Look at the birds...

While music is my passion, the hobby that comes incidental to it is nature, especially bird watching. Even though I do not have the necessary gear of an Ornithologist, in my own way I appreciate the presence of birds and their chirping which is so refreshing each morning. As I walk into my work place, I get welcomed by the site of freshly watered lawns, the greenery all around the campus, beautiful flowers near the sidewalks and the sound of birds in the trees. These simple things eases me of all my anxieties and helps me look ahead at each brand new day with hope.

One of the things that amazed me when I moved here to the UAE was the sight of plenty of sparrows. Back home in India while the sparrows are a thing of the past, here in UAE we are glad to have them around. The buildings have sparrow friendly spaces for them to survive and multiply. Glad that these sparrows enjoy a safe haven here in a desert while India has turned it's back on these lovely little birds that have been so close to my heart.

Recently, I got to spot the first seagull for the winter while taking a walk down the Sharjah corniche. It was nice to know that summer was finally gone and we can look forward to the winter. Time has lapsed since then and rains in the UAE have ushered in the winter. The mornings and evenings are cool and pleasant, inviting me to take a walk along my favourite places - the corniche and the beach. We also get to see a lot of pigeons and turtle doves that drop in on the window sills and balcony ledges in the apartments. How can we forget the crows, the most common one back in India. We understand that crows were brought here to the Sharjah corniche area as the authorities felt the need for these scavenger birds. Most of the times I have observed that they had a piece of bread held between their beaks. 

It's hard to adequately describe the beauty of a winter morning here. I'm just enjoying it every day and every time it eventually turns out to be quiet moments of relishing God's creation leading onto a quiet conversation with God. I could feel God urging me to take a look at these birds to remind me of his words in Mathew 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" When we get to know God in a personal and intimate way, we can be encouraged to know that the God who feeds the birds is the God who cares for us, provides for us and sustains us. Psalms 48:14 says, " For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end."

Cheers!!!

SCUD

Those who have closely followed the news during the early 90's will know what SCUD means. During the Gulf War, SCUD was the Russian missile used by Iraq against the allied forces. In return the US and it's allies used the PATRIOT missiles to counter the SCUD attacks. Very similarly, there is a war in the heavenlies that the Bible talks about. Jesus very beautifully used the Scriptures to counter the attacks of Satan when he was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. Scriptures were like his PATRIOT missiles to dispel the attacks of the enemy.

Interestingly during the time of Gulf War my mentor Rev.Samson Lazarus used to form an acronym using SCUD. It stood for Satanic Cunning Undermining Devices. The Bible says in John 10:10, "The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." It talks about the mission statement of both Satan and Jesus.

The mission of Satan is to kill, steal and destroy. Well, what does he kill, steal and destroy? He is too crafty and tricky. While his ultimate objective is to destroy us he does it very subtly. He kills our desire for God and His truth. He then steals away our time by keeping us busy with a plenty of things which appear very important to satisfy our 'self'. He also misguides people to be so self possessed to the extent of making them believe that they themselves are gods and hence doing away with the need for a God. He also steals every opportunity to turn to God by way of cleverly crafted distraction tactics. Then he destroys our peace, our standing and ultimately our spirits, making us completely ineffective, useless and redundant. Given a chance he can beautifully entice us into a life of false securities, pretensions and deceptions which look appealing to our flesh and ego. The more we are driven by our 'self' the more we unknowingly succumb to the satanic cunning undermining devices.

On the contrary the mission of Jesus was to give us life, life to the full or life in abundance - life in every dead situation, quickening our spirits to commune with His Spirit and engage in a constant life giving, dynamic and uplifting fellowship and communion with Him that will provide us the protection and provision to live a life of wellness in Him as desired by God. This life is possible by doing in return what Jesus did for us. He gave His life for us, and when we give to Him our life He is able to make something beautiful out of the most messed up life.

If you are looking for meaning in life, truth, love, wellness, Jesus invites you into a world of possibilities. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." In John 6:37 Jesus assures us acceptance," ...and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away." 

