An Australian Christian, Assumpta is one of the participants in the latest SBS series 'Christians Like Us'.
"I come from a border town near Palakkad in Kerala. I have family all over India,” she told SBS Hindi.
“I have family in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai etc. I was born in Venezuela after my parents migrated from India to Venezuela. 1n 1988 we moved from Venezuela to Australia. We are Hindus Brahmin."
Assumpta grew up a Hindu like her brother and sister, but one incident changed the direction of her life when aged 16 her father died of a heart attack.
"I grew up in a very, very upstanding Hindu family. (After my father died) I asked myself, what is the meaning of life. You live, you work, you get married have children and then die. What is the meaning of life? That started my journey towards finding the meaning. I investigated my Hindu roots. I went to the temple. I chanted. I tried to go back to my Hindu roots. I also investigated all other spiritualities," says Assumpta who then came in touch with Christianity.
"I started to read the accounts of Jesus Christ. And when I read about him, I could not stop looking at him and what he said about himself."
Assumpta converted to Christianity at the age of 23.
She knew that her family would be upset by this decision.
"I realised that I need to take a decision for myself. And I knew that it would upset my family. They would feel like I have betrayed them. My father had died. My mother was very understandably upset. She did not understand why I was doing this because it was a reflection of her as a mother. My brother and my sisters were probably more confused. And they did not understand why I had done. My family in India did not know about it until many years later."
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Assumpta says she has nothing against Hinduism. She says it is not about saying bad things about Hinduism and believes there are many beautiful truths about Hinduism. She says she found her answers in Christianity.
"I think that the trigger of my father dying actually made me focus on the reality of life. It was not just about my problem. It was about God. Who is God! Can you know God! And what is my relationship with God!"
Assumpta says she admires Hindu traditions.
"What is beautiful about Hinduism, about Indian culture is the family values and the sense of strong community."
Assumpta is conservative and does not believe in abortion or same-sex marriage. She believes in celibacy before marriage but says she is struggling to find someone who holds these same beliefs.
‘Christians Like Us’ airs over two nights at 8.35pm Wednesday, April 3 and 10 on SBS.
