IE :Tata Memorial Hospital makes greeting cards with drawings by terminally ill children:Oct 29,2007

PICTURE PERFECT
Tata Memorial Hospital makes greeting cards, calendars with drawings by terminally ill children
JINAL SHAH

A ROUND face with precisely seven strands of hair, short arms clinging on to two sides of a square bust, unusually long rectangular legs – a figure that would have fetched not more than a C grade in a drawing class, has proved to be rewarding for six-and-a-half year old Sagar Indulkar, a survivor of brain tumor.
Sagar’s sketch is among the 12 drawings handpicked for an annual calendar prepared by another survivor in an attempt to spread awareness and generate money for treatment of poor patients.
“They may make simple scenery drawings like a stream of water running past triangle mountains, a house and a coconut tree or a portrait of mother, father and two kids – but every painting have its own story. They paint and we try to extract the meaning out of it,” said Dr Rakesh Jalali, consultant oncologist and incharge of brain tumor foundation at the Tata Memorial Hospital .
Every eighth month of the year, the hospital holds an annual art festival as part of its support group activity. Kids from across the country – survivors as well as those being treated at the Tata Memorial Hospital participate in this festival. The best drawings are then selected by a panel of judges and transformed into greeting cards.
“Judges select the best drawings not on the basis of good artwork. They weigh it with the deficit problems the child is facing after treatment, and the efforts put into the artwork in spite of the problem,” said Dr Jalali.
The hospital has been holding such competition and making greeting cards for the past four years now, according to Pushpa Vanere, therapist and one of the members of the foundation.
“This year alone we have sold 30,000 greeting cards each worth Rs 10. The money generated out of this is put back in giving free treatment to needy patients,” Vanere said. She added, “This year, one of our survivors thought of this unique idea of compiling a set of drawings into a calendar, which she designed herself. The calendar titled ‘Anew year of hope and knowledge’ costs around Rs 200.”
These ideas help not only in generating money for free treatment for other needy patients but also to spread awareness among general masses on brain tumor.
Stepping out of KEM hospital on Saturday morning with mother Varsha, Sagar, a class I student from Borivali, has to undergo a series of tests as his vision is unclear. (This could be one of the side effects of his treatment for brain tumour, doctors say.) “He is unable to see clearly and cannot concentrate on his studies. His teachers have asked us to stall his studies till his treatment is complete and he retains normal vision,” said Varsha.
Ask him why he drew a boy instead of scenery, Sagar promptly replies, “Mala mulga banavta aavadte. (I like making drawings of a boy)”. Varsha tells a more poignant story though. “Ever since his elder brother died, he has just been drawing his brother’s figure. He even calls everyone in his school by his brother’s name,” she explained.
With several orders placed for the calendars, Dr Jalani is hopeful that more and more people will come forward to help these kids, by buying greeting cards and calendars. Varsha made an appeal to the people, “This year when you send greetings to your friends and relatives, please remember thousands of children who may not live out till the end of the year, or may need long-term rehabilitation. Buying one card may not make a difference to your life but definitely makes a big difference in theirs.”
To book a calendar or a greeting card, contact Dr Jalali on www.braintumorindia.com

Publication : IE; Section : MN; Pg : 2; Date : 29/10/07