In this exclusive interview with Janina Gomes, we delve into the world of Fr. Mathew Adukanil SDB —an accomplished educationist, writer, and visionary. Through this conversation, we gain valuable insights into his unique approach to literature and his profound perspectives on life. Prepare to embark on a journey that unveils the depth of his wisdom and the richness of his experiences.
1. Tell us something about yourself and your family.
I hail from a Syrian Catholic Family of 11 siblings, eight brothers and three sisters. I learnt the Christian tradition of hospitality from my parents and the discipline of punctuality
early in my life, from my father. I was the first one to leave my home in Kerala. Others followed suit in due course, seeking jobs abroad. At one time we were six siblings living abroad. Now two more brothers, Dominic and Jose, are settled in London with their families.
2. What attracted you to the Salesian order and how did you first receive the call to be a priest?
I became a candidate at the age of 13, knowing nothing about Don Bosco. A young missionary neighbour, Fr. Matthew Mullanmadackel who had studied in our Poonamalee Seminary, Chennai, made this choice of a great missionary congregation for me. I visited his home often and his mother lavished on me her generous hospitality.
My parents wished and prayed daily at night prayers that I should become a priest. My mother would take me along with her when she visited families of priest friends, with gifts of home-made paani ( a honey like condensed drink).
When I was at home I had so many chores to do, but as a candidate, games and music were part of the attractive routine for me. I have kept up this love for games even in later years and I have found that it is an appealing way of bonding with the youth.
3. You have a rare combination of a B.A. in Economics, a B.Ed, M.A. and M. Phil in English, two years of Philosophy and a semester course in Religious Studies in Rome. How do you integrate this variety of disciplines?
All these various disciplines deal with various aspects of life, and give us an experience of living on a variety of campuses and cultures. Literature as a reflection or a prism of life gives us valuable insights into human life. Our cultural background interacts creatively with our reflective powers.
Our life is a free flowing stream, which is enriched by the different soils and terrains it runs through, giving us a richer experience of life.
4. You have been Principal of Don Bosco schools, St .Bede’s Anglo -Indian School and a Professor in Don Bosco colleges. What experiences have you had as Principal ? What do you think are the main qualities required of Principals these days?
If you have a deep interest in your students and their holistic welfare, they will value you. Discipline and regularity are irksome to them when they are teenagers . The roots of education are bitter,but the fruits turn sweet in later life, as alumni happily acknowledge when they meet you years later. The staff also need systematic, caring and supportive follow-up.
A Principal must deal with problematic students in a personally caring manner. They must not be viewed as troublemakers. Often they suffer from broken families and irresponsible parents.
The weekly hour for spontaneous CCA or Co-curricular Activities is a great boon for students in exploring their talents and building up their self-confidence. Future innovative leaders emerge from such activities.
5. You have taught English Literature for 7 years in Don Bosco College of Arts and Science in Dharmapuri. How important do you think is it to still be educated in English?
Critical thinking, whether in English or one’s mother tongue is the crux of education. Students must learn to express their ideas and views in a spontaneous and fluent manner.
It is not necessary to have the English medium at the primary level. This is promoted mostly for social prestige, and creates among affluent students, a snobbish attitude. Learning in the English medium from middle school is more than sufficient. Teaching selections from literature is a must for wholesome human formation. This will introduce them to great minds and noble thoughts.
6. You have been the main organizer of the State Level Intercollegiate Literary Festival called the ‘DB Muse’ in, Dharmapuri college , Tamil Nadu for 5 years. What sort of literature was showcased at this festival and in which languages?
We have focused on activities that engage students actively like elocution, literary quiz, Shakespeare skit competition etc., rather than on mere paper presentations. The latter is often a rehash of ill-digested materials taken down from the net and keeps the audience passive.
At such gatherings there must be a motivational and inspirational talk by a distinguished speaker. This will set the tone for the day. Thereafter the student-centred activities should take over.
On such occasions, inaugural rituals should be minimal and should not eat into precious seminar time. Being an activity aimed at the promotion of the English language, all competitions were held in English.
7. You were Director of Library in colleges at Tirupattur and Dharmapuri in the early nineties. How important is it to have well stocked and equipped libraries for students today?
Libraries have evolved over the years from the primarily print medium to ‘cibrary’ and digital media. A library is something basic to learning. The regular users of the library need to be recognized and awarded nowadays. No number of science or other labs can replace the library. Corrective measures need to be taken to remedy the deteriorating reading habit. Students should read widely outside their subjects. The pull of the visual media is a threat to the reading culture.
