• An elderly woman with salt and pepper hair, wearing a white sari and a quiet smile

• An elderly woman with salt and pepper hair, sporting a fuchsia and yellow maxi dress, yellow bindi on her forehead, matching flowers in her hear and the same quiet smile on her lips

Ho Chi Minh Sarani: Two faces of the same woman - Shyamali Pal, 67, who suffers from schizophrenia.

Shyamali is one of the dozen homeless men and women, all over 50 years and most battling mental health issues, to be featured in a calendar to raise awareness about homelessness.

"I am looking beautiful. This was such a different experience," said Shymali, blushing as she pointed to her picture in the calendar.

The former physics teacher from Burdwan now lives in a shelter under NGO Iswar Sankalpa. She was found lost and helpless at Sealdah four years ago, unable to remember her name.

The calendar launched by Strugglewood at the ICCR on Wednesday is part of project Bae Umra - a tribute to all grandparents, especially the ones who are forgotten and uncared for. The outfits for the calendar were designed by Agnimitra Paul.

Sudesh Desh, another boarder at a shelter run by Iswar Sankalpa, looked lost when guests came up to congratulated him at the ICCR. He is not inclined to talk much and yet the calendar shoot had transformed him into a more confident person.

Dressed in shades of blue and wearing an impish smile, he appears content with his world in the calendar. "It is the camera I loved," said Sudesh, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Sudesh's minders and counsellors said he is good at non-verbal communication and that's what made him stand out during the shoot.

"It was a new kind of exposure for our boarders who are all homeless and suffering from psycho-social disability. We try to involve them in a lot of activities. But this project was different. They were so happy to pose in such smart attire. They loved the attention," said Bidisha Barman, a counsellor at Iswar Sankalpa.

Monika Bose, who runs the staff canteen at her shelter under Iswar Sankalpa enjoyed, the break from routine. "I loved what I wore," said Bose, 59, who flaunted smart shades, chunky silver jewellery and a patchwork shrug for the shoot.

Fashion designer Paul was happy that the project had managed to "break stereotypes about calendar models". The shoot took place in a studio on Southern Avenue over three days in April.

Most of the male models are from the streets of Kalighat, Garia and Hazra. "We had to cajole some but ultimately everyone enjoyed the shoot as well as the adda that followed," said Sankhadeep Roy of Strugglewood.

"Only those willing to be photographed were chosen. Now they are all more confident," said Barman.

Roy said the project was aimed at spreading awareness about the condition of senior citizens, many of them homeless and suffering from mental disability. "We need to be more empathetic and give them hope of a better life," he said.

"This calendar is not for sale. It will be distributed privately to spread awareness about social conditions and mental illness," Roy said. The calendar images will be printed on notebook covers for sale. The proceeds will be used for the welfare of the models and other destitute.

Others involved in the project were actress Sreelekha Mitra, Arijit Seth who was part of storytelling and direction and Rahul Banerjee who conceptualised and photographed them models.

Bengali and Hindi poetry by Poulomi Roy and Palash Chaturvedi feature alongside the photographs.