Kerala’s own ‘Aranmula Kannadi’ has made it to the Vatican with Mayor K Chandrika gifting Pope Benedict XVI with one during her recent visit in connection with the investiture ceremony of Baselios Mar Cleemis as Cardinal.
Back from Rome on Wednesday, Chandrika breezed back to her official duties in a few hours. Amid signing the files that had been awaiting her arrival, she shared her experiences in Rome. ‘’In fact, it was Cardinal Cleemis who presented the mirror to the Pope on my behalf. The security was so tight that only a few people were allowed to approach him,’’ she said.
During her visit, the Mayor stayed at a convent and as a memento of her visit to Rome, the Eternal City, she has brought back a set of rosary and cross blessed by the Pope. The ceremony itself was a solemn one, yet grand in its execution, she said. The Pope arrived in a decked-up chariot-like vehicle. ‘’The Holy Mass was captivating. It had a divine charm,” she said. ‘’Rome, blessed with fountains, historical monuments and amazing constructions, was marvellous indeed,’’ she added.
So has our Mayor, a card-holder of the CPM, become a little bit religious with her Vatican visit? The first lady is quick to reply that she is a believer of anything which “listens to the grievances of the dejected, pained and the toiling masses.”
In a beautifully-spiralled notebook now resting on her table, Chandrika has scribbled everything that caught her attention. Yet, she laments that she could not take down everything that she saw. When asked whether the notes would transform into a travelogue later, Chandrika did not hide her pleasure to be an author and said, “I can do it, but I have to find the time.”