Entries by Chris Mann

Tata from India

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 […]

Pilkhana

We had a great dinner last night, not with Steve Waugh but with Tony Fehon, a business man from Australia who was at Udayan with Steve. The night was fantastic, but we were all suffering a bit this morning as we came down for breakfast. Today we went with Dr Kamruddin to see Pilkhana, the […]

Asha Niketan

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 […]

Udayan and Steve Waugh

Having been promised a late start this morning, we stayed up late last night drinking (only kidding!), but it turned out that our route to Udayan was barred by an illegal Communist rally, and so we had to get up early anyway! The things that happen in India! After taking a long way round to […]

Home for the Dying

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 […]

Udayan

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 […]

Udayan

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 […]

Udayan

We write to you this evening from a computer at Udayan. This morning we got up early to go to Mass and to receive the Ashes from Rev. James Stevens, the founder of Udayan. As well as running Udayan, he is also a parish priest at a church in the heart of Kolkata, just a […]

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 […]