September 2025
Good.To.Go.: A Festival of Conversations, Comfort, and Connection
On August 23rd and 24th, the Bangalore International Centre became the setting for something both bold and deeply humane—Good.To.Go., India’s first Death Literacy Festival, co-organised by Pallium India and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, with support from Microland Foundation and Ajit Isaac Foundation.
CareToons: Lines of Life by Giles Francis
Welcome to a new edition of Pallium India’s newsletter. Thank you for joining us. Here you can find updates from the palliative care world, upcoming events including training for professionals and volunteers, interesting articles, career opportunities and so on.
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Rithu: A Season to Share, Care and Celebrate
This Onam, Rithu brought together parents, guardians, children, and care teams for a day filled with joy, sharing, and togetherness. Co-organised by Pallium India and TIPS, the event created a safe and happy space for families receiving paediatric palliative care to connect, celebrate, and support one another.
From laughter and games to stories of resilience and hope, Rithu was a reminder that even in the face of challenges, community and compassion make every moment brighter.
Onam became not just a festival of flowers and feasts—but a celebration of life, love, and togetherness.
Onam Special Food Kit 2025
Pallium India’s Onam Special Food Kit campaign is back. With just INR 1500, you can sponsor a Food Kit for a family and spread joy this festive season. Let us celebrate Onam with joy, love and compassion, spreading peace and prosperity together.
Snapshots of Onavesham – Onam Celebrations at Pallium India
Beyond the Sessions: Reflections from the Field
India’s Struggle with Quality Care: When Patients and Caregivers Fall Through the Cracks
Recently, I was reflecting on a conversation with a caregiver, and I deeply resonated with his struggles. Caring for loved ones in moments of uncertainty leaves a lasting impact that touches almost every aspect of life—emotional, physical, social, and financial. I felt the need to share one such story from my experience, because these voices deserve to be heard.
Asha Kiran Hospital secures RMI License: A Milestone for Palliative care in Tribal Odisha
In a significant advancement for healthcare in Odisha’s tribal regions, Asha Kiran Hospital in Lamtaput, Korpaut district, has been granted the Recognized Medical Institution (RMI) license in April 2025. This accreditation enables the hospital to legally procure and administer Essential Narcotics Drugs (ENDs) such as Morphine, crucial for effective pain management in palliative care.
Established in 1991, Asha Kiran Hospital has been a cornerstone of healthcare for the particularly vulnerable tribal groups in southern Odisha, offering affordable and compassionate medical services.
The acquisition of the RMI license marks a pivotal enhancement in the hospital’s capacity to alleviate suffering among patients with life limiting illnesses.
This achievement was facilitated by Sunanda Samal (Regional Facilitator of Pallium India ), who was instrumental in guiding the hospital team through the RMI certification process with hand holding support.
The RMI certification of Asha Kiran Hospital is a beacon of progress, promising improved quality of life for patients in remote tribal areas. It underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in bridging healthcare disparities and ensuring that pain relief is accessible to all, regardless of geography.
International
Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine
Join the Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine (GFPM). 1 Year Hybrid Course offered by the Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India. Join the Movement! Become a Global Fellow.
For details and registrations:
FOG India Day 2025 (Bay Area)
The Pallium India USA Bay Area team hosted a vibrant booth at the FOG India Day Parade and Fair in Fremont, CA, on August 16–17, 2025. The booth featured Pallium India posters, pamphlets, copies of Walk with the Weary by Dr. M.R. Rajagopal, and a beautiful selection of handcrafted items made by Pallium India patients and families.
Over the two days, the booth welcomed more than 700 visitors who engaged with our youth volunteers, explored the materials on display, and asked thoughtful questions about palliative care in India. Many were learning about the issue for the first time and were moved by the stories and impact of Pallium India’s work.
It was especially inspiring to see young attendees express genuine interest in the mission and explore ways to get involved. Their curiosity and enthusiasm reflected a growing awareness and commitment to compassionate care.
