Day 25, Sunday 22nd October

For the first time I woke up this morning and didn’t feel like a hot and sticky mouse sweating in my bed. The days are definitely becoming cooler and a lot less humid which makes everything a little more pleasant. Sundays are also a day off from work so the plan for today is to laze. We’re now settled at work, we have moved our morning shift to Daya Dan, a home by the river for disabled and mentally challenged children. It’s still hard and tiring but the two of us feel much more suited to the work than that of Prem Dan.

The building must have undergone a lot of work to get it to the warm, welcoming and child friendly stage that it’s at now. The dormitories are airy and bright and there are two large open plan communal play areas where lots of jigging, dancing and rolling about on the floor occurs. There is a soft playroom lined with blankets and mattresses for the more seriously disabled children and a creative room which houses books and a pet rabbit!? Also the sisters here are extremely friendly and welcoming which makes a serious difference.

Lunchtime can be interesting, I am thinking of purchasing a mac after Jonny and I fed a liitle girl with cerebral palsy (also called Lucy) yesterday. I held her arms down and Jonny forced her head back to control the spasms whilst he spoon-fed her. She’s a lovely girl and apparently extremely bright compared to the others and when she manages a smile it’s a rather cheeky one. The children take a nap in their cots after lunch and it was a pleasure to see Lucy finally relaxing and becoming still as we laid her to rest.

There’s another little girl who stands out but I’m not sure of her nane yet. When we first arrived she was crouched on the floor, head down, facing the wall, systematically rubbing the wall and floor around her. We know that she is blind but Jonny thinks that she may also be Autistic. She doesn’t interact with any of the other children and often lashes out when they come near her. One of the sisters moved her from the wall to the middle of the play area and she sat rocking with her hands over her head. I went to her and gave her my arm which she took and then resumed the same ball-like position on my knee. She obviously dislikes the loud cries and shouts from all around her and at times looks almost panic-filled. I did eventually get her to relax a little by humming in her ear and after repeating the same basic tune over and over she actually joined in. I have to say she didn’t hit all the right notes but it was a jolly good effort. The problem then occurred when I had to move her from my lap and she pulled at my hair and face with her tiny but strong hands.

As having a child with mental or physical problems is usually seen as a burden over here, many parents simply dump their children on the doorsteps of Daya Dan. Our newest addition is a tiny little girl, no more than a year old, we’ve yet to know what’s wrong with her. The building houses around seventy children and I feel sure in the fact that we’ll meet some real characters over the next few weeks.

Our work at Kali Gaht in the afternoons continues to be very satisfying. The hospice is a peaceful and dignified place and the patients are a pleasure to be around. I didn’t think I would ever be able to work this close to death and manage as well. It feels comforting to know that I can offer someone in their last few weeks or days a hug or a giggle or I can paint their nails and make them feel just a little better. The work does require us to change nappies and clear up messes they make but it’s proving easier than expected to deal with.

Some of the women are painfully thin, almost cartoon like and often when I look at them they don’t look real. Many have to lay in the same position with their legs intertwined and they can’t move themselves so we have to prise apart their emaciated limbs. When we first arrived I couldn’t actually believe that one of the ladies was still alive. She reminded me of one of the dead bodies from the Ethiopian famine I had seen on the news. She often went into trance like states and couldn’t take anything more than half a slice of bread soaked in milk. On Friday I was massaging the lady in the bed next to her when a young Spanish volunteer called out to the sister. She’d taken medication to the patient and couldn’t get a response. The sister came over and announced her dead. We gathered round for a short blessing and then went back to work. I watched from the bed next to hers as the sister pulled back the cover to reveal a skeletal body. She was then covered in talc, wrapped in a hessian blanket and lifted onto a stretcher. As she was so far removed from anything resembling a human being, the whole process didn’t affect me as I thought it might.

Yesterday was another, yes, another Hindu festival, “Kali Puja” and we celebrated last night with a few beers and dinner in one of the more expensive restaurants. It still only came to around twelve pounds for the two of us but by Kolkatan standards that’s pretty steep. The skies were awash with fireworks and people in their best dress lined the streets to admire the many extraordinarily beautiful temporary temples that have been erected over the last few weeks. We didn’t manage to stay out late to witness the hardcore partying as we’re both still a little weak after being ill and as we haven’t really had a drink since arriving in India, a few beers coupled with the heat sent us off rather quickly. It’s a good job we’re not drinking much out here as hangovers in central Kolkata are NOT a pleasant experience.