BENGALURU: With the festival of colours arriving on March 9, patients with developmental disabilities and mental health problems at NIMHANS are busy making eco-friendly Holi kits. About 20-30 patients from the psychiatric rehabilitation centre were involved in the process of making these kits. The kit contains five pouches of different colours, 100 grams each, packed in a reusable cardboard box.
Dr T Sivakumar, Associate Professor, Psychiatric Rehabilitation services, while explaining the process, said, “First, we collect the discarded flowers from temples or weddings halls. This time, we got some from the Lalbagh flower show. Next, they are cut and later left to dry. The flowers are then ground and processed. Depending on the skill of each person, they are assigned to tasks,” said Dr Sivakumar.
The patients started working on the kits in December and have made 200 kg of colours, which will be sold to the people near the Nandini store, opposite to the psychiatric rehabilitation department. “The price of the kit is Rs 450 and the profits will be shared with the patients. We buy the patients something or take them out for movies,” he said.
He said the activity helps in demonstrating their skills. “Many believe these patients cannot do any work. However, they can do a lot with good guidance and training. Once they start making things, it develops confidence in them.”