The event also provided a valuable opportunity to connect with other nonprofit teams. These conversations opened doors for future collaboration and highlighted the strength of community-driven efforts working toward shared goals.
Thattukada at KAW Summer Fest (Seattle Chapter)
Pallium India USA’s Seattle Chapter brought flavors and generosity together at the Kerala Association of Washington’s (KAW) Summer Fest on August 30, 2025. Thanks to the incredible efforts of 12+ volunteer chefs and many more who pitched in to manage the Thattukada food stall, the team raised over $1,500 in support of palliative care initiatives.
This achievement reflects the power of community, collaboration, and compassion—showing how small acts of service can make a meaningful difference.
National
Walking the Talk on Palliative Care: Notes from the NCG Annual Meeting 2025
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of representing Pallium India at the National Cancer Grid (NCG) Annual Meeting, held on 2nd and 3rd August, 2025, at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, along with Dr. Sunilkumar M. M., Director of WHOCC for Training and Policy on Access to Pain Relief, Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences.
By Dr. P. Shanmugapriya
Senior Project Coordinator, Project iPaCC, Pallium India
Integrating Palliative Care into NCD Strategies: Insights from NHM Maharashtra’s Workshop
On 18th July 2025, I had the opportunity to join a state-level consultation workshop on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Childhood NCDs, organised by the National Health Mission (NHM), Maharashtra in Mumbai.
The workshop brought together a wide range of stakeholders – health department officials, programme managers, public health experts, and representatives of organisations working across the NCD spectrum. Together, we reviewed progress, discussed challenges, and explored strategies to strengthen NCD care in the state.
By Sunanda Samal
Regional Facilitator (Odisha, Maharashtra, Goa)
Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India
| Beneficiaries reached till May 2025: | 28,601 | |
| Palliative Care centres / services catalysed: | 257 | |
| Stakeholders trained (virtual and onsite): | 12,020 |
Upcoming Events, Trainings & Conferences
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Stay tuned for palliative care news, views and updates
Reports / News / Articles
Holy Cross Hospital, Kalyan, Launches Palliative Care OPD
On 8 August 2025, Holy Cross Hospital in Kalyan, Mumbai, marked a milestone in patient-centred healthcare with the launch of its Outpatient Department (OPD) for palliative care services. This new service strengthens the hospital’s commitment to holistic care, addressing not only the physical but also the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients and their families.
The hospital team, guided and mentored through collaborative efforts with Pallium India’s Regional Facilitator for Maharashtra, Ms. Sunanda Samal, has been steadily building capacity to integrate palliative care into its existing services. Their dedication and training have prepared them to deliver compassionate support to people living with life-limiting conditions, offering relief from pain and symptoms while ensuring dignity and comfort.
Hospital representatives at the launch reaffirmed their vision of making palliative care an essential part of healthcare delivery. The initiation of OPD-based palliative care services represents not only a step forward for Holy Cross Hospital but also a strengthening of community-based healthcare in Maharashtra.
Pallium India is proud to have contributed through mentoring and facilitation and continues to stand alongside institutions like Holy Cross Hospital in ensuring that no one is left to suffer needlessly for want of palliative care.
In Bengaluru, an evening that dared to talk about death
In a country where talk of death is often avoided, whispered about in hospital corridors, or hidden behind rituals, the auditorium at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) on Saturday opened its doors to conversations that were both tender and unflinching.
The two-day “Good to Go” Death Literacy Festival, which began on 23 August 2025, urged Indians to look at dying not as a forbidden subject to be brushed aside, but as a part of living that deserves preparation, dignity, and dialogue.
How to write a living will: A practical guide to Advance Medical Directives in cases of terminal illness
A workshop on drafting a living will drew around 100 participants in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Also called an Advance Medical Directive (AMD), a living will records a person’s medical treatment preferences when they become unable to communicate their wishes in the future.
