signals against certain hidden dangers of the fast changing society. There is this danger in our fast changing societies, that of losing one’s own self-identity.

“The Syro-Malabar Community had gone through a process of Latinization in the past. This community had the difficult and delicate task of returning to and regaining the identity while going through the process of inculturisation that was the call of the day, of the post 2nd Vatican Council period. In Mr. George Menachery this Church, that traces her origin to the Apostle St. Thomas, found an eloquent leader for this genuine cause of returning to the roots. While remaining a defender of our cultural roots, Menachery was open to the changes affecting us all, to authentic openness.”

Dr. Mundadan in his article quoted earlier says that after the release of the Kerala Volume of the Encyclopaedia both the work and its creator became celebrities overnight. The reality is that I did not feel like a celebrity at all. All the financial and other troubles were staring in my face. The publicity given for the Cardinal House function where His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Parecattil and His Holiness  Catholicos Baselios Augen I were present by the Media was indeed heartening. But that was more or less all.

Hence I was happy when my colleagues in the college held a reception to congratulate me. At that meeting Chummar Choondal described the Encyclopaedia as the most remarkable publication of the century. This made some of my colleagues who were not keen about historical and cultural matters to take note of the book.

Thereafter three incidents took place which made me realize how the public at large, especially outside my district, had assessed the Encyclopaedia.

The rector of the Mangalappuzha seminary Fr. Dr. Dominic OCD invited me as the chief guest for the July 3^rd celebrations in the Pontifical Seminary. In fact he wanted me to be the chief guest in the celebrations at Mangalappuzha in the morning and in the afternoon to be the chief guest at the Carmelgiri function. For a mere lecturer in a college, that too a comparatively young one, with no ecclesiastical background, this was honour of the first degree. At the Carmelgiri function Fr. Joseph Kavalakkatt, the vice rector was the president. At that function attended by all the philosophy candidates of the Institute I made the suggestion that the candidates could be given the B. A. Degree in Philosophy of the Kerala University if the authorities make such a request to the University. I had already discussed the matter with some of the top people in the University and they were quite favorable. This meant that when the candidates  completed their Philosophy programme they will be having a University Degree. But my suggestion did not find favour with Fr. Kavalakkatt for reasons best known to himself.  

After tea Fr. Dominic took me in the seminary car to Ernakulam to attend the function where the Cardinal was to present the Encyclopaedia along with the St. Thomas 19^th Death Centenary Postal stamp to the Governor of Kerala Sri N. N. Wanchoo. I was not aware of this function until Dr. Dominic told me. At the town hall we were given good seats. At the end of the function Dr. Dominic purchased for me three full sheets of the stamp. The respect and consideration with which the rector and staff of the Pontifical Institute behaved brought home to me for the first time the meaning of Fr. Mundadan’s words. This function also received huge media coverage.

Then one day Sri V. T. Induchoodan visited me in the college. He was an executive committee member of the Kerala History Association, Ernakulam. Prof. P. S. Velayudhan was then its president and Sri P. A. Said Muhammad its secretary. Induchoodan asked me to become a member of the Association. At the next General Body meeting Induchoodan said that he wanted me to be an executive committee member and I was duly elected to the Committee. Thereafter I was elected to the Executive Committee for many terms till today.

The third incident was thus: I was sitting in the Eiffel Book stall when my friend and classmate Sri P. A. Antony came there. He was the Thrissur M. L. A. then. Afterwards he became the M. P. for Thrissur. He asked me to come with him the next day to the Thrissur Rama Nilayam to meet the Minister for Culture Paul P. Mani and to present him a copy of the Encyclopaedia. Sri Mani was very much interested in matters cultural and was called the Gentleman Minister of Kerala. I accompanied my friend to the Rama Nilayam and presented the Minister a copy of the Encyclopaedia which he was very happy to receive.

