Kolkata: Around 200 students from different institutes in the city, who met through a social media campaign over the past couple of weeks, have come forward to usher in the festive cheer in the lives of the elderly, who have been residing in old age homes, away from their families.The students, mainly from the University of Calcutta, Basanti Devi College and Goenka College of Commerce, among others are spending time with the occupants of various old age homes across the city during Durga Puja.They have reached out to about seven old age homes and distributed new clothes among the inmates.Ankita Chatterjee, an economics student at CU, said, “I had first visited Ashray Old Age Home at Beliaghata, met the residents and distributed new clothes among them. I realised that these senior citizens need companionship to drive away their loneliness. So, we decided to visit and share some time with them during the festival. This is a new experience, I have had during this puja.”Robin Das, a student of Goenka College of Commerce and Business Administration, is striking a balance between pandal hopping with friends and spending time with the elderly, who are often confined to the old age homes.“As a college student, most of our time goes into studying and charting career plans. Inspired by my friends, I have joined them to visit the old age homes and share the festive mirth with the elderly, who are inclusive of the society,” he said. “When we spend time with senior citizens, we realise that sometimes what they need most is not something expensive but simply someone who will sit with them, listen to them and make them feel remembered. They relive the childhood puja memories, when there wasn’t a frenzy for theme pujas or the glitz and show of social media,” said Ankita Khan, a student of Basanti Devi College.Braja Kishore Pradhan, CEO and founder of Aahwahan Foundation, a social organisation, said, “We are helping the students in carrying out the social work and arranging their visit to the old age homes. For the elderly, an old age home is not simply a place to live; it becomes the place where they search for the warmth, companionship and a sense of belonging they may have lost along the way.”
