Along her trip to India in 1976, Sybil set out to visit the city of Kolkata, previously known as Calcutta. This city is significant because it was the site of the first hospital started by a woman originally named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. This woman started her own order of sisters called the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta and inspired millions with her dedication to helping the poor. In 2016, this woman was canonized as St. Teresa of Calcutta. This is of course, Mother Theresa.
Led by a young Bengali tour guide, Sybil explains her visit to the Kali Temple, the first hospital started by Mother Theresa to care for the sick. She describes some of the obstacles the hospital ran into and how Mother Theresa solved those problems. Her description of the small hospital is simple and effective, “Once inside the front door the full impact hits the visitor with immediate, shocking force. Here are the dying and destitute.” We can tell from Sybil’s language that visiting this hospital brought her great emotion. As a travel writer, we can see Sybil developing her language to push past listing basic experiences to including the exact emotion one would feel entering a place where people have come to die. Furthermore, her choice to specifically write about this location and the feeling it evoked speaks to her influence of charity. Mother Theresa’s hope that “the dying and destitute could die in peace, in human dignity and touched for once by the love of God” appeals to Sybil, strengthening her faith in addition to influencing her to further grow under the virtues of love and kindness.
Choosing to write a journal specifically for one city tells us how momentous this trip was for her. The constant theme of charity in this journal speaks to kindness as an overall influence for Sybil. As Mother Theresa was affiliated with the church we can also link Sybil’s love for her faith as an influence through this journal.