Jora Girja

It is a quiet Sunday morning,

At Parramatta Square

The pigeons flutter,

A few evangelists preach Christ,

While I stare at the twin ochre towers

Of a century old church.

Jora Girja, I smile – twin church,

Rather twin spires

 

But it is not John, but James

Whose refuge brings a smile

For I am no longer in Gadigal lands,

I float adrift to Entally,

My Mahanagar too

Has twin towers of hope

Red spires in grey skies,

Showing the path to the faithful

 

A clammy summer’s day comes alive,

Where a church survives

Even today

And Sunday prayers resound

In the City of Joy.

The pigeons flutter,

The burden of melancholy

Builds within

 

Until I read a placard –

I am not the only one lingering

In the bell towers of memory;

Centuries ago, the lady Macquarie

Herself wanted to recreate

A church on a hill –

Her last memory of home;

Every conquest has a price

 

Another Jora Girja

Another homeland, far in the hills of Kent

Perhaps it is a mere coincidence

For the British Empire

Had churches galore;

Or perhaps, it is a melancholic convergence

For all the paths of pilgrims –

Do they not lead back home?

 

Kent or Kolkata,

Calcutta or Parramatta

The belfry echoes,

A curious onlooker stares at twin spires

But hears a single bell –

The migrant smiles -

His Home has found a new window

In the simple house of God…

 

27^th July 2026

 

St John’s Church, Parramatta - St John's Anglican Cathedral, with its twin ochre towers rising above Parramatta Square, is one of Australia’s oldest Christian sites, dating back to 1803. The distinctive spires were added during the time of Governor Macquarie, inspired by the twin towers of the ruined St Mary's Church, Reculver. Elizabeth Macquarie, who saw Reculver’s towers as one of her last memories of England, encouraged their recreation in the new colony — turning a distant English landmark into a symbol of home across the seas.

 St James’ Church, Entally, Kolkata - St James' Church, known as Jora Girja (“twin church”), has watched over Entally since 1864, its red twin spires rising above the crowded energy of Kolkata. Built in the era of colonial Calcutta, it became more than a place of worship — it became a familiar landmark of memory and belonging. Like St John’s in Parramatta, its twin towers became a reminder that churches, even when carried across continents, often hold the longing of those searching for a piece of home.