THEN and NOW; 1917 vs 2020; Same Situation - different response..

“A dreadful epidemic of cholera in its most malignant form broke out in 1917 in Tirunelveli Town and the neighbouring villages on either side of the river Tambaraparani, and the canal running through the heart of the town. There was real panic and death stalked the streets while corpses floated down the stream or lay in drains... The municipal council was unprepared, and the Government Health Department and the few private practitioners were hardly able to cope with the furious onslaughts of the disease. The staff in the dispensaries was exposed to the risk, and medicines were woefully inadequate, if not ineffective.”

The above are the opening lines of the of the book - A biography of Bishop Selwyn of Tirunelveli’ published in the year 1966 by M J Sargunam . Not a very different situation when compared to our pandemic of 2020.

The next paragraph sets the tone for the book - Selwyn was a young missionary (30yrs) and teacher of theology at that time - he is recorded to have jumped into action instead of discreetly taken a holiday to escape infection as done by some of the others. The biographer writes that “he went among the patients who had been abandoned or neglected and saves the lives of hundreds of cholera-stricken cases. Inoculation was unheard of in those days and he was armed with only potassium permanganate and power of prayer. He is said to have entered the huts, nursed the patients, rubbed cold limbs, cleaned and put away bed clothes (diarrhea soiled clothes) made the gruel or porridge of rice and moved on. Soon a band of people joined him as they saw the saving effect of his actions and Selwyn was hailed as a miracle worker.

The chairman and councilors of Tirunelveli town organized a procession (along with a decorated temple elephant) through the streets of Tirunelveli to honour Selwyn after normal life was restored. The title ‘doctor of body and soul’ was conferred on him by the people of Tirunelveli beyond barriers of religion. Such was his service that the councillors requested him to be their chairman for a term in appreciation of his noble work in connection with the cholera epidemic. Interestingly another writer mentions that prior to the Cholera episode that some people in Madurai and Tirunelveli had formed a Selwyn Sangara Sangam (meaning association to destroy Selwyn) – because his friendliness and kindness was attracting many youth to listen to his preaching.

George Theodore Selwyn became the Bishop of Tirunelveli some 25 years later. A good number of Christians from Tirunelveli still carry the names Selwyn or Theodore in honour of him who served the people with the love of Christ. Similar stories of Christian leaders standing with the people during crisis are told time and again – Arthur Margoschis, C T E Rhenius and more.

Where has this spontaneous compassion gone ? Why do we favour carefully considered sympathy now.

(Thanks to Selwyn uncle - our church choirmaster who also bears the name for not only sharing this incident with me but also found the biography )

Rhoda Alex, 2020