It was a sunny Sunday of 29th March, when participants started gathering at the Patna museum premises, from different parts of Bihar like Muzaffarpur, Purnia, Saharsa, much before the scheduled time of 10am.
Amma started the registration process which was later on taken by FOM member Sanjiv ji and his better half. After getting their names registered, people enjoyed their cup of tea with biscuits and then proceeded to the auditorium for the Meet.
Soon the hall was packed. In fact some of the caregivers were seen standing. It was wonderful to see the team of doctors and technicians from Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna, who spared their time for the Meet.
After welcoming all the guests, the function started with our National Anthem and the doctors and elderly patients lighted the lamp giving the Meet an auspicious start. After the formal inauguration, I spoke about the concept of Friends of Max, the patient support group arm of The Max Foundation.
Then it was Amma’s turn, who through her informative presentation explained the function of The Max Foundation. The audience, including the doctors, listened to Amma with great interest and pleasure. They did not want to miss a single word. There was complete silence throughout the presentation.
Then it was time for the most eagerly awaited session of the day – the interactive session with the physicians. Dr. Deepak, Dr. Govind, Dr. Geeta and Dr. Pritanjali shared the dais, and patiently answered all the questions asked by patients and their caregivers. Satisfaction was clearly seen on faces of patients. This session taught all of us how to embrace life with positive energy in the midst of so many adversities.
On behalf of The Max Foundation and Friends of Max, mementos were presented to the doctors. The memento was a delicately crafted replica of one of the absolutely beautiful statue of Yakshini the most valuable piece of Patna Museum. Food packets were distributed to everyone. After enjoying the food, people once again assembled in the hall for the second session.
In our first meet we had art therapy and then drama therapy in next meet. For this meet Amma had planned a very new and effective therapy called the Music Therapy. Amma explained the importance of music in our life and told how it fills one’s life with positive energy. The participants were divided into four groups, each assigned with different form of singing, i.e., Ghazal, Classic, Filmi and Bhajan. Everybody was seen to be involved; some were downloading songs from the internet, while some were writing down the lyrics. Each group prepared two songs and performed on the stage with live orchestra. It was something magical. Everyone enjoyed, but a special highlight was the performance by the team of doctors. The whole team sang from the core of their heart, putting all their tensions aside.
At the end of the day, I thanked the doctors and other guests present at the Meet. I also thanked all the Mumbai Max office friends for their support and coordination in terms of making calls, sending posters, banners etc.
Thanks Amma, for all your guidance.
– Prashant Kumar, FOM Volunteer, Patna