Past, Present and Future

Driving to and from office are moments I enjoy as I have a good time reflecting and listening to what God is talking to me. I mull over the scriptures that I read in the morning or a sudden flash of thought that God puts in my mind to ponder, or I say a prayer for someone in need or words of a song triggers a thought etc., and so a lot happens in terms of reflections in that short and sweet twenty minute drive.

This morning I was reminded of the scripture which says that God does not recall our past sins that are forgiven. Isaiah 43:25 (Amplified Version) says, "I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins". It was such a comforting thought that made me feel so set free. Everyone has a bad side of the past and the enemy's strategy is to keep recalling that and keep us stuck and rooted in the past that we can never move forward. He would also effectively use his messengers - unforgiving and graceless people who would join with him in the condemnation band wagon. If we are not sensitive to his schemes we can easily give in to his thoughts and feel condemned and worthless and in turn start to condemn others. Satan uses people in fulfilling his objective of bringing down those who desire to do God's will. The truth of the matter is that God remembers our sins no more and man has no business to talk about the past. The more we hear the voice of God the less we hear the voice of satan and his messengers.

Perhaps that is why Paul writing to the Philippians mentions this as a success strategy for life. He is a person who had a terrible past. He was a hardcore Jew from the strictest sect of Judaism and went about persecuting the Church, dragging people out of their homes and murdering them. He stood approving the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr. His blind faith in Judaism drove him to go to such extents only to be stopped in his tracks by the Lord Jesus himself after which it was no turning back. Paul says "...but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,..."Phil 3:13.

Do not ruin a beautiful present by thinking about the past. Each day and the here and now is a gift from God which is why it is called "present". We can ruin it by recalling what God has chosen to forgive and forget. The more we think about the past the less we will be able to work towards the future. Getting stuck in our past glories and failures will ruin our present and keep us from achieving what God has kept for our future. Do not give the devil and his messengers room by allowing them to recall the past. Do not be disturbed when the devil and his messengers try to dig up your past. They try to do this cause they know their time is running out and their future is doomed.

Scripture says that God does not keep a record of our sins. Instead He is more concerned about our future. God says in Jer 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The more we get to know Him the more He reveals it to us. In the past He revealed it to Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He invites us to explore the future with Him in faith just like Abraham did.

If the devil reminds you of your past, just remind him about his future!!! Want to leave you with this all time favourite of mine from the Gaithers!!

Lasting Relationship?

Just happened to have a chat about music with a friend who has a fancy for old Tamil movie songs. We had a great discussion about the styles, content, genres, values conveyed and a whole lot of comparison of today's music with that of yesterday's. In the process of the conversation we stumbled upon a famous Tamil song that talks about human relationships and the lines are as follows:


"Veedu varai uravu
Veedhi varai manaivi
Kaadu varai pillai
Kadaisi varai yaaro?"

The song talks about death and the transience of human relationships. The meaning of the above lines are as follows:

When a man dies....
"Veedu varai uravu = The relatives mourn his death only as long as they are in his house 
Veedhi varai manaivi = The wife follows the corpse till the street corner (in Tamil culture women do not go to the grave yard)
Kaadu varai pillai = The son comes till the grave yard (to perform the last rites)
Kadaisi varai yaaro?" = But who will remain till the end?

Even though I have heard these lines many times, it struck a new chord today. Today I was able to see the song in a different light altogether - I was drawn to thinking in terms of eternity. It talks about the reality of death with no inkling of what lies ahead and about how fleeting life is. It also makes us ponder  about the longevity of all relationships we have. Finally the song ends with a question that portrays hopelessness.

In response to this question in this song, I was reminded of the parting words of Jesus to his disciples. He said, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

Oh what a hope!!! His presence is always with his children, to comfort, guide, help and deliver. His eternal presence with us enables us to face life boldly. It helps us to stand up to any challenge. The Psalmist David stood before the giant and was not shaken by the appearance or the taunting of his adversary. He knew His God and he was able to say in Ps 16:8 - "I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." In Joshua 1:5 God says, " I will never leave you, nor forsake you." His love is a lasting and enduring love which remains true always!! In Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

What a hope to be the child of the living God who rose again from the dead. Death was conquered in sweet victory and that is the reason Jesus' words are so life-giving. Death is such an inescapable part of our life, yet for a child of God, death is the threshold of a life of lasting love, union with God, an endless hope and not a hopeless end as the song says. There is no fear and hopelessness in death for a Christian. That is what makes Christ so special to me.

