Suprava Mishra left us on 16 January 2022. A bright eyed, gentle and dignified lady whose softness belied the steel that lay within. She spoke little, choosing instead to immerse herself in books, spirituality and music but was always there with a cheerful smile to welcome visitors and newcomers to Bhalobasha. Her story is a tragic one, as is the case with so many of our residents. Suprava dida’s intelligence and knowledge was certainly above average. The youngest of nine siblings living in a lower middle class family, she perhaps did not have the benefit of a sustained formal education but she did not let that deter her from expanding her horizons through voracious reading and discussions. Widowed when she was very young and left to fend for herself and a ten year old child, she sacrificed everything for the future of her only son. She worked as a maid and as a cook and left no stone unturned to raise him into a well mannered, educated young man. Sadly as fate would have it, her son, the boy in whose future she had invested her everything passed away in a road accident at the age of 21, once again plunging her into a chasm of despair, sorrow and ill health. Her relatives were unable to take her in and she was in a state of utter helplessness. She came to us at FOKE at that time, a shadow of herself, depressed and grieving. Over time, she found solace in our home, sharing her thoughts with her fellow residents and with us, but that shadow of sadness never really left her. Her silence and quiet acceptance of the tragic events in her life gave rise to a deep desire to remain active. She taught music to the students of our outreach classrooms, sang beautiful Rabindra Sangeet at our events. Her smiling visage and haunting music will live on in our memories.
