Tag: puja

shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

Gifts from London

Jewellrey gifts from friends in London arrived just in time for the beginning of the Puja season here in Kolkata. This season is similar to Christmas - everyone looks forward to getting new clothes and gifts.

As you can see the recipients of these wonderful gifts were thrilled to receive them.

Special thanks to Patricia Brady for thinking of shuktara and to Cecile Tiano for the wonderful jewellery and for your generosity in passing it along.

shuktara homes for young adults with disability - puja at Lula Bari

Mike Gibson visits Lula Bari

It was at the very beginning of shuktara that Mike and Lula Gibson first visited us back in 2000. Lula died in 2012 and had always wanted people to support our girls, so when we were able to purchase a house for the girls we named it in her memory.

Lula Bari meaning Lula's House in Bengali.

Mike Gibson returned to visit us and we held a Lakhi Narayan Pujo in Lula Bari to celebrate Lula's life and our girls and their home.

If you would like to support the girls at Lula Bari please click here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Lula-Gibson

shuktara home for girls - Diwali 2016 - Ipshita, Moni and Lali

Diwali at Lula Bari with Sunnie

Celebrating Diwali with the girls at Lula Bari yesterday!
Masks, photos and so much love from Sunnie Niklaus

All photos by Sunnie Niklaus
shuktara home for young people with disabilities - 2016 October - Sanjib gives Puja gifts

Sanjib returns to give Puja gifts

When Sanjib came on 23rd September with food for both of our homes, he promised to come back with clothes for the girls and the boys closer to Durga Puja.

Just check out our latest boy Subhash here who has received his first gift of a new shirt! Below are all the boys with Sanjib and a photo of Muniya and Lali with their gifts of perfume. Everyone looks very happy.

Thank you to Sanjib Shaw for being so generous, and Happy Puja!

shuktara - Ramesh helps with Vishwakarma Puja

Vishwakarma Puja on the roof

shuktara - Ramesh helps with Vishwakarma Puja

Vishwakarma Puja is usually celebrated in the workplace and always on the roof of the shuktara boys house in Kolkata. Essentially this is a Puja where workers have their tools blessed. This is what Wikipedia says about this festival:
It is generally celebrated on 17 or 18 September in Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Tripura. The festival is observed primarily in factories and industrial areas, often on the shop floor. As a mark of reverence the day of worship is marked not only by the engineering and architectural community but by artisans, craftsmen, mechanics, smiths, welders, industrial workers, factory workers and others. They pray for a better future, safe working conditions and, above all, success in their respective fields. Workers also pray for the smooth functioning of various machines. It is customary for craftsmen to worship their tools in his name, refraining from using the tools while doing so. Modern electronic servers are also worshipped for their smooth functioning.

Special statues and pictures of Vishwakarma are normally installed in every workplace and factory. All workers gather in one common place and perform the puja .

Below are more photos from shuktara's rooftop celebration...