Samita Mukherjee, BE Block

My Santa is Partha Mitra, BE Block

My family and I will never forget the help from our neighbour Partha Mitra when my father, the late Haridas Sarkar, had developed Covid-19 complications in August.

I was confused when I was urgently asked for a minimum of two bottles of blood as my father was passing blood in his urine through the catheter for two days and his haemoglobin level was sinking. He was very aged and had heart ailments too.

At that time, there was acute shortage of blood in the city as donors were scared to come forward due to the pandemic situation and blood donation camps were not happening. No one in my small family was able to donate blood at that time (due to other reasons).

I alerted Mitra about the situation, with a request for blood. Within an hour, he organised two donors from among his junior colleagues. The two bottles blood mitigated the crisis at the point. It was an extraordinary support, which I felt as both a daughter and a medical practitioner.

Shila Mukherjee, HB Block

My Santa is Rabishankar Mukherjee, Bally

Both my husband and I are super senior citizens and stay on our own. During the lockdown months, my husband’s condition deteriorated to the extent that he became bed-ridden and almost senseless. My husband’s cousin’s son Rabishankar Mukherjee bailed us out through that period and continues to help us. Since neither of us is in a position to go to the bank to draw his pension, every month Rabi came to hand us some cash to meet our expenses. He also brought over fruits and medicines when our children, settled abroad, were unable to arrange for home delivery. Since he is employed in the essential services sector, he was active even during lockdown and would drive over from his Beleghata office on his two-wheeler. His help has been invaluable.

Monika Mukherjee, FD Block

My santa is Gourhari Roy, FD Block

I must mention the services rendered by Gourhari Roy, the guard posted for the last five years in the under-construction building opposite ours. He is from Namkhana in South 24-Parganas and seems to be around 55 years of age. During the lockdown months, when we were too scared to let our domestic help come, he was the one who ran the errands for not just me but also two other houses in the immediate vicinity. One night this summer especially comes to mind. The gentleman next door was then in the last stages of cancer. I was walking in our driveway after a late dinner when I spotted him pacing about on the street. Though I was surprised to see him I did not say anything then. But when I again him on the street early in the morning, I could not help but ask. He said the gentleman passed away that night. With their own caretaker away at his native village and the couple’s children unable to come from out of town, he was the one who stood by the lady through the final hours. No amount of tips can compensate for such support.

Indranil Guha, BE Block

My Santa is Basab Aich, BE Block

My uncle was in a Bypass hospital for a long time but as his situation was not improving, my cousin wanted to shift him to AMRI Hospital here. There was no vacancy. It was due to our block president Basab Aich’s intervention that we finally got a bed at 11pm. Again, when our neighbour next door fell in the bathroom and broke a hip bone, no ambulance was ready to take her to hospital. Being a COPD patient, she had breathing trouble. They thought she was suffering from Covid-19. Again, it was Basabda who arranged for an ambulance. He also helped us out when a tree fell in front of our house during Cyclone Amphan.

Romita Dey, GC Block

My Santa is Rekha Das, HB Block

In the initial days of the lockdown, I was trying to do everything on my own as both my house helps had gone on leave. Soon I hurt my back and my spondylitis acted up. The doctor advised rest and wearing a back support brace. My daughter could not visit due to the lockdown but my cook Rekha Das managed to come to work. Apart from cooking, she used to do all the shopping and also cleaned the house, without asking for extra pay. I live alone and I can’t imagine how I would have managed without her taking on extra workload.