CHRISTIAN NEWS MAGAZINE FOR KERALA MALAYALEE CHRISTIANS FROM INDIA AROUND THE WORLD
AUGUST 2008 IN MEMORY OF VINEETH JOHN
VOL:07 ISSUE:08

Time Line

Birth : April 3, 1985 in Gondar, Ethiopia

Life in India : 1992 - 1995

High School Graduation : 2003

College Graduation : 2007 from The University of Texas in Dallas

Heavely Abode : May 6, 2008 at the age of 23

Christian Hope

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. [ 1 Thessel 4:13-14]


LETTER TO DAD AT AGE 7

Dear Dad,

How are you? I got your letter and photo. You look very young. When Jerry, Jeffy and Joby came, please send a T-shirt and a blue Jeans with them.

Now I have got the Sunday school text book of Std. 2. I write notes in a notebook. From school I collected my 3rd grade books. In my English text book I found the story “The Good Samaritan” (The story Jesus Christ told his apostles). But I knew the story before because I read it from your fifth grade Sunday School text book. I have read many other Bible stories. I read some other books. Everybody says I am a reader like you. The stories of Jesus Christ are very wonderful.

In my social studies book, there are lessons about Veluthambi Dalava, Sree Narayana Guru, Mother Teresa, Jesus Christ, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Gandhi, Sree Buddha and some other important people. There are books of English grammar and Malayalam Grammar, but both are small books. But the Grammar book that Dad wrote is very thick. In English Grammar I read about noun, pronoun, adverbs, adjectives and other things. In Malayalam Grammar I learn about ……..
I will write more later.
With love and kisses,

Your mon,
Vineet



WITH ETHIOPIAN BISHOP


The Life of Vineeth John

Vineeth John, the only child of John and Lissy Kunnathu, was born in Gondar, Ethiopia on April 3, 1985. He spent his childhood there and at the age of seven moved to India, before eventually settling in Houston, TX when he was ten. He departed from this life on May 6, 2008 at the age of 23.

Vineeth was active in many facets of life and was very successful at the many things he did. He was active in church as an altar boy and as a Sunday school student. His passions involved acting and film; more specifically mimicry, mono-act, and creating short films.

Vineeth has always excelled during his academic career. He graduated with honors from Jersey Village High School in 2003 and was granted a full scholarship to the University of Texas in Dallas, where he graduated in 2007 with a Bachelors degree in Business Management. Vineeth was most recently participating as an intern for Zeon Global Energy Inc, working in their renewable energy process division.


VINEETH BORN IN ETHIOPIA



VINEETH GOT BAPTISED IN INDIA


VINEETH - IN HIS OWN WORDS

[Written by Vineeth John in 2003 at the age of 18 years]

I spent the first seven years of my life in Ethiopia. After that, I went to live in Kerala, India. Here, I was admitted into the second grade and was immediately presented with a problem. Although I was able to speak the native tongue, Malayalam, with some fluency, I couldn’t write. The curriculum was unforgiving. It consisted, among other things, of having to memorize and recite at least two poems a week. Exams were conducted every two months. Even if I was able to hold my own in English, math, and science, the inability to write in my native tongue was enough to ruin my academic prospects.

I had to be brought up to speed. My mother quickly hired a tutor, and I devoted two hours a day to learning the language. Malayalam bore little relation to English and Amharic, the language spoken in Ethiopia. Hence, I had to start from scratch. It was hard, but I worked at it. Within two months, I was able to follow the lessons with ease.

In retrospect, it was at first a very shocking ordeal. At a moment’s notice, the status quo had changed. The skills I possessed, the abilities at my disposal, were deemed insufficient even to get by. All my visions of the future that I’d taken for granted were compromised. Nevertheless, some time and effort was all it took. Order was restored, and life could resume its natural course. When similar crises presented themselves in the future, I would be able to approach them calmly.

Furthermore, learning a third language in eight years endowed me with a penchant for writing and a solid understanding of the mechanics of language. I’ve always been fascinated by the ability of mere words to reach the depths of the human soul and evoke the deepest emotions. I’ve even tried my hand at creative writing.

