It was a usual day for Vandana, until she came across a deranged half naked woman on the way back from college. A mob of people stood around the woman, but not one helping her. Somehow for some reason even the women in the crowd hesitated to extend help. This incident stuck with Vandana as well as her best friend, Vaishnavi. The fact that they were not able to help that woman kept playing on their heads which Vaishnavi later described as ‘similar to a computer loop’. This encounter sowed the seeds for The Banyan.
Although initially the idea of starting a home for the mentally ill women seemed like a mountain too high to climb, Vandana and Vaishnavi started the expedition rather fearlessly. It just took one night for Vaishnavi to give up on her MBA plans and hold hands with Vandana because for Vandana it has always been Medical and social psychiatry unlike Vaishnavi. They gifted the inmates a freedom within the walls of The Banyan brewed with music and dance. They were also taught to knit and block paint further setting the roots of The Banyan firmly to the ground by aiding the survival of the individuals outside the shelter of The Banyan.
From people who would rather die than ask for help, they reminisce how they had to sacrifice their pride to ask for help from other people. Vandana once opened up how she regrets not being able to earn money and even if she did earn, she always felt obliged to give it back to The Banyan and so, she sometimes felt weak that she is not economically self sufficient.
Vandana and Vaishnavi with their spirit and passion stood their grounds on extremities of criticism and self doubt. Now The Banyan stands tall with over 3000 homeless individuals rescued, 400 children in youth clubs, 233 in aftercare, over 60% clients in the working sector and many more and also now extended to Trichy, Kerala and Maharashtra.
The Trichy chapter is run by two sisters, in which one of the sisters experienced mental illness herself and was rescued by The Banyan. The impact created by The Banyan on their lives made them to start one in their hometown Kovandakurichi(Trichy).
While juggling multiple daily tasks and evolving into a more self centred community where the word ‘Women Empowerment’ and ‘Feminism’ has almost become part of our daily lexicon, it is sometimes essential to peek outside the curtains of luxury and comfort to have a view of the potholes in the society like how these two women did.