Part I

 

The very inspiration began on a seventh day

Of the eight month of the year 2013 AD

A class by a master on translations

Triggering him to reveal a historic place

Unknown much, a place so great

Just a few feet ahead was it to be

The bell rang, all flew

A two did stay

Walked straight

 

A board in blue

Written with fonts of White

Read ECR

The two walked straight

Reached the place

It was a Church

Astonished were the two

By the view

 

Twelfth day

One of the two

Went to ECR

Dropping his bags on the ground

With his pen and a note

A one not a poet of wonderful rhymes or so

Began to note the view of ECR

At a few places stood Marbles of White

Statues of an Angel and crosses amidst

 

It was a cemetery

A cemetery of various people

Of great greatness

But these honorable men

Were not much recognized

Of the days of these

Where people never face their books

In reality

Or visit place of greatness

Since there was none to tell

Them to explore the place they lived

 

The heart of the one

Beat so fast

With tears unnoticed

For there lied

Men of real honor

 

Part II

 

Began one with a T, to write and finally type

Began he with a Bishop of Madras named

Rev. D. Samuel

 

Rao Bahadur K S Ponnuswami

A Hindu convert probably

with the wordings read

“Till We Meet in Jesus’ Feet”

Had his place here too

 

William Henry Wise

A man of the Christian Mission Service

The wordings were to be

“Asleep in Jesus”

 

Frances Hart

Who serviced in short

In the Deaf and Dumb School

Palamcottah

 

Robert Watson

A one who accidently

Drowned at

Papanasam at

Ambasamudram

 

Robert William D’Escourt Ashe

A man who worked for

The Indian Civil Service

 

Of sudden an interruption bloomed

Hark came a man from the Church

Telling the greatness of Ashe Durai

Durai (Lord) in the regional language

The man explained

How Ashe was assassinated

A vengeance of a community

Assassinated him

Sad was the man to be

For he said

These people

Came all the way

East

Leaving all

Their wealth

They came to serve

But we are split by divisions and its subs

And he left

 

Mary Sargent

Who was involved

In the beginnings

Of a school for girls

Which runs now too

 

Emily Lewis a widow

Of late Rev. E. Lewis

Of LMS Santhapuram, Travancore

And CEZM Tinnevelly

 

Reginald St. John

An infant child

Of Edwin and Amy Winkler

 

Maud De Wyte – a civil servant

Edith Mary – Infant daughter of a CMS Missionary

 

There was also a place

For a fellow of the University of Madras

And also the Chairman of Madras Native Council Church

Who worked with the Cross for 40years of the name

Rev. W. T. Satthiandhan

 

James Clark Seaton – a man from the Madras Civil Service

Edith Mary – an Infant child of Augustine and Alicia Lash of CMS

 

There again was a man

52 years with the CMS

46 years with Church

And 13 years with the Govt (Hons Magistrate)

Who was Jacob Savavivoya Pillai

 

Une Jolie Petite Fleur Pour Le Jardin De Dieu

A Pretty Little Flower For The Garden Of God

The very words of the start would not be known

Much to the natives

A sentence from the language of The French

Yet another death of une enfant

This brought joy on the one

For the one saw a sentence of French

In his current place of living

The Petty Little Flower in the Garden was

Dorothy Ismay Dunning

 

Annie Slaney of Caulfield, Victoria - of The Indian Zenana Mission

Henry Edward of the Madras Staff Corps

 

Michael Noton Bumby – Inspector of Police

Erected by Comrades in the Police and by his brother

 

There was another eye candy for the one for which it was written in Hebrew

But he knew it was to be it, but didn’t know what it interpreted to mean

 

Paulina – an infant daughter of Lieut. F. S. Shepherd

Ethel Elizabeth Agnes – of 4 ½ years age was lying

Edwin Keyworth of CMS

 

Edward James – infant son of Lieut. Colonel John James

And Peniel Clough

A child who died

Within a Year, of 4 Months and 27 Days

 

James Clark Seaton, BA (Oxon),

HM Civil Service of India

Was dead on Christmas Day

Aged 22

Died falling from a Horse

 

Dawson Mayne Esqre of Madras Civil Service Mary Magnab Lea of the Church Missionary Service in Travancore and Tinnevelly

 

Charles James Bird – the then Collector of Tinnevelly

Whose sons were also in HM Civil Service

George Emilius Bird

Arrived India

Got employed in Tinnevelly for 4 years

Friendly in nature to Europeans and the Natives

Died at years being 25 in Coimbatore

James Webster Bird

Joined with his Brother and worked for a year

Gained universal acclaim

Died in Tuticorin

At the age of 23

 

Miss. E. B. Morris of CEZM Missionary

Gertrude Mary Moorhouse also a missionary too.

 

Part III

 

The one

Went on the with

The search of honorable people

As these

 

In the ones search

The one fell

With the names of

Sarah Tucker from England,

Whom due to her being Physically Challenged

A Woman confined to her own room

Who was moved by the condition of Women

Due to illiteracy prevailing in the district

Stepped all the way from East

To South

With humble beginnings of just 4 students

With a school and then to a college

 

Rev. H. Scharfter

The one who was

The first Principal of St. John’s a College

Of which the college’s birth began in 1878

Till 42 years were his post to be

While he was to be at Tinnevelly

 

Part IV

Amongst all

There stood one afar

He could be considered

As 1 of the most honorable

Man ever lived

A man who

Brought out

The Holy Book

Into the Native’s Language

 

HENRY BOWER

A SPG MISSIONARY

AN EMINENT DRAVIDIAN SCHOLAR

THE PRINCIPAL REVISER OF

THE TAMIL VERSION

OF THE HOLY BIBLE

AND AUTHOR OF MANY

VALUABLE WORKS IN THE LANGUAGE OF TAMIL

A LABORIOUS MISSIONARY

A HELPFUL MAN IN EVERY GOOD WORK

A MAN OF PEACE

TRULY UNIVERSALLY ESTEEMED

BORN IN MADRAS

RESTED FOR HIS LABOUR

IN PALAYAMCOTTA

 

HIS WORKS FOLLOW HIM

 

His Works Truly Follow Him

Yet it’s this place which is unknown

Too much to the Tamils

 

Part V

As the Master told the students

Just a few walks

Laid a great place of History unknown

34 was what the one made to list out

Yet there are many

For which the wordings

Have been faded out

 

ECR is not the East Coast Road

But ECR is the English Church Road of Tinnevelly,

Also called Christ Church

Just across the St. John’s College it lies to be

To be crossed by all

 And He said to me,

“My grace is sufficient

for you,

for My strength

is made

perfect

in weakness”

Therefore

most gladly

I will rather boast

in my infirmities,

that the power

of Christ

may rest

in me

2 Cor 12.9

 

Ps. 17.8

Keep me

as the Apple

of Your eye;

hide me

under the

shadow

of Your

wings

 

Prayer Brings Victory.