Of Life and Death

It’s been a long time since I posted anything on my page. In fact, the last one was on the 9th July, 2006. Well, a lot has happened since then in our family, both good and bad. This post will, therefore, be solely confined to family matters. First, the good news. A daughter was born to my son Ujjwal and daughter in-law Aditi on the 15th of July. My wife and I were overjoyed at the arrival of our granddaughter. However, we could not see her immediately as my son lives in the Netherlands.

We were planning a trip to that country. However, before that could materialize, we had to rush to Delhi to be with my mother in-law, who had been fighting cancer. The disease had been confirmed when she had had an abdominal operation to remove a non-functional kidney. She took the news very calmly and went through the radiation treatment as the doctor suggested. Chemotherapy was not done in view of her age – 83. However, her condition started to deteriorate from July, soon after the radiation sessions were over. Her food intake gradually decreased till she could not eat more than a few spoonfuls in one day. She faced much pain, especially in her bones, but also in the rest of her emaciated body. There was no effective medication. There was not much that could be done except to make attempts to give her some relief from the excruciating pain. She bore the pain very bravely. She remained in a state of drugged stupor in the second half of August. With not much nutrition by mouth, she grew progressively weaker. She did not want to be fed by any other interventionist approaches. We knew it was a question of time. The end came on the 1st September