Volunteer Training Programme
Learn to care the right way. Join Pallium India’s Online Volunteer Training Programme from September 22nd to 27th from 5pm to 6.30pm.
Video of the Month
Keynote Address – Hon’ble Health Minister, Government of Karnataka – Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao
Click here to watch the video:
Subscribe to Pallium India’s youtube channel for videos related to palliative care and our activities. You can watch previous webinars and training sessions, as well as listen to caregivers, survivors and others sharing their experiences.
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Book of the Month
Death and the Gardener
Georgi Gospodinov, the acclaimed Bulgarian author and winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize, delivers a deeply moving and richly poetic meditation on paternal loss in Death and the Gardener—a semi-autobiographical narrative that doubles as a tender elegy.
My father was a gardener. Now he is a garden.
A man sits by his father’s bedside and reports radically and gently until a final winter morning.
His father was one of that generation of tragic smokers born right after the World War II in Bulgaria, who clung to the snorkels of their cigarettes. A rebel without a cause, he knew how to fail with heroic self-deprecation.
The garden he created out of a barren village yard first saved him, then killed him It remains his living legacy: peonies and potatoes, roses and cherry trees – and endless stories. But without him, his son’s past, with all its afternoons, began to quietly crack. Because the end of our fathers is the end of a world.
This is a novel about a father, a son, and an orphaned garden in a fading world that spans from ancient Ithaca to present-day Sofia, interweaving the botany of sorrow, the consolations of storytelling and the arrival of the first tulips of spring.
Walk with the Weary – by Dr M R Rajagopal
A masterclass in how to care for others deeply and compassionately no matter who they are, Walk with the Weary is simultaneously the story of Dr Rajagopal’s life and his calling and the world of Indian palliative care.
Palliative Care Telehealth
Call us: +91 964 588 4889 /
+91 860 688 4889
PARTING SHOT
Embracing the Truth We All Share
Death is the one truth we all share. It doesn’t discriminate. It comes to the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the kind and the cruel. And yet, our feelings about death shift with the context.
When someone we love dies, we grieve deeply, feeling as though a part of ourselves has been torn away. When someone we resent dies, we might feel relief—and though rarely spoken of, that too is real. When thousands die in wars, disasters, or from disease, we may pause briefly, perhaps say a prayer, and then move on with our lives.
It is not death itself that most of us fear. Rather, it is what death takes from us: the people we love, the stability we depend on, the future we imagined. It is also what death leaves behind: unfinished stories, unresolved conflicts, and the haunting silence of absence. And perhaps most of all, we fear what we don’t know—what lies beyond, if anything at all.
To soothe this fear, we create stories, beliefs, rituals, and traditions. Each culture builds its own narratives—heavens and rebirths, ancestors who watch over us, or simply the quiet return to the earth. These stories help us make sense of what otherwise feels unbearable, keeping our own spirits afloat.
But maybe, just maybe, death does not have to remain such a terrifying mystery. If we stop fighting it, fearing it, or overly romanticising it—and instead learn to accept it as a part of the human journey—death begins to look less like an enemy, and more like a teacher. It reminds us of the impermanence of all things, urging us to live more fully, love more deeply, and let go more gently.
Those who have worked in palliative care often witness this truth in its simplest, most profound form. Patients and families, when supported with compassion and dignity, often find that the end of life is not just about loss—it is also about meaning, connection, and closure. Conversations about death do not diminish life; they enrich it.
Death will always remain a profound mystery, but it need not be a fearful one. By embracing it as a part of life, we allow ourselves the freedom to live more openly, to love more courageously, and to part with a little more peace.
About the Author:
Varsha Panicker
(Communications Designer, Artist, Textile Enthusiast)
Photo: ‘The Blue Lotus’ conveys equanimity—the stillness of the mind amidst chaos, the ability to remain centered and at peace no matter the circumstances.
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