Days 12 & 13
Aug. 22 and 23

There was one more place to visit in the center of Bengaluru before departing for Calcutta. It was going to be a 48 hour day and I didn’t look forward to another 11/2 hour trip from St. Anthony’s to the city. It was noisy, dirty, congested and, now, boring. By this time I was becoming able to discern some method to the madness of local traffic.
But, this trip was to be different. We ended up in a part of town I hadn’t seen yet. It’s called Doddamangala. It took us a few stops to ask directions as to its precise location. Every time we asked the person knew exactly what we were looking for. We got out at a vacant lot and found a side door. Inside was a narrow hallway I think I had to walk in sideways to get by. On each side were two rooms abut the size of a walk-in closet. Those were classrooms and this was a special place.
A lady named Bridget Tauro established this shelter and named it St. Casper’s. Besides herself and her 90 year old mother whom she also cares for, Bridget is the legal caretaker of 16 orphans ranging in age from 3 to 12 years of age. The children all attend school and live right there at St. Casper’s. Four teachers live there as well, helping in the care of the children as well as teach the six grades that are offered there. It’s like living and working in a submerged submarine. They can’t even use the vacant lot for recreation.
Nevertheless, the home regularly passes all their inspections and even wins competitions with other schools. Their trophy case is full. Across from that case is a blackboard with the schedule of every class. There’s no nonsense tolerated. Yet, there re a lot of happy faces. They are a happier than average group of kids.
Most of the money to run the house is earned by Ms. Tauro herself. She is a teacher in a government school. She is efficient, kind, demanding and extremely loving. She is a great leader. Love & Care gladly gave her a sum of money that was generous but not very much.
A switch went off in my head. I may have come to realize what Love & Care does. It’s an incubator for fledgling operations that are too small for the big NGO’s (like Catholic Relief Services) and foundations to fund and too big for one small group to fund. This is a needed mission.
After we arrived back at St. Anthony’s we started to prepare for evening Mass. The pastor set the Mass for Mary’s Queenship instead of the Sunday. The decision was made due to the devotion the people have for Mary and the saints. That is becoming obvious to me as a trait of the Catholics throughout India. The love of the parishioners for Mary came out in the singing of the Marian hymns and their voiced prayers.
After the Mass we had dinner with good conversation (as always) and time for me to pack for the flight to Kolkata. The flight left at 6:30 am on Sunday. But, I had to be there 3 hours early and the drive to the airport would take an hour. We decided that a taxi would pick me up at 2:15. That gave me ample time to reorganize my belongings and repack the bags. Wisely, I decided to shower first. This refreshed me. It took all of the extra time to work with my ‘stuff.’ I finished the job with only15 minutes to spare for minor things like sleep.
I may have been one of the first five passengers to arrive at the airport that day. Many airline personnel were at their posts but the posts weren’t open yet. Neither was the coffee shop. I was a zombie and acted the part going through all the gates a passenger has to negotiate. My flight was on Kingfisher Air. I’m told seriously it is the same company that brews a very good beer in Bengaluru. The Kingfisher Brewing and Airline Company: think about that.
The plane made an intermediate stop at Hyderabad. This resulted in continuing passengers like me receiving two meals, breakfast and lunch on a three hour flight. The experience was good. And we landed at Dum Dum airport exactly on time. As I got to the baggage claim area my contact, Peter Rao was waiting.
Peter took me to my base of operations in Kolkata which was near the airport. It was a kind of retreat house named Proggaloy, which is supposed to mean Wisdom. I met its leader Fr. Susai Manickam. He is the Dean of the Deanery and a man who is very knowledgeable and busy. He proved to be a wonderful host. As such, he fits in well with all who took care of me.
Peter then proceeded to take me to central Kolkata. To spend the rest of the Sunday seeing the sights and getting me to the church Fr. Susai arraigned for me to celebrate Sunday Mass.
First, Peter took me to the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity. They were busy and we were obviously in the way. We would come back the next day or so.
The alternative was to see the sights. Within easy distance were the Indian Museum and the Victoria Monument. Both were crowded and sources of first rate historical, artistic, ethnic, and geographical background for me.
We, then, proceeded to St. Anthony’s. Arriving about 30 minutes before Mass, I was invited to preach. I told them I would and searched for a lectionary. Thank goodness, I easily remembered what I wrote in my ETC article and strode out comfortably as the main celebrant. The associate concelebrated, just in case. I was satisfied all went as normal. I regretted what I now saw as normal in India. The priest returns immediately to the sacristy after Mass. There’s little interaction with the people. I have come to need that.
What I needed more was some sleep. It was a long day of more than 48 hours of activity. Peter and I still had a 90+ minute ride back to the Proggaloy. My host was there to offer a meal (a bit of which I took) and all the amenities I would need for the night including bottled water. I went to bed tired and happy.