For the first part of this series, read:
Terrorism: A Reality of our times.
On
Nov 26th 2008, like many of us Thomas Varghese went to work leaving his
children and wife behind. He was the Supervisor of Food and Beverages at
Hotel Taj in Mumbai. That fateful night, when cowardly terrorists wrecked
terror in the streets and hearts of Mumbai in the most audacious act of
terror our country has witnessed yet, Thomas Varghese was caught in the cross
fire and lost his life -
a senseless murder, a terrible loss.
News about the loss:
-------------------
I first heard about Thomas Varghese from Coorilose Thirumeni. I spoke to Thirumeni soon after I heard about the Mumbai carnage. Thirumeni said that we lost one of our beloved members Thomas Varghese who worked at the Taj. Later I read the Kalpana of HG on ICON.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/21826
The person:
----------
Thomas Varghese came across as a warm, compassionate and friendly person. He was a regular church goer and was active in Church."He wasn't present at the front of any church meetings, but would silently work in the background" someone who knew him said. A true role model for many. Though he kept a low profile generally, those who knew him were blessed by his company.
His family:
----------
His children attended Sunday School regularly. "Very well brought up children" one of their Sunday School teachers told me. His wife was active in the Martha Mariya Samajam.
Funeral:
-------
When the news of the tragedy came out, the vicar Rev. Fr. Koshy Alex immediately decided to go and visit the family. Over the next couple of days, Dadar church members visited the family on & off. The priests visited at least once each day. The funeral was scheduled for Sunday Nov 30th, HG Coorilos Thirumeni conducted the service. Bava Thirumeni's condolence message was conveyed to the family by Coorilose Thirumeni. The burial was at the cemetry in Sewree. The
funeral was attended by a large number of people. Several of Mr. Varghese's colleagues including Mr. Raymond Bickson MD of the hotel group, waited patiently for hours to attend the service. The
funeral was attended by a large number of non Christians also who probably numbered as much as or even more than Mr. Varghese's co-members of the Church, attesting to his warmth and friendliness as a person both within and outside the Church. Everyone felt the loss - "I spoke to several of the people who had attended (the funeral) and came to know that even though he was a low-profile person, he was very friendly & warm in every friendship he had. At Mahim (the locality he stayed at) he was very low-key, again but still very popular and there was a huge turnout from there." said one of the attendees at the funeral.
Stephen Covey in his book, "The Seven Habits of Highly effective People" has a section about training ourselves to think about our own funeral; about who will attend, about what people will say about us after we are gone etc. The news about Thomas Varghese's funeral tells me a story about the person he was, about how he silently touched the hearts of many, and I think to myself, only God
knows how long I have in this world, how will my funeral be like? And now that Thomas Varghese has finished his race, his question is to all of us - how will our funeral be like? What kind of funeral are we preparing ourselves for?
The funeral has a message to the terrorists too - no, you will never win! Your bodies still lie unclaimed,even your country disowns you, while the Lord's Church and the entire society showed up to bid a final goodbye to Thomas Varghese! He was led to His heavenly abode by angels and archangels at the time of the prayers of those gathered there in Sewree that Sunday; he has reached His Heavenly Father, may God be the judge for the fate awaiting you! You underestimate the resolve of Indians, and indeed the resolve of the human being.
Mr. Thomas Varghese was a face in the crowd, a simple, down to earth person. Even though I did not know him personally, coming to know about him from others who did know him, I can easily relate to him. A terrible act of cowardice ended his life and left an unfillable void in the lives of his
family and loved ones.
Please keep Thomas Varghese in prayers. Please pray that the Lord grants strength and courage to his family to cope with this challenge of a terrible loss. Pray for all the victims and their families for the Lord to show mercy.
-----------------
The above message about Thomas Varghese is gathered from emails I got from a couple of friends in Mumbai. I hope I have been faithful in representing Thomas Varghese and his family and have not mis-stated any facts. I really felt we have not focused enough as a community [ICON] on this tragedy and hope this contribution helps correct that in a small way.
In Christ.
Mathew Samuel
Albany, NY
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/22397
Terrorism: A Reality of our times.
a senseless murder, a terrible loss.
News about the loss:
-------------------
I first heard about Thomas Varghese from Coorilose Thirumeni. I spoke to Thirumeni soon after I heard about the Mumbai carnage. Thirumeni said that we lost one of our beloved members Thomas Varghese who worked at the Taj. Later I read the Kalpana of HG on ICON.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/21826
The person:
----------
Thomas Varghese came across as a warm, compassionate and friendly person. He was a regular church goer and was active in Church."He wasn't present at the front of any church meetings, but would silently work in the background" someone who knew him said. A true role model for many. Though he kept a low profile generally, those who knew him were blessed by his company.
His family:
----------
His children attended Sunday School regularly. "Very well brought up children" one of their Sunday School teachers told me. His wife was active in the Martha Mariya Samajam.
Funeral:
-------
When the news of the tragedy came out, the vicar Rev. Fr. Koshy Alex immediately decided to go and visit the family. Over the next couple of days, Dadar church members visited the family on & off. The priests visited at least once each day. The funeral was scheduled for Sunday Nov 30th, HG Coorilos Thirumeni conducted the service. Bava Thirumeni's condolence message was conveyed to the family by Coorilose Thirumeni. The burial was at the cemetry in Sewree. The
funeral was attended by a large number of people. Several of Mr. Varghese's colleagues including Mr. Raymond Bickson MD of the hotel group, waited patiently for hours to attend the service. The
funeral was attended by a large number of non Christians also who probably numbered as much as or even more than Mr. Varghese's co-members of the Church, attesting to his warmth and friendliness as a person both within and outside the Church. Everyone felt the loss - "I spoke to several of the people who had attended (the funeral) and came to know that even though he was a low-profile person, he was very friendly & warm in every friendship he had. At Mahim (the locality he stayed at) he was very low-key, again but still very popular and there was a huge turnout from there." said one of the attendees at the funeral.
Stephen Covey in his book, "The Seven Habits of Highly effective People" has a section about training ourselves to think about our own funeral; about who will attend, about what people will say about us after we are gone etc. The news about Thomas Varghese's funeral tells me a story about the person he was, about how he silently touched the hearts of many, and I think to myself, only God
knows how long I have in this world, how will my funeral be like? And now that Thomas Varghese has finished his race, his question is to all of us - how will our funeral be like? What kind of funeral are we preparing ourselves for?
The funeral has a message to the terrorists too - no, you will never win! Your bodies still lie unclaimed,even your country disowns you, while the Lord's Church and the entire society showed up to bid a final goodbye to Thomas Varghese! He was led to His heavenly abode by angels and archangels at the time of the prayers of those gathered there in Sewree that Sunday; he has reached His Heavenly Father, may God be the judge for the fate awaiting you! You underestimate the resolve of Indians, and indeed the resolve of the human being.
Mr. Thomas Varghese was a face in the crowd, a simple, down to earth person. Even though I did not know him personally, coming to know about him from others who did know him, I can easily relate to him. A terrible act of cowardice ended his life and left an unfillable void in the lives of his
family and loved ones.
Please keep Thomas Varghese in prayers. Please pray that the Lord grants strength and courage to his family to cope with this challenge of a terrible loss. Pray for all the victims and their families for the Lord to show mercy.
-----------------
The above message about Thomas Varghese is gathered from emails I got from a couple of friends in Mumbai. I hope I have been faithful in representing Thomas Varghese and his family and have not mis-stated any facts. I really felt we have not focused enough as a community [ICON] on this tragedy and hope this contribution helps correct that in a small way.
In Christ.
Mathew Samuel
Albany, NY
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/22397
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