One of my most cherished memories of my father is linked to an unexpected coincidence. A devoted film lover, he once took my eldest sister to watch The Sound of Music at the only theatre in Kochi that screened English films. What made the outing especially memorable was the intriguing connection between the film’s theme and the purpose of their journey.

My father, M. S. Mathew, a merchant in Changanacherry, was widely read and deeply interested in cinema, especially Malayalam films adapted from well-known novels. Released in second half of 1960s, The Sound of Music was enjoying a record-breaking run around the world. Although it was being screened only in Ernakulam, he found an opportunity to watch it in rather unusual circumstances.

My sister’s vocation

Ours was a family of ten children—six girls and four boys. In 1967, my eldest sister, Valsamma, then in the final year of her BSc in Mathematics at Assumption College, Changanacherry, expressed her desire to join the Little Sisters of the Poor. She had first learned about the congregation through one of her younger sisters, who had attended a presentation by the sisters at school. My father gave his consent, and after corresponding with the congregation, Valsamma was invited to their convent in Madras (now Chennai) for a one-month “come and see” period, an opportunity to experience convent life before making a final decision. My father personally took her there and returned to bring her home at the end of the month.

In those days, the railway line north of Ernakulam was broad gauge, while the line to the south was metre gauge, so passengers travelling onward to Changanacherry had to change trains at Ernakulam. During the break in their return journey from Madras, my father noticed that The Sound of Music was playing at Zaina Talkies and took my sister to see it.

For those unfamiliar with The Sound of Music, a brief summary helps explain the coincidence. The film, a celebrated musical featuring thirteen songs, tells the story of Maria, a lively young Austrian woman preparing to become a nun. Because of her free spirit and lack of discipline, Mother Abbess sends her from the abbey to serve as governess to the seven children of Captain Georg von Trapp, a widowed naval officer. Though the children initially test her patience, Maria wins them over with kindness, warmth, and music, and gradually becomes an essential part of the household.

As Maria grows close to the Captain, she becomes uncertain about her calling and returns to the abbey. Mother Abbess, however, perceives that Maria has withdrawn not out of vocation but out of fear, and encourages her to return and discern her true path. Maria does so, and in time she and the Captain marry.

Maria then helps transform the family into a singing group, and their participation in the Salzburg Music Festival becomes the means by which they escape from Nazi-occupied Austria to Switzerland. In this way, the film’s central theme touches both on convent life and on the discovery of one’s true vocation.

Without intending it, my father had chosen an apt film for a daughter who was discerning religious life. The coincidence remains striking even today.

My sister was given two months to make her decision, and my father allowed her complete freedom. That same year she joined the congregation, made her first profession on 11 March 1970, and, during the pandemic years, we were blessed to mark the golden jubilee of her profession.

Another vocation in the family

My another elder sister joined the Contemplative Sisters of Good Sheperd, Bangalore, a couple of years later.

Vocation: gift and mystery

A vocation to a life dedicated to God remains, in many ways, a mystery—something beyond full human understanding and, a gift granted by God to those who are called.

Gratitude

As we look back, we remain grateful to God for this mysterious gift of vocation to our sisters and for parents who, with both love and wisdom, gave their children the freedom to choose their calling with sincerity and conviction.