MARGGAM Digital is an ambitious program to build a library of music, dance, art, architecture, literature, and every other aspect of Christianity in India. Our goal is to tell the world that Indian Christianity is unlike any other form of Christianity in the world. Starting from the earliest Christian era, the Christian faith survived by embedding itself in the multicultural and multilingual milieu of the country. The followers of the Jesus of Nazareth referred to the movement as Māŗ tōmmāṭe māŗggawum wazhipāṭum (loosely translated as “the Way and lineage of Apostle Thomas”). Obviously, the term implies a sense of pride in the Apostolic origin and the syncretic nature of the faith in India.

MARGGAM digital library is an organic outcome of the Aramaic Project. Soon after launching the project in 2013, we realized that the Aramaic tradition is interlocked with other forms of Christianity in the country and that an interdisciplinary approach is imperative. Consequently, we arrived at the idea of a central library for Indian Christianity.

MARGGAM is a work in progress for generations to come. For the past decade, our focus has been on Aramaic Christianity, the earliest form of the faith, and Kerala region, the first home of a Semitic faith in South Asia. As resources and support come by, we plan to expand the scope to other linguistic regions of the country. We welcome our well-wishers to send us materials that they think are relevant. The editorial board at the Christian Musicological Society of India will decide to post them in the library. We also ask that the site viewers submit corrections and suggestions.

Dr. Joseph J. Palackal CMI