Habra (West Bengal): "I lost my house when cyclone Amphan ravaged my district. I could not even do anything. I saw my house getting destroyed in front of my eyes, but I was rendered helpless. But I play Sarinda (Indian folk musical instrument) every day because I feel that is the only way to express what I feel. It expresses my pain," says Gobinda Das, who is physically challenged but has still kept his hope alive post-Amphan.
Gobinda, a thirty-year-old musician, has been playing Sarinda since a young age, having earned recognition for his wonderful voice. Though he is physically challenged, nothing stopped him to follow his passion. His grit, will power and determination paved a way for him to be a successful musician.
"We did not get adequate help from the state government. We only got a polythene sheet which is my shelter now. My family doesn't have anything to cook as wood and the earthen oven is still wet," he said with teary eyes and heavy voice.
A resident of Maslandapur in Habra belonging to North 24 Parangas district, Gobinda has pursued Masters in Music from Rabindra Bharati University. He has even shared the stage with eminent personalities in various musical programmes.
Read: Bengal woman lost her sons to Amphan, calls herself 'most unfortunate'
In a similar heart-wrenching incident, a mother lost her two sons to Amphan in West Bengal's Haldia. Life of Archana's family turned upside down after cyclone Amphan ravaged Bengal on May 20 in which she lost her sons.
Amphan had hit the state at a time when people were already reeling under the current coronavirus crisis.
Cyclone Amphan which had made landfall in West Bengal left behind a heavy trail of destruction uprooting thousands of trees, damaging houses and bringing down telephone lines.
As per the reports, around 5,000 houses were destroyed and millions of people are left without water and electricity, making their lives more difficult amid corona-induced lockdown.
South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore were the worst-affected areas. However, the urban pockets also continue to suffer as telecommunication and electricity services have not been restored in many parts of the state.
