On Saturday, when the city was drenched on the sixth day of the Mahasashti festival, around 125 people from Premashray visited five puja pandals in the Salt Lake area.
On Saturday, when the city was drenched on the sixth day of the Mahasashti festival, around 125 people from Premashray visited five puja pandals in the Salt Lake area.
10-year-old Sandeep Ghosh is undergoing treatment for leukemia at Tata Medical Center in Kolkata since July 2022. As the festival of Durga Puja draws near, the boy’s parents from Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas were a little worried about how to take their child for a visit. Worshippandals. Doctors have said that Sandeep has low immunity and should avoid crowds, his mother Dipannita Ghosh said.
Similarly, 68-year-old Gopal Chandra Pal, who came from Bangladesh for throat cancer treatment at Tata Medical Center, got upset when doctors advised him that he could not return home as his chemotherapy would start soon.
Young Sandeep and Mr Pal are both staying at Premashraya in Kolkata’s New Town area near Tata Medical Centre, a makeshift home for a community of around 500 cancer patients and their caregivers. Premashraya was built in 2015 by Coal India Limited and has been run by Tata Medical Center since then. The people behind Premashray decided that its residents should not go outside the worship festival.
On Saturday, when the city was drenched in the festive spirit of Mahasashti, on the sixth day of the festival, around 125 people from Premashray visited five puja pandals in the Salt Lake area. The local police station provided pilot cars, vehicles were on hand for medical emergencies, and puja organizers were informed in advance to facilitate smooth entry for visitors.
Premashray, a makeshift home for a community of around 500 cancer patients and their caregivers in Kolkata, decided that its residents should not miss out on puja festivities. , photo credit: special arrangement
“The two air-conditioned buses carrying 60 patients and their caregivers started around 10 am and they returned by 1 pm,” said Sudeshna Dutta, head of operations of Premashray unit and Tata Medical Centre, said.
Ms Dutta said Premashaya is trying to keep the spirit of Durga Puja alive with several special events, including decorations with motifs and images depicting the autumn festival, and new clothes for residents, starting from September 24 on Lakshmi. The worship continues. Second week of October. “Cancer is a marathon and it is very important to have a positive spirit while battling the disease,” said Ms. Dutta.
Other efforts are also trying to make it a more inclusive Durga Puja so that no section of the society is left out. Earlier this week, Kolkata Police organized a special ‘Pooja Parikrama’ for around 400 elderly members of Pranam, a community policing initiative to serve 150 children and senior citizens with special needs.
In December 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the unique inclusivity of the festival was one of the reasons for its recognition. UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Secretary Tim Curtis said at an event in Kolkata in September that there has been a positive change and inclusion in Durga Puja through the transition to the public sector as a form of community worship.