As Kolkata celebrates the canonisation of Mother Teresa , Tamil Nadu too has reason to rejoice though the Mother and Missionaries of Charity do not have much of a presence in the State.
Former IAS officer M.G. Devasahayam, a native of Kanniyakumari, was instrumental in persuading Mother Teresa to set up Shanti-dan, a home for the dying destitute, disabled and abandoned children, and rescue abode for women in Chandigarh, better known as the Garden City.
Then the Estate Officer with the Chandigarh Administration, Mr Devasahayam’s efforts were crucial in convincing Mother Teresa on the need for intervention among the deprived in the city, which the Mother, accustomed to the poverty-stricken slums of Kolkata, perceived as affluent and beautiful.
“When she visited, we took her around the slums of the city and impressed upon her that poverty and squalor in the city in the midst of apparent affluence resulted in sharp disparity,” Mr Devasahayam said.
His efforts paid off and the Mother sent a group of nuns under Sister Joya to work among the poor in the slums of the city in May, 1976.
Long associationChronicling the events of over four decades ago and his decade-long association with the Mother, Mr Devasahayam will release his book, ‘A Drop of Love’ in English — Anbil Thuli in Tamil — on September 18. “I do hope you and we together will be able to do something beautiful for God in Chandigarh,” Mother Teresa had written to Mr Devasahayam.
Within a year, the Sisters’ dedicated work had motivated the Chandigarh Administration to find a permanent place for them. Mother Teresa formulated her first project and wrote to the Administration for allotment of land.
“We soon allotted a plot of around two acres in Sector 23 at a nominal rate for annual lease. The credit must go to T.N. Chaturvedi, former Chief Commissioner, M.S. Chahal, former Finance Secretary and Aditya Prakash, former Chief Architect,” said Mr Devasahayam.
The foundation stone for the home was laid by the Mother on October 3, 1977. Shortly thereafter, she was awarded the Nobel prize for peace and became a celebrity across the world. “And ‘Shanti-dan’, has indeed become a ‘soul’ to the city of Chandigarh,” said Mr Devasahayam, who visited the Home two weeks ago.
Asked about the allegations that Mother Teresa accepted donations from dictators and the corrupt, Mr Devasahayam explained that the Mother never personally sought financial assistance.
“Voluntary donations are deposited in the bank account. There is nothing new in the criticism. All great people have faced it,” he said.
