On 10th January 2009, Saturday  after the evening mass at Pope John`s Garden (our Leprosy Rehabilitation Centre run by the Salesians of Don Bosco at Madhavaram - Chennai), we were sitting through an old movie screened for the leprosy patients a `hit movie` Bhama Vijayam. As they were enjoying with peals of laughter an youngster quietly approached and said ``there is an old man dying in the cold by-lane close by``. Sr.Shanti (our Medic of St.Charles Borromeo) and me went over immediately to find a near-lifeless old man thrown out of a newly constructed shops-cluster (to prevent a man dying in the new building -was what the owner`s rep told us). The man wore nothing but a black pullover (pic attached), his groins were swollen and was moaning to establish occasionally that he was alive. He had open wounds on his ankles, shin, thighs and sure enough the stench emanating was unbearable. There were two soft drink bottles of 500ML size -obviously some good Samaritans had thought of giving him some water atleast -but he was not in a condition to take even liquid food. Very many bikes & cars whizzed past looking curiously at a cassocked catholic priest and a nun watching over a dying man on the roadside at almost 10.30pm.

Many considerations flashed through our minds. Hmm what about the police? Is it a man ditched for some property dispute? A murder case perhaps? After all we had several bad experiences of people dumped -but claimed again once some property was attached to the person! Yet the decision was made. Even if he dies -he will die a death of a human being and will be buried at our in-house cemetery. Off we went and brought back our food cart covered in sacks pulled by Arulraj & Vinodh two orphans with Durai & Bastin -leprosy patients, escorted by our jeep to light up. We shoved the man into his blanket and I could feel the skin almost coming off his left leg into my hand as it was dry & covered in sores. A surprise -a young man biking braked stopped and looked concerned-fully at the operation to see if there was anything he could do. Having jacked him into the food cart the journey began for ``Salai Nathan`` (I called him so as a temporary name as we picked him by the roadside -till he was in a condition to speak we needed a referral name anyway!) only comparable to the way of the cross -as every rattle the cart went through would be painful for him like an earthquake. The boys and elders were as gentle as possible and we moved him into Pope John`s Garden -a home to the 128 leprosy patients and the 300 odd dead ones as well. Arulraj who turned an orphan 2 years ago, following the death of his Dad courageously stepped forward ``Father I will feed him something`` -and that`s because even the leprosy patients could not stomach the smell that emanated from our Salai Nathan.

By 11pm we managed to boil some milk and packed off a frugal dinner warning that the feeding be sober or it could almost kill the poor man who had obviously been hungry and without food and drink over 48 hours. Next morning after mass, I could not hide my satisfaction when I saw him seated in a wheel chair with the whole team washing him in hot water, dressing his woulds, shaving him up and cleaning him up. The orphan children joined-in the operation never mind that fact that the poor man was smelly or that he was naked and stiff as a dead body. His parched tongue had started salivating and he managed to utter his real name ``Velu``.

The experience of bestowing him back his human dignity was so touching that everyone present re-assured us -``Do not worry -we shall pick up and clean up any such persons henceforth!``
I could almost feel Mother Teresa grinning! She had done her job!

Fr.Maria Lawrence sdb
Administrator - Don Bosco - Beatitudes - Vyasarpadi - Chennai.
www.dbbeatitudes.org