Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Church eldership in Chittivalasa village. Preaching of the gospel. Joining of an important group in the Church. Home coming. "He that sow in tears shall reap the harvest joyfully" Purushotham Chowdhary was sent to Chittivalasa town adjacent to Bhimunipattanam as the elder of the Church, and he did the Lord's work for eight years there. Honorable Madabathula Brahmajee, who accomplished great things as the steward of the local factory, was edified by the teachings of Purushotham Chowdary. He reported in 1904, the following: Conditions of Chittivalasa "Chittivalasa is a village on the banks of Gosthani river in Bhimunipattanam province. Messers Arbuthnot and Company established a Sugar factory in the village. One Mr. C. S. Minchin was the manager of the factory. Desiring for a gospel worker for the Telugu people working there, he wrote to Rev J. W. Gordon (a preacher for the Telugus), Rev John Hay (in-charge of Education and Printing establishments), and to Rev J. Murdock (Preacher for the English) requesting them that a preacher be sent. They duly sent Purushotham to Chittivalasa. Those who saw the man of God, were impressed by his piety and his propensity to love others as he loved himself. They loved him. Elders used to call him 'sir' or 'Babu,' and children 'thatha' (grandpa) in reverence. Many treated him as their own relative. Since he loved the local Christians as his own children, they loved him. In those days, the two families living in Chittivalasa no doubt never forgot his love. They can testify that as a result of the love of God abiding in him, he has great love in him for his fellow men; and that he has shown his love through deeds. He carried Christian children on his shoulders as a shepherd carried the lambs."

Ministry in Polipalli Purushotham used to go to the neighboring villages regularly in the evenings to preach the gospel. He often went to one Singivalasa Agraharam, a settlement of traditional Vaidika Bhahmans. Seeing that the inhabitants of another hamlet, Rajapulova were obedient to the Word, he used to call it "my beloved Rajapulova." Kshtriyas (kingly caste) and Brahmans used to live in the adjoining hamlet called Polipalli. Purushotham visited this place every Sunday, taking along with him a couple of brothers who could accompany him. There was a certain learned Brahman who was headstrong and crafty in this village. Despite this and other men speaking offensively, Purushotham spoke to them methodically and with restraint. Purushotham was well versed with Hindu religious scriptures since childhood. He had the gift of quoting poems and slokas and teach acceptably to all and sundry. He was adorned with a sympathetic disposition and a loving, courteous temperament. He influenced audience so much that they would often criticize their own scriptures and approve of the Christian faith. Esteem of the Masses The riff raff quarreling and using foul language on the streets, on seeing Purushotham pass by, would caution each other "here comes Purushotham garu Esq., stop the squabbling!" In turn Prushotham on seeing people like this would rebuke saying, "Children, you are tainting your own hearts by this uncouth speech. None of your maledictions harm the others, they harm only you." It was customary for him to conduct worship service in the church in Chittivalasa on Sunday. He formed a prayer class and taught how to pray in the congregation, family and personally. After people prayed, the errors were shown and corrected. Various types of ministry Upon the request of C. S Minchin, Esq., owner of the factory and R. Read, Esq., Purushotham gathered the factory workers in the Church, taught them the "History of Salvation." Once while going on gospel work

on a bullock cart, he lost everything in the flooding of the river and came back alive. According to the Vishakhapatnam Mission report of 1869, a few Christians used to work in the Chittivalasa factory. Purushotham established a Women's Bible Class and taught "Pilgrim's Progress" to them every week. Fruits of Ministry There were two or three families who were enlightened by Purushotham. Basani Appadu a rich man was one of them. He testified, "I have obtained the dawn of Christian faith through Purushotham." He was so devoted to Purushotham that he got his photograph taken sitting at the feet of his 'guru.' "While Purushothamayya worked as preacher I was the first one to be baptized by him in Chittivalasa" wrote Mr. Brahmaji in a letter to two Christians, Bhagawan Behara and Bandi Jogi Naidu dated January 25, 1879. Madabattula Brahmaji, hailing from weaver's caste, and Basani Appadu from Periki caste, were notable householders who maintained correspondence with Purushotham as long as he was alive. These families have the same affection for Purushotham even today. They contributed towards construction of the Purushotham Memorial Building. While at Chittivalasa, Purushotham Chowdhary along with Isaac Fuller, used to preach the gospel in Vizianagaram, Gajapati Nagaram, Salur, Bobbili, Parvatipuram and other places. Towards the end of 1861, Purushotham Chowdhary on his way from Vishakhapatnam to Parlakimidi on a gospel tour, met not only some of his old friends such as Rekhani Mukunda Rao, but also the Village Munsif Bandi Jogi Naidu in Kommanapalli, eight miles from there; his own brother Jagannath Chowdhary and his eldest son Appala Narasimha Chowdhary, and other revenue officials of the area, sowing the seeds of the gospel among them.