Soon afterwards I went on a four-month research cum lecture tour of Europe. When I returned I saw a Government envelope on my table. Opening it I found that I had been appointed to the Archaeology Advisory Board of the Government of Kerala. The envelope also contained an invitation to attend the first meeting of the new Board at Trivandrum. My father’s uncle’s son Sri K. V. Thomas was a secretary or something in the Government Secretariat. So before I went to the meeting I visited Sri Thomas in his house at Udarasiromani Road, Trivandrum. He told me that he was the Government Private Secretary to Minister Paul P. Mani. So I thanked him for nominating me to the Archaeology Advisory Board. A very honest and straight forward person he informed me that he had nothing to do with that appointment. This is what happened:  The Minister was returning to Trivandrum after my meeting with him. He had the Encyclopaedia in his car. On the way he got down at his brother-in-law’s house. That relative, Mr. Paily was his name I think, kept the book for himself as he was very much interested in history and culture. Two days later he telephoned  his brother-in-law the minister and told him why the editor of the book could not be a member of the advisory board of archaeology as he seems to know more about Kerala’s history and archaeology than many persons in the department. The Minister Sri Mani immediately marked a note asking the Director of Archaeology Sri Unnithan to include my name in the list. When I entered the conference hall I found that the other members of the four member Board were very eminent persons: Dr. T. K. Ravindran, HOD of the History Department of the University of Kerala; Dr. M. G. S. Narayanan; Dr. K. V. Raman the distinguished scholar and archaeologist from Madras.  Sri Unnithan was the member secretary. This shows how coincidence or fate as some would call it plays an important role in all our life. I am tempted to believe more and more in the Paulo Coelo quotations from the Alchemist. 

 

Making of the Encyclopaedia | Prof. George Menachery | Part 10

       Saturday Evening Post

Making of the Encyclopaedia

From the Horse’s own Mouth

George Menachery

Ten

The articles were slow in coming in. Many of them were first drafts as instructed in our letters. I had to wait for the second drafts. In the meanwhile I thought I will start printing the art plates, both in B&W and in full colour. So I took the wonderful photos taken by Shankar and a few by me together with the colour transparencies I had collected from various studios to Madras. I also gave Nayak the long and elaborate captions for the pictures. I had decided at the beginning itself not to append my name to any article in the work. I thought that the contents of an article in my own name might go against the ecumenical spirit of the Encyclopaedia. Hence some articles that I wrote were given in the names of my father, mother, even in the names of my dead baby niece Anna or dead baby nephew Paul. Of course my brothers Baby (later Dr.) E. J. James and (later Dr.) E. J. Thomas s. j. had contributed some excellent articles. As I was not writing any article in my own name I provided very long, research-based descriptions and captions  for the hundreds of B&W and  dozens of color pictures. These captions together formed an exhaustive study of the artistic  and archaeological heritage of the Kerala churches.

Then the B. N. K. did something never done by presses at that time – even today I think. They sent me machine “proofs” of all the photographs, B&W as well as colour on a score of large art sheets. The pictures were printed so well that I was thrilled. They were all almost as good as the pictures appearing in the best international publications. Therefore I decided to conduct an exhibition of these prints as well as some other objects in connection with the Philately Exhibition of that year being conducted at Ernakulam. On the way to Ernakulam I got down at Kalamassery ‘s Rajagiri CMI monastery where I had been told Dr. Mundadan had taken charge as the new provincial. I wanted to meet him and remind him of our previous invitation to him to which he had not responded. He received us well enough. Then I showed him the proof sheets of the photos. He studied the sheets for a few minutes and got up and shook my hand vigorously to congratulate me. From that moment he was a fully converted admirer of the encyclopaedia project and till his death continued to be our staunch supporter, friend, and advocate. And of course he consented to be a member of the Board of Editorial Consultants and wrote some valuable articles for the Encyclopaedia. He began to proudly mention his connection with the Encyclopadia in his conversations and his C.V.s. This naturally did a lot to boost our reputation among scholars and church personnel. And on 7^th April 1973 he was kind enough to propose the vote of thanks at the inaugural function of the Encyclopaedia at the Cardinal House, Ernakulam. When we went to New York in 2005 for a Seminar on Early Christianity in India, and again to attend a Seminar at Chennai he was happy to have my company and at times said that my presence gave him a sense of security. When the third international Seminar to be held in Amman, Jordan on Early Christianity in Asia was scheduled he promptly registered, in spite of little difficulties of old age. To all his friends and family members who tried to discourage him from going to Jordan his reply was that there was nothing to fear as Menachery was going with him. This was publicly mentioned by his brother Bishop Gratian Mundadan at a memorial meeting held at Angamaly after his death. For the exhibition held at Dharmaram, Bangalore under the leadership of Dr. Mundadan in 1972 he sent two of his students to Ollur to invite me and exhibited there some artifacts from my family collection. I remember well how when the bell used in our ancient horse-drawn carriage was sounded by some truant students two old CMI priests in Dharmaram  from the Alappat family of Kattur came running and wanted to meet the person from whose collection the bell had come, because the sound of that bell was familiar to them from long back. Fr. Mundadan also entrusted important roles to me at the CHAI Triennial of 1985 conducted at Ernakulam and Alwaye under his leadership and at the Jeevass Poorna Exhibition and during many other events.