As I close I am also reminded of the song by PETRA which is called "Grave Robber" which talks about life beyond the grave! 

Headcheck?

One of the strategies of winning in Indian politics is "the blame game" - accusing the other party. The opposition party will accuse the ruling party of all the lapses and create barriers in every action plan while the ruling party will accuse the opposition of their lapses in the past. Recently while the current Indian govt was drawing flak from all sides and accused of serious lapses and inconsistencies in it's governance, it came like a shot from the blue for the opposition when media came up with a finding that showed one of the key leaders of it's religious faction in a web of corrupt practices - of doing the very things that he accused the ruling party of doing. This was like "pot calling the kettle 'black' "!

Unfortunately, I found myself in a similar situation some days ago and it was quite disheartening to see myself in this quandary. Well I know this has been dealt with and hence I don't hesitate to be transparent and make myself vulnerable here in this reflection. I reckon that I'm a sinner saved by grace and still grapple with issues of my "fallenness" and we all have to experience this as long as we live here in a fallen world. It was one of those dull days when I was not at my best on the interpersonal paradigm, to be honest I'd actually been a bit reckless, just going through the motions and not in complete control. In a terribly vulnerable moment I did something without thinking to end up hurting someone dear. It took a heavy toll on me and pushed me into a shell of remorse and self  reflection. The damage has been done and it's indelibly etched in the minds and no amount of apology will actually undo my fault. The wounds heal but many times the scars remain. But it takes a tremendous amount of grace to get over this especially when you know these dear ones are truly gracious people. It dawned on me that often I found it so easy to point a finger at the flaw in another person while conveniently overlooking my own flaws which were much more serious.

Well, don't we all have our blind spots which only others can see quite clearly? I'm reminded of my driving lessons and learning to drive in the UAE is quite an experience.  One of the most important things I had to learn was what they call here, "head check"! This is nothing but turning your head and looking over your shoulder to check the blind spots which are not captured by the rear view mirror of the car. It is only after  a head check is done can the driver make a move to turn. How often it is easy to ignore our blind spots and end up crashing in our human relationships. This is what I have been reflecting ever since this fiasco happened to me. I'm actually fighting within to search and weed out all such traits.

Jesus said it beautifully to the pharisees who were constantly doing it -finding fault with others especially with Jesus and his disciples. The Message bible portrays it beautifully. “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."  Mt 7:3-5. Quite harsh, ain't it? How important it is to examine our own lives before we can point a finger at someone else. How much are we aware of our own failures and shortcomings? How much do we repent of those? How much are we actually mindful of introspecting into our own lives? When we do it on a regular basis, we begin to understand God 's amazing grace and human relationships become more precious and valuable to us. The more we realise that we find ourselves wanting in the scales of God, the more we will want this grace.

The Psalmist constantly took time out for introspection as we read it in many of the Psalms. He keeps looking into His own life and sees the need for someone higher than him to save him.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I - Ps 61:2.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps 139:23-24.

The Greek word for grace is "charis" from where the words "charisma" and "charismatic" come from. To me, the ones who have truly experienced the forgiving grace of God in their lives and who freely forgive others are the truly charismatic people in a literal sense. As we go through this lent season, remembering the redemptive work of God, having found unconditional love, forgiveness and acceptance from God, can we take a moment to "head check" and evaluate our own lives instead of pointing a finger at somebody else and realize His marvelous forgiving grace. Can we come to God in humility and ask for more of His grace to be gracious? He promises more grace to the humble.

God bless!!!

Homesick ?

Sometime ago, my wife and I embarked on an immigration plan as we began to feel sick of the system in our home country and planned to migrate to New Zealand but later shelved the idea as we did not feel comfortable with it either. Ten years down the line, in 2011 we moved to the UAE.

