Uttar Banga Anath Ashram

Uma Mallick looks like a normal Bengali Housewife. She wears a standard cotton sari, vermillion on her forehead and travels clinging to her husband’s motorcycle as he whizzes past in Siliguri’s notorious lanes.

However she is anything but that. Uma is the founder and the livewire of the Uttar Banga Anath Ashram (North Bengal Orphanage).

Uma is a magician, in the literal sense of the term. She raises money for the orphanage by doing magic shows. As she entertains, at the back of her mind are the problems of her children, all of whom are dependent on her for sustenance, even at the subsistence level in which they live. She had learnt magic from her guru as a girl in Cooch Behar. Her father was a refugee from East Bengal. She grew up in the Bengal countryside, her father’s small business in bamboo and other agricultural products provided a secure, though not luxurious livelihood. She was married off at 15, to Samar, now her helper and soul mate. She first became involved in social work as she calls it in 2000, when she set began to work in Premdanga, a day care centre for children in Mathabhanga, a subdivisional town close to Cooch Behar. Later she moved to Siliguri, where she operated from rented premises in Subahas Pally and now she has been able to move into her own place in Ghughumari, but in conditions of grinding poverty.

I know her for the past five years or so. The first time I met her was when the Local Rotary Club of which I was a member feted her on the occasion of Womens’ Day. My wife and I visited her place and were bowled over at her commitment and her indomitable spirit and willingness to fight against any odds. We began to help her with small amounts of money and old clothes. We also managed to get some friends to donate small amounts. She also has many small donors who help her, some with a bag of rice, another with clothes and so on.