I think it will be appropriate to quote a few sentences from a long article Dr. Mundadan wrote later:

“It was in the 1960s my acquaintance with Prof. George Menachery started. One day his brother James and the professor came to see me. Young and energetic his enthusiasm and firm determination to dedicate himself to the cause of the Christian heritage of India shone brightly in his youthful face and in his inspired words. He was launching a great project  -- a series of what he called St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India. He wanted my collaboration in this grand venture. “

……………………………………….

“George was then teaching English literature at the prestigious St. Thomas ‘ College, Thrissur. An earnest teacher though he was of English literature , George’s first love was Christian history and Christian archeology.

“Finally when this dream project of the Encyclopedia was launched he was kind enough to include my name in the Board of Editorial Consultants. I wrote an article for Vol. II: “History of St. Thomas Christianity in India to the Present Day”. I was also able to provide Prof. Menachery with some colour slides of churches of Kerala and their art treasures which we had collected for the Dharmaram College Exhibition during the celebration of the 19^th centenary of the death of St. Thomas the Apostle, 1972.

“Many of George’s friends wondered whether the project would materialize or would remain at the dream level. I too was somewhat sceptical. But Prof. George surprised all when the news was flashed that volume two was going to be released by His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Parecattil in the presence of His Holiness Catholicos Baselius Augen I. Actually the book was released on 7 April 1973 almost coinciding with the culmination of the 19^th Centenary celebrations of the Death of St. Thomas.At another grand function on 3 July 1973 Joseph Cardinal Parecattil presented copies of the volume to the then Governor of Kerala Sri N. N. Vanchoo. Both the functions were widely covered by the media and the Encyclopedia got good publicity. He book and its skillful editor George became celebrities overnight. We were all wonderstruck when we got in our hands the grant size volume in magnificent  class and style. Great acclaim not only from the general public but from the part of scholars and learned persons greeted the monumental work and its author………”

Making of the Encyclopaedia | Prof. George Menachery | Part 9

      Saturday Evening Post

Making of the Encyclopaedia

From the Horse’s own Mouth

George Menachery

Nine

Before proceeding further let me reproduce the Introduction I wrote for the first volume of the Indian Church History Classics i.e. The Nazranies. It will be of course divulging many occurrences which took place much later. But as the reviews quoted earlier this Introduction entitled “Editor’s Jottings” it is hoped will provide the reader with an overall picture of my historical publications and the roads I tread to reach my destination. The first two paragraphs have been reproduced more or less as such at the beginning of this narrative and hence may be skipped. Also I have not deleted two or three extracts from the reviewers although they have been given earlier.

