| Description | Interview with man who has worked as a Methodist missionary in Madras since 1963. He talks about the rapid changes that are taking place in the country and his belief that ten years is the maximum time missionaries and business people should spend in any one place. He talks about learning enough Tamil to conduct services, his preconceptions about the country before arriving, which were related to the work of the missionary society. He came prepared to live in a rural area and was suprised to find himself living in a fairly modern and active city where English was the main language. He thinks that people had a negative attitude towards using Tamil, possibly because of its connotations with being uneducated. He talks about his first impressions of Madras, feeling claustrophobia, the hostility of people, and feeling frustrated at the complications of carrying out everyday tasks, and beginning to feel at home after a couple of years, realising that most people are friendly, despite asking him quite direct and personal questions. He goes on to discuss Christianity in South India and the divergence of his own radical religious beliefs from the High Anglican or Evangelical Christianity practised in the area. He discusses his work as a missionary and his involvement in the pastoral care of factory and business employees in Madras as an industrial chaplain, the work done by different missionary organisations in India, and the organisation of churches in Madras. He talks about the social life that exists for British people in Madras and the historical associations of St Mary's church in the city, consecrated in 1680, and the changes he has seen in the city since he has been living there. He discusses his disappointment that many of the young people he works with still have conservative attitudes and are apathetic towards the prospect of change (tracks 1-10).
Total: 30.11 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0134480 |