The whole ordeal also gave me confidence to venture bravely into unexplored intellectual territory. I knew it was only a matter of time and effort before I could master something. Years later, when learning computer science, a field of study radically different from any I had previously encountered and requiring a whole new set of skills, I was able to approach the task with the knowledge of having met a similar challenge years before. In time, I came to find computer science fascinating and took three courses of it in high school. At the moment, Calculus BC has become a crisis of sorts. Much more difficult than previous math courses, it caught me unawares and initially made for some unsightly report cards. But with effort, I was able to raise my grade significantly. Calculus isn’t so tough.

No doubt the future will hold in store many more crises. But, as the saying goes, I will meet them as opportunities.

MALAYALAM LETTER TO DAD

[Vineeth’s Letter to Dad in 1994 at the age of 9]

{]nbs¸« UmUn¡v,

]dbm³ H¯ncn hntij§fpïv. Rm³ a½nbpsS IqsS CubnS¡v Hcp hnt\mZbm{X t]mbn. tImfPnð \nómWv t]mbXv. F\n¡p Iptd Iq«pImsc In«n. AhÀ FtómSv ]m«p ]mSm³ ]dªp. Rm³ 2 lnµn¸m«pIfpw, 2 aebmfw ]m«pIfpw, Hcp CwKvfojp ]m«pw ]mSn.

BZyw Kpcphmbqcneqw Nmapïn t£{X¯nepw t]mbn. efnXmalð tdmUneqsSbmWv t]mtIïXv. Cu tdmUv efnXmalð sIm«mc¯nte¡pÅXmWv. ssakqÀ cmPmhnsâ cïmw `mcybnepmb ]p{XnbmWv sshPb´name. \nba{]Imcw sshPb´name¡mWv Cu sIm«mcw \ðInbncn¡póXv. CónsXmcp ss^hvkvämÀ tlm«emWv.

ASp¯Xmbn R§Ä ssakqdnte¡p t]mbn. ssakqdnse BÀ«vKmedn, ]mekv, cmPmhnsâ dknU³jyð ayqknbw, XS¦ð]mfbw, Sn¸pkpð¯ms\ sImñm³ {ian¨t¸mÄ Hfn¨ Øew, sImó Øew, PUw IsïSp¯ Øew Fóo Øe§Ä kµÀin¨p. hrµmh³ KmÀU³ HcÛpXamWv. CXns\¡pdns¨ñmw UmUn hcpt¼mÄ hniZambn ]dbmw.

Rm³ Hcp tlm_n XpS§n: {KÙtiJcWw. Cóse XpS§nbtXbpÅp. kväm¼p tiJcWhpw Fsâ hnt\mZamWv. UmUn F\n¡v Ipd¨v kväm¼p Ab¨pXcWw. UmUn Fgp¯nð ]Xnhmbn H«n¡pó kväm¼p amäpIbpw thWw.

UmUn¡p kpJamtWm? UmUn Fóp hcpw? Fgp¯v ChnsS \nÀ¯s«.

kvt\l]qÀhw,
hn\oXv



ALTAR BOY

FOND MEMORIES

IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

In Austin, Texas

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE

High School Graduate

BIRTHDAY IN ETHIOPIA

Birthday in Ethiopia

AT NEW YORK BEFORE 9/11

At New York Before 9/11

ONAM IN INDIA

Onam In India Onam In India

MORNING PRAYER IN SCHOOL

Morning Prayer in the School Morning Prayer in the School

BEST STUDENT TROPHY FROM DISTRICT COLLECTOR

Best Student Trophy from District Collector Best Student Trophy from District Collector

TRIP TO USA - MALAYALAM:

Vineeth’s First Trip to USA
Travelogue written by Vineeth after arriving in USA at the age of ten


20 Dec, 1995 im´n im´Xbnð ebn¨t¸mÄ Ft´m Hcp henb i_vZw. Rm³ AXp Xncn¨dnªp þ AemdaSn¨XmWv. Rm³ FWoäp. Cóp Rm³ tIcft¯mSv Xmð¡menIambn hnS ]dbpIbmWv. Hcmbncw A\p`h§Ä F\n¡p k½m\n¨ kkyiymafamb aecWn¡mSpIÄ Xn§n hn§nb tIcfw.