“Editor’s Jottings

“Early during the fortnight-long All-India Seminar on ‘The Church in India Today,’ Bangalore, May 1969, the present writer was approached by two well-known scholars of Kottayam with the request that he introduce a resolution on the need for permitting pastors of different Indian rites to attend to the spiritual needs of their own fold scattered throughout the country and even abroad. The necessary two-hundred-odd participants’ signatures for eligibility to move the resolution had already been obtained. (There were 485 participants eligible to vote, including 2 cardinals, 14 archbishops, 47 bishops, 3 prefects apostolic, 4 exarchs ...) This writer introduced the resolution at 7 p.m. on the 24th of May. The discussion “did go through a period of apprehension” is how the official printed report Ever Ancient Ever New describes what then took place. In fact the debate boisterously proceeded past midnight till 2. a. m. the next day—with tiny breaks for supper, ice cream (11.50 p. m.), and black coffee (1 a. m.)—overrunning by six hours the allotted time. [At 1.20 a.m. Dr. Dickinson who pioneered the survey of Indian Christian colleges under the ISS-FERES and was one of the few foreign delegates at the Seminar treated me to black coffee at the coffee shop when he profusely congratulated me on my interventions at the Seminar. My meeting with him there was a pleasant and welcome surprise.] Finally a compromise resolution had to be moved by one of the seminar secretaries, Fr. Jonas Thaliath (afterwards bishop of Rajkot), which was accepted. “In the debate which preceded this, important people had said that the acceptance of the resolution would be an event of Pentecostal importance for the future of the Catholic Church in India. Great thanksgiving and rejoicing followed the acceptance of the resolution with a unanimous vote,” My Impressions of the All-India Seminar, N.C. Sargant, Anglican bishop of Mysore.

“In the course of the tense hours of argumentation and controversy this writer needed some clarifications on certain aspects of Indian church history. Unfortunately, it transpired to one’s disappointment and surprise that many august persons present did not have any clear idea about even the major developments in the history of Christianity in India. Then and there was conceived the idea of putting together a booklet on the subject for the use of individuals in the same plight.

 “These lines are penned here in deference to the persistent and specific requests made by a large number of important persons curious to know something of the inspiration, methods, and developments which led to the publication of the two companion series viz. the T En. and the Classics and to the commencement of related projects, especially because no introductions had appeared in the second and first volumes of the T. En., and the editor had appended his own name to no article therein. In those days the (former) Cochin State archaeological museum was surviving in an upstairs verandah of the Trichur town hall, which edifice also housed the town library. Loitering there one day soon after the seminar the writer came upon a dozen or so annual administration reports of the royal Cochin archaeologist which were still on sale for annas two and three apiece. The reports made a deep impression on this writer and influenced him to visit the churches in and around Kanjur. The art, architecture, and artifacts come across launched the writer on a voyage of discovery into the realms and beauties of Kerala’s own art and architecture which he is still enjoying with unabated enthusiasm. These incessant wanderings convinced the writer that the envisaged work must surely contain lots and lots of photographs, maps, and other graphics, sadly lacking in the works even of the best writers till that date. By this time the original intention to write a mere booklet had grown into the decision to produce a full-fledged book. The Thomas story had always fascinated this writer as it had fascinated every other young Christian of Kerala. Many hours of thought had been spent by one on the various and vexatious aspects of the Thomas question, and solutions which appeared original and even brilliant had been arrived at. But often when perusing some old masters it was found that the same or similar solutions and conclusions had occurred to their authors travelling more or less the same routes. This convinced the compiler that if the work done by earlier writers were better known, and readily available, much scholarly energy, time, and money could be saved to better purpose and scholars beginning to research on related problems could build on the work of those who had gone before, instead of doing the same work over and over again in fact, greater heights of scholarship and knowledge could be scaled standing as it were on the shoulders of the pioneers. (This was one of the considerations that prompted the inclusion of an item reproductions from the classics in the scheme published in early 1970 of the St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India.) It was further observed that even doctoral scholars often could not find the complete books from which they frequently quoted depending generally only on the very same passages quoted repeatedly by earlier writers. Such hackneyed quotations in many cases had, in passing from author to author and printer to printer, lost much in accuracy. Also it was noticed that English-speaking students even when working at Rome or Louvain or Lisbon were mostly making use of material from English books only. And for students in India even such books were practically out of reach because not even the three or four best libraries in the country own more than a handful of the thirty seven titles here included/represented. These and other considerations went into the decision to reproduce as many classics as possible wholly or partially as part of the T. En., specially for the use of readers in India. Before long it became apparent that one could not at all by oneself do justice to the innumerable and varied topics which had to be covered in depth in a work of the kind now planned. Hence it was decided to seek the cooperation of the best scholars in each area to contribute their special knowledge in their respective fields of specialisation. Thus gradually the concept of the Thomas Encyclopaedia evolved and matured.

