Among the tribal groups of the Indian state of West Bengal, two PIME fathers and two nuns of the Immaculate accompany a Christian community that is very poor but proud of its roots
A single asphalt road winds through the brilliant green of tea trees. Arriving in the evening, along the way you come across motorbike headlights or cell phone flashlights. Groups of children hidden in the darkness giggle and welcome visitors with the Indian Christian greeting “Jai Yeshu,” clasping their hands in front of them. We are in the parish of Kharubanga, among the farmers’ villages of Darjeeling, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Continuing along the road you reach the site of a church under construction. It was wanted by the PIME missionaries, who have been residing here since 2020: “We needed a bigger space”, says Father Bala Showri Yaruva, originally from Andhra Pradesh, in the south of the country, sent to the youngest mission of the Institute in India in July last year, soon after his ordination. «In the chapel of the Holy Cross, which stands near our residence, we were no longer there during the celebrations: most people were forced to follow the Mass from the courtyard». A sign of the religious fervor of the community, made up mostly of adivasithe indigenous peoples of India who are often relegated to the margins of society.
In this case the distance of the tribals from the rest of India is also physical: Kharubanga, made up of eight villages (about 400 families for a total of 1,700 people), is part of the diocese of Bagdogra, but is far from the big cities and secluded compared to the main road heading north that leads to Siliguri, the city that represents the center for trade on the border with Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. In the villages, on the contrary, there are only a few sheet metal shacks selling basic necessities.
«Our parishioners struggle to escape from the reality of their villages», continues Father Bala, who in his ministry in the parish supports Father Xaviour Ambati, who started this mission four years ago after a long experience in Cameroon and today is the regional vice superior of PIME for South Asia. «Most speak only their local language and cannot read or write the language.hindi», the lingua franca of the northern states of India, «much less English – explains the missionary -. For this reason, even if one earns very little in the village, no one tries to move. And those who do so return to Kharubanga after a few months.”
Most of the adivasi is employed in the tea plantations: the working day begins at 8 in the morning and ends at 5pm, with an hour for lunch break, for six days a week. The leaves, collected by hand, are piled into large bags which are emptied into small trucks at the end of the day. Left to dry in warehouses for four days, they are then ready to be packaged and shipped all over the world. The plantation workers, however, do not participate in the division of the profits: the daily wage is only 250 rupees, equal to just over 2.50 euros, and is paid only during the dry season, because in the monsoon period, from June in August, the fields are all flooded and it is impossible to work.
“For a harvest exceeding 15 kilos a bonus is granted, but the money is still insufficient, barely enough to buy food for a week and send a child to school”, says Father Bala. Children and young people, therefore, often run around the streets, no one checks that they go to class. The local government school officially has only nine students enrolled, because most of the children adivasi he attends primary school which the bishop of Bagdogra, Monsignor Vincent Aind, decided to entrust to PIME together with the parish. The arrival of Father Ambati has allowed a leap in quality: six local teachers have been hired (whose salary varies between 5,000 and 7,000 rupees a month, between 55 and just under 80 euros) and the families are asked for a fee annual of 200 rupees. A figure that, however, many are still unable to cover.
To give support to the teachers (who have not received specific training) the missionary – also originally from Andhra Pradesh – called two missionaries of the Immaculate, Sister Nirmala Beck and Sister Carmela Ekka. Both come from the tribal state of Jharkhand, where the local culture is similar to that of the parishioners of Kharubanga, who mostly belong to the tribe of kurukhalso called oraon. Groups of. also live in the diocese of Bagdogra sadri e santaliwhose languages resemble a little morehindiwhile the language kurukh remains incomprehensible to the missionaries. For this reason, the help of the two nuns is fundamental: «We waited a year and a half to come here because there wasn’t even a house where we could stay – says Sister Nirmala, the older of the two -. It’s a difficult mission, because there is nothing. It is challenging, especially due to the poor levels of education and because there is also so much to do for the missionary animation of young people. But that’s the beauty of challenges. And being in the midst of the greenery of the tea plantations is beautiful.” In the morning the missionaries work as teachers in the parish primary school. The children study on the floor, while the oral questions are held outdoors, in the shade of the trees in the garden. In the afternoon, however, Sister Nirmala and Sister Carmela give tutoring: “Even a little girl as young as three asked us to give her a lesson”, explains Sister Carmela, laughing. Sometimes the two nuns also help the PIME priests, who have learned thehindi on mission, because in South India it is not always taught in school.
In the school of the diocese entrusted to the PIME missionaries, the end-of-year exams are taken outdoors
The nuns go to visit the families of the villages together with the fathers. Riding the motorbike, we travel along the only road that connects homes and tea plantations to listen to the problems of the parishioners: many wives say they have been left by their husbands and ask for help with the bureaucracy. In other homes there is a need for the support of missionaries because some drink too much, often locally produced fermented rice. “But we see the worst situations when someone gets sick,” says Father Bala.
Although the companies that manage the plantations have made emergency health services available, the hospitals, in addition to being far away, are also very expensive for the adivasi: Most people prefer not to go there. «They also turn to us for medicines, because no one can afford them – continues the priest -. During Mass we do not receive monetary offerings, but kilos of rice and potatoes, which we resell at a lower price to the poorest families”, comments the 32-year-old missionary. The parishioners then go to the fathers’ house to obtain the priests’ signature on the baptism and marriage certificates, or to get drinking water from the cistern, built thanks to funding from the Institute. “There would also be other tanks between the villages that were built by the government, but maintenance is not done, so they become unusable.”
Despite the lack of resources and extreme poverty, the inhabitants of Kharubanga are still happy and proud to be part of the Christian community and at the same time have maintained their tribal traditions. One evening, a catechist from the parish (at least one resides in each village) wanted to let the missionaries hear how his six-year-old daughter had learned the Our Father prayer in English. An entire village of 60 families converted to Christianity on the same day. The young people rejoice at the presence of the religious at their engagement parties, which take place according to tradition: the future spouses, sitting facing each other in the middle of the community, exchange a lit candle and then drink some water one from the other’s cup. The celebrations last until late at night: «We South Indians – comments Father Bala – are not used to all these group dances and songs», rigorously marked by the to sendthe typical tribal drum with an elongated shape.
But the most important indigenous festival remains that of Karam, celebrated every year between the end of August and the beginning of September to ask for an abundant harvest. The name derives from that of the kadamba tree, an evergreen from which the bond is obtained. For the occasion he adivasi they wear the typical white dresses embroidered in red and once again we dance to the rhythm of to send. «There is still a lot to do for the people here – says Father Bala -. The church will be inaugurated in November. But it is important not to force the times: our job is to accompany this community as best we can.”