It was a moment of elation for the people behind Upanayan, software for the mentally challenged, when Mother Teresa agreed to release it. Air Vice Marshal V. Krishnaswamy (Retd), shares an unforgettable experience.
Shankar’s ‘Amma’, a slender lady, stepped forward to receive a parcel of books from Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa smiled gently and raised her hand to bless the young mother of a severely spastic child.
On July 27, 1992, every person on the core team of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children felt immensely blessed to have had Mother Teresa release Upanayan a computer-aided programme for checking the development skills of mentally challenged infants in the age group 0-2.
On July 24, the MNC team received a call from Brother David, studying at Vijay Human Services,
run by Prof P Jeyachandran, an integral part of MNC. “Mother has agreed to release Upanayan,” he said. “But she has just returned from Rome and isn’t keeping too well. She won’t be able to travel to Chennai. If you come to Kolkata, she will be happy to release it there.”
The MNC team was elated. Confirming July 27 as the date of release, they invited the mother of Shankar, a spastic child at the Centre, to accompany them and flew to Kolkata.
The release was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at the Chemplast workshop. Professor Jeyachandran went to pick Mother Teresa up from the Missionaries of Charity. She greeted him with a smile, “Have you come by car?” she asked. “Yes, by taxi,” replied the Professor. “Good, then I will come with you,” she said making her way down the stairs.
The taxi driver, on seeing Mother Teresa, fell at her feet. She raised her hand in blessing and he leapt into the car, wrenching open the temperamental passenger door from inside. Unconcerned by the taxi’s dilapidated condition, Mother Teresa got in. As Professor Jeyachandran was about to follow her in, Sister Nirmala stopped him, “Professor, will you be able to bring Mother back safely?” What an odd question, he thought, and quickly assured her that he would.
There was no time to publicise the event. Yet, of the 60 people squeezed into the Chemplast premises, 40 were presspersons. Showing not a trace of tiredness, Mother Teresa received bouquet after bouquet, graciously thanking each giver. During the opening speech, she sat in a steel chair, her legs crossed at the ankle, her hands folded in her lap, her head bowed, a picture of quiet repose.
With over 200 physically and mentally challenged children to care for at the Nirmala Kendra of the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata, Mother Teresa
welcomed the MNC team’s effort. In a strong, clear voice she said, “To be able to do this beautiful work, we must pray... A clean heart can see God in the suffering, in the poor, and share the joy of loving with them. In the scripture, Jesus Christ said, ‘Whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you do it for me’. So just think, whatever you do, you do it to God himself.”
When they stepped out of the office, it became clear why Sister Nirmala was concerned about her safety. Outside the building, there stood a crowd of almost 5000-strong. The event had had no prior publicity but somehow the word about Mother Teresa’s presence had spread. Crying ‘Ma Tresa’, ‘Ma Tresa’ people fell at her feet, while others reached over to touch her or have her touch them. Smiling, Mother Teresa softly uttered blessings as she was swept along to the taxi. Later, as he drove Professor Jeyachandran back to his hotel, the taxi driver sombrely said, “Now I know why God made me a taxi driver. It was so that I would one day carry Mother Teresa in my car.”
Today, Mother Teresa is no more but the link with the Missionaries of Charity remains strong. Sister Nirmala visited the Centre on February 13, 2002, and many sisters of the organisation come to the Centre to be trained as special educators. And when the MNC team heard that Mother Teresa was to be beatified on October 19, 2003, they remembered what Professor Jeyachandran had said to them while urging them to ask Mother Teresa to release Upanayan: “Those in power come and go. But the memory of Mother Teresa will live forever.”
Excerpted with permission from The Hindu Businessline dated November 7, 2003.