“To help and encourage further studies on various topics connected with the history and development of Christianity in India it was also decided to add, at least to each major article, detailed bibliographies and exhaustive end-notes. And instead of the usual dictionary type entries the, perhaps, more appropriate chronological or other such arrangement of Major Articles was resorted to. There were also Minor Articles, alphabetically arranged, for quick reference. This Macropaedia-Micropaedia arrangement was soon found to be more useful by other encyclopaedists also. The articles and illustrations for all the volumes of the T. En. were ready more or less by Easter 197.1 But the work could not be produced as scheduled chiefly owing to lack of finances. To enable as many publications as possible to come out for the 19th Thomas Shleeva Death Centenary celebrations the collected materials were given wide publicity through handouts, magazines, and offprints; and the ‘Panorama of Indian Christianity’ Exhibitions that were organised by the T. En. at Ernakulam, Kottayam, Bangalore, Madras, and in a few cities abroad in 1971 and ‘72.

“Leaving aside the already printed portions of the first volume of the T. En. the second volume was published in April, 1973. The printing of the first volume could be completed only in February 1982. The unbearable financial position had compelled the organisers to detach the ‘Reproductions from the Classics’ section from the scheme of the T. En. The attempt is made in this volume through the fifteen classics wholly reproduced, to trace back to their sources the traditions, customs, cultural trends, and historical insights relating to the Nazranies (or the St. Thomas Christians as they are more popularly known in the west) of Malabar in India. Here the origins of those sources, and development from the first crude expression of the idea to its streamlined researched modern form may be seen.

“In order to make the book more complete, many extracts have been added from twenty-two other works, either because they shed light on some particular aspect, or because they contain a well-known expression of some line of thought, or because they relate to the development of some special group, sect, or denomination. Both the complete Classics and the Extracts have been generally arranged in the chronological order of their publication, except in the case of two works where the date of the original publication was in dispute. In a few instances the selections lead back to the 17th and 18th centuries; although many quotations, foot-notes, and references obtain from the very days of Christ and even earlier. In its original conception, as a part of the St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India it was intended to include all Classics which recur frequently as sources of notes and references, and are in the constant quotidian use, of scholars and researchers. It has been already intimated that, as the work proceeded, its scope expanded somewhat, and the temptation was there to introduce sundry subjects which may appear hardly to fall within the original scope of such a work. Hence this companion series of the T. En. includes a vast quantity of material not properly gradable and to quote a librarian, ‘ difficult if not impossible to come across elsewhere’.

“Just what is and what is not a Classic is often the subject of learned controversy. We have Twain’s “A classic - something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read” at one end, and at the other end the definition given by the youngest dictionary two years old from the oldest publisher, “A classic is a piece of writing which is well-known and of a high standard and lasting value”. But this compiler has not concerned himself with finely drawn distinctions. He has permitted himself the widest latitude of inclusion, and has not disdained the lowest sources, as every user of the volume will quickly discover.

“For various reasons of time, bulk, price, general utility especially in India and certain other countries, &c. works in languages other than English have been excluded. Again while some of the books chosen are quite irreplaceable one could have perhaps chosen in a few cases certain other books equally suitable instead of the books that have actually been printed. But these selections were finally decided upon as fulfilling the purpose as admirably as any other combination or permutation of books.

