Honouring the life of Dr. Jessie B.Tellis -Nayak

- A week has passed since you left this realm -
The Final Farewell to Dr. Jessle B. Tellls-Nayak
In the Words of her Younger Brother Dr. Vivian Tellis-Nayak who Owes Everything to Jessiebai, His Second Mother.
Dr. Jessie Tellis-Nayak has departed to her eternal home. We are here to bid a final
farewell. Our hearts weigh heavy that she Is gone, but our spirit finds joy in the Inspiring legacy she has left behind.
Jessle Tellls-Nayak, or "Jessie Bal" in classic Konkany, walked this earth March 21 1925, And what a life it was and what a difference it made.
Everything and everyone Jessie touched, was never the same again.
First it was as a professor at St.Agnes College where she turns her students into confident starry eyed women. Then she goes to Bunder and helps Muslim girls step into the modern world from the tight cocoon of tradition. Next, you find her in the ghettos of Washington DC, learning and teaching African Americans living in deprived conditions. When she returns, you see her teaching Bihari village women new skills that open a new future for them. With hard work, her writings, her simple living and powerful personal example, Jessie quietly changed the world around her and made it better than what she found it.
Her personal life too was a textbook of sacrifice. She postponed her career plans to be a second mother to her younger siblings. She ran a colony for street beggars and lepers, where she made her younger siblings do an internship of charity. To the very end, she was a counsellor to neighbours and a font of wisdom for the young and the troubled.
The extraordinary accomplishments of this seemingly ordinary lady did not stay
hidden under a bushel. Pope John Paul the second,chose Jessie to represent him at summits. The Catholic University in Washington DC and St. Agnes College Mangalore honoured her a life-time achievement award. I am
Mentioning only these two out of the several appreciations she has gained in this life.
All this and more is in one single life time. Sad as we are that Jessie has left us, we can best honor her by heeding her life's message directed specially to young women, but in truth, to all who are young at heart. Her message Is simple. If Jessie, a simple a girl from Nandigudda got to march with Martin Luther king Jr. and to watch him give the " I have a dream" speech.
If Jessie, a true daughter of Mangalore, can get to meet the Pope in Rome and the famed Kennedy brothers in America,
and If this thorough Jeppu girl, ends up in America's capital and as a crowning glory, and surrounded by luminaries, Bets to walk up to the stage and amid applause, accept the highest honor bestowed by a world class University, then, Jessie gives reason to all of us Mangoloreans and similar mortals everywhere, to think big thoughts and to reach for the highest star.
Each of us carries within us seeds of greatness. Each of us can venture out from our personal "gudda"and to head for the top of our personal Mount Everest and realize our dream. Each of us in our own personal way can make a difference and make the world better than it was when we found it.
To sum up, Jessie says: Dream big, start your journey today and do good along the way.
A few months ago she celebrated her 96th Birthday and I wrote this letter to her as a gift because she loved listening to what I read to her, which I now want to share with all of you.
So here goes…
Dear Jess,
The way you lived, The journey you have had, The people you raised, The hearts you touched are proof of an ideal life.
You paved your own path. You made your own rules. You created history. You were so secure. Your faith and gratitude towards the Lord has been the foundation for all your beautiful deeds.
Thank you for raising my brother and me. Thank you for correcting us and being honest with us even though we didn’t understand you. Thank you for all the unsaid values you taught us by just being you. Thank you for forgiving us and teaching us that we had only ourselves to depend on and being strong, was the only choice we had.
I promise you today that I am going to continue your legacy, and make you proud of the upbringing you have given me. You have lived a life full circle, and proved to the world that women are limitless and can achieve whatever they believe in.
Rest in power Jess , because you were fortunate to have lived an absolutely peaceful life.
I will always love you.