Author: Asian Lite Newsdesk

With a significant population, India has already been facing a great task in dealing with the damages caused by the impacts of the virus and maintaining social distancing. To make matters worse, another natural disaster hit West Bengal on 20^th May as the coastal areas of the states of Odisha and the West Bengal suffered the heavy impacts of one of the strongest cyclones in decades. The hurricane caused by super cyclone “Amphan” destroyed fishing villages, homes and farms, brought down the power lines and damaged roads and highways. The high-speed winds of up to 190 Km/h caused surges in storm and heavy rainfall, raising the sea level and flooding agricultural land, farms and towns. The poor infrastructure of Kolkata could not cope with the consequence of overflowing water in the streets. Many neighbourhoods such as Kumotuli were devastated. Homes and workshops were swamped in the flooding water. People have become both jobless and homeless.

Jaydeep felt guilty and had to raise a new initiative to help his fellow citizens and compatriots. He had to expand and move his relief efforts to the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is a delta in the Bay of Bengal, formed by the confluence of three rivers: the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. It is partly in India and another part of this unique ecological area is located in Bangladesh. The four areas in Sundarbans have been registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites, because of their rich ecological importance, mangrove forests and wildlife sanctuaries. The Sundarbans National Park has been a centre of world attention because of the tiger and biosphere reserve, and faunal wildlife.  

Sundarbans is protected from the sea by the wide range of mangrove forests which is covered by Sundari trees with broad green leaves. Sundari in Bengali means beautiful. The protection of these beautiful trees is vital to the livelihoods of the farmers and agriculture in Sundarbans. Unfortunately, the storm has also had a devasting impact on the mangrove forest, damaging many Sundari trees. As a result, the salt water has penetrated the farmland, destroying all cultivation. There are approximately 200 villages with an overall population of over 2 million in Sundarbans. The farmers in these lands rely heavily on their agricultural investment and hard work. Jaydeep explained that it takes at least three years before Sundarbans can recover from the shock and devastation of the cyclone.

The impact of the Cyclone has endangered the life and the well-being of not only the inhabitants of Sundarbans but also the tigers and all other wildlife. The ecology of the area has been disturbed, which will take a long time to recover. Many animals such as wild hogs, boars and deer were killed following the cyclone. As a result, the tigers are not able to hunt for food as before and attack local villages. This has added more danger and pain for the inhabitants of Sundarbans who became homeless and without proper shelter. Jaydeep told me that they have an expression in the area that “the Law of nature is the law of the land.” He continues saying, “Nobody can control this wild area.” Many parts of Sundarbans are no man’s land due to the extreme wild and dangerous tigers and other animals around.

Traveling to Sundarbans is strictly restricted and nobody can go there without permission. Jaydeep and his team of 15 people from Meghdutam Foundation under police escort and with the help of local government administration in Sundarbans took a three-hour journey to carry the relief packages to the villages in hardship. They also had to take a boat to reach the delta. According to Jaydeep, they visited Sundarbans 8 times in 45 days. Apart from the packages of food, the team carried with them clothing for the villagers, mosquito nets and tarpaulins to cover the roofs of damaged houses.

Jaydeep praised the help and support of all those people who sacrificed their time and energy to take the hands of other people in need on the frontline and backstage. Jaydeep particularly mentions the heroic story of an 87-year-old woman who has relentlessly stood by the aid workers since the start of the pandemic. Ms Kanta Devi Karnani who is originally from Kolkata has lived her life with her family in London. She regularly made short visits to Kolkata and returned to London, but since her last visit she has been stuck in Kolkata due to the flight bans. Jaydeep told me, “Kanta had to stay in her house in Kolkata while all her family are in London.” Jaydeep continues, “Instead of slipping into a much expected physical and mental low, she kept her will high by helping the relief workers of the non-governmental and non-commercial charitable organisation of Meghdutam Foundation.” Kanta, with the help of her servant cooked food for 15 members of Meghdutam every day for the past 4 months. Her sons, who have a factory in the UK, have also donated funds for the cause of the Meghdutam Foundation.

The world is witnessing a new era on the face of the pandemic. The state of Bengal and the city of Kolkata are arguably suffering more than any other places in the world. The people in Kolkata and Sundarbans live amidst fragile infrastructure, poorer and in more vulnerable situations than any other parts of India. However, Jaydeep and other aid workers with the care of government organisations and other NGOs bring hope and faith to vulnerable and helpless people.

It is unlikely that the Durga Puja Festival would be celebrated on the streets again in October 2020, but surely all people of Kolkata stand together in prayers whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian, to the ultimate being, Brahma, Allah or God, praying for the end of the coronavirus. 