8. You have authored 10 books among which are, ‘You can Master English’, ‘Runaway to Success’ and poems in ‘Drinking Deep at the Divine Springs.’ You have also authored many New Leader books. What has made you so prolific ?
I owe my literary productivity to my early English mentors, Fr. Joseph Deane SDB in school days and Fr. Joseph Murphy SDB and other foreign professors in college who were an inspiration to me. In particular I am indebted to my ELT Prof. Dr. V. Saraswathy who challenged me to take up serious writing.
I thoroughly enjoyed my PG studies in English in Kollam and fell in love with literature. Doing my M. Phil studies as a regular student at the Madras University, gave me great literary exposure.My habit of reading the newspapers daily started from home and the habit of quiet reflection and regular discipline of prayer has helped me a lot.
I must record my gratitude to the former New Leader editor Fr. Joe Antony SJ ,who allowed me to experiment with penning poems for the magazine. The present editor Fr. Antony Pancras also has patronized many poems and articles of mine. Currently I am penning short reflections on Shakespeare quotes known as ‘Shakespeare Pearls.’ I have also written about five feature articles in the New Leader magazine. For a couple of years the Salesian Bulletin also featured my poems. Among my books, three are collections of my poems.
9. You have written humorous and topical articles for the Hindu and the New Indian Express. How important do you think is it to have a Christian presence in the secular media?
My topics have been mostly secular, but when written by a religious educationist they open up new perspectives to the reader. Humour cuts across all religions and cultures as it is part of basic humanity. These articles have a light streak of social satire like in ‘ Selfies and the Ruling Self-Obsession ‘ , ‘Faith is Alive’ ‘ Democracy at Railway Level Crossings’ etc. My book ‘ A Mirror to Our Times’ published by the New Leader Publications, Chennai contains my social criticism.
10. You also have a You tube channel with 120 videos and 700 subscribers which you started after the Covid Pandemic in 2020. What did you hope to achieve by starting this channel?
I could not take online classes in English for my students at college. So I changed over to amateur YouTube videos for which I do the script, shooting and editing myself. This enables me to reach out to a modest, wider audience on cyber space and I also post videos on youth topics like addictions, religion, anger management etc. This channel gives scope for cautioning against many common English errors in English usage.
11. What was the impact of the pastoral and educational ministry you did for some 5 years in the Philippines and give us some highlights of the World Youth Day of 1995 in Manila.
My youth ministry kicked off in the Southern Philippines with the World Youth Day in Manila in January 1995 where I led a group of some 35 boys and girls from the southern city of Dumaguete. It was a memorable overnight trip by a ship named Donna Virginia. So many students were eager to join the trip and we had to restrict entries and prepare them for the event with spiritual and social sessions. Filipinos excel at dance and action songs. We reached the venue, claimed our territory and set up camp many hours ahead of the lively youth session and holy mass with St. Pope John Paul II. Spiritual adrenaline ran high in the nearly hysteric youth, as they chanted lustily from time to time the slogan, ‘ We love you, John Paul II ’during his interactive session with them. The World Youth Day anthem ‘ Shine Jesus, Shine’ electrified the ecstatic youth and the memorable melody of ‘ God So Loved the World’ was so moving. The celebration was a public holiday in the Philippines.
Though I had a pass to join the concelebrated holy mass I could not penetrate the 2 million strong dense crowd and reach the altar. Owing to this massive crowd the Pope himself arrived by helicopter at the venue.
I was campus minister in St. Louis DB School, organizing the teaching of Catechism, conducting school recollections in a beach side retreat house made of bamboo overlooking the Dumaguete harbour. During school hours I used to go to high schools around Victoria city, with a team of catechists in the sugarcane island of Negros Occidental, through slippery dirt tracks and conduct Mass and hear confessions. Some in senior high school were making only their second confession after their first communion. They were so overjoyed that a priest came to the school to hear their confessions. In remote hilly villages the people have improvised their own horse -driven carts on abandoned sugarcane company rail tracks. We had also a group of bright high school Seniors, known as Young Volunteer Catechists, who taught catechism to primary school children in the neigbourhood. It was a very rewarding and enriching pastoral ministry for me.
Fr. Matthew Adukanil SDB Speaks
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