Before Raja moved in, he spent a lot of time in shuktara and was good friends with all the boys. When he was accused of stealing a bicycle and thrown out of the residential care home he lived in, we took him in. This was in 2006 – he would have been about 15 years old.
Raja studied at the Oral School for the Deaf where he learned to sign. He loves to draw and paint. When asked about his talent for art he said: “From when I was very young I always used to draw cars and bikes.” He is proud at how quickly his work sells out, and loves being able to spend the money he earns from his art on things like clothes and his motorbike.
His other hobby is football, and he has a keen interest in fashion and style. His ambition was always to make his own home and have his own family.
In February 2014 Raja married a Deaf girl called Riya and they now have a daughter, Oindrila, who was born on 28th August 2015.
Raja lives independently as do Sanjay, Kedar and Pinku. Every day Raja stops by to visit us and continues to do his painting at the boys house. He also works at Shuktara Cakes with some of our older boys making authentic French patisserie.
Belinda Carlisle comes to see shuktara and Raja’s art in Kolkata…