Appala Narasimha Chowdhary, a devotee of goddess Durga, wrote hymns on her. However, when his uncle (Dada) Purushotham Chowdhary preached to him the loving gospel of Lord Jesus, and followed it up through occasional letters, a new flame of religion was ignited in Appala Narasimha. He kept reading the tracts of Christian faith, and came to the conviction that Lord Jesus alone is the Savior and kept faith in Him. For nearly 30 years, Purushotham kept praying for his relatives, that they might receive Lord Jesus, as he did. How can the fruit of prayer go waste? Results in the Family In February 1862, unexpectedly, a man came to Purushotham's door in saffron clothes with a golden bracelet. Having walked 70 miles, this small fair looking man stood on the threshold and called, "Dada, Dada!" Surprised, Purushotham recognized this voice as that of his brother's son Appala Narasimha Chowdhary. He asked "Son, is everything safe and sound at home?" Happy after receiving a positive answer he called his elder sister (a cousin) telling her to give water to the visitor to wash his feet, and some material for him to cook his own meal (the relatives stopped eating with Purushotham, since his conversion). Appala Narasimha said, "No, no, Dada, I will eat with you." Purushotham got suspicious at that, thinking that he came away quarreling with his family. After some conversation, he realized that the gospel seeds sown prayerfully came to fruition. He thanked God. Appala Narasimha, like his Dada, was not someone who would step back and drag his feet once he took a decision. He was the revenue officer (Tax Collector) for a few villages. Nevertheless, he considered everything trash for the sake of the excellence of Christ and decided to serve the Lord with a monumental faith. In those days, no Baptist Church existed in the northern Circar districts. Therefore, when Appala Narasimha Chowdhary decided to meet the people of London Missionary Society and expressed his faith in Christ, Rev J. W. Gordon went to Chittivalasa from Vishakhapatnam and gave sprinkling baptism on February 11, 1862, that is 15 days after Brahmaji's

baptism. Who could describe the grief of Jagannath Chowdhary on knowing that his son accepted Christianity? Added to the grief, he was furious with his brother Purushotham, because Purushotham was instrumental in his son's act of relinquishing the daily rituals and removal of the sacred "Yagnopaveetahm." Wrath of the Elder Brother After a few days, Purushotham went to visit his elder brother taking Appala Narasimha along with him. Jagannath boiled with rage on seeing his brother and son. With a pounding heart, and trembling all over his body with anger and hatred raining from his eyes for the religion of Christ, he shouted, "You scoundrel, villain of the clan, spoiler of the family prestige, like a spoiled monkey you are ruining the whole orchard" and abused him. Purushotham smiling serenely at these dramatics, answered his brother with pleasing words and pacified him. Jagannath looking at his son said, "Appala Narasimha, what did you do to me? What a deception!" The son kept a respectful silence. The two spent a few days there. Village officials Sardar Fakir Raju, Sardar Jogi Raju, and the secret believers of that place, Challa Appaiah Naidu, Bhagawan Behara, Pandita Bandi Jogi Naidu, Gopinath Chowdhary, and others rejoicing about the curtain raiser of Christianity in their village, visited Purushotham despite fear of relatives, and learned the mysteries of the spiritual truths of Christ. Owing to the absence of Church missions in those days, activities of London Mission were wide spread. Their preachers were spreading the gospel for months at a stretch. Purushotham stayed there for a month and strengthened the secret believers. When he started his journey back, Shantimaya Chaudharani, wife of Appala Narasimha was ready to set out with her husband. This led to the utter sorrow of Jagannath and his wife Rekhamani Devi. Some of the relatives objected. Nevertheless, since the lady was determined to go, they could not do anything. Purushotham took his brother's son and daughter-in-law and arrived at Chittivalasa. Shantimaya Chudharani became a servant of Jesus Christ. However, the couple could not take their eldest daughter Kanya Subhadra

