The beautiful Catholic church in the town of Surada in Odisha was a favourite place of worship for church-goers like me. During the 1970s, the Sunday church service used to be very attractive not because of the priests’ sermon or melodious devotional songs sung by the choir but because of Sister Eugenia’s piano. Every Sunday the Sister played the piano, giving perfect background support to the singers and casting a spell on the congregation.
The repertoire of songs sung by the choir during the liturgy was preceded by the opening music of the piano. Sister Eugenia had a unique personality. A virtuoso in playing the piano, she had carved out a special niche in the hearts of her admirers because of her qualities. Every Sunday we children would throng the church and sit close to the Sister just to watch her play the beautiful piano. It was a delight to watch the nimble movements of her fingers on the keys of the piano producing soothing and pleasing tunes. The piano had been kept permanently at the aisle of the church, just beneath an arch and close to one of the pillars.
That much-loved musical instrument was only used during the Sunday prayer service and it added to the spiritual ambience of the church with its music. On other days, it was kept wrapped in a cloth to protect it from dust. In the last week of July 1968, I do remember, a sudden streak of lightning struck the church during the conduct of evening prayer on a rainy day resulting in the death of three people. And the people of Surada Parish feared that the delicate musical instrument might have been damaged beyond recognition. But nothing of the sort happened, rather a miracle saved it.
Strange though it might seem, it remained intact. After the mourning, people forgot about the tragedy and everything became normal. We kids once again rushed to the church on Sundays to listen to Sister Eugenia’s piano. We affectionately addressed her as Ujeni Amma. More than the drone of the pontificating priest sermonising to the congregation, it was the soft sound of the piano that appealed to us the most. During my college days the Sister was rumoured to have left Surada either for her native country Spain or for some unknown place to undergo treatment. She never returned. Nobody knows what happened to her favourite piano. However, I am sure it is not at the Surada church anymore.