Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Making life worthwhile….

Last week’s Sunday Times has given a wonderful article on Kaka Joglekar… who fought with no. of radiations n chemotherapy n survived of Cancer, now leading a life by giving a musical touch to healing…by visiting various hospitals n singing marathi bhajans n hindi songs for the patients.

Here’s a link to the article… worth reading… how gracefully he faces all the pain n sufferings of the disease…. Hats off to Kaka Joglekar :)

Whn I read ths article.... i remebered those days..... tht even my Grandmother was once a cancer patient…. It was God’s grace tht… she survived…. But…even 2day…. v can see the side effects of all those treatment… I still remember the day when doctor uncle said tht she has a clot in her arm which has to be removed. V all were so scared coz…. Going thru such a operation at ths age was very difficult… I remember… for all 5 days I was with her…. For d first time I stayed overnight in the hospital…. they were all sleepless nights….

She got operated n v brought her back to home.. but thn… after few checkups…. V all were again shocked to hear tht… tht clot had left some cells n now r multiplying n r spreading out in the other parts of the body…. So doct uncle asked us to consult to some specialist as it was showing symptoms of cancer…. So….. v showed all the reports at Nanavati Hosp… after making so many further tests …. they confirmed tht… it’s a Cancer…. 2nd stage …. Its not possible to cure it completely… but… they can prevent those cells from spreading by Radiation n Chemotherapy… which has horrible side effects…like.. the patient goes bald, the heat of 
radiation causes pain in the stomach, etc ... v all were so tensed tht… is it fair to giv so much pain to her at ths age…. I remember… my Granmaa saying… plz don’t go 4 all ths… I m ok… don’t spend so much money behind me… plz don’t take so much trouble…. But… its like… even v dont knw… how n from where v got so much courage tht… no matter… v’ll try our best to make her alright… but…. now came the main part… coz… it was a two n half months long treatment… where she has to go for radiation every alternate day…. So.. v decided to rent a room at one of the sanitarium of our community at vile parle …. Which was nearby the hosp… now came the question … who will stay with her…. Coz… it was not possible 4 daddy n uncle 2 get such a long leave… n mom n aunty has to look after the home… finally it was decided tht I will stay with her… I had jst completed my graduation at tht time…. n had taken a regular post gradustion prog. which i then shifted to correspondence … n all was set.

V bought all 2 month’s grocery n started staying ther…. It was altogether a different experience… coz…. It was somthng diff. frm my everyday’s routine….. right from getting up early morning… filingl water, washing clothes, helping granmaa in bathing ….. thn performing our seva n puja…. After tht… making breakfast, preparing lunch n so on. After finishing lunch taking her to the hospital by rick, bring a wheelchair 4 her and taking her by lift to the radiation dept... .. I remember… how all the patients used to wait for their turn to come… patients’ tht part of body is marked where they r to be radiated…. everyone with diff. types of Cancer... it used to take one or two hours for all tht …. After radiation.. the patient has to take some cold drink or some juice…. Coz… those rays r so strong tht it produces a lot of heat n its v.painful for sometime… so preparing fresh juice for her after reaching home… nd thn v used to take a small nap for sometime…. n thn… tea n breakfast session… thn… going market to buy some stuff for dinner n for next day… nd after coming back…. V used to sing aarti, some kirtan n reading one bhagvadvaarta everyday in the evening …. Thn again preparing khaanaa… having dinner..... n all tht procedure of cleaning the kitchen, etc..... i remember tht d kitchen was also like old ones.... wher u hav to sit down n prepare food.... but v all managed.... so the day used to end like tht.... as ther was no TV… no radio allowed ther… so was somewht boring… but v managed everything.

Days passed… n she completed her radiation treatment… n v brought her back to home happily… I remember she never used to complain tht its paining or troubling her…. It was her strong will power which helped her struggle n come out of it ….. but… as days passed.. v cld see the side effects… she started loosing her knee length long hairs … they kept on falling n falling n after some months not a single hair was left on her head… now hav managed to grow till her shoulders… [whnever I oil her hairs… I say…oh… now its looking like Urmila cut… :))]….. her skin which was so fair n soft… got tanned n rough… pickles which she loved to eat started causing pain in her stomach...

But.. inspite of all thses she still has managed to keep tht sweet smile always on her face…. n thtz how she manage to keep courage….

I knw… she has lot of affection for me.. whnever I go to meet her… she feels like she is the happiest person on the earth… she always say… “aaje thakorjii nii krupaa thaii.. ke taaraa darshan thayaa” (Oh… 2day God mst b v.haapy on me.. tht u hav come) … she stays with my uncle… coz he has lot of affection for her… so v cant bring her to our place… but.. I visit there every weekend… oil her hairs… cut her nails…. massage her legs… thn she starts her Q & A session…. Wht al u did ths week… which latest movie did u saw…how r ur frnds…. which new kirtan u learnt in Mandir… wht r 2dayz shringar of thakorjii.... wht r d festivals n utsav coming next week… n all tht….  sometimes she secretly complains abt my mom n aunty :))) (like typical saas) .... but.... she has lot of care n affection for all of us....

I can recognise from her face the strength, the will power, the courage she has… which always keeps her happy n smiling....... which inturn makes me feel happy n blessed…. :)

2 comments:

Prakash Venkat said...

One thing that went through my mind while reading your post was the strength the people of older generation have. The greatness of person lies in how obe behaves when things are not as expected. These people really make me feel so small and humble. It also needs lots of love and commitment to be there by their side . Nice to know that you were there for your grandmom.

pal4life said...

Hi,
This is so awesome. Even I have my maternal grandmother. She is so super sweet. She has so much affection for the whole family and for us grand kids. Since I am in the states and she is in India, I cannot see her as often but I do call try to call her regularly.
I think we all forget in our busy lives why the seniors are so important. Also their generation has so much to share with us. I like the little things they share. All they like from us is a little attention and talking time. Nothing more. Now I will make sure I call my granny more often and see her soon. I will pray for your granny and wish for her better health.
Thank you and take care.