Hul Utsav blood camp offers Santhals a way back to roots

KOLKATA: Santhals working in the medical field or studying medicine organized a blood donation camp in an auditorium at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Sunday to observe Hul Utsav.
“At present, the number of doctors from the community across the state must be over 400. However, only those working in Kolkata could make it to the event on Sunday,” said Dr Santosh Kumar Saren, a former employee of Port Trust.
Even though the shortage of blood supply that had intensified during April and June has abated, the blood units collected on Sunday will enhance the existing stock.

“Normally, there is a crisis from April to June. This year, coupled with the election, the problem intefied. Now the supply is limping back to normal and we are able to meet the demand of around 550 units per day,” said Dr Swapan Saren, director of Central Blood Bank Manicktala, who himself was part of the camp.
Organized jointly by West Bengal Adivasi Doctors’ Association, West Bengal Adivasi Medicos’ Association and Jadavpur University Santhal Students’ Welfare and Cultural Association, the event also provided an opportunity for the doctors and students, many of whom have been born and brought up in the city, to mingle with the community.
Despite having their roots in the tribal belt of Bankura, the likes of Dr Souvik Murmu and third-year MBBS student Debasmita Saren have been born and brought up in Kolkata. “This kind of a gathering will surely help me reach out to my roots and learn more about my dialect and culture,” said Murmu, who passed out of RG Kar Medical College a couple of years ago.
About 45 units of blood were collected on Sunday.
Santhali artists brought the curtains down on the event with an enactment of the Hul.