October 20 for people like Dolly Boral (63), the little joys in life — a visit to a couple of Puja pandals, hugs from the near ones — have turned expensive over the years. The only consolation is that, she is not alone in the ordeal.
Sixty other elderly women like her have been languishing in an old age home for more than five years.
Dolly has almost lost count of the times she had waited for a familiar smile, a known face, only to return to her small cold bed, alone.
Ma Durga, the Mother Goddess, who is celebrated during the Puja holidays.And this is where the likes of Swapan Bose (47) step in. On Ashtami evening, Dolly and her companions in the home went for a trip around the city, soaking in the light and colours of the Durga Puja, the year's most important festival of the year in this part of India.
As usual she had been looking forward for a visit from the children but Bose and his friends filled up the void created by blood relations.
Bose, and his peers from Regent Place Welfare Society, are experts in bringing smiles back on faces. On Mahalaya, the same elderly ladies had gifts like sarees etc that Bose and his friends had bought with the money they pooled in.
Bose, a postman in the Jadavpur University area, found meaning back in life after his wife’s death in 1999 through the little help he could extend to those in problem. From getting rickshaw and van-pullers insured in cases of accidents to donations for people rendered homeless in floods, Bose, accompanied by his freinds, has done it all.
Bose, like several social welfare organisations, can boast of 24-hour ambulence service, arrangements for oxygen, monetary help for underprivileged students, blood donation camps etc. However, what touches one the most are the little gestures made towards helping fellow humans. Bose will not make tall promises.
Most of the services provided by him come for a price, even if it is negligible. But then in the middle of the night, if someone takes ill Bose will be at the service of the family. He will accompany the family to a hospital or nursing home, whatever hour of the day it is. “In emergency situations, people usually panic and cannot take decisions. That is where I come in. I help them soothe their nerves and accompany the relatives of the patient so that they don’t fret and feel helpless,” says Bose with a smile.
Apart from such initiatives, Bose and the members of the organisation he is associated with have taken up the responsibility of keeping the locality, the Regent Park area in south Kolkata, clean and spray bleaching powder and disinfectants at regular intervals to keep away mosquitoes and diseases.
The postman could well talk about the child suffering from haemophilia who he and his peers have taken under their fold and sponsor his treatment. However, he will rather mention the auto driver that he helped with Rs 1,000 for an elaborate treatment for his daughter. Bose accepts that the amount is insignificant when compared to the cost of treating a cancer patient, but what is important is being in touch with the human inside oneself. The human that feels when another is in pain. So he might not have the magic potion for all miseries in life, nor the means to find complete solutions to problems faced by people, but he does what every responsible human should do but hardly ever finds time out for amid all the selfish concerns.
Looking beyond one’s own home and hearth is a rarity these days, a rarity that thankfully lives on in people like Bose.
Just one hope: Onlookers don’t remain that way, and take a leaf or two out of Bose’s life.
By Piyasree Dasgupta
© 2007 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
