মেরু বিপরীতের: Polar Opposites

Kali temple and Mother Teresa’s home for the dying

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Ashton Phelps, Reporter

On our last day in India we paid a visit to Mother Teresa’s original home for the dying and the Kali temple. Two very different places, yet both very overwhelming and emotional. The Kali temple located in Kolkata is where people of the Hindu religion go to worship the goddess and divine protector Kali.

After we took off our shoes, we walked into the temple to see people crowding around the idol of Kali. Loud chants and prayers filled the red blood stained room. Little girls sitting on the floor brushed our feet with their hands as we entered the next room. I later found out that these innocent girls are sex slaves to the temple, regularly raped by priests who believe that this act will please the goddess Kali. We then entered a small room that smelt of ashes and fire. This room is used to hold animal and human sacrifices to cleanse the sins of the people during the festival weeks. Dying people were scattered along the outside of the temple begging for money and care. The people of the Hindu religion believe that if you die alongside the Kali temple, you will earn good Karma and be born again someone higher in the caste system in your next life.

We then went to Mother Teresa’s home for the dying, which completely contradicts the Hindu religion. People from around the world travel to Kolkata to volunteer at the original Mother Teresa house. These volunteers go through the streets and take the dying people into the house to care and nurture them back to life. We walked into the quiet house and we were immediately overwhelmed by the amount of sick people laying in bed. Two big bedrooms, one for the men and one for the women, were separated by a bigger room used for meals and other activities.

We began to walk through the isles of the beds and disperse ourselves among the women. I sat down at the edge of a bed and a small shriveled up woman began to talk loudly to me in Bengali. I didn’t know what she was saying but I held her hand and just listened to her as she positioned her head on my lap. She put my hand on her head as she was desperate for love. Ending this amazing trip on a happy note like that was an incredible feeling and I’m so glad I got to experience the true culture of India and the Hindu religion.