 |
 |
Retired government clerk Tapan Paul had told his son on his deathbed not to waste money on his last rites. “Contribute to a social cause,” he advised Shibraj, an engineer.
Five months later, the money that might have been spent on Paul’s shradh has given students of a cash-strapped primary school in Chinsurah their only source of uninterrupted drinking water.
“My father would often say how much it pained him to see students of the primary school adjacent to our house suffering for want of potable water, especially in summer. So we thought of funding a drinking water project in his name,” Shibraj, who donated Rs 15,000 to the school, told Metro.
Purba Simla Prathamik Vidyalaya at Moinadanga now has a pump, a small tank and a tap for uninterrupted water supply. The school authorities have also purchased two cabinets and a bookshelf with the money donated by Shibraj.
The Paul family’s gesture not only shows how little it takes to help people but also how little the government does.
“For 32 years, batch after batch of students at Purba Simla Prathamik Vidyalaya have had to make do with a tubewell that would often dry up. And we are talking about a school located barely around 50km from Calcutta,” said a neighbour of the Pauls.
When Metro visited the school on Tuesday, a pile of books meant for the new academic session was on the floor of a dingy office room. “We don’t have proper storage space. Rodents might damage some of these books if they lie here but what can we do? We have bought a bookshelf and two cabinets with the donation but the school needs more,” said a teacher.
Tapan, who died of lung cancer aged 66 on August 9 last year, knew what it was like for children studying in schools with poor infrastructure because he used to teach in one before joining the West Bengal State Electricity Board in the seventies.
Family members said he always wanted to do something for Purba Simla Prathamik Vidyalaya but Tapan had little to spare after his medical expenses.
“He lived a simple life and retired with a monthly salary of around Rs 14,000. He loved trips to the hills and forests but cancer broke his body and spirit. Most of the money he had saved went towards his treatment,” recounted daughter Nandini.
With his health deteriorating fast, Tapan finally told son Shibraj about his last wish sometime last summer. “I immediately decided that I would fulfil it, come what may,” said Shibraj, employed with a company whose office is in Salt Lake’s Sector V.
Surgical oncologist Gautam Mukhopadhyay, who had supervised Tapan’s treatment, said the retired clerk would tell him that he wanted to recover fast and immerse himself in charity.
“He was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and underwent six cycles of chemotherapy. He had initially responded to treatment but the disease spread fast. Even when in pain, he used to tell me about the poor infrastructure of the school next door and about what needs to be done,” said Mukhopadhyay, who is the secretary of the Bengal Oncology Foundation.
With Shibraj fulfilling his father’s last wish, next summer is likely to be easier for the 150-plus students of the school.
“When the tubewell wouldn’t work, we had no choice but to step out of the school to fetch drinking water from elsewhere in the locality,” said Raja Mistry, a Class III student whose mother is a domestic help and father a rickshaw-puller.
“A tap with running water will be so much fun,” smiled Babai Sarkar, a Class IV student whose mother is a worker in a state health department project.
Shibraj said his father wouldn’t have wanted any credit for doing something that every citizen should. “Students between five and 10 years of age should not have to go through so much trouble for a bottle of water if we want our place in civilised society,” the engineer added.
But headmistress Swapna Roy Mukherjee said her school would always be grateful to the Paul family next door. “We have set up the reservoir and the pump will be in operation before the new academic session starts next month. The children will be so happy,” she said.
Tapan would probably have been happier.
