A tribute to Mother Susila

A tribute to Mother Susila C.S.S.
by Mrs. Shanti Moses
(younger sister of Mother Susila)

On the 27th of December 1924, a lovely baby girl was born to the Rev. Dr. Thomas and Mrs Sundari Sitther at Bishop’s College, Calcutta (now Kolkota). She was christened CHRISTINA ELIZABETH SUSILA. The chubby little baby with curly hair was loved by all.

Shanti Moses and Mother Susila

The children of the Staff and students of Bishop’s College would play together in the evenings. Sometimes they were ball catchers when the students played tennis. Sometimes they had their own fun. Most of them attended Pratt Memorial School run by the Cleur Sisters. Susila moved to the Diocesan School for her high school which was also run by the sisters. The sisters made a great impression on her. As a young girl, Susila never wanted to wear anything costly. She would always say that gold ornaments never suited her unlike the girls of Chennai who liked wearing gold ornaments. At that time there was the Oxford Group Movement and Dad became an active member. The family would frequently visit Father Douglas at the Oxford Mission at Behala. Father Shore, Father Macbeth and Father Carleton were frequent visitors to our house. Mom and Dad soon became members of the fellowship. As Susila became interested in Community life she told Dad about it. Dad was firm and said that she should finish her education, work for sometime and then take a decision.

So, Susila completed her B.A. (Hons) degree at Lady Brabourne College, Calcutta and then came to Chennai for her teacher’s training. She worked in a rural school where she educated poor village children who still remember all that she had done for them.

It was in 1950, Susila made up her mind to join the community and Dad gave her his consent.

She went to Calcutta and then East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh when the Pakistan war was on. The Pakistanis killed all the baby boys so that there would not be another generation. They pierced the babies’ heads with a Pakistani flag. One mother stood among the weeds in the river and held up her baby son so that he could breathe. The mother stood for long hours in the water and her skin turned white but she did not give up. Just at that moment a Pakistani soldier spotted the baby and took aim and the baby was gone. Many mothers brought their babies to Susila begging her to save them. She hid twenty of them in her room under her cot. Would you believe that when the soldiers walked through her room there was not even a whimper and all the babies were saved !!.

Archbishop Robert Runcie with Mother

On another occasion the Pakistanis told Susila that they wanted ‘girls’ and that they would come for them the following day. That night, Susila and the sisters cut up saris to make pants. The girls in their pants tied towels on their head and worked in the garden. When the soldiers came into the compound, they saw gardeners working and there were no ‘girls’. They were unhappy. They pierced Susila’s arms with their bayonets. It was a Sunday morning and the Pakistanis sent word that they would invade the compound. Everyone was in Church and Susila told the Padre to pronounce the final blessing as they were all going to be killed. Padre could not say the prayers – every body took their places – the little ones were given dolls to hold on their chests so that the bullets would hit the dolls first before piercing the little chests and Susila stood at the gate. The soldiers were on their way and they got the smell of rich turtle curry from the neighboring house. The inmates of the house fled on seeing the soldiers who barged in and ate their fill. Soon they were vomiting and purging and the captain came to Susila and asked her for medicine. She told them that as it was a cholera infected area it was better for them to leave and they left the place. Everyone was saved. At yet another occasion all the intellectuals were made to lie down in a shallow pit and tractors were driven over them. Susila escaped as they thought she was a poor Bengali woman. But when they found out that she was a highly qualified woman her name was on the black list. She was to be hanged by her feet the next day at 8 A.M. The next day came and at 7 A.M. the Indian planes dropped their bombs and the Pakistanis fled – Thus Susila was saved and she was ever grateful to Smt. Indira Gandhi the then prime minister of India.

Church of Bangladesh reunion at Jobarpar

Jobarpar had to have a chapel and Susila built it. She did not have any engineering skills. She just followed all that is written in the Bible (1 Kings Chapter 4). Step by step a beautiful chapel was constructed and the engineer who saw it said that a better chapel could not have been built. (Her guide was the Bible).

God saw her through the Pakistan war and the flood in 1988. She went through a lot of pain and sickness but God was always there with her. She won the love of everyone by always being thoughtful of others.

She was a loving sister, aunt and Mother. She has gone to be with her Master now.