Of all the consecrated ground, the most sacred was the area where the
toes of Kali’s right foot lay. On that spot, a temple to the goddess was
built. Over time, the temple was surrounded by streets bearing pictures of
the deity and became an important and symbolic center of worship for
Hindus throughout India. Some came to fulfill a vow; others journeyed
seeking cure for an illness. Still others came to celebrate important cere-
monies such as naming rites for infants, marriages, or cremations on one
of the funeral pyres located near the temple. The religious importance of
the temple of Kali was so great that many Hindus wished to be cremated
there.
The building that Dr. Ahmed showed Mother Teresa consisted of two
great rooms set at right angles and linked by a passageway. Calcutta offi-
cials had received complaints that squatters were misusing the building,
and so wished to have someone occupy it to save it from further destruc-
tion. Besides the large, airy rooms, there was also electricity, gas for cook-
ing, and a large enclosed courtyard where patients could take the air and
sun and where clothes and bedding could be hung to dry. Mother Teresa
decided on the spot that she would accept the building; the doctor, acting
on behalf of the city, agreed to let her have it provisionally. When asked
later why she accepted the doctor’s offer, she explained that since the
building was associated with the famous Hindu temple and that pilgrims
used to come to rest there, so would the dying before continuing their
final journey to heaven. Almost immediately, Mother Teresa and several
of her nuns and novitiates set to work. The quarters had fallen into terri-
ble condition and needed to be cleaned from top to bottom to make them
ready for the new arrivals.NIRMAL HRIDAY
On August 22, 1952, the pilgrim’s hostel opened under the name Nir-
mal Hriday, which is Bengali for Pure or Immaculate Heart. Since it
opened on the day that celebrates the Virgin’s Immaculate Heart, the
building was named in her honor. To make ready for the patients, the
nuns had placed low cots and mattresses on ledges in both the large
rooms, which, when filled to capacity, would hold 30 men in one room
and 30 women in another. But Mother Teresa and her helpers did not
have much time to contemplate this latest offering from Providence.
They soon took to the streets in search of the hopelessly ill and suffering
who had no place to go.
Early on, Mother Teresa laid down some rules for Nirmal Hriday. No
leprosy patients would be admitted. This was done to allay the fears of
KALIGHAT 69