It was an assignment during my time with Doordarshan in the early 1990s. Mother Teresa was in Bangalore – as it was called then – and DD, the only Indian television network at that time, was sending out camera teams and reporters to cover her wherever she went.
I was sent to the airport, which in those days was the HAL airport right inside the city.
I was keen to be part of the shoot and to catch a glimpse of the woman who was known across the world for her work with the poor of Kolkata. I am not particularly religious, but I am very impressed by people who decide to be the change they want to see. And Mother Teresa had certainly made a difference to the lives of so many people who had had nobody to help them, nowhere else to go.
There were not so many security concerns back then and we could go right on to the tarmac at the airport. She appeared at the foot of the aircraft steps – so tiny, so frail. I had the mic in my hand – but what does one ask Mother Teresa? So I simply asked her what message she had for the people of the city.
She held my hand, looked at me and said softly, “They should love one another as God loves them.”
I remember that warm feeling of her small hand. Her tiny frame.
Now, watching the events at the Vatican, it is unreal to think that I met someone who has been declared a saint! I don’t know about miracles, I don’t know if there is more to the world than what we can physically see around us. But there are those who touch so many lives during their time on earth – they are larger than life. They make a difference. And I am happy that the woman the world now calls Saint Teresa held my hand.
(Maya Sharma is NDTV’s Resident Editor in Bengaluru)