Which women would you put in the top 5 most influential women across the world in the second half of the 20th Century - Oprah? Hillary? Indira? Golda? Margaret Hilda?
Interesting question.
Whatever you may think about her, her politics (vehemently anti-abortion) or her religion, Mother Teresa must rank up there in the top 5 (Good Housekeeping has her third after Oprah and Hillary).
I first read her biography when I was thirteen and it probably added to my desire to read Theology and become a vicar, if I didn't end up being a musician.
Thus the backdrop to my half hour Sunday morning stroll through a quietly frenetic muslim quarter of Kolkata between my hotel and the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, where Mother Teresa lived for more or less 50 years, died and is buried.
It is a completely unassuming place, sitting quietly, almost anonymously between private apartment blocks, beside the noisy 6-lane Bose Road and opposite the Indian government's Finance Office.
On knocking and being allowed entry through a tiny side-street doorway by an even smaller nun, you enter a small courtyard with staircases and rooms heading in all directions.
I had arrived after closing time (12 noon until 3pm is quiet time - I had arrived at 12.05!), but the sisters were happy for me to browse and see her room and the exhibition, before seeing her tomb, and willing to wait until I had finished.
Apart from a handful of nuns going about their daily business, incredibly, there was no one else around - I had the place to myself. And I have to say, it was incredibly humbling and moving. Even now as I type this, I am in tears.
Her room is small (12 feet by 8 feet) with a low table as a bed with a thin mattress and single pillow on it, a wooden desk, a small rough-hewn table and 2 benches, crucifix and bookshelves. From here she led the Order for almost 50 years - the worst room in the place (it's above the kitchen), with no fan.
Her tomb is equally as simple. A single lit candle on top of a polished plain cream marble block with just her name and dates in the centre. Inscribed into the marble above are the words from St. John - "Love one another as I have loved you" and written underneath in fresh, bright orange marigold flowers "Come be my light".
It was an incredibly peaceful place. Awesome in the fact that such an influential person could do so much with and from so few material things. Her driving force and motto were simplicity itself - "Hands to serve and hearts to love."
Truly moving. Truly challenging. Truly inspiring.
xx
Interesting question.
Whatever you may think about her, her politics (vehemently anti-abortion) or her religion, Mother Teresa must rank up there in the top 5 (Good Housekeeping has her third after Oprah and Hillary).
I first read her biography when I was thirteen and it probably added to my desire to read Theology and become a vicar, if I didn't end up being a musician.
Thus the backdrop to my half hour Sunday morning stroll through a quietly frenetic muslim quarter of Kolkata between my hotel and the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, where Mother Teresa lived for more or less 50 years, died and is buried.
It is a completely unassuming place, sitting quietly, almost anonymously between private apartment blocks, beside the noisy 6-lane Bose Road and opposite the Indian government's Finance Office.
On knocking and being allowed entry through a tiny side-street doorway by an even smaller nun, you enter a small courtyard with staircases and rooms heading in all directions.
I had arrived after closing time (12 noon until 3pm is quiet time - I had arrived at 12.05!), but the sisters were happy for me to browse and see her room and the exhibition, before seeing her tomb, and willing to wait until I had finished.
Apart from a handful of nuns going about their daily business, incredibly, there was no one else around - I had the place to myself. And I have to say, it was incredibly humbling and moving. Even now as I type this, I am in tears.
Her room is small (12 feet by 8 feet) with a low table as a bed with a thin mattress and single pillow on it, a wooden desk, a small rough-hewn table and 2 benches, crucifix and bookshelves. From here she led the Order for almost 50 years - the worst room in the place (it's above the kitchen), with no fan.
Her tomb is equally as simple. A single lit candle on top of a polished plain cream marble block with just her name and dates in the centre. Inscribed into the marble above are the words from St. John - "Love one another as I have loved you" and written underneath in fresh, bright orange marigold flowers "Come be my light".
It was an incredibly peaceful place. Awesome in the fact that such an influential person could do so much with and from so few material things. Her driving force and motto were simplicity itself - "Hands to serve and hearts to love."
Truly moving. Truly challenging. Truly inspiring.
xx
Mother Teresa's work and final resting place, Kolkata
Rickshaw puller getting a shave and haircut
Market lad wanting his picture taken!
Sunday afternoon is family bath time!
Kolkata, the bustling capital city of West Bengal, is the hub of Bengali culture in India. Some of the very well-known places to visit in Kolkata include Nicco Park, Victoria Memorial, and Eden Gardens.
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