To support Meghdutam Foundation contact:

www.meghdutamfoundation.org 

It was in October of 2019 when I was in Kolkata, India, to be a competition judge among 13 members of a jury. The International Jury Award took place during the Durga Puja festival to help review 300 hundred pandals created by local artists and artisans. The city was colourful and vibrant in the celebration of the festival, uplifted in a united spirit to bring joy and happiness to the city regardless of religion or political ideas.

On the surface, I found Kolkata a grey and hectic city, with poverty ever-present, roads heavily congested and old rundown buildings. However, you cannot judge a place at first sight. Kolkata has many hidden beauties with a rich heritage overshadowed by its colonial history, ruled by the British Raj from 18^th to the beginning of 20^th Century. Kolkata is a city of contrast and contradictions, trying to recover from its colonial past and consolidate its ancient roots. Despite being under the influence of a western European power over one century has kept its character. The emergence of intellectuals, scholars and poets such as Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Ramakrishna and many other writers and artists have kept the spirit of the city alive which persists today. The creative works of pandals is an example of livelihood of the city.

The Durga Puja Festival opened a window for me to see the richness of the culture and creativeness of the people in Kolkata. Each pandal represented a unique and different story of life and social matters in and around Kolkata and even went further, sharing stories on a global level by choosing international themes. Jaydeep Mukerjee, a travel agent in Kolkata is the founder of Meghdutam Travels and International Jury Award. He has been a pioneer to promote the Durga Puja Festival internationally. Jaydeep and his family worked hard to showcase the work of local communities and clubs in support of creative pandals which they have sponsored for many years. Jaydeep’s ambition is to showcase the creative works of artists to the world.

Just like in other places around the world, life went on as usual in Kolkata until the coronavirus pandemic hit the world. The city of Kolkata was no exception. India, like many other countries in the world has suffered badly and the poor and vulnerable people have been mostly affected. All sectors of the society face a challenging time to experience self-isolation and quarantine. All projects have been put on hold, and the financial state of companies and individuals is disturbed. Villagers who had migrated from the countryside to the city and the local poor workers of Kolkata who are heavily reliant on events such as the Durga Puja Festival have suffered the consequences of lockdown. These workers used to work for local sports, activities or charity clubs and in neighbourhood communities preparing all aspects, from the design of the pandals to idol-making and the construction and decoration of huge settings of Pandals throughout Kolkata. The workers of Kumortuli quarter in the northern part of Kolkata have become jobless. Kumortuli is a well-known district for all traditional potters and sculptors of Kolkata.

While the world is waiting for a cure from the hands of scientists and people are advised to take shelter in their homes and commit to lockdown and self-isolation, Jaydeep and his wife Swaguna have sacrificed their health, time and energy to help the needy people of Kolkata. Jaydeep has deep sympathy for the children and families of the workers and wishes to do something to help their plight. He arranged a major relief effort through his newly established charity, Meghdutam Foundation. Jaydeep has organised the supplies, contributions and gifts from local communities in addition to private donations. The Durga Puja clubs often requested help from Jaydeep to help the locals. Jaydeep said, “the funds were used to purchase the essential necessities such as rice, potatoes, cooking oil, biscuits and cakes, baby food and sanitizers”. Jaydeep’s wife, two daughters and mother-in-law joined him in this campaign to do all the packaging. Jaydeep and his wife put themselves on the frontline taking the food packages to Kumotuli quarter and Sonagachi area, two of the most deprived neighbourhood in Kolkata. “We covered over 150 families a day,” Jaydeep said.

“We visited orphanages and helped the guys who did the newspaper deliveries, as printing has stopped.”

Jaydeep started another interesting initiative as well: “we will be carrying with us a few boxes of crayons and pencils for young children to encourage them to draw and paint.”  Inspired by global events, and as a way to embed it into their art, they created a slogan: “we kill the Coronavirus as the Durga killed the Demon.” Jaydeep said, “they truly believe in what they are doing.” The children had a theme to work on as they have been brought up with the mystical story of Durga, a female character, a ten-armed Hindu Goddess who rescued the earth from an evil demon called “Mahisasur”. The Durga had to kill the demon without shedding any blood, otherwise each blood drop would have reproduced another demon.

Jaydeep said, “the young artists are calling the mother Durga to rescue the earth from the demon”. The paintings will eventually be exhibited and sold to raise funds and help their families and fellow citizens. Jaydeep said that he would continue to provide support until the coronavirus is over.

To support Meghdutam Foundation contact:

www.meghdutamfoundation.org