Published on: October 21, 2019

Pallium India’s volunteer, Krishnaraj Nambiar, writes:

12th Oct marked this years’ World Palliative Care Day. Pallium India celebrates this day as an annual event by dedicating it to patients and their families. This year the event titled “Kanivu 2019” (meaning compassion) was sponsored and conducted by The Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Kovalam (IHMCT) with the whole-hearted support of their students and staff.

The theme this year is “Palliative Care: My Care, My Right”. The management, students and staff of IHMCT became so sensitized to the cause of palliative care that they went beyond the theme to reaffirm that “If your Care is your right, then it equally becomes my responsibility to give you that Care”. The event witnessed the highest degree of professionalism in planning and execution to the minutest detail by the students led by Shri.Rahul and the staff, prominent among them being Ms. Jolly Joseph, HOD. Considering that they needed to cater to a crowd of 520 that included patients (188), their caregivers and family members, staff and volunteers of Pallium India, this was indeed a daunting and mammoth task by sheer scale. The hospitality and dedication displayed by the students especially and the staff was to be seen to be believed. The degree of hospitality demanded special attention to some of the patients and the students satisfied that requirement in ample measure.

The event was inaugurated by Shri. S.M.Vijayanand (IAS), former Chief Secretary, Govt of Kerala, who was the chief guest, felicitation was by Shri.Rajashekhar, Principal IHMCT, Shri.Sree Kumar Muttacaud, IAPC Secretary, Shri K.Sivadasan Nair, President, TIPC. The event compered by Vyshnavi of Pallium India began with a prayer and lighting of the lamp followed by an ice-breaking session of games organized by the students separately for the patients and their caregivers. This was followed by songs and dances performed by the students of IHMCT who delighted the audience with their excellent performance. Rajesh Kuttichal (a person with paraplegia), a gifted singer who enthralled the audience with his superb renditions stole everyone’s heart. The excitement created by the scintillating songs carried the students, volunteers and staff of Pallium India on to the stage to ventilate their joy by dancing to the songs. The patients and their families too enjoyed the entertainment on display, letting go of their inhibitions, taking part in games and having heart-to-heart conversations with their friends who they only got to meet on such occasions. The staff and volunteers of Pallium India who manned the registration counters and were available for help had little to do as all aspects were diligently taken care of by the students.

The Pallium India visual and print media awards were given away at the occasion by Shri Vijayanand. Please read about it here: https://palliumindia.live-website.com/2019/10/mascom-and-sheela-jaywant-win-pallium-indias-media-awards/

The students had taken care of the hungry stomachs by their culinary delights offering a wide variety of mouth-watering veg meals (25 items to be precise that included 3 salads and 3 desserts) to suit every taste bud. Tea and snacks were served during the morning and in the evening.

The event ended on a highly successful note with a Vote of Thanks by Shri.Babu Abraham of Pallium India. The students, staff and Management of IHMCT have by their uncompromising support for palliative care proven themselves to be a responsible and highly sensitized citizens to this noble cause and thus joined the torch bearers of their generation. The world needs many more of them.

The patients carried home beautiful memories of this annual day out with them and it won’t be long before they yearn for the next one to arrive soon. We look forward to that day too with pleasure.

More photos of the event can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/palliumindia/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3685806898112029

One response to “Kanivu 2019 – World Palliative Care Day at IHMCT”

  1. Pranab Kumar Basu says:

    Mind-blowing celebration to honour the day ” World Palliative Care Day ” on 12th October, 2019 .I must appreciate Pallium India for such a brilliant overwhelming ceremony.