Walking through the streets of Ajman, UAE near my workplace as part of my post-lunch walk, I get to see spacious villas of the locals. I think of my own independent parental house back in India and I miss life there so much. I always loved the space around our house and I think of the times I used to play cricket with my nephews in our compound. I also loved to walk by the flowerbeds where my Mom grew a variety of flowers and by all the row of flower pots my sister-in-law maintained. I loved it when Pepper, our dog had so much fun running around the house trying to escape from my mother's plot to keep him chained. It makes so much of a difference to have your own house and space and live there. They say, "East or West, Home is best"!!

Having come here, it is a different scenario. We get to see huge towering apartments housing a mass that is equivalent to a locality in India -  an entire locality into one tall vertical structure. For example, the building we live in has fifteen floors of residences besides three floors of parking, with eighteen flats on each floor. This is a structure that houses two hundred and seventy apartments totally. These are the kind of structures where most middle income expatriate communities live here in the UAE.

In contrast, most locals live in palatial independent villas with  huge compounds. Some have beautiful gardens with exquisite plants, flowers and trees. Some houses have pet animals and birds, too. Most of these houses have many bedrooms to house a large family. It is something that is available mostly for the locals and a few privileged expats who either get to have a leasehold for some years or avail it as part of their corporate benefit.

Sometimes I wish I'd get to own a mansion like one of them someday. But knowing it is a far cry in this place for someone like me, I get that gentle reminder from God that our citizenship is not here, but it's beyond the here and now. We do not have a lasting city this side of heaven. We await a city that will come down from heaven. We are to wait for the imminent second coming of the Lord when we will be raptured into His eternal presence. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come - Hebrews: 13:14.

I am reminded of the song by Jim Reeves that I loved singing - "This world is not my home, I'm just  passing through...".

Another song that comes to my mind is the song "I've Got A Mansion Just Over The Hilltop" which still is a favourite to me.

Here in the UAE, we can only be residents, never it's citizens. Our citizenship is in heaven, our home is beyond the blue and our mansions are in glory! Never get attached to things of this earth!!

God Complex

All through history we have seen innumerable stories of slavery, human oppression and injustice. Powerful people elevating themselves to a higher plane, throwing their weight around and lording over those who are inferior in some human parameter. We have studied about Britain ruling a large part of the globe colonising people and subjecting the natives to untold misery and hardship. We have studied about the blacks taken to America as slaves to work in the farm lands of the white and the rest is history. There is a basic instinct in creation where the superior lords over the inferior, the strong rule over the weak, the rich over the poor and the moneyed over the pennyless.

In an Indian context we can see it even today in various ways. The moneyed engage the muscular and the muscular become moneyed in the process. Together they are a deadly collaboration which becomes what we call as the 'mafia' on a larger scale. Sometimes these forces exploit the victims, grab their wealth, control an area, an industry, a government and a whole economy too. In extreme cases they even take it across international borders. In Indian parlance it is called as 'dadagiri'. This complex gets aggravated by another social evil linkage called as the "varnashramadharma' which classifies people into a social hierarchy called the 'caste' system. In this evil system which appears to be superficially not so harsh, the rich and the high castes ensure that they remain in their social pedestals by oppressing the poor low caste. The deep truth is that the victims are physically, socially and psychologically driven to feel utterly worthless and they resign to it thinking it is their 'fate'. The worst forms of injustice, oppression and demonic dehumanisation is what we see as a result of such evil forces even today in a post modern age.

This uncontrollable desire to rule and to be high handed is what we call as the "god complex". The powered have a god complex over the powerless and bask in the glory of being looked upto. The flip side is that the weak readily subject themselves to the strong, mainly out of fear of the powered overpowering them as they are powerless. Once the powered extend a favour, the favoured are entrapped into a life long obligation of servitude to the one who favoured him. The benefactor establishes his lordship over the beneficiary to create an obligatory chasm. This, over time has become a culturally indispensable scenario especially in the developing world and the victims of this malady are the poor and the powerless. The moneyed and powered oppressors deliberately keep the poor unempowered in order to maintain their powered status.


