by Lawrence Faulkner
I met up with Eugenio at Milano Centrale station on the evening of Wednesday 6 May 2009, we shared a room in Saronno and left for Malpensa early in the morning. Frankfurt - Dheli, then a night in a hotel in a room with an “open space” bathroom! The taxi driver who took us to the hotel, offered to return the following morning. We organized for a 4.30 pick up (the plane leaves at 6:05 to Jaipur), but there’s no sign and he doesn’t arrive. We get another taxi but he takes us to the terminal for domestic flights (our flight is national but flys from the terminal for international flights). We rush to find another taxi to get to the right terminal where we arrived out of breath but just in time. From then on everything went smoothly, we arrived in Jaipur, waiting for us was a driver holding a sign with our name on it and he takes us to the Clarks Amer Hotel, booked for us by Ganesh and Rachna Narain, very nice and welcoming. We get changed and take a nap.
At 10 Rachna and Ganesh came to collect us, and from the first moment of our meeting it was immediately clear that there was a mutual liking between us. We visit the hospital Prem Niketan where the director, Mrs. Chandra Bala Parnami, welcomes us with all the honors: a crown of flowers Honolulu style, little elephants in a small velvet box, a bouquet of flowers and a beautiful cloth with local motiefs, all bodes well.
We are totally stunned and moved by our welcome, we visit the hospital and sit in a meeting room where we have a long and constructive discussion on how to proceed. We are offered a good lunch followed by a trip to Jaipur, local shops, the historic center (pink city), and the Jantar Mantar, a collection of architectural astronomical instruments. We are a bit tired and go back to the hotel. After we’d had a couple of hours lie down we feel much better and are ready to par-take in the celebrations of thalassemia day. We are the guests of honor, and after the initiation, they start the shows performed by children and teenagers with thalassaemia. All very beautiful and spontaneous, we are dazed but very happy to have come.
At around 21 we go to dinner at a former officers club where we meet some businessmen, doctors and local philanthropists. We talk about the thalassemia transplant project in Jaipur, they all seem very interested and committed to helping us.
The next morning we return to the hospital and have a follow up discussion on the issues raised the previous day. Attending this meeting are the Board of Directors of the Manav sewa Sangh Trust, which manages the Prem Niketan Hospital, local businessmen and the secretary of the state of Rajasthan, Mrs. Alka Kala. There isn’t a transplant centre in this region yet 60 million people live here. Last year Ganesh and Rachna went to Rome to ask for help from Professor Guido Lucarelli in order to start marrow transplantation in Rajistan. So, thank you Professor Lucarelli for involving us!
At the end of the meeting everyone’s very enthusiastic and plan is prepared, fund-raising permitting, to start the first transplants in January 2010. We have articles in newspapers Dainik Bhaskar (www.bhaskar.com) and Rajasthan Patrika (www.patrika.com), and an interview on a major television channel (ETV Network).
Eugene and I are very happy with this trip, and are sure that we can carry out the project with this group of smart, motivated and energetic people, it was a short visit but very intense. Thank you India.
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