When Rasik Patel came from Kolhapur to Mumbai to get treatment for his daughter, detected with stomach cancer, he spent nearly a week on the footpath outside Tata Memorial Hospital, till he found shelter at the Sant Gadge Maharaj Dharamshala.
The facility run by Prashant Deshmukh with the help of the Shankara Hindu Mission (SHM) is a boon for numerous such families, who travel to the city from distant parts of the country, seeking a cure for the life-threatening ailment.
The SHM initiative was started in 2000 by a group of senior citizens in Matunga. Today, they serve hundreds of terminally ill cancer patients – most of them poor – providing lodging and food daily, even covering the cost of hospital treatment. They also provide support to about 40 hospitals, with medicines, medical equipment.
“Initially, we approached Shankaracharya with the idea to start a home for the aged. But he wasn't keen about it,” said Shiva Subramanium, who gave up his job at a tin manufacturer and opted to work at the Shankara Mattham temple.
They started with distributing fruits to cancer patients at Sion hospital and once even took the religious leader there. The dean at the time asked us for three ventilators and it was then that the Shankaracharya decided that SHM should serve the terminally ill cancer patients.
“We didn't want to own any asset, so we partnered with Prashant Deshmukh from the Sant Gadge Maharaj Dharamshala, where a large number of people live from all over the country,” said Subramanium, who is secretary of SHM.
The patients at the dharamshala get breakfast free, and pay a nominal Rs5 for lunch and dinner. There's a kitchen and even a prayer room and playroom on each of the five floors.
The charge for lodging is Rs25 per person in a room and Rs20 in the dormitory. The reason for the charges is that there is not enough space to accommodate the rush.
The volunteers will not stop at anything to ensure that people get assistance. Most of them are agricultural workers who have usually lost everything – the little jewellery they may have had and even their houses – on account of the ailment.
They say the cost of treatment back home is too expensive or there are no basic facilities. “These people from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or West Bengal head to Mumbai when there is no other option. Some of them have traveled for two or three days without food. What cancer patients require most is rest, nutritious food and care and we try to provide this here,” said Prashant Deshmukh, who manages the dharamshala.
The Annadaan Seva is organised by SHM. In addition, on the first Wednesday of every month, atleast 50 cancer patients in different parts of the city receive groceries and medical assistance on a pro rata basis.
Deshmukh is another who gave up a profitable banking job to take up this humanitarian service. Some of the other elder volunteers have a background in software engineering and development and private business. They meet at least once in a fortnight and are in touch daily.
Patel, whose daughter Simran has lost hair due to the effect of chemotherapy, is grateful for their help. “We received free food, clothes, medicines, transport to hospital, almost all that we needed. For the children, the playroom is the high spot at the dharamshala,” he said. His four-year-old will enjoy the hospitality till she's better and it's time to return home to Kolhapur.
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