“The classics have been faithfully reproduced, retaining even the mistakes in the original works in the interests of authenticity. It should not at all be inferred from what has been said above that it was from the abundance of the editor’s scholarship that the T. En. and the Indian Church History Classics were conceived, compiled, and produced. On the other hand it was because, endeavouring to study and understand the history and culture of Christianity in India for their own sake, in their various phases and aspects, in a non-formal ambience, without any academic assistance, the editor could fully understand and appreciate the difficulties faced and the requirements felt by fresh scholars entering the field, that he could attempt to place before them what they would most need.

“However it is a matter of satisfaction that having collected, translated, corrected, edited, researched, and proof-read hundreds of articles spanning more than a million words and a half already printed, and having visited scores of libraries and archives and museums all over the country and all over the world, and having spent hundreds of hours in conversation with the greatest scholars, in related spheres, and having stayed in innumerable key sites in his photography expeditions, the editor was perhaps in an advantageous position to undertake the tasks that he did undertake. The months and years spent in the company of artists, archaeologists, cartographers, designers, printers, camera and scanner technicians, block-makers, engravers, computer addicts, etc. also stood him in good stead in the performance of the various jobs. That is the most that could be claimed in this regard. In so far as the two sets of books are meant to be of assistance to those who were not fortunate enough to afford to spend as much time as the compiler on the study of the subject, no effort has been spared to include as much material as possible within the limits prescribed by the budget - inviting many reviewers’, often just, ire for the inequality of the quality of the contributions, tautology, reiteration, overlapping ... in their various guises and names. A certain amount of overlapping was inevitable to ensure the ecumenical nature of the work in intent and content and to cover the same subject area from various angles for better comprehension and greater thoroughness.

“The organisers’, the publisher’s, and the editor’s hearts swell with gratitude for the great encouragement received from ecclesiastical dignitaries, the clergy and the laity; from the S. Oriental Congregation, the Missio, the S. Congregation Propaganda Fide, and the Archdiocese of Köln in the form of supportive gestures, and from many generous hosts in far away lands and other climes; and from many many others in the work of the T. En. from the very time its publication was announced more than a quarter century ago.

“Thoughts of the respect, regard, and recognition shown by librarians, the press and other media, governments, universities, research institutions and organisations, and our subscribers and readers and especially by the CBCI, the KCBC, the SMBC, and the CRI, and the friendly nuncios truly make us humble. Our thanks are due in a large measure also to the patron, vice-patron, members of the board of editorial consultants, contributors, printers, and a vast number of others connected with the T En. which could not be expressed in just a few words. As we have expressed our indebtedness to our well-wishers in greater detail in the printed and widely circulated speech of the editor delivered on the occasion of the preparatory gathering ‘ To Thank and to Remember’ held in connection with the commencement of the silver jubilee celebrations of the T. En. on 1 April, 1997 we may be allowed to terminate that matter here.

“A word of special thanks however to friends of the older and younger generations who have contributed the special introductions. Each except one has at least one doctoral degree, and they together represent not less than three centuries of Church History teaching in the best institutions and have between them authored at least a hundred books and have a thousand scholarly papers to their credit.

Some of the nearest and dearest at home whose sacrifices were great all along may prefer to go unmentioned. We acknowledge our thanks to those who permitted us to use copyright material for the Classics. Where we could not obtain such clearance in time for some reason or other, we acknowledge the legal rights of such copyright holders and crave their indulgence for any unintentional infringement of their rights. It will not be necessary for the editor to dwell on the many difficulties he has had to encounter in pursuing his largely solitary labours, practically unsupported by various assistants who usually lighten the toil of encyclopaedists and lexicographers. Those who understand what it is to be a pioneer in any such area, to be as it were the first to break and clear the ground over a meagerly trodden field will doubtless, in their candour, appreciate at its full value the labour undergone in carrying these volumes to completion. They will also be prepared to expect inequality in execution, and many defects and inconsistencies throughout the whole body of the works. No apology need, therefore, be made for these imperfections.

