Our last night in India, and so we come to the final post.rnrnThis morning, a few of us got up for 6:00 Mass at the mother house, and then went on to Nirmal Hiraday, the Home for the Dying. Although at times it was trying and uncomfortable, the sense of satisfaction at the end of our shift made it worthwhile.rnrnExcept for a bit of last minute shopping, today has mostly been spent packing largely inflated suitcases and preparing for the 24 hour (!) marathon that is our journey back to England. We leave you with a few last photos from throughout the trip.

We also have a short story for you.

One day, an Englishman was in India, and approached an Indian man cutting the grass. The Englishman had got a bit lost, and so asked, “What is the name of this town?”. Now, the Indian man didn’t speak very good English, and assumed that he had been asked “When was the last time you cut the grass?”. He answered “Kol cutta”, meaning “I cut the grass yesterday”, and this is how Calcutta got its name!

Thank you very much for sharing our journey, and make sure you check back to see all of the photos from our amazing adventure!

We got up early (5:00!) this morning to attend 6 o’clock Mass at the mother house, just a few minutes from our hotel. All of the Sisters were at the Mass, as well as volunteers who would be doing the morning shift at any of the homes run by the Missionaries of Charity. Some of us will also be attending this Mass on Tuesday when we work at Nirmal Hiraday.

After taking breakfast at the hotel, we went on to Asha Niketan, which takes care of mentally handicapped people. There we took part in a puja, a Hindu festival which is dedicated to Sariswati, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge.

Asha Niketan is run by L’Arche, an organisation originally started by Jean Vanier in a rural village in France. Since then it has spread to 119 communities in 30 countries around the world. The community in Kolkata was started in 1973 and at present takes care of 47 mentally handicapped people.

The meditation room in Asha Niketan is unique as it tries to show that God expresses himself in many forms, and that the aim of all religions is to go beyond the form. It does this by displaying seven different holy books that are rotated daily, thus constantly changing the focus religion and awarding none a superior or inferior status.

Whilst there is a lot of theological debate about God, members of the house feel that all these discussions are not relevant when looking at a handicapped child. The unique gift of the so-called mentally retarded person is that they urge us to join in the love of God, whatever our religion.

We are now off to prepare for dinner with Steve Waugh. Mixing with the stars again!

This morning we were visited by Gaston Dayanand who was the inspiration for the hero of ‘City of Joy’, the book written by Dominique Lapierre and translated by Kathryn Spink. The movie starred Patrick Swayze and is set in the slum in Kolkata that we are going to visit on Monday. Gaston was here for the editing of his book which tells of his experiences since arriving in India over 30 years ago. He gave us some insight into his thoughts about the nature of development and what he is trying to achieve in Kolkata and its neighbouring villages.

Gaston was incredibly passionate about his views that all religions should be treated with respect, and that organisations of all creeds should work together for the relief of the poor. Real development only comes about when social workers take into account the opinions and culture of the poor by working alongside them and not imposing external views or solutions.

A good lunch was had by all before we went to see Nirmal Hriday, Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying. The home cares for people who would otherwise be dying on the street, or in railway stations. There are two wards in the home, for men and women, and the purpose of the home and its underlying spirit is to help those who are destined to die to experience the warmth of the human touch. They have not yet turned anyone away, 81 thousand people having passed through their hands since it was opened by Mother in 1952. Contrary to misconception all peoples are prepared for death according to the rituals of their particular belief. Muslims are given readings from the Koran, Hindus are given Ganges water on their lips, while Christians receive the Last Rites. We found the home shocking, but also had a great compassion for those who lay so desperately ill. In response, some of us have volunteered to work a shift at the home to help the Sisters who run it.

Although the children at Udayan wake at 5:00 am, it was 6:30 before they found where we were sleeping and woke us up with cries of ‘Good morning!’. We had breakfast, and then played with the children before finishing setting up the computers.

Shortly after breakfast, Mrs Weldon arrived, and we set off with 4 of the children to a leper colony on the outskirts of Kolkata. The children were going to see their parents – around 25 children come from the same leper colony that we visited. All of the people living in the colony have been cured of leprosy through the use of modern medicines. However the scars of the disease still remain; many have lost the use of their fingers and even hands in more severe cases. All of the parents received us with warmth, and were happy to invite us into their small houses, obviously proud of their children and their home.

On returning to Udayan, the children had recreational time, and so we joined in with a game of cricket and football, although they were vastly better at cricket than us. They were fascinated with us playing cards, having never seen any English cards before. The children had been shy yesterday, but today they were bubbling with confidence and had great amusement at our attempts to sing the Indian songs they tried to teach us.

In the evening, James Stevens arrived with his wife and brother, and the children of Udayan put on some entertainment. We had also taken time to prepare some acts, with Jenny coordinating some gymnastics, Natalie and Sinead singing and us all taking part in a balancing pyramid. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed, all exhausted from our two days at Udayan.

We apologise for the lack of pictures yesterday: we had some technical problems at Udayan.

After eating a substantial breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Udayan. It took just over an hour to travel through the mayhem of Kolkata, with the anticipation of our arrival building throughout the journey. We were not disappointed when we pulled into the welcoming gates and were greeted warmly by some of the older girls with garlands of flowers.

James Stevens took us on a tour of Udayan and we were immediately struck by its beauty. We were shown the dormitories as well as the library and other rooms that are used by the children for sewing and embroidery. The girls had created some beautiful handkerchiefs that were on sale.

Lunch was served with the children in the main dining hall, after which we had a chance to walk over the nearly completed medical unit. It was particulary interesting to see this building as most of our money has gone towards its construction. One of the fastinating features of it is a bamboo scaffolding that is used by Indian builders. We half expected a panda to appear around the corner!

The children had prepared a short show for us which included some older girls dancing and boys showing their flexiblilty at yoga. Musically, we were entertained by two solo violinists. The final act was a very energetic dance performed by seven enthusiastic little boys!

We are spending Wednesday and Thursday at Udayan helping to set up the computers that St Joan’s have donated and a train set that has also been given to the children.