As she is slowly wheeled into the sun-kissed corridors of the serene convent situated on Dhole Patil Road, Sister Ward attempts a smile that fades on being told that she needs to speak about herself.``I do not like talking about myself,'' she says haltingly. ``I turned 100 because of God's will. I had little to do with it.''

Despite her disinterest, January 26 was a day for much activity in the usually quiet convent. About 80 people gathered at the chapel for a special mass for the lady affectionately called Wardy. In the afternoon it was the turn of about 35 former students of Mumbai's Sophia College to troop in with their wishes. ``Many of them were the ones she had taught as far back as 1948 and who are now grandmothers themselves,'' adds Sister Bernha Wilcox, her close companion. A special cake comprising a 100 peach coloured roses and prepared by one of the sisters of the convent was cut by Sister Ward even as the other sisters rendered some of the songs composed by her in her earlier days including Tagore's `He comes, comes, ever comes.''

Born in England in 1899, Mildred Ward joined the Society of the Sacred heart in 1920 at the age of 21. She studied English literature at Oxford University and became a licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music. Invited to India to start the Sophia College she arrived in Mumbai in 1939, just after the outbreak of the World War II, which cut off her communication with her family for many months. Co-founding Sophia in 1941, Sister Ward worked there as the vice principal till 1948, after which she took over as principal, holding it for twenty long years. In 1965 she handed over the reins of the college to an Indian sister, though she continued teaching for another five years. Then feeling that the new principal would probably be more at ease ``without me breathing down her neck'' retired to Pune to lead a life devoted to prayer and silence.

In Pune too she began to work for the Catholic and Enquiry Centre identifying people who needed help, till a bad fall in 1990 confined her to the bed and the wheel chair. Today the 100-year-old nun spends most of her time in prayer, deriving all her strength from her firm belief in God's will and her immense love for India. She refused twice to go back to Britain, when the opportunity presented itself, opting instead to spend all her days in the country that has been home to her for the past 60 years. ``I love India because of the people,'' she whispers.

Ward was in fact one of the few British who offered to look after the children of the freedom fighters during the height of the freedom struggle in case of their arrest by the British government. ``Her empathy with the Indian people and their sufferings was amazing,''adds Wilcox.

Most of her former students remember her for her timely help in their studies, the respect she commanded and her subtle wit. ``Another striking feature is her straight forwardness and honesty. In fact, her message to all her former students who came to wish her was to emphasise on the virtues of truth, simplicity and honesty, which is the best gift they could bestow on their children,'' adds another long-time companion Sister Patricia Pippet (94).

Free from any disease despite her advanced age and with a strong heart and constitution, Ward does have to grapple with occasional memory loss. And how does she feel to be a 100 years old? ``I don't feel anything. It was a nice day. Enjoyable and tiring. And of course I had ice cream...but then I have ice cream everyday... I love ice creams. Sometimes I have it before my soup." she trails off. The setting sun throws an orange glow on her still strong features. She signals to her companions that she would like to go to the chapel now and do what she likes doing best - pray in silence. Especially at twilight time.