Kathmandu:

In an age of telly-monks, Sister Nirmala must be an anachronism.

But while the telly-monks go about their usual business of preaching their pedantic learnings (that we eagerly prepare for sipping our morning cuppa), hardly a word of it appears out of the redundant books of philosophy. (And of course, seldom transformed to action!) Well, that’s ‘neo-age monk-ism’, where away from their formidable telly appearances the monks drive their Ferrari to deliver their discourses.

Talking about Sister Nirmala, which means ‘immaculate’, it’s God himself who resides in her spirit. And when she utters a word, compassion gushes out as if it’s none other than the God himself who speaks.

A mission of charity, which was opened in Mitrapark, Kathmandu along with other homes in New York and Panama, was hardly noticed for almost a decade. But now that Sister Nirmala is here to visit the home, it is not only the media mavens who are swarming for the visit but also the multitude of the least concerned. Not because they appreciate the magnanimity of the act that made ‘Sister Nirmala’, but to witness her living god image that she honestly turns down.

She joined the order at the age of 17 after converting from Hinduism and has become Mother Teresa’s successor but she believes that Mother Teresa can never be replaced and that her charisma can never be acquired in a lifetime.

However, Sister Nirmala is not without her own strengths. The apocryphal story still do the rounds about what Mother said about why Nirmala was so exceptional. Mother had said, “She is a missionary of charity.”

While Teresa found in her, the ideal successor for her mission, Sister Nirmala still believes that all of us are equal in the eyes of our Maker.

Mother Teresa, some 50 years ago began her work with the poorest of the poor, and rests today in a simple white marble tomb at the central house of the Missionaries of Charity.

Sister Nirmala has since taken over the reins to spread the order, full of activity, with its mission in 133 countries across the globe.

Sister Nirmala who was born in Nepal, met Mother Teresa in Calcutta in the spring of 1958, when she was 23-years-old asking to be admitted to the Catholic Church. And since then it’s been raining blessings for the order.

The Missionaries of Charity has grown, and if anything’s amiss it’s only the Mother’s physical presence.

“Otherwise, by the grace of God, it is continuing in her spirit. Everything is the gift of God, and God provides,” says she.

And yet, Sister Nirmala who believes in God’s providence is not unaware of the agony that has gripped her own birthplace. She says, “I would encourage all to imbibe the spirit of love. Violence has never paid.”

As an answer to whether she’s scheduled to meet the King, “If I’m invited,” comes the honest reply.