Description

About the Author

Chhotebhai is an odd ball, who has always been jumping the gun. He was born in Kanpur in 1951, two days ahead of his twin sister. At the age of 3 he rammed his father’s car into a tree. At age 7 he was packed off to boarding school, to fend for himself. At 10 he was a good photographer and an expert marksman with a .22 rifle (not airgun). He was just 14 when he did his Senior Cambridge, 17 when he started working, 18 when he became a member of the Golf Club and made his first Life Insurance policy with his own earnings, 20 when he fell in love with a girl and left home for her sake, 22 when he became the Works Manager of a firm in Mumbai; 24 when he again left home, this time for the love of the Lord. He published his first book at 26, and was 39 when he became the youngest ever National President of the All India Catholic Union. Is he still jumping the gun, a step ahead of the times, or plainly out of step? The reader must decide.

He is no armchair critic. From the age of 18 he has been active in various ministries and community service. He has written hundreds of articles for various journals, and “An Unfinished Symphony” is a compendium of some of his finest works. His writing is always incisive and provocative, but based on sound scholarship and reasoning. He takes impish pride in affirming that he is a college dropout!

His previous books include “The Trinity and Me” (1977), “Cracks in the Ceiling” (1985) and “Beyond 2000 The Other Side” (2000). The last was a Christological work for the third  millennium of Christianity. The present book is a natural sequence – an ecclesiological and sociological work; dissecting the life of the Catholic Church in the light of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, and addressing burning issues of contemporary India. He also debunks the false claims of best selling authors like Dan Brown and Stephen Hawking.

chhotebhai is involved with several religious, civic, social, political, environmental and ecumenical organisations – a grassroots worker, with his head in the clouds!. He’s not finished yet.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

PART -1

IF I WERE

1. If I Were Pope

2. If I Were Prime Minister

3. If I Were in the White House

4. If I Were God

5. If Only

PART – II

CHRISTIAN CONCERNS

1. A Love Letter

2. The Five’Shopkeepers

3. How Does God Spell Prophit?

4. Converting a Pretty Woman

5. Lay Participation – Oh Really!

6. My Friend Munnabhai DD

7. Who is Afraid of Da Vinci?

8. Calling Names

9. De-coding Religion

10. Bottoms Up – Now Buttoned Down

11. Club Heritage

12. Guru’s Second Innings

13. When the Saints Go Marching In

14. Uptight About Tithes

15. By George – My Father

16. Co-habiting & Communion

17. The Cardinal’s Babies

18. Good God Food!

19. Ora O Labora

PART – III

CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. The Origin of the Universe

2. Unveiling 2012

3. No More Secrets.

4. The Muck Starts Here.

5. Who Are the Real Idiots?

6. Sparring Over the Rod

7. Why Suicide?

8. Beware, Adultery is a Crime

9. The Gay Right.

10. Idle Worship

PART – IV

PERSONAE

1. The Mother Express

2. Following Francis

3. The Cup is Better than the Bottle

PART-V

PRESENTATIONS

1. Catholic Education in India

2. Catechists in India – A Scathing Indictment

3. Evangelisation in U.P

4. The Barren Fig Tree

5. The Difference Between

Catholic Associations & Parish Councils

6. Towards Effective Catholic Associations

7. The Image of Catholics in India