A Kerala story: Hindu rites at Christian priest home as family bids adieu to help of 26 years

In Kerala's Ernakulam district, a Christian priest experienced a unique day as Hindu rites took place in his home. On Monday, Vedic chants filled the air as people, both neighbors and distant visitors, gathered for the last rites of Parvathi alias Payamma. The 88-year-old domestic worker had served Father O J Jacob and his family for a remarkable 26 years.

Payamma, a Hindu woman, worked as a housemaid for over three decades before joining the Jacob family in 2000. After losing her own parents at the age of nine, she found solace in the Jacob household, becoming a mother figure to Merin, the Jacob's six-year-old daughter. Merin's father, Father Jacob, recalled how she had cared for Merin as if she were own child, referring to her lovingly as Payamma.

The community came together to honor Payamma's memory, with her distant relatives performing the traditional Hindu rituals at the Jacob residence. Father Jacob's wife had passed away six years earlier, leaving behind a void that Payamma helped fill. Merin continued to call her Payamma, a testament to their deep bond. Scores of girls from the nearby Chottanikkara panchayat remembered Payamma fondly, describing her as a mother figure who had raised them with love and care.