The eye is the window to the world, at the same time, it is the window of the soul — William Shakespeare.

Karimganj: An artist, social worker and BA last semester student in Rabindrasadan Girls’ College of Karimganj, Pollabi Debroy, has pledged her eyes for donation to mark her 21st birthday.

Pollabi said she wanted to see the world a second time after her death, that it was a matter of pride to donate one’s eyes and that she was inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s song: “Andhojone deho alo, mrito hobe deho pran, tumi karunamritosindhu koro karunakona daan.” (Bestow light to the unsighted, endow life to the dead. Tender a drop of mercy, O gracious... Soak my parched eyes with flowing love).

“My date of birth is March 4 and I pledged to donate my eyes on that day. Due to my busy schedule, I did it today (Thursday),” Pollabi said.

An NCC cadet, Pollabi wants to join the defence forces to serve the nation. She is now working as an art and crafts instructor under Nehru Yuva Kendra.

She is also engaged in an awareness drive among Divyangas to make them self-sufficient by making things with waste materials.

In 2018, she had made a five-foot Durga idol with waste materials, in keeping with Tagore’s philosophy that nothing is wasted on earth. The idol was displayed in a Puja pandal. She said people generally discard these materials in waterbodies but they are not biodegradable and harm the environment.

Pollabi urged people to come forward for eye-donation and be a part of the movement to remove blindness. The head of the department of ophthalmology in Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), Dr Ashis Kumar Deb, handed a certificate to Pollabi and praised her zeal.

Corneal transplantation is the only effective replacement of human tissues in the eye, said Dr Sumona Das Bhattacharjee, in-charge of National Programme for Control of Blindness in Hailakandi.

South Assam’s lone eye bank at SMCH was established in August 2018 and is run by Samadrishti, Kshamata Vikas Evam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham). Mithun Roy of Saksham, who looks after the eye bank, said the level of awareness regarding eye-donation was low. The National Eye Donation Fortnight is observed every year in the country from August 25 to September 8.

The number of people awaiting corneal transplant outnumbers the available donor tissues.