One participant of this Medical Camp shares his experience :
Saturday morning, 1st Jan, about 50 people began their journey from CITY OF JOY to the CITY OF UNTOUCHED LIFE. We had a delicious breakfast made by the tribal ladies & girls in a small park where all the kids were playing and the men were busy discussing the schedule. We finally reached CHUNAKHALI, where all the villagers were eagerly waiting for our arrival & then they all escorted us with mixed faces, some smiling, some no reaction. We quickly made all the preparations and started the Medical Camp in the 1st campsite. It was very hot and sunny which didn't help us at all and the number of patients also kept rising. There was a park just behind the campsite building where the kids played, fought and what not. We all worked together as a unit and did a wonderful job checking them, giving them medicines, entertaining them (it was real fun) and interacting with them. Finally this 1st day Medical Camp came to an end. We all left for an ashram where we put up at night. I must say people out there are so supportive, that they happily agreed to our minimal demands. We had a sumptuous food that night accompanied by a small bonfire. It set the mood. Tired and a little bored, eventually, dreamy world got the better of us.
Sunday, 2nd Jan, we quickly refreshed ourselves in places out of our comfort zone and then had our breakfast which was nice and left for the 2nd campsite.
SONAKHALI, the place was small but still it managed to gather lots of people from distant places some walking 5-6 miles. It was a bit breezy and little less sunny. We quickly got into the act of gearing up and serving the people. We almost had 425 patients from various religions - hindu, muslim, sikh, isai. We cater to all sects of people. The people are so loving and caring that we almost feel at home. I learned a little bit of Bengali, for eg. AASHBEN, PAABEN, JAABEN and apart from that we had a nice lunch. After doing a splendid job, the 2nd day Medical Camp came to an end. We had a yummy food that night and everyone gelled with each other, which was so good to watch.
Next day, early in the morning, we headed towards SUNDERBANS, for which most of us came. We had a super time with the gang. It was so much fun. Beautiful place, it was. We missed the tiger by we got to see deer, turtle, monkeys especially ( no connections, lol) etc. Our launch got stuck in the middle of the water it was so hilarious for some of us (one kid started crying though). Then we hurried up and quickly reached the ashram where we were put up at night and left for KOLKATA. It started and ended in no time. We all had a time of our life. PURVANCHAL KALYAN ASHRAM rocks :)
Parth Rastogi, 18.
