This is a short video of an experience I had during the Divali festival in 1996 in Calcutta, India. Visualized with the help of AI in 2025.
Here the original "prompt":
It was unimaginable. Already on a normal
day, Calcutta, with its sea of people, vehicles, smells and sounds, was quite
overwhelming for Westerners accustomed to orderly conditions like us. But what
we encountered now surpassed everything: Millions of people were on the move;
it was unbelievably loud, people were dancing and singing everywhere, split
into thousands of groups, each with its own style and beat, hundreds of
processions going in this direction, hundreds in that... One could hardly walk,
even on broader streets and squares, because there were so many people!
In the midst of this chaos, a woman, probably in her mid-forties, made her way through the crowds towards the river, carrying a baby in her arms, holding it out in front of her like somebody who is presenting an offering in a temple. Every five yards or so, she put the baby on the ground and then stretched herself out on the street, face down. Our missionary friend was sure that the baby was about to be sacrificed in the river, most likely to Kali, the goddess of death, after whom Calcutta is named.
Thousands of people, most of whom probably were very much aware of what was about
to happen, watched but nobody attempted to stop the woman. If anybody had
tried, he most likely would have been violently opposed by the crowd, because
the vast majority of them were probably convinced that it was a good thing to
appease the gods by bringing sacrifices, not shrinking back from sacrificing a
little baby. Oh, if people only knew that we do no longer have to bring any
sacrifices, because Jesus has already made the ultimate sacrifice for the
forgiveness of our sins!
This good news was exactly what I was able to share with a 29-year-old Indian man whom I started to talk to on a short boat ride. With hundreds of people around us, we suddenly made eye contact and instantly knew that we were supposed to talk to each other. We only had a few minutes time, and amidst the noise level around it seemed hopeless trying to start a conversation, but it was as if the Lord blocked out all the noise around us; it felt like we were in an oasis of peace in the midst of a desert of noise and chaos: There was total peace and freedom to proclaim the Gospel to him clearly and lovingly, as if we would have been the only people far and wide.
"I want to be able to believe like you do!", he said, and I could see in his eyes that he longed for Jesus and the love of the Father. "You will!", I promised him, being fully convinced that he would be among the redeemed and that I will see him again in heaven someday. I handed him a tract and, before we could say anything else, we had already arrived at our destination, people started to push from all sides, and we had to say good-bye, as we became aware of the chaos and noise around us again. I never heard from this man ever since, but I know that the Lord is faithful and able to lead him fully into the kingdom, and he always finishes what he starts! For me, just this one meeting would have been worth the entire trip to Asia!
Excerpt from my book "Encounters - Autobiography and Travel Reports" Pages 107-109.
FURTHER EXPLANATION
In the book, the following info precedes the story, it was however, not part of the AI-prompt for the video:
India is a predominantly Hindu nation, and the importance of religion is omnipresent in everyday life in India. All Hindus, no matter whether they are beggars, bank directors or multi-billionaires, politicians or farmers, have one thing in common: The constant fear of the wrath of gods. This is particularly evident during Diwali, when millions of Indians, I would say all Hindus without exception, are on the streets and noisily run behind idols and statues made especially for the occasion. The destination of the processions is usually a temple or a river, where sacrifices are offered to the respective deities.
Prior to the main 'puja' (sacrificial ritual) of the festival, each neighborhood sets up its own idol. All residents are expected to contribute to the expenses. Anyone who refuses to contribute makes himself very unpopular, because he is believed to cause the wrath of the gods to fall on the entire community. This may not be a problem in purely Muslim neighborhoods and villages, as well as in the predominantly Christian regions in the far northeast of the country, on the borders with Bhutan, Myanmar and China. Our friend, however, lived in a part of the city that was inhabited almost exclusively by Hindus. He certainly had not made any friends by his strict refusal to give anything when his neighbors had knocked on his door. On the day of the biggest 'puja', we also took to the streets to be a light in the darkness of this festival - ironically also known as the 'Indian Festival of Light'.
