Puja raises awareness on hair donation, pandal art highlights cancer’s emotional toll

A Durga Puja in north Calcutta is raising awareness about hair donation to help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy regain their confidence.

Durga appears as muktakeshi (with unbound hair) at Chaltabagan Sarbojanin on DL Roy Street. The puja turns 82 this year.

“After enduring a thousand battles, standing upon the open stage of life and death, a woman facing the brutal reality of cancer may watch her hair fall away. And, with it, a part of the identity she once saw reflected in the mirror seems to disappear,” says a note from the organisers.

“However, that is not where her story ends,” the note continues.

“From the very hair that has been lost, another kind of strength is born. Through hair donation, one woman gives another woman back her courage, her confidence, and the will to live. At that moment, a woman is no longer merely a warrior — she becomes Ananya: incomparable, extraordinary, and one of a kind.”

Chemotherapy can cause hair loss because the drugs target rapidly dividing cancer cells but can also damage other fast-growing cells, including those in hair follicles.

The resulting hair loss can cause significant emotional distress and affect patients’ self-esteem. Wigs made from natural human hair can help them regain a sense of normalcy and confidence.

Experts said it typically takes six to nine individual hair donations, amounting to roughly 250–300 grams, to make a single natural-hair wig.

The idol at Chaltabagan Sarbojanin holds a braid of hair. Another installation in the pandal depicts a bald woman hiding her face before a mirror. A message beside it reads: “Cancer can claim hair but not the person.”

Another portrait shows three women standing together, with the woman in the middle, who has no hair, holding a braid.

“Hair loss from chemotherapy leaves a deep psychological scar on many women. At the same time, many women prefer short hair. If they donate their hair, it can help lift the morale of many cancer survivors,” said artist Pradipta Karmakar.

Mausam Mukherjee, general secretary of the puja committee, said: “We want to spread awareness about this issue. We want women to remember this the next time they plan a haircut.”