Bangalore to Chennai to Bristol to...

Yesterday, for the first time , I felt like a minority in this country.

My cousin, her friend and I got caught in the middle of a VHP procession , en route to my cousin's PG. There were hordes of men, shouting slogans and chanting , marching up the road, wagging their fingers at the cars . You could feel the tension in the air. The cops were obviously on high-alert and were vigorously trying to ensure that neither the traffic nor the procession went out of control.

I was huddled in a SUMO , with about 15 pieces of luggage behind us. I tried to look as unmoved and relaxed as possible , but all I was thinking was " Oh my God, am I going to be burnt alive in this vehicle? Am I ? Am I? Will my cousin's Hindu friend stand up for us and heroically try to save us from the mad crowd or will she abandon us when the mobs attack? Should I hide the little gold cross chain on my neck?"

It was all so scary and tense. I think even the slightest provocation, maybe even just revving of a car , and this mob would have gone mad on us. This was the first time I was seeing this kind of a mob and the first time I was reminded that I was a minority in the country. Having lived in Kottayam and a very cocooned 3 years in Delhi, I've never been caught in the middle of any communal events. I've never felt like I was a Christian in a predominantly Hindu country. I've never felt unsafe because of my religion. Maybe, technically, Christians have less to fear. But then again, once people are agitated , they become so mindless and are led purely by rage that they don't care about all that..

Anyway, it sure was a scary experience, and I hope that I'm never in that situation again.