World bids Mother adieu
Amidst the tears of destitutes and the pomp of military funeral, the world bid farewell to Mother Teresa.
At 1455 hours, Mother's body, wrapped in the tricolour, was laid to rest at her abode, Mother House, where she had lived, worked and died.
Twelve armymen fired four volleys into the air and buglers sounded the Last Post as her mortal remains were lowered into the grave in a simple and private burial.
Earlier, at 0900 hours, eight army pallbearers had carried Mother's open white casket out from the St Thomas's church, where it had been lying since Sunday, on its way to the Netaji indoor stadium, the venue for the last rites.
Fourteen uniformed men and four church representatives escorted the body which was being slowly carried along a route lined by Gorkha soldiers, and onto the historic gun carriage (which have been in use only twice before -- once for Mahatma Gandhi's funeral and then for Jawaharlal Nehru's) as the army band played the Slow March Beat.
The waiting masses -- though much thinner than expected -- milled around the vehicle and rained flowers and petals onto the coffin.
A military truck carrying army personnel and nuns seated face to face towed the carriage along the procession route. As the procession reached Park street, the crowd broke a heavy security
cordon to get a last glimpse of the Angel of Love.
Twenty vehicles, 10 each from the Missionaries of Charity
and the army, escorted the cortege. Eighteen army officers and 500 jawans marched with the gun
carriage.
"The solemnity of the moment is marred by the army officers (who are) keeping the crowd away," a commentator said.
As the procession moved on, many people could be seen cutting across the Brigade Parade ground,
rendered slushy by overnight showers, rushing towards the gun carriage. Many stumbled and fell in the mud, only to rise and
resume their pursuit and shower flowers on the mother.
The mourners, of all castes and faiths, displayed posters and placards of Mother. ''I am a Muslim, but Mother is above everything," said a tearful Ramzan, "I see my own god in her."
The cortege reached Netaji stadium on time at 1000
hours. Here, in the presence of over 13,400 people (empty stands, however, were seen, though they filled up later) including a galaxy of international leaders, heads of charitable organisations, and hundreds of Mother's people, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Vatican's representative, started the introductory rite at 1015 hours, sprinkling holy water on the Mother's body. Five high priests assisted him.
Devotional hymns -- the first one in Bengali -- marked the beginning of the mass, which witnessed 200 bishops and priests, including 10 cardinals.
Mother Teresa's niece, perhaps the lone survivor among her nearest kin, Aggi Bojaxhiu from Italy, was present at the service.
Leader of several faiths -- Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Parsees -- paid their respects to mother during the mass and prayed for her eternal peace.
(Seventyone dignitaries, including Albanian president Rexhep Mejdani -- who, incidentally was the first dignitary to do so -- United States First Lady Hillary Clinton, Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina Wajed and the Duchess
of Kent placed wreaths on Mother's body.
The Indian dignitaries who placed wreaths included President K R Narayanan, Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, Home Minister Inderjit Gupta, Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Information Minister Jaipal Reddy, Opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Congress president Sitaram Kesri, West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's widow Sonia.)
Reading Pope John Paul II's message at the service, Cardinal Sodano said he had described Mother Teresa as 'the gift of the Almighty.' Mother's story, he continued, was the 'story of Biblical faith.'
"Mother Teresa understood the gospel of love," Cardinal Sodano read, "It is more easy to give than to receive and she practiced it with all her heart."
Though Mother was admired throughout the world for her lifelong devotion to destitutes, Cardinal Sodano said in his homily at the service, critics said she accepted poverty and did not do enough to fight its
causes.
"Mother Teresa was aware of this criticism,'' the cardinal said, "She would shrug
as if saying: 'While you go on discussing causes and explanations, I will kneel beside the poor and attend to their needs.'"
"The beggar, the leper and the victim of AIDS do not need discussions and theories. They need love,'' Cardinal Sodano said, "The hungry cannot wait for the rest of the world to come up with the perfect answer. They need effective solidarity."
Missionaries of Charity Superior General Sister Nirmala reiterated her commitment to carry on Mother's unfinished work. "We pledge to
serve the poor, the sick, the dying, the lepers and the hungry."
In her tribute, Mother's successor described her as
the 'friend of the poor' and 'a gift of God'.
After the mass, soldiers from the army, navy and air force accorded a reverse gun salute to the departed soul, and the pall-bearers started on the last leg of Mother's final journey.
The cortege wound its way to Mother House, with thousands following it, despite the heavy showers which had started during the funeral mass. And as it neared the narrow lane to Mother House, the frenzied shouting of the mourners -- the last tribute to the legendary nun -- seemed to engulf the procession.
The coffin was carried into the House at 1425 hours, nearly an hour behind schedule. Sisters of
the Missionaries of Charity, priests and 10 cardinals followed.
From then on, all eyes were fixed on the open
windows of the room which was to be Mother's final resting place, all ears waited for the
volley of shots that would signal she has been laid to rest.
At 1455 hours, the awaited shots came and the army bugles sounded the Last Post while the crowd stood in deathly silence.
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