Memories keep us alive

I, Stella Chullyil, belong to a family of four children. My parents are late Esthapanose and Mariam Chulliyil. I am the eldest in the family. My siblings are Poulose, Alphonsa and Lissy. I grew up in the village of Kozhippilly in the Kothamangalam District of Kerala. I was baptized as Mary, and as a religious I adopted the name Stella. Sister Gracy Thombrakudy and I grew up in the same locality. Both of us studied together from our childhood through college. My school education was from St. Augustine’s Girls’s School, Kothamangalam, and college education from Mar Athanatius College, Kothamangalam. My mother was a house wife and father was a business man. Often, he came home late in the evening. So, our interactions were mostly with Mother, but father always gave his full presence on Sundays.

During my high school days, I had little inclination towards religious life. Of course, my class teacher (a religious Sister) with her outstanding qualities attracted me to this way of life, but I said to myself “wait”. After earning my Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), I thought of joining a missionary congregation. In spite of various obstacles from the family, I felt I needed to dedicate my life to a cause. The different magazines concerning missionary life gave me the courage to go ahead with my decision, but it was totally unexpected news for my family. Though they tried to call me back many times, I was very firm in my decision not to return. Once I said “yes” to Jesus, that remained a permanent “yes” for me. I am always grateful to Jesus for walking with me till today.

Sister Stella Chullyil

I decided to join the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth because I was attracted by the SCN simplicity, missionary zeal, and their special involvement among the poor and marginalized, irrespective of caste, creed, or social status. My first daring trip to Mokama was by train. Sister Gracy Thombrakudy and I travelled together all the way to North. We hardly knew any Hindi to communicate with people. We memorized a few words like “hai cooli, kithana paise” (Hallo Porter, how much money?) so that we could talk to the porter at the railway station at Mokama. We were able to check with him how much he would charge for carrying our bags to Nazareth Convent which is half a kilometer away. It was indeed an unforgettable trip for both of us. I made my first profession as an SCN on December 27th, 1974.

My first mission was in Kutuderi, Sale (Mahuadanr) in the then Palamau District. I went there in 1975 and stayed for three years. This is a beautiful valley with simple people possessing a special culture and lifestyle. I spent most of my life there. I really feel proud to say that I became a part of them. Sisters Marianne Puthoor and Rosemarie Lakra were my community members. They were so helpful and good that I became confident in many things like language, teaching, cycling, etc. within a short time. Learning cycling had some entertaining moments. I enjoyed preparing meals and having almost forty-two varieties of leaves at different times. These leaves kept me healthy always in my mission.

Sister Stella Chullyil and her companions from Sale 

Experiences such as crossing rivers during the rainy season, walking miles and miles to the villages and spending hours for celebrations were memorable to me. Carrying things on our heads while walking for several hours, and cycling through the crowded roads on market days to bring vegetables for a week added joy and colour to our simple life. Life in the valley helped me to experience freedom, peace and brotherhood.

My satisfying experience of Sale enabled me to return to Sale for another term, from 1987 to 1994. Since my professional qualification is in education, this time my primary mission was teaching in St. Michael’s School, Sale, although the long walks to the villages and adventures in other areas continued this time, too.

Chatra in the Hazaribag District was another place where I had a two-time community-cum-mission experience, the first from 2000 to 2002 and then from 2003 to 2008. Chatra is a semi-rural area so the travels around were as adventurous and tedious as they had been in Sale. I ministered mostly in Nazareth Vidya Niketan, Chatra.

Gomoh in Dhanbad District, is another place which won my heart and I lived and worked there twice, from 1994 to 1998 and 2010 to 2012. I would like to share a challenging experience that I had during this time with you. It happened to me when I was a teacher in De Britto School, Gomoh. A naughty boy, Prabhakar (name changed) happened to join in class eight. I was the teacher of class eight at that time. After two months, a number of complaints about Prabhakar discouraged me from keeping him in the class, but I had a soft corner for him in my heart. In spite of the repeated requests from the staff and the students to put him out of the school, I kept him for some more days to see whether he would be able to adjust with the new environment. The principal allowed him to continue his studies for one more week. Then I had to inform the boy about the final decision of principal and staff. He had no problem accepting his weaknesses and failures. When he took his bag and went out with his Transfer Certificate, I put my head down and said to myself, “Why couldn’t we count his goodness and blessings?”.

Sister Stella Chullyil and her companions sharing a dining moment in the mission

Days and months passed. He didn’t want to join any school. With determination, he started to grow vegetables in a small plot close to his house in order to earn his livelihood. One day, when I came back from the school, I happened to see some vegetables in front of our convent gate. This happened many times. I was sure that it was Prabhakar who did it. So, one day I met him in his house. He explained to me about the success of his new attempt. He began to look at life differently. He said, “I enjoy growing vegetables, and my success is due to my positive response to the present situation.”

It was September 5th. The students of De Britto School celebrated the “Teachers’ Day”. When the celebration was over, I came out of the school compound. Suddenly I saw Prabhakar standing outside the gate. He blessed me with a gift. It was a total surprise for me. I thanked him for his thoughtfulness. He really touched my life with his precious gift – a crucifix. He taught me what genuine love is and how to love unconditionally. Of course, this experience in my profession as a teacher added meaning to my life. I said to myself quietly, “Prabhakar, you inspired me with your simple, innocent life. You made a difference in your life as well as mine.”

Sister Stella Chullyil during one of her mission moments with Sisters Pushpa Paruvananical and Clementia Xalxo

Besides the above, as a teacher I spent short- and long-term days at Lupungutu, Chaibasa, in the Singhbhum District, Bakhtiarpur in Patna District, Nazareth Academy, Gaya and St. Vincent Matriculation School, Trichy, Tamilnadu. All these experiences have broadened my understanding of my mission as an educator, and as a missionary. I learnt to adjust to people of different cultures, customs, ethnic and religious background and traditions.

When the Jesuits established XITE (Xavier Institute of Technical Education) in Jamshedpur in 2008, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were invited to collaborate with them. This new venture by the Jesuits was an effort to equip the tribal youth of Jharkhand to prepare themselves for the entrance exams in the medical and engineering fields. Gracy Thombrakudy and I joined this new ministry to work with the women students of XITE. I was there from its beginning till 2010. This was a marvelous opportunity for me to come to know the tribal youth more closely, and to see them getting empowered to enter the highly professional fields of study. I was thrilled with this experience.

Sister Stella Chullyil pedaling her bike briskly, making her way to school

Since I retired from my ministry as an educator, I have been spending my days in community service, wherever it was needed and I was called for. These include Provincial House, Patna; Nazareth Convent, Banakal, Karnataka; Marian English Medium School, Anakkampoil, Kerala; SCN Niketan, Madiwala, Bangalore; Preranalaya, Musunuru, Andhra Pradesh; and presently at Asha Deepam, Special School in Crawford, Trichy in Tamilnadu. All these experiences are memorable treasures in my heart and I thank God for providing me opportunities to be an instrument of peace through my mission and ministries.

As I look back at my life, faith has strengthened my life and I believe that whatever happens in my life has something to convey to me. I am reminded of the following words often: “Everything that happened before was good, everything that is happening also is good and everything that will happen also will be good.”

Sister Stella Chullyil in New Hampshire, United States

As I look forward, I am proud to be an SCN. Today, the world is facing many challenges. People give more importance to money and position. The gospel values are disappearing. May St. Vincent De Paul, our patron saint, bless us with his life of inspiration.

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