Fñmw thKw \Sóp. ]ñptX¨p, Hcp§n. ImÀ hóp. ]nóoSv lrZb§fnð ssI¯ncn I¯n¨ Nne lrZb§Ä bm{X tNmZn¨p.

ImÀ FbÀt]mÀ«nse¯n. kPnb¦nfnt\mSv bm{X tNmZn¨p ]ncnªp. R§Ä ]vsfbn\nð Ibdn. \o§pt¼mÄ Rm³ Nn´n¨p:

HmÀ½IfpsS t{]Xta, \n³ ssI¯ncn sISnñtbm?
lrZb§Ä ssIamdpt¼mÄ thZ\tbmÀ¯nñtbm?

koävt]m¡änð Ccpó amKkn³ FSp¯v Rm³ adn¨p t\m¡n- tdUntbm Nm\ð Rm³ hmbn¨p.

FbÀtlmkväkv tSmbvkv \ðIpIbmbncpóp. R§fpsS koänð hót¸mÄ AhÀ tNmZn¨p: Ukv ln hm¬Uv tämbvkv HmÀ tImanIvkv? a½n ]dªp: ln skbvkv ln hm¬Uvkv t_m¯v.

AhÀ Hcp ]m¡äp Xóp. Rm³ AXp s]m«n¨p. Unca Donald sâ Hcp A\´nchsâ kpµcamb ]mh.

Að]kab¯n\pÅnð tIm^nsb¯n. Rm³ AXp IpSn¨p ab§m³ {ian¨p. Að]kabw Rm³ I®S¨p Nmcn¡nSóp. ]nóoSp tImanIvkv hóp. Rm\Xv FSp¯p t\m¡n The Stories of Birbal AXp Rm³ kônbnencpó Zn _vfm¡v BtcmbpsSbpw t^mdn³ {Smhð sabvUv Cukn bpsSbpw H¸w h¨p. Að]w Ignªt¸mÄ thsdmsc®w IqSn hóp Stories of Akbar and Birbal.

Rm³ ImgvNIÄ Iïp ckn¨p. `£Ww Ignªv hn{ian¡pt¼mÄ Zp_mbv knän Iïp XpS§n. Zp_mbv Iït¸mÄ Rm³hnkvabn¨p.

A§s\ FbÀt]mÀ«nend§n. R§Ä AhnsS tlm«ð At¡matUj³ sImSp¡óp Øe¯p t]mbn. a½n]dªp, “We want accommodation here”. “Yes,” AhÀ ]dªp. Hcp aWn¡qÀ Ignªp ImWpw. AbmÄ hóp. “Are you Lissy?” a½n NmSnsbWoäp. “Yes”. “Your accommodation should’ve been booked from Trivandrum,” AbmÄ ]dªp. “But the agent said it’s booked,” a½n ]dªp. Að]w Ignªt¸mÄ FbÀ C³UybpsS {]Xn\n[n hóp. Ahcpw c£bnñ Fóp ]dªp.

Hcp dnteänhv hón«ptïm Fóv tNmZn¨t¸mÄ AhÀ¡v t^m¬ hóp. “A person is wating there: Babu”. “Yes,” a½n]dªp..


Dear Ol’ Grandma


There’s Visa, there’s Mastercard, and American Express
To buy all that you want -- a house or a Mercedes
But there’s one thing that’s priceless,
And that’s a Grandma’s love.

Your parents will scold you, your parents will punish you.
But dear ol’ Grandma won’t even raise her voice.
She might be weak, she might be old.
But deep inside, she’s as strong as one can be.

After decades of living, and decades of caring,
It’s time for Grandma to say goodbye
But Dear ol’ Grandma will still live forever,
She’ll live forever in all of our hearts.

