Pilkhana

We had a great dinner last night, not with Steve Waugh but with Tony Fehon, a business man from Australia who was at Udayan with Steve. The night was fantastic, but we were all suffering a bit this morning as we came down for breakfast.rnrnToday we went with Dr Kamruddin to see Pilkhana, the slum on the outskirts of Kolkata that is featured in ‘City of Joy’. Due to the success of the book and the film, the government has been forced into action and so conditions now are better than previously, but we were all still shocked by the squaller that people lived in. The open drains were particularly disgusting and created an awful stench.rnrnrnrnOnce in Pilkhana, we went to the headquaters of the United Brothers’ Assosiation, situated in the heart of the slum. The United Brothers’ Assosiation is funded partly from the royalties of ‘City of Joy’ and was founded in 1982 by social workers in an effort to help the downtrodden in Pilkhana. There, young ladies were taught sewing which enables them to bring in an income for their families.rnrnrnrnrnrnNext, we saw see Koshis, a home for handicapped children, also run by United Brothers’ Assosiation. Gaston Dayanand who is the hero of ‘City of Joy’ was instumental in setting this home up. Here they are provided with an education and trained in a skill so that they can make a living. There are currently 42 children living in the home.rnrnrnrnrnrnAfter Koshis, we visited Mariam Kinara, a recently opened home that takes care of handicapped women. This is situated on the outskirts of Kolkata, and saves the women from prison, where they would otherwise be put by the government. As yesterday, we were welcomed with open arms.rnrnTonight, we are all having dinner with James Stevens and his wife Lalitta.