Where dried-up dreams are coloured

Someone is telling a story below a tree while another is singing to the karoke in another corner.

Anybody can perform in the small amphitheatre nearby as well as the makeshift stage. Between the stages are two rows of makeshift shops selling anything from pineapple in brine to pastries to designer wedding wear.

The greatest attraction at ‘Curios’, the first ever palliative carnival in the country, at the Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM) in Kozhikode, is the smiling faces of the patients who are guided by volunteers throughout the carnival in wheelchairs.

Curios is a fund-raiser effort for IPM, the only one of its kind in the world. The message “every rupee you spend here will alleviate a patient’s pain for an hour” is displayed before most of the stalls in the flea market. The participants of the flea market have an option to donate 50% of their profit from the sales to IPM.

All the profit from the food stalls managed by the student volunteers from various colleges in the district, under Campuses of Kozhikode project also goes to IPM.

Besides the merchandise at flea market, donation boxes are also placed in different parts of the campus as part of the carnival.

The eco-friendly, yet colourful decoration throughout the carnival, especially the chandelier made of dry leaves at the amphitheatre conveys the message of IPM to the general public. “All the patients here are dry leaves. We give colour to their dried-up dreams. Just like the chandelier, giving light, these dry leaves can be anything, even ornaments,” said Prakash Mathew, project coordinator of Curios.

In fact, the students of Government Medical College, Kozhikode, had conducted a fashion show at Curios on Sunday, in which all their crowns and tiaras were made of dry leaves.

The vibrant student community of Kozhikode has taken Curios to their heart. These are the same group of students who volunteered day and night for weeks on end during and after the flood, managing the 24-hour helpline and the relief material collection camp. You ask them why they were at Curios and the answer always is ‘Because I care’, emphasising that Kozhikode will never run out of compassion.

The two-day carnival concluded on Sunday.