On Friday March 6, 2009, patients, many of whom were spending their first Holi away from home, which may be a village in Bihar and UP, sang and danced with gay abandon to the sound of the dholak. This was followed by the application of the traditional tikka with colourful gulal on the forehead. It was a joyous occasion for all.

On March 9, it was the turn of the children who come to the day care centre on Mondays to celebrate. First, the volunteers explained to them the significance of Holi, after which they played to their heart’s content, not with colours or with water but with fragrant and colourful flowers.

It was a delight to watch the children forget about their illness and get into the spirit of the event. The small lawn was a riot of colourful petals that morning!

The celebration was also attended by employees of Promed Exports Pvt. Ltd, a company that has been a long-time supporter of our work, and by students from Fostiima Business School who often volunteer with CanSupport.

International Children’s Day
On Monday, the 1st of June, International Children’s Day, regular visitors to our daycare –children under treatment for cancer and their parents – were in for a treat: an outstanding dance recital by four young disciples of Sharon Lowen, a world renowned Odissi dancer. Odissi is an Indian classical dance form from the eastern state of Orissa. This was the first time that the parents and their children were seeing a live performance. As one of them remarked, “The only dance performances we see are on TV. This is a whole new experience for us.”

Disciples of Sharon Lowen giving an Odissi dance performance at the CanSupport Day Care

Harmala, President, CanSupport at the Day Care