It was this god complex that was there in the Romans who ruled Judea at the time of Jesus. The Jews having been through such waves of oppressions over time in history cried out to a God who seemed silent for more than four hunderd years after Malachi the prophet had spoken. They longed for a Messiah who will come, overpower the Romans, dethrone Caesar and establish a kingdom more powerful and just. It is in this context that Jesus was born in a very insignificant town called Bethlehem. But His arrival was not the kind that the jews expected. Contrary to all their expectation of a powerful Messiah, He came as a babe in swaddling clothes. He lived among ordinary people and ate with sinners. He healed the broken hearted, healed the sick, raised the dead and talked about a kingdom with values far different and much higher than the kingdoms of the world. Some find it hard to understand it even today and are lost. He came not as any other highhanded ruler, 'dada' or a thug, but as a meek individual riding on a donkey.

As we go through this season of lent it will be expedient for us to reflect on the fact that Jesus did not come down with a god complex. But He laid it all aside and came down in humble obedience to His Father's will in human form, lived a sinless life, showed the path to eternal life and finally surrendered himself to be utterly abandoned into sinful human hands to be murdered cruelly on the cross - a symbol of curse. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted (Isaiah 53:4). He did it cause we are precious to him and He loves us so much. As he emptied himself in total surrender even to the point of death on a cruel cross, the Father was well pleased to give him a name above all names that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

Philippians 2:6-11

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Is a god complex lurking in us somewhere? The more we are stuck to our god complexes the more complex it becomes for God to work in us. What are we willing to let go during this lent? Jesus let go everything for us. He deserves the glory !!

Attitude Of Gratitude!

It's still winter in the UAE as I begin writing this blog and the mornings are cold and bet you, it's the best time to wrap yourself with your blanket and never think of getting out of bed. This is the time you feel like snoozing your alarm for a couple of times more, wishing it was Friday. But then reality hits you all of a sudden and you realize that it's getting late for work. You jump out of bed, say a quick prayer, get ready in a jiffy, take a quick breakfast and dash off to work. That's my story on some days! But it is also one of the best times during the year to enjoy nature. On some days it is cold and foggy and on other days it is windy.  Nevertheless, winter here is not too harsh and it is a very enjoyable weather provided one is well protected with warm clothing. Even as I enjoy this weather, my new work place enhances it even more with it's lush green lawns and beautiful flowers and trees that attract a number of birds. One of the first things I hear as I step into my work place is the sweet sound of birds in the trees in the campus. I've often wondered how nice it would be to be able to understand the language of these birds as they sing so beautifully. Each day as I walk in I get reminded of the fact that they are happy and perhaps thanking the Lord for their provision. It reminds me about being thankful for every small detail of my life.

Having an attitude of gratitude is a blessing. In a context like the UAE where the economy has slowed down and every business house goes through periodical restructuring to minimize overhead costs, people live in a lot of uncertainty about their jobs. In such a context, I consider it a great privilege to be working for this university, where contrary to the context, I see it expanding and new recruitments happening regularly. Reflecting on this, I feel God has led me into this place for employment against all economic odds proving to me that He is the one who sets up a table for me in the wilderness. This not only makes me even more thankful for each day here but also helps me give my best. The more grateful we are, the more faithful we will be!

Sometime back, a friend of mine mentioned that in this land people work with 'money' as the bottom line. I just cannot agree with this because if 'money' is the bottom line then God seems out of place in their life. My wife and I are quite clear that God has brought us into this land for His higher plans and purposes and for us, that is the bottom line and the money which seemed so central to my friend, is well kept at the periphery for us. When money becomes the center, then God, people and everything else becomes secondary. We want to be clear in our priorities and want to put God first and assign money its rightful place in our lives. God has blessed us adequately and we are happy and content with what He provides for us. The more grateful we are, the more contented we will be!

In our experience we have seen quite a few people who live life in 'keeping up with the Joneses'. They live constantly comparing their salaries with that of others. They live comparing their possessions with that of others. They are completely overtaken by a need for establishing their significance through materialism. Their consumptions are not for satisfying their own needs but to ensure that they are no inferior to 'the Joneses'. These are people who find their security in the 'things' they possess and not on the God who provides. These are people who are constantly greedy, grumpy, complaining and ungrateful. I'm reminded of Jesus' words in Luke 12:15, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." ...Well God has taught us to say along with Paul, "I'm just happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty"(Phil 4:12, The Message). We are grateful to God for seeing us through a whole year and more with only one income and yet providing for us much more to prove that He is the God who fed Elijah through the ravens. The more grateful we are, the happier we will be!!

