What better way to wind up winter than spending a few weeks in India?
For Invers man Mac Lindsay, this is no pleasure cruise.
The 61 year old is heading to India to spend a few weeks doing missionary work in the bustling city of Kolkata.
For those of us not familiar with the geography of India, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and located on the east bank of the Hooghly River.
The population alone is enough to make one’s eyes water, about 4 and a half million in the inner city and about 14 million in the outskirts making it India’s second largest city.
Twenty million give or take for one city compared to our 4.8 million for our small country!
He says in a nutshell he’ll be working with and helping the needy.
The employee of Invers based Alliance Group Ltd says although he’s travelling alone as a free agent, he’ll be working with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
Mac Lindsay says once he registers the sisters will direct him to houses so he can begin his work to tend to some of life’s far less privileged.
He says says this trip has been on his bucket list since visiting the bustling city in his early backpacking days.
He says he stayed there for about a week and clearly recalls how impoverished it was. He says back then there was a big gap between the wealthy and the impoverished. Something which Lindsay says has probably got much worse over time.
Now in his early 60’s, Mac Lindsay says that backpacking visit sowed the seed in wanting to return and do something to help.
He says as an adventurous traveller in his younger days, he now realises he was constantly taking and giving very little in return. Something no doubt many seasoned travellers will testify to.
Mac Lindsay says now is the right time in his life to make the trip and that he has the full support and backing of his wife and family.
He says he doesn’t know if any other Kiwi’s will be there when he’s there but he does know that people of all ages from all over the world take time out of their lives to serve the less fortunate even if only for a short time.
A few days out from his departure, Mac Lindsay says there’s a mixture of nerves and excitement at what lies ahead but he says they should all disappear when he gets on the plane.
Who wouldn’t have nerves, after an early morning arrival and a couple of nights in a modest hotel, the man from the meatworks will be on his own.
As a seasoned Toastmaster (Mac belongs to Invercargill 5.30Forum Toastmasters Club) Mac has already hooked up with a Toastmasters club in Kolkata and will present a speech talking about his employers The Alliance Group Ltd and a new product of theirs of which he is very passionate about, Te Mana Lamb.
He says he’ll definitely make time to take in the sights, sounds and tastes in what is regarded as India’s city of culture.
Mac Lindsay says over the years he has developed a simple life philosophy. That is to meet people and leave them happier for the experience.
He says that is what he hopes and plans to do in Kolkata.
If you know of anyone who might be heading away from the beaten track and doing something a bit out of the ordinary soon, please let us know so hopefully we can get their story on whatsoninvers.nz