Investing in ourselves* (Em português ao final)

Father Nandrapadar Hiloumejanadad, Bombay, India,

Many years ago as an orphan and child I heard a story from a German missionary, Father Lucius von Mettenheim, stating in the original title that "Kleider machen Leute" which was explained to me as "Dressing well is important ".

The upper casts in India, it is an undeniable fact (despite the sadness of having such splitted society), are quite aware of this procedure in day-by-day events. Very clean and well dressed, keeping some distance from occidental fashion these casts are now a little more conscious that as prominent and outstanding people they also represent a certain concept of leadership to the many millions os Hindis.

So the new leaders are dressing the older way, keeping the tradition and the fashion usual in this part of the world. With utmost cleanliness. The cinema industry of India is also aware of that. One of its informal goals apparently is to help the millions of poorer people who spend some rupees watching the movies, absorb these dressing and clean keeping habits, shown on the screen by the much loved actresses and actors.

Father Lucius I record was always very clean and wore well kept clothes. A rare sight among many Europeans specially Germans living in India in the late forties when I was a boy. They usually dressed in heavy suits, covered with food stains and as daily showering was not a must the overall smell was sometimes a very disgusting one. Later some apparently learned from Americans that presenting themselves as clean persons they actually enhanced the relationship to the newly independent people of India.

I for myself always kept my clothes very clean, changing them sometimes during the day when food stains, sweat or dirt splashes showed up. A good pupil. Showering is a need, in the summertime we hindis sometimes wash ourselves two to three times during the day. The story was important to me when an English accountant who was directed to help us with the not well administered expasion of Mother Theresa´s Calcutta social works. An awful sight that gentlemen, once asked me why the sisters were a little reluctant to help him. I recall well. He rarely washed himself, was a smelly person and very heavy smoker. Probably numbing his senses with all that tobacco.

One very hot day I humbly but with very righteous indignation told him that the sisters were a little disgusted with his sight and smell. Instead of an expected outburst of post-colonial anger, the good man asked me to help him. Which we did telling him to keep his clothes clean by sending them to the nearby laundry, with urgent frequency. He stuck to the cleanliness habit, later also started to wear some hindi clothing. Showered oftenly and never again smoked in the presence of the nuns. He never returned to England and became an enthusiastic India traveller and financial consultant to many social works.

As we can see, cleanliness and proper dressing are becoming in fact important to us "leadership outposts" in India. Not fancy clothing nor exaggerated. Just clean. So an interesting form of diminishing the gaps in our society is to behave as one nation of people with similar habits, including the very necessary hygiene.

So my fellow countrymen: dress well and stay clean. God be with you.

* Investindo em nós mesmos.

Perdões pela inclusão do texto original em inglês do clérigo indiano. Mas é simples de ler e para alguns referência importante da questão pessoal no trato com as necessárias abluções diárias. Nada religioso, trata-se apenas de apresentação pessoal. O padre Lucius relembra a necessidade de lideranças e os homens e mulheres em geral apresentarem-se limpos, banho tomado e roupas decentes. Sem manchas, sem cheiros estranhos, sem escabro.

Conta a história de um contador inglês, que ao visitar a obra da Madre Teresa de Calcutá, criava tal asco entre as freiras e noviças, que foi instado pelo padre a cuidar de seu aspecto e higiêne; curiosamente sem repelir a recomendação, acostumou-se com os hábitos indianos das lideranças daquela sociedade. E jamais retornou a Inglaterra.