While reading about living a healthy life in a secular magazine, I was surprised to find that the origin of many of our diseases is in our minds. When we allow other 'things' to govern our lives instead of God we let these things and attitudes run the show. When God is dethroned and our self is on the throne, then our minds are filled with self and in follows all the awkward allies in the form of anger, pride, envy, malice, bitterness, unforgiveness, discontentment and so on. When these are what fills our heart, it is quite natural that we are not at ease and every 'dis'ease is invited with a spread out red carpet. How important it is to guard our lives from falling into such a danger? The wise man says, "Above all else, guard your hearts, for out of it comes the issues of life" (Pr 4:23). In other words, when we guard ourselves from these dangers, we can save a lot of trouble due to sickness that basically originates from the wickedness of the heart. Well, the more grateful we are, the healthier we will be.

So in conclusion, be grateful, be faithful, be happy, be contented and be healthy!!!

God bless you!!

New Year & New Horizons!

Wish you all a belated Happy New Year and thank you for all the feedback and comments you gave all through last year! It's great to resume my writing and no better time than now, the start of another year!

The dawn of a new year brings with it new opportunities and new challenges. I'm just reflecting on some of the  new things that are happening in the different facets of my life.

Firstly, I'm so very grateful for my new job at the Gulf Medical University. It is an entirely different setting here after having worked in a Christian international NGO. My new role here seems pretty basic for the moment and what I'm doing now is quite different from what I'm actually capable of. However, looks like God is bringing me back to the basics, in this side of my life, to help me get a better grip of things in the corporate world before He brings me to newer and higher things. Good to have a boss who is both an MD and a Ph.D and it's great to be assisting him in some critical areas and getting to know his style of functioning and dealing with things. One of my first assignments was to initiate business development for our Computer Based Testing and I am so glad to have successfully completed the SEED phase and hand it over to the Marketers to carry it forward.

Secondly, it gives me great joy to be part of a project by VOICE for a UAE based inter church choir that will accompany Michael W Smith this March. After a dearth of choir music for more than a year, it was great to be back in this choir, getting our voices warmed up for some great harmonies and the grand concert that's coming up.

My mind went down memory lane back to my choir days in Chennai. It began with singing harmonies with my ex-boss Christopher and my good friend Aloysius back in the early 90's. I then moved on to sing in the World Vision choir conducted by another good friend, Alfred Ling, where we made life difficult for him but yet made it well on the final day. Then came  the New Calvary Church Choir in the late 90's where I started out as a bass singer before deciding to move to singing tenor in order to save my voice for the solo's. All thanks to Mr.Asir for being that tower of patience in teaching us. Never can I forget Uncle Theodore the choir master who commanded such respect in the choir circles of Chennai. The one year I spent with the Faith Prayer Tract League(FPTL) Choir was one of the best learning times. With none other than the maestro Rajeevan David as Director, it was a great time of fun and learning the finer things about choir singing. I stay grateful to him for giving me some of the juicy solos to sing. Last but not the least, the brief three months I spent practising with the Handel Manuel Ensemble directed by Mrs.Sharada Schafter was definitely of a higher calibre where for the first time I was exposed to singing Spanish and Latin lyrics. While I began to enjoy this I had to pack my bags and leave India and move to the UAE over a year ago.

Finally now, after my association with Sabu George and the 'VOICE' and the opportunities they have given me to sing along, it is truly a privilege to be part of this project at such a time as this. God has given a great vision to them to reach out to this part of the world through music and what a time for God to have moved me here. One of the things that they have thought about is to use the local genre as a vehicle. Now this gives me a new idea to explore a new genre that could suit this part of the world. I've begun to tune my ears to the playing of a lot of Eastern European and Middle Eastern melodies and their rhythms. Hope I get a good grip of it someday soon!!!

So here I am, looking forward for a good year of a lot of new things - new melodies, new harmonies, new associations and new horizons for my work, singing and music!!!!

Cheers and thanks for your time!!!!