Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The world sees Mother Teresa differently from the way people in
Calcutta do.
'There's an element of selfishness about her,' said Vinod Lal, a
social worker now tackling the AIDS pandemic about to sweep over
Calcutta's long-suffering poor. 'Her concerns are religious, not social.
With her fame, she could raise a fortune talking and making
appearances around the world. Money is one thing that would
guarantee progress in the war against poverty here. If she really wanted
to change things, she'd leave the work to others and raise money.
But that's not what she's about.'
Words like
stubborn
,
arrogant
, and
self-centred
cropped up in a number
of conversations I had with Bengalis about Mother Teresa. Mother
Teresa! I thought I'd better go and see what she was about myself.
Mother Teresa founded her order, the Society of the Missionaries
of Charity, when she came to work in the Calcutta slums in 1948.
Its objectives were simple: to live and work among the poorest of
the poor, relieving suffering and expecting nothing in return. For
over thirty years she carried on this work in relative obscurity, until
she was 'discovered' by a world hungry for something or someone
to believe in. People like the former atheist and Catholic convert
Malcolm Muggeridge saw in her the image of a living saint, and
thus began her meteoric rise to international prominence, recognised
by a Nobel Peace Prize and countless other honours. Indeed, she
did fit the bill nicely, her tiny bowed frame, luminous eyes, and
simple, self-effacing speeches about love approximating most
people's idea of sanctity. Films were made, showing her fishing
discarded babies out of rubbish bins, nursing the dying, feeding the
poor, housing the homeless, and always talking about the world's
real hunger: for love. Despite her fame, she continued to dwell in
the Shanti Nagar slum where she'd lived since coming to India.
When the city of Calcutta generously gave her a free bus pass - the
only gift she ever kept for herself - the world marvelled that someone
more famous than the pope still travelled by public transport. No
illusions were shattered. No one would have been terribly surprised
if Mother Teresa bought a Lear jet or hung out at Studio 54. People
would even have said she'd earned the right to enjoy her fame. But
