Visit to Nabaneer, Behala
Our visit to this home was one of the most touching and fulfilling visits. This home has 72 ladies, 16 gents and a staff of 15.
The inmates gathered together in their dining room and we could meet each one of them and talk to them about their lives in the home – the answer was in unison “we are truly happy here and enjoy our retirement.” Nothing could be more uplifting that these few words – the inmates were happy in this world where they found peace, companionship and a home away from home.
The inmates entertained us in style with Rabindra Sangeet, recitations and of course smiles and stories they had to tell us.
Usha Chakravarthyu (74 years) sang a song for us whilst Arun Chatterjee (75 years) and Gautam Das (73 years) recited stories from Rabindra Nath Tagores stories. This rich cultural repertoire filled our hearts and enlightened us on how highly educated and proficient these Senior Citizens are.
A visit was made to the sick room where two ladies were very ill – one of them could speak to us and it was an emotional moment – we pray that God may bless these inmates with strength, good health and happiness always.
It was almost time to leave the Home when the lady in charge Purna Di informed us that there was one lady Gita Sarkar (74 years) who had no one to pay for her stay in the home. The entire team including Mr Maneesh Pradhan agreed almost instantly to sponsor this lady’s stay in the Home – the cost would be Rs.1000/month – Mr Pradhan handed over Rs.2000/- to Gita Sarkar to pay for her stay for the next 2 moths i.e. Oct and Nov 2010 and we would continue to pay for her upkeep at the home – Gita Sarkar was so touched by this gesture and had tears of joy in her eyes.
A common request by the inmates was for new books for their Library comprising Adventure stories by their favourite Bengali authors – Shankar and Asha Purna Devi. We will be fulfilling this request of theirs very soon. We also handed over to them certain items they had requested for like phenyl, Detergent powder, buckets, tube lights, bulbs and Biscuits. We promised to visit them soon with their books and give them their favourite fish lunch. This visit touched our hearts.
