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| Madhuram Narayanan Centre |
| The link is strong |
| An encounter with Mother Teresa |
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 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.”
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| 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.”
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| 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.”
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| Excerpted with permission from The Hindu
Businessline dated November 7, 2003. |
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