SIR, I refer to ‘None like her’ by Navin Chawla (The Statesman, August 26). What a travesty of our social awakening that there were uncharitable remarks about Mother’s work with the poor, infirm and homeless in Calcutta! And these were from the educated armchair critics who would do little to sensitise hordes of people who do not care to devote a little time in coming to the help of say, a bleeding accident victim on the road.
And here was a lady who did whatever she could within her limited means to be constantly with such marginalised Indian citizens. The sainthood bestowed on her was as much a reflection on the flip side of human indifference to the suffering of others. Aptly the theme of the anointment ceremony of St Theresa was centred around the rare quality of selfless service to fellow beings, in the fervent hope that it stirs up the conscience of ordinary men and women to contribute their mite to a cause that would perhaps remain under addressed.
Recall the bard ~ “The quality of mercy is not strained. Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes”.

A great soul
SIR, This is to compliment Navin Chawla for the excellent article,”None like her’’ (26 August) in which he has paid rich tribute to Mother Teresa, an exceptional personality. Like Florence Nightingale of England and Margaret Nobel of Ireland, Mother Teresa dedicated herself to the selfless service of the suffering and tortured humanity. Love, service, and humanitarianism were the ideals of this great woman. She was born in Albania but became an Indian by adopting India as her second homeland. She was, in fact,a Calcuttan. She lived and worked among the common suffering people of this country. She became a symbol of love and charity. ‘Nirmal Hriday’, ‘Nirmala Sishubhavan’ and ‘Nirmala Kennedy Centre’ were some of the many centres run by her. ‘Nirmal’or ‘Pure’ was her watchword. Her fellow workers dubbed themselves the ‘Little Sisters of the Poor’ and are now known all over the world. She has service centres in different parts of the world, although her main centre of activities is India.
Her service had been accepted by all. Honours were showered upon her from all corners of the world and she received numerous honours including Noble Prize for peace, the highest and the most glorious prize of the world.