Rescued by Mother Teresa, he returns from London to pay homage

Kolkata, Aug 24 (PTI) A young polio-afflicted child whowas abandoned by his parents in Kolkata but rescued byMother Teresa, has now returned here from London as an NRI toretrace his roots and pay homage to the late nun who will bedeclared saint next month. Still dependent on crutches from his childhood battlewith polio, 39-year-old Gautam Lewis, who was adopted by aBritish nuclear physicist from the Missionaries of Charityhere, is now not only a commercial pilot himself but also runsa training school for disabled pilots in London. He has skipped an invitation from the Vatican to attendthe sainthood ceremony of the late Mother on September 4 andinstead decided to have film shows and photo exhibitions inthe city where he was born and where the Mother worked allher life. At the the Mother Teresa International Film Festival(MTIFF) beginning here this Friday, a 55-minute-longdocumentary film ‘Mother Teresa & Me’ made by Lewis will bescreened at the Nandan multiplex. "The film is to celebrate the life of that lady whom Icall my second mother as she and her nuns had rescued me," hetold PTI, adding that he moved around the city and outskirtsto retrace his roots. He went back to the Rehabilitation Centre forChildren, where he was admitted for two years for polio afterbeing rescued by Mother Teresa and her nuns in neighbouringsuburban Howrah at the age of three. He remembers how he used to go to the church everySunday with the Mother till he moved abroad following adoptionat the age of seven. (MORE) PTI NIK CRRT