““Our Church and State are greatly indebted, I should say, to Prof. Menachery, under whose initiative and persevering hard work a number of pioneering research-based publications and projects have seen the light of day. like Veda-Vyasa he had brought together almost all the information that existed as legend, story, fact, philosophy or whatever about Indian Christianity into an ordered whole for the first time in his much acclaimed Christian Encyclopaedia of India” —Cardinal Padiyara, the first Major Archbishop. “Where Universities and Governments have failed, the loving labour of a few has triumphed.”—M. G. S. Narayanan in the Mathrubhoomi Weekly. “This Encyclopaedia is a tool worth having for any library, for any scholar interested in the history of Christianity for anyone interested in understanding India and its religious heritage. Prof. George Menachery has really achieved a tour de force in bringing all this material together and putting out a well printed Eacyclopaedia which is both ecumenical and reliable. I commend it to you unhesitatingly.”—Metropolitan Dr Paul Verghese, sometime president of the WCC.

“Such words perhaps are sufficient reward for the trials and tribulations endured for three decades. Now that a major portion of the heavy financial liabilities incurred has been settled through a number of drastic steps—at one time there were more than half a dozen suits filed by our not so patient creditors—our thoughts went back to the Classics. A sort of blind optimism or foolhardy trust in our celestial and also terrestrial well-wishers, which has developed in us down the three decades, alone gives us the courage to go forward with the Classics and the remaining volumes of the Thomas Encyclopaedia. Here we are.”

Making of the Encyclopaedia | Prof. George Menachery | Part 8

     Saturday Evening Post

Making of the Encyclopaedia

From the Horse’s own Mouth

George Menachery

Eight

Returning from Vadavathoor I felt excited and exhilarated and I began to move faster with the work – because I had promised to publish the Encyclopaedia by December 1972. I thought that it was time to take good photographs of some of the objects of art and architecture I had come across during my wanderings. Very few photographs had appeared in the books on the Thomas Church or its churches until that time, not more two dozen photographs at the most perhaps in all the books put together.  I went to Krishnan Nair’s studio in Ernakulam and came to the conclusion that Mr. Shankar, the son in law of the famous owner, would be the right person to shoot some quality photographs for the Encyclopaedia. Engaging a Taxi car I went to Ernakulam, picked up the photographer and went to two or three locations to take pictures. Ruins of the great Vaipincotta Seminary were photographed. Also some other objects on the Chennamangalam hill and the synagogue there. I had taken with me two learned friends thinking that they would be able to provide some guidelines and point out some significant items to be photographed. But they were totally ignorant of the artistic and architectural wealth of the Church, and what was worse they somewhat looked down upon the art works we came across during the trip. Finally we dropped the photographer at his studio and returned home. Most other scholars I contacted were equally unaware of the fact that the churches and Christians of Kerala possessed some remarkable objects of artistic, architectural, and archaeological significance. Hence I decided not to take anybody else with us during later photography expeditions.

Two days later I went to Ernakulam and collected the prints. The photos were of the highest quality. Hence I arranged with the photographer to travel to all Christian monuments I had seen and take photographs. I engaged a Taxi for three days and started on a most memorable voyage of discovery. The hundreds of photographs we took on this occasion won great appreciation when they were printed in the Encyclopaedia. In fact the art plates in the Encyclopaedia were much highlighted by the reviewers both in India and abroad.

In the meanwhile articles were beginning to trickle in. 

It was time to find a printing press that would measure up to the high standards envisaged. There was no press in Kerala to do the type of high quality printing I wanted. In fact there was no press in Kerala doing colour printing. There was the S. T. Reddiar press, the best of the lot. Though it boasted ‘tricolor’ printing, that was nothing more than printing some letters in one colour and then other letters in a different colour, and so on. Photographs in colour were not printed. So I spread my search to other South Indian States. There were two good presses in Madras, the Associated Printers and the BNK-Chandamama press.  The cover for the Souvenir of the All Kerala Educational Conference, Trivandrum conducted by the University of Kerala (1963), edited by me with Professor N. S. Vengusamy was printed at The Associated Printers through the good offices of my uncle James Menachery  and that cover had won much praise. So I went there first. But they were unwilling to take up the printing of a book. They were mainly interested in quick job works which were highly lucrative.

