It’s a surreal experience. Definitely one that will last a lifetime!
The Genfest has meant so many different things to each of us; most similar and maybe a few different.
Nevertheless the experience has been an unforgettable one; one that we could carry home with
us like a flame, to spread it wherever we are, and in whatever we do.
At the ‘Scoula Gen’, we truly renewed our faith in Jesus forsaken.
We went back to the very basics of what it really means to be a ‘gen’. We pride ourselves at being in this world-wide gen movement, and how we have the power of changing the world by just living the WORD. The awe-inspiring presence & the shared experiences of Chiara’s first companions gave us deeper
insight into her life and about theirs as well.
We also learned more about the COLOURS and how Chiara lived them, and how she willed us
to live them as well. We discussed Orange and Indigo. We were divided into 32 groups, out of
which half discussed Orange and the other half Indigo. I got the Indigo team. This was the first
time that we actually went in detail of a particular colour and so it was a beautiful experience;
we discussed the difficulties we gen face when it comes to this particular colour; How we go
about talking about ourselves and the movement to people who are unknown to it or more
importantly people who’ve lost their faith? Strong experiences were shared.
Then we also spoke about ways in which we gen could keep in touch with each other knowing
that most of us are busy with different aspects of our lives and some of us live away from home
where there may not be a focolare house. The give and take of ideas and experiences was
inspiring.
What struck me the most about the whole school was the simplistic approach Chiara had
towards love and how it can have such a profound meaning in our lives. The six simple
words ‘Everything that is mine is ours’, made me retrospect my own live and existence.
The whole experience made me think back on how I am living my life. I found myself to be
selfish. I kept thinking about my previous thoughts; “How am I going to the genfest”, ‘What
am I going to do?” etc. But then in retrospect when I pondered upon what Chiara said
about ‘everything that is mine that is our’ it dawned upon me that there are things in this world
that is larger than us. Youth from all over the world we living in a selfless manner but what
inspired me the most were my own Indian gen; gen who were concerned about the other
person not being able to attend the genfest, and not only show concern but practically take
steps to help them. Besides that helping one another do their best and sharing, not only for our
performances but also while travelling, meeting new people and so on.
Being in Chiara’s house was a grace beyond words; I walked past from room-to-room in awe of
her humble settings. As you step into her home, it gives you the feeling that ‘YES, she LIVED
here!’. Every little detail of the house assured me that she’d overseen it. Every gift she got from
her travels and visits had a special place and meaning. The house wasn’t fancy, wasn’t flashy.
It didn’t even give you the feeling that a woman who started a WORLD WIDE REVOLUTION
lived here. You felt like the person who lived here was homely, caring and loving. Her bed
wasn’t a queen sized or king sized bed. It was a cot just enough for her to lay her head on. The
room had some basic necessities and of course her to two favourite people in the world; Jesus
Forsaken and Mama Mary. In today’s world most of us aren’t satisfied with just the basics, we
want a fancy lifestyle, we want to live large. But we forget that it’s not living large in style, it’s
living large in your heart. And that’s what Chiara did. That’s what I learnt.
This experience also brought re-kindled my relationship with my twin sister. Her moving to
Pune for her job a year ago put a strain on our relationship. We have never lived this far, for
this long from each other. And though we speak to each other almost every day and share
things, there was a lot of underlying feelings that weren't shared. She grew aloof, and she’s a
kind of person who’d never express her love so openly. It takes time to crack that protective
shell around her. Nevertheless through this experience together, we shared some much needed
quality time (thank you Sanjana & Blossom for giving up their roomie expectations and letting
us be together). It took her some time to get used to having her sister hover around her 24/
7 again! Sometimes she’d just try to get away from me. But finally on our way back from the
visit to Loppiano she opened up, and for the first time in a very long time spoke to me about
her deepest troubles. It was a beautiful and profound moment for both of us. We ended up
watching a tagalong movie together for the rest of the bus ride to the Centro Mariapoli.
