As Jyoti Basu’s body was being wheeled out of the CPM office on Alimuddin Street on Tuesday morning, a silent prayer went up for the communist in a Catholic nunnery nearby.
Sisters at Mother House, a 10-minute walk from the party office, said they had taken Basu’s name in silence during the morning prayer. “Jyoti Basu found a mention in our prayer today. Given his contribution, he was an obvious choice,” Sister Christie of the Missionaries of Charity told Metro.
“Many here might not know that the former chief minister and Mother Teresa shared a strong bond,” she said.
Sources recalled that when Basu was chief minister, he had given a standing order to his aides to promptly clear any request for appointment from the Mother.
“Comrade Basu held Mother Teresa in high esteem. They respected each other’s efforts for the uplift of the poor. He had attended many functions with the Mother,” said a CPM leader.
Three nuns from the Missionaries of Charity went to the party office to pay homage. They stood in front of the body, heads bowed in prayer.
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| Sikhs offer water to visitors near Citizens’ Park |
Water seva
Jyoti Basu’s good deed of the day a quarter century ago helped quench the thirst of those waiting for hours on Tuesday to catch a last glimpse of him. “This is our way of paying our respects to him for the way he saved the Sikh community in Calcutta during the 1984 riots,” said Indrajit Singh of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha, busy serving water opposite Citizens’ Park.
Indrajit and a batch of 20 members of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha and the Punjab Sevak Sabha offered water to anyone who asked for it while waiting for Basu’s body to be brought to the patch of green opposite Rabindra Sadan.
The sabhas came with a 9,000 litre capacity water tank and over 10,000 plastic glasses. The spontaneous act drew a smile, even from the teary-eyed. “Even his harshest critics would admit that Jyoti babu was a secular leader. And this gesture from the Sikhs symbolises that,” said Pranab Adhikary, a Congress supporter.
“Sikhs were killed in every other state in 1984, but not in Bengal” said Indrajit, recalling how Basu had rushed back to Calcutta from Delhi after Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
As Basu’s body headed for SSKM Hospital, many of his followers who had walked miles with their leader on his last journey made a beeline for the water counter. They all went back relieved and thanking the volunteers.
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Fan club
Fifty-two year old Dhisankar Sengupta slowly worked his way through the crowd at Citizens’ Park. The Kasba resident, who walks with the help of crutches, said he had visited AMRI Hospitals too, but “of course I couldn’t see him”.
Sengupta said he became interested in Basu and his ideology while he was in school. “One day we heard that Jyoti Basu had been attacked in Patna. Within half an hour 10,000 people, including women, had gathered to protest the incident. Who was this man who could affect so many people and in such a way, I wondered,” said Sengupta.
“Jyotibabu had said he would serve the people till his last breath. But after his death, when they announced that he had donated his body, I realised how this man continues to serve people even after death,” said the bank employee, his voice breaking.