So let’s take a moment, just one moment,
To say a little thanks to dear ol’ Grandma.

This is my little tribute for my dear Grandma,
But it’s not even close to repaying her love.

I want to say now what I never got to say.
Rest in peace, Grandma, rest in peace.

Vineeth John, 1998 June


A Vision of Life and Death

Vineeth’s Journal Entry in 1994--Translated from Malayalam


Any act has an end, however joyful or good it is—inevitable end. However, such a sad end will have a happy beginning. First comes joy, then sorrow, and then again joy. Change is unavoidable.

All that happened was for good; all that happens is for good; all that will happen is also for good.

Why should you worry for what you have lost? Had you brought here anything that you lost? Had you created anything that perished? Whatever you gained came from God.

Whatever you have today belonged to someone else yesterday; they will belong to someone else tomorrow. Change is a natural law, to which we have to surrender willingly.

Fear is man’s greatest enemy. “Fear not, for I am with you!” If we die today, we should face it wisely. Until we die, we have to engage in what we are supposed to be doing in life.


CONDOLENCE NOTES:

When Vineeth and I were in 9th grade, we took a P.E. class together. There was kid who was a bad influence on me, and I was too eager to impress him, and whilst playing floor hockey, I checked Vineeth hard enough to knock him to the floor and his glasses off his face. After doing that, I got pats on the back from those guys. That is one of my greatest single regrets in my life, and something that I still to this day feel guilty about. That next year when Vineeth and I became friends I apologized to him for what I did, and he accepted. I regret what I did, but I would not change it if I had the chance.

Vineeth taught me valuable lessons by extending his forgiveness to me. He taught me that everybody is equal. Not only did he forgive me, but he accepted me as a friend. He also showed me that being your own person, free thinking, and non-conformity are some of the most important things in life.

Vineeth John was one of the best people I knew. I will miss him very much and regret that we did not stay as close after high school as were in high school. My condolences go out to his family and friends, and I hope that he is happier in Heaven.

Steven
May 7, 2008


Hi my name is James, and I recently had the pleasure of meeting Vineeth in a course called landmark education. I really liked him very much and just before this happened, him and I went to a weekly meeting and afterwards ate dinner and I really felt something unique about him. I loved him and didn’t know why. If anyone could share more about him with me, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

James
May 8, 2008


[John Kunnathu, father of Vineeth John, is an esteemed author of Light of Life and a close associate of it from its inception in 2001. LOL family fondly pays love and tribute to Vineeth and prays to God to give courage and determination to John and Lissy. While Vineeth now sits in the laps of our patriarchal fathers, he will live in this world in the minds of LOL readers through the writing of his Dad, John Kunnathu. - LOL]

POEM [MALAYALAM]

FAREWELL TO THE BODY

tZlta \ntómSp bm{X tNmZn¸q Rm³
(amÀ At{]ansâ Hcp k¦oÀ¯\w)

By JOHN KUNNATHU

BXvamhp sNmñpóp: tZlamw k{X¯nð
Að]Imet¯¡p Rms\móp ]mÀ¡th
F³ Krl\mY\nXm Bsf hn«ncn-
¡psósó Iq«n¯ncn¨p sNñm³
sNmñpóbmÄ "thKw hn«mepao tKlw'
BIbmð \nð¡phm\mInsñ\n¡n\n
F{X Ibvt¸dnbXmao thÀ]mSn³ N-
jIsaónóp \ómbdnªoSptó³.
Að]Imet¯¡p ]mÀ¡m\nSw Xó
tZlta \ntómSp bm{X tNmZn¸q Rm³.
D°m\ \mfXnð BËmZt¯mS§p
Iïpap«oSmw \ap¡p hoïpw.
ZÀin¸p Rm\nXm F³ Krl\mYs\!
\mYm \bn¨mepw ho«ntes¡só \o.
\n³ hnip²òmtcmsSm¸w \nc´cw
IoÀ¯n¨nSpw \nsó Km\§fmð.
tPm¬ Ipó¯v
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