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In Kerala, a state at the southern tip of India, it’s customary for people to be buried on the land of their religious affiliation. When that land gets full it becomes a major issue for the community—including for the local Salvation Army.
Wilfred George, a retired musician, has multiple generations of his family buried at the local Salvation Army cemetery.
Learn about his passion for music, life in Kerala, and the unique importance of burial land and how they adapted to change.
Below is a transcript of the video edited for readability.
Wilfred George: Whenever I play music like this, I feel the presence of God with me. This song is the essence of [the] gospel, yes. Sometimes, I even think that this is equal or more than the gospel.
My parents were very good musicians, and they have ten children. Yeah, ours is a very big family. All of them are musicians.
When we came to Trivandrum, we come to know about western music. After coming to the Trivandrum Central Corps, started learning about harmony.
So we started a group, some thirty youngsters. I tried as many instruments as possible. Piano, guitar, mandolin, flute, recorder. Later on, after my retirement, I am fully engaged with whatever talent I have, I have to give to the next generation.
When I come here, hair raise, because of stories of sacrifice, stories of faith, stories of hope. These are the founding members of The Salvation Army in Kerala.
Most of them, they had nothing. But because of The Salvation Army and with Jesus they had everything. Our family is so attached.
Even though we have ten children, now three are no more, but we are very, very attached. Every year we have a prayer meeting at home, so we come here after that. Just to thank god for their lives, their sacrifice for the family, their love, their kindness, everything we learned from them.
Whenever I go to [the] cemetery, I take my flute and play those tunes my father composed. This is our practice.
Thank you, God for the wonderful life of our parents. And I hope that one day we will meet you, at the feet of Jesus.
We meet on the beautiful shore. I’m going to play one song written and composed by George Chacko, and they have sung this song many, many years.
Nowadays we have to think differently because there’s not much space left. Our cemetery is almost full. Kerala is a very thickly populated area; we have limited space, and most of the areas are now covered. Some denominations, they fight with the government to allocate land, and they are really struggling.
We are ever grateful to the USA for building infrastructure. And, it’s indeed a wonderful structure. This is a place just like we read in Bible, it’s a paradise for us. Just before going to heaven, when we all get together and see Jesus. My time is limited here. I will see Jesus soon.
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