Devi along because she was already married before attaining maturity to Deenabandhu, the son of her aunt Bhanumati Devi and Pandita Ramakrishna Kali Mohanty. After some time, Appala Narasimha, along with his wife, went back to his native place and not counting the stand off attitude of his father, started touring the villages of Parlakimidi area, and became an evangelist like his Dada, Purushotham. Purushotham continued to write letters to his brother explaining the manifold spiritual mysteries of Christ. Witty letter A devastating cyclone and massive flooding hit Machilipatnam on November 12th, 1864. My father told me that in the aftermath, our Purushotham wrote to his brother Jagannath, the following: "Brother, the sea boiled over and flooded Machilipatnam. People met with a watery grave. Your Gods also could not escape the deluge. The wooden gods floated, stone gods sank and clay gods melted. They could not rescue themselves, how can they save you? So, think of what you must do." The truth in this letter did not escape Jagannath. Even though he gradually started seeing the way, his ancient and hoary rituals continued to bar him from believing the truths of Christian faith. The seeds of the gospel sown prayerfully in those days by Purushotham in Chittivasala, Bhimunipatnam, Polipalli and the nearby areas germinated and it was a matter of great joy that this labour of love turned these areas into a fertile Christian land. Praise God! Until the age of 67, Purushotham continued to tour far flung areas up to Bhadrachalam. Owing to this, and other Church ministry, and writing work, he became physically weak. His elder son Babu David Chowdhary was getting a good salary in Cuttack district as a Police officer. Titus Burder, the younger son-in-law was an employee of the Engineering Department.

When all of them invited Purushotham to Bengal Land, flesh drew Purushotham towards this position of comfort. Therefore, he took voluntary leave from the London Missionary Society, took his old sister and left Chittivalasa on December 3rd, 1870. For his 27 years of ministry, the London Missionary Society did not give him any pension. In the 1870 report, the following was written about Purushotham's ministry: A Tribute by London Missionary Society "At Chittivalasa and neighboring villages, our Catechist Purushotham has diligently labored in preaching to the Christians and the heathen. He received considerable encouragement from people who heard the truth from his lips. We regret to say our little Christian community has suffered a great loss in the departure of Catechist Purushotham to Cuttack to end his days in the bosom of his family. He has now grown old in the service of Christ, and in consequence, loss of sight in one eye and other infirmities, he is unable to work any longer as a Catechist, and so his connection with Mission ceased; he has labored faithfully and successfully in connection with this Mission for many years and is much loved and respected by all classes of natives; he is a man of considerable ability; some of our best and most popular Telugu tracts and hymns were composed by him; and his name and character will be long remembered and appreciated by all who know him. He left his sphere of labor on the 3rd December 1870. May he enjoy, till the end of his earthly course all the consolation which he used so acceptably to administer to others; and at last be welcomed by the savior's plaudit, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord1." Probably while Purushotham was still in Chittivalasa, around 1866, his brother Jagannath Chowdhary died in the village of which he was the revenue officer. He remained a Hindu. The following year two believers, his younger son Gopinath Chowdhary and Bandi Jogi Naidu started for Chittivalasa to accept Christ.

After travelleing 25 miles, they were captured at Amudalavalasa and were taken back. Therefore, in order to see them and strengthen their faith, Purushotham visited Parnasagarapuram2, and spent a few days there. He strengthened the younger son of his brother Gopinath Chowdhary, daughter-in- law Ratnamayi Ammal Chaudhurani. He also met Appala Narasimham, who was struggling in faith, his wife, their little daughter Sara Devi and their maid Jangam Gangamma and took them to Cuttack via Parlakimidi and Berhampur. Josiah Burder, Purushotham's second sonin-law was in Cuttack with his wife at that time. 1. Report of the Vizagapatnam Mission in Connection with the LMS, 1870). 2. Parnasagarapuram is otherwise known as Akulatampara. The Church built there was the first Church on Canadian Baptist Mission. The village is completely washed away in a flood of Vamsadhara river in 1978