1952 - Christmas morning and twelve year old Helen Manju Lee has come home for Christmas from her boarding. Not that her home was far from school - all in the same campus of Lee Memorial School, Calcutta. At home was dad and step mom; and Manju got busy grinding the spices for the Christmmas dinner meat. But then little Manju was eager to finish her chore quickly as she had to rush to her elder sister who would do her hair before she ran to church. Oh yes, did I tell you her elder sister Monty lived in the boarding just behind the residential quarters and was not allowed to come home- some school rule. The job was not done perfectly and step mom came into the kitchen as Manju was about to leave. She exclaimed at the roughly done up paste and refused to cook. Off she went to her bed. Manju, all dressed up except for her hair, sat crying at the window till dad came home.
Dad comforted her and allowed her to go out. When Manju and her sister and brothers came back from church they found their dad merrily cooking the dinner. Life was normal again. Not until Manju came down with her acute pain in the knees, something that had been occuring quite often and treated with home remedies. She had to be rushed to the hospital as the pain was excruciating this time. The school authorities made arrangements for her at the Lady Dufferin Hospital and the doctor was soon summoned to give her a thorough check-up. Awaiting check reports till the next day, Manju was strictly confined to bed. Manju remembers the last time she walked was from home to the hospital on that fateful day.
At first Manju was given a room, but the child in her could not keep quiet and soon she made friends with other patients. One day the doctor walked in to find her sitting up and enjoying a small private party with some patients. Thereafter, she was given a bed in the ward, where she was constantly under the supervision of the nurse on duty. That meant no getting up! However, here too she kept herself busy reading the Bible and chatting with next-bed neighbours. The young girl in the next bed was a Catholic and often had her Catholic priests come over for a visit. On one of these occassions Manju asked for the communion (wafer dipped in wine) that used to be given to the girl, The priests did give her, even though they came to know she was Protestant. Once the priests told her that if she converted to a protestant they would pray to Jesus to cure her. This idea did not appeal to Manju's young integrity and she declined politely, She said that if Jesus or Mary could cure her on their prayers then Jesus could do it on hers too. So no thank you.
Manju's medical tests continued and finally the doctors concluded she had bone tuberculosis. Her legs were put in cast and she was bombarded with medicines and injections for a year. When the casts were taken off, her legs were found to have twisted and were in a worse shape than before. Tests were again done and anti-TB medication began but unfortuantely the damage had already been done. 3 years later Manju came out of the hospital in a wheel chair with a body that had lost control of her muscles. Both her legs were twisted and useless, and her arms hung up like loose appendages. Now Manju knew her every action would be dependant on others - a horribly undignified way of living.
Manju clung on to her Bible where she read in 1 Corinthians 10:31 - "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,do it all for the glory of God." Jesus's sufferings also influenced her; how He went through all but never stopped praising the Lord. From that young age Manju was determined to overcome her physical incapacity in the glory of God. So the worse her condition became more fierce was her faith. She insisted on continuing with her studies and here she paused to mention that after Christmas that fateful year she was to be admitted to United Missionary School for Girls boarding to finish her schooling. Manju was given space at the end of the girls' dotmitory in Lee Memorial, where she could study and also tutor some unfortunate girls. However, the arrangement was not comfortable so she was shifted to the room before the dormotory; here her father and siblings could come and visit her easily. Soon Manju was transferred to a spacious room, where she could teach, paint with her tingling left hand. The hand had become partially flexible after a Dr.Gurst (an American orthopaedic surgeon) operated on it. She is very thankful to the doctor even today. More than forty years ago I used to visit Manjudi (di as in elder sister) in this very room and admire the fact that a person with absolute disablity could smile, paint, teach and laugh like us normal beings! I even bought one of her handpainted fabric painted saris that I wore for years. Remarkable!
Manjudi says about twenty years ago the erstwhile principal who had gone for 25 years returned and did not like the arrangement. Therefore, Manju had to move out of Lee Memorial - a home she had known for so many years. After the heart-wrenching departure, she lived with her married brother for sometime and then her sister's (Montydi) children got her a flat in Santoshpur and till date take care of all her financial needs. Manjudi has one of her old students, Sarala, living with her and takes care of her meticuloiusly. Sarala says she hardly finds Manjudi upset or angry; in fact, she admits she vents more anger than Manjudi. Manjudi is still the same - smiling, generous, loving, praying and alert, even at the age of 76 years. The best part is she prays for one and all every day, remembers all our children and their problems and prays for them! Be there a bombing or an accident or a calamity, if Manjudi gets to know she must send a prayer for all those affected.
Yes, she admits there were times when she could not understand her condition, would fret, feel angry but it was her Bible that kept her sane and focussed on life's positive side. She is happy and grateful that God sent her angels to keep her going with dignity and pride, irrespective of the fact that she was never capable of earning her own living or looking after herself . She says her life is for the glorification of God and she is thankful to have been a messenger for all. It is nearly 63 years that Helen Manju Lee is totally confined to her bed and wheel chair; her every personal detail is taken care of by Sarala. And yet the lady looks clean, young, shining and is ever ready to greet all and sundry with a blessing; and she has no bed sores. Amazing! All in the glorification of God. Manjudi did not have to grind spices again. Amen!
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