Now the only hope was the B. N. K. press owned by Dadasaheb Phalke award winner B. Nagi Reddy, also owner of Vijaya Vauhini Film Studio and Vijaya Gardens Film Studio and of Vijaya Hospital. He was the founder and editor of Chandamama published in a dozen Indian languages plus in English and Sinhalese from his mammoth Vadapalani press. The Soviet Land was being printed there in five languages. Before I describe my visit to the B. N. K. press let me tell something by way of a backstory.

In the late sixties and early seventies I used to visit Madras quite often in connection with procuring books for our book shop. Also to rope in publishers and books distributors for our biennial World of Books exhibitions, because many prominent books people like the India Book House, B. I. Publications, Chand & Co…..Macmillan and Oxford had their main south Indian office at Madras, mostly in and around the Anna Salai (Mount Road). Generally I used to go to Madras by a Friday evening train from Trichur (Thrissur) and return from Madras (Chennai) by a Sunday evening train so that I will not miss my college classes. As I was usually travelling on the spur of the moment often it was very difficult to procure reservation in the trains. But returning from Madras I was assured of a berth because my uncle’s close friend Dr. Govinda Menon (Konthu to friends) of the Puzhankara family was the Chief Medical Officer of the Southern Railway and hence enjoyed a quota of berths and seats in all trains. One Sunday morning when I came to his office he was about to drive to Vadapalani where he was often summoned by B. Nagi Reddy to obtain expert advice on his health problems. This day he was going to visit Nagi Reddy at his Vadapalani Office. He told me, “Why don’t you jump in if you don’t have any other engagement”. “I will show you some wood carvings and Tamil metal works,” he promised. I accompanied him to Vadapalani. After giving us coffee and laddu Mr. Reddy took us to his Pooja Room which was being renovated. Two or three carpenters were making the “altar” for the statues. I suggested some changes in the carvings and a niche being put up. The carpenters liked my suggestions and Mr. Reddy also beamed appreciation. After this we returned to the city. That was in 1969.

In January 1971 I went to the Vadapalani Press since the Associated Printers were not able to undertake the printing of the Encyclopaedia. It was to the B. N. K. Letter Press department that I went. There the manager Mr. Nayak said that he would be happy to do the B & W and colour art plates, but he was reluctant to undertake the printing of the text pages. And no wonder, because I wanted the text pages to be printed exactly like the pages of the 24 Volume Britannica. Each A4 size page will have more than 1000 words using 8 pt. Times Roman font.  Of course the composing will be done in Monotype but then pages after proof reading will have to be manually corrected. To correct one page after the first proof-reading will take one compositor a full day. And I wanted the pages to be four times proofread in addition to the final machine proof reading. So the manager said that printing the text pages at the B. N. K. was out of the question.

This was a big disappointment as there was no other press then with facilities to do a good job of printing. It must also be remembered that the B. N. K. and Chandamama presses together was the largest printing establishment in the whole of Asia then. I sadly got up and exited the press. I was walking towards the gate of the compound when a khaki-uniformed peon came up to me and said that the proprietor Nagi Reddy wanted to see me. Reddy had a mini office in a sort of glass house in the vast compound. Sitting there he had noticed me departing in a dejected sorrowful manner. When I met him he vividly recalled my earlier visit long back with Dr. Govinda Menon. He took me to the Pooja Room where I found some of my suggestions accepted and executed. When we returned to the glass house he enquired why I was looking so forlorn. I told him what had happened at the manager’s office and that if my book could not be printed by B. N. K. I did not know where else I could go. Directly he took the telephone and told the manager to print my book at the B. N. K. Another miracle, if one does not believe that the days of miracles are over.

Once the work was undertaken by B. N. K. they spared no pains or expense to produce a top of the class product in keeping with their reputation. For me this was most fortunate. B. N. K. also won the national award for best colour printing for the Encyclopaedia. Reviewers and librarians both in India and abroad always had a word of praise for the proofreading, printing, paper, art plates, binding….of the volumes.