Here, faith and dedication adorn the Lord’s image

Come Ganeshotsav and the joy on the faces of the physically challenged kids of Bal Kalyan Sanstha is quite visible. The children, after a year-long wait, begin preparations by making the idol of Lord Ganesha on their own and then decorate it for the 10-day festival. Those with a good voice and adept at string players also take part in special musical programmes organised to mark the occasion.
The desire of like-minded citizens to bring these kids under one umbrella and address their cause took shape in 1979 as Bal Kalyan Sanstha in Pune.
Speaking to DNA, Sanstha’s director Minita Patil said, “We have been celebrating the Ganesh festival since 1991. In the first year, our students made an idol out of clot plaster etc. Even as we have installed a permanent idol on the Raj Bhavan premises, our staffer Vilas More, who is hearing impaired, makes an idol every year.”
She said the sanstha’s children decorate the idols on their own. More, who teaches pottery to these children, has made a one-and-a-half-feet tall Ganesh idol out of shadu (clay) that will be immersed at the end of the festival.
With the state government’s help, the Bal Kalyan Sanstha, Pune -- A Recreational and Cultural Centre was inaugurated on November 14, 1983.
There were only 13 specialised schools for handicapped children in Pune in 1983. Later, the heads of these institutions became members of the sanstha.
In August 1984, around 500 children from various institutions in Pune and Mumbai had gathered at an event organised by the sanstha. Bilkees Latif, the president of the sanstha till 1995, used to organise get-together and fun parties for the children.
Bal Kalyan’s dance and drama instructors train children from various specialised schools. Some of the notable competitions are organised by schools and other organisations such as Umed Pariwar, Rotary and Lions Club.
d_kiran@dnaindia.net