New Delhi: The Government released
a five-rupee commemorative coin on Mother Teresa to mark the
centenary birth celebrations of the legend who made serving
the poor her mission in life.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee released the coin as
well as a souvenir on Mother Teresa and gave the first coin
and a copy of the souvenir to President Pratibha Patil here.
It is said that Mother Teresa had Rs five when she
started her mission in Kolkata.
Speaking on the occasion, Patil said, "She (Mother
Teresa) was truly the embodiment of the word Mother in its
fullest, truest and complete sense. It has been truly said
that God cannot be everywhere and that is why he has created
Mother."
"Clad in a white sari with a blue border, she (Mother
Teresa) and the sisters of Missionaries of Charity became a
symbol of hope to many - the aged, the destitute, the
unemployed, the diseased, the terminally ill, and those
abandoned by their families," she said.
Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910 and was
named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Macedonia.
At the age of 18 years, she left her parental home to
join the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish Community of nuns with
missions in India.
Mother Teresa began her missionary work with the poor
in 1948, replacing her traditional Loreto habit with a simple
white cotton saree decorated with a blue border and adopted
Indian citizenship.
For over 40 years, she served the poor and disabled.
For her services, she received 124 awards and distinctions,
including Nobel Peace Prize and Bharat Ratna.
Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 19:06