She sold vegetables, yet this woman from Bengal serve the poor

She worked as a domestic help and sold vegetables under the Park Circus foot bridge to earn enough money to build a hospital for the poor. Subhasini Mistry is undoubtedly an unsung matriarch who is now all of 75 years. But all these years she has saved every penny she earned and even raised all her children by herself after losing her husband at the age of 24. She has now built two hospitals, one in Thakurpukur and another at Sunderbans, to ensure no one is deprived of proper treatment.

Though Subhasini has won The Padmashree Award this year, for her winning an award is not important. But realising her dream of building a hospital for the poor who cannot pay to be treated in city hospitals was an award by itself. The full-scale hospital is already functioning and patients are being treated for free. Born in a poor farmer’s family, Subhasini was married at the age of 12 and her husband died 12 years later leaving four children behind.

Thus, started her struggle. A young widow without any education, she sent her eldest son to an orphanage and moved with the other children to Dhapa, where she started selling vegetables. But she also opened a savings account and started saving every month whatever she could. Finally, she bought a land in Hashpukur in Thakurpukur and told the villagers she will donate the land for a hospital. Thus, started the Humanity Hospital where doctors treated patients free of cost. Meanwhile, Ajay also became a doctor and joined the hospital. Next, they went on to build another hospital at Patharpratima in Sunderbans.

Now Subhashini dreams to convert it into a 24-hour multi-speciality hospital.