The Rotary Club of East Central of Rotary District International 3291 felicitated veteran actor Victor Banerjee and Dr Shuvendu Sen for their work in spreading awareness and uplifting marginalised sections of society. Banerjee’s Moran Blind School situated around Dibrugarh, and Dr Sen’s upcoming book The Fight Against Alzheimer’s were discussed and appreciated. Several dignitaries from the medical field and other long-standing Rotary Club members were present to witness the felicitation at the Rotary Sadan on January 11.
A short film titled The Unseen Song was screened to show the work being done at the Moran Blind School that has been established by Banerjee with the help of several trustees. Post the screening, Banerjee said, “The Rotarians are famous for the work they do and it is a matter of pride to be felicitated by the club. I believe the governing aspect in life is compassion. Dignity is extremely important but compassion is paramount. Of what I have seen of Dr Sen, he is a very compassionate person and his book articulates that beautifully too.” The actor who was last seen in the Bengali movie Raktabeej, got emotional as he added, “You know, the happiness that exudes from the children at the school can never be compared with the smiles on either of your faces. It is a different feeling to see them happy. Most of the trustees of the school have never even visited the place; it is purely on the basis of goodwill that they choose to support.” Notably, Banerjee also lent his voice to the award-winning documentary based on Sen’s book Why Buddha Never Had Alzheimer’s.
Sen, who is a nationally and internationally recognised award-winning physician, author and speaker, is the recipient of the prestigious Nautilus Award. He has also been honoured by the United Nations and American College of Physicians. He spoke about his research on Alzheimer’s disease and noted, “It is a ground zero level book which explains how to prevent, cure, care and manage the disease in oneself or family members. The book focuses on what the intimidating disease preserves and not just about its cons. For instance, Alzheimer’s preserves centre for dignity, sense of art, procedural memory and musical inclinations.” He narrated an experience from his life as a doctor and said, “On this one Christmas Eve, I rushed to the hospital for an Alzheimer’s patient who had been in coma for a long while because she needed immediate operative treatment. I had forgotten to turn off the ringer on my phone and just before the operation, my phone goes off with a ringtone of the carol Joy To The Lord. Right then, I see my patient’s eyelids moving. She wakes up and asks me, ‘Is it Christmas, dear?’ and I say an enthusiastic yes. She wishes me Merry Christmas and that is the kind of strength music has.” He further added, “I once took seven of my patients to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and I saw one of my patients the happiest when he was in the Van Gogh section. He spotted a lot of yellow in the paintings and truly enough, Van Gogh himself had epilepsy and he depicted his hallucinations through his paintings. When my patient caught hold of that, it was another breakthrough.” Sen concluded saying, “Alzheimer’s is not a solitary disease, it is a family situation.”