Overview
- Features: Mother Teresa tomb & museum, and headquarters of Missionaries of Charity
- Opening Times: 8am to 12pm & 3pm to 6pm (Fri-Wed)
- Best Time to Visit: Late October to early March
- Duration: Half a day
- Travelled By: Taxi
- Cost: Free (donation is optional)
- Address: 54A AJC Bose Road, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
- Type: Memorial
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Summary
In 1952, the Order of the Missionaries of Charity was started in Kalighat by Mother Teresa to serve the destitute and dying 19 years after she arrived in India. The headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity and where the tomb of Mother Teresa lies is Motherhouse located on AJC Bose Road in central Kolkata. Nearby Shishu Bhavan, a home for the 250 or so orphans is also a special place to visit in Kolkata.
Missionaries of Charity Kolkata
The city of Kolkata is inextricably linked to the name of Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa, an Albanian by birth, came to India to teach as a Loreto nun in 1931. At first a teaching nun at Loreto Convent, the death and devastation she witnessed in the city during the famine of 1943, and Partition of India in 1947, made her leave this cloistered world and dedicate her life to the poor. She started her Order of the Missionaries of Charity in Kalighat to serve the destitute and dying 19 years after she arrived in India. Nirmal Hriday (‘Pure Heart’), near the Kali Temple in Kalighat, the first home for the dying, was opened in 1952.
Motherhouse
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Located on AJC Bose Road, Motherhouse is the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity. This simple building is also the final resting place of Mother Teresa who died on 5 September 1997. Her grave is on the ground floor in a hall. It has no ornamentation, only a Bible placed on it. On a board on the wall are two words, “I thirst”.
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Pilgrims arrive at the Motherhouse in droves to pay homage at Mother Teresa’s large, sober tomb. Exhibits in a small adjacent museum (h9am-noon & 3-5.30pm) include Mother Teresa’s worn sandals and battered enamel dinner-bowl. A staircase leads upstairs to the ‘Mother’s room’ where she worked and slept from 1953 to 1997, preserved in all its simplicity.
Even though Mother Teresa died, her work continues today. You may see nuns in their white cotton saris with blue borders busy working in the many homes, clinics and orphanages in the city. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity is now headed by Sister Nirmala, a converted Brahmin.
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There are some 3,500 Missionaries of Charity sisters around the world, working in 569 centres in 120 countries, but their selfless efforts are not without controversy. Even during Mother Teresa’s time, tales of pecuniary troubles and controversies over the way in which the poor and dying were being treated (and converted) beleaguered the Missionaries of Charity. There have always been plenty of cynics, despite the Vatican’s confirmation of Mother Teresa’s “miraculous” healing of a young woman’s malignant tumour (the woman claims to have been cured after seeing Mother Teresa in her dreams), a move that has irritated rationalists and the medical profession. Still, in Kolkata alone, more than 50,000 destitute sick and dying are looked after by the blue-and-white-sari-wearing nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, a demonstration of selflessness that you might deem miraculous in itself.
Shishu Bhavan
Next to the Motherhouse is Nirmal Shishu Bhawan where some 250 orphans and children with physical and/or mental disabilities are cared for. If you have time up your sleeve, a short term volunteer program is one of the best experiences to have in Kolkata. Your volunteering time will consist of looking after orphans and/or children with physical and mental disabilities. This is a rewarding experience as you will witness love, respect and gratitude from kids who have no parents or anything to call their own. The bond that you create with them will last a lifetime and change your perspective on life. Whether you are qualified or not, start by attending a briefing at Shishu Bhavan on Mon, Wed or Fri at 3:00 pm.
Even if you don’t have plenty of time in Kolkata, it is worth visiting Shishu Bhavan for a couple of hours to see the orphans and other children there. In addition to seeing the babies and children with physical and mental disabilities, the sisters allow you to interact and play with the orphans above the age of 2. It is important to remember that these kids are looking for parents to adopt them, so some may cling to you and not want you to leave. Nevertheless, the happiness and joy that you bring to them just by being there and playing with them will have a positive impact on you. The time that you spend here will perhaps be one of the most rewarding experiences you might have in Kolkata and even throughout India.
Donations are welcome at the Motherhouse and most people who visit tend to leave donations of money. In addition, you can also give them food, clothes and other essential items; however, it is advisable to give them money so they can use it to buy whatever is essential for their organisation.
Getting to & from Missionaries of Charity
Motherhouse is located at 54A AJC Bose Road in central Kolkata while Shishu Bhavan is located a few doors down the road at 78 AJC Bose Road. The best way to get here is to take a taxi or hire a private car with chauffeur for the day. Buses from all over the city will also get you here; ask for the Ripon Street bus stop. Trams ply along AJC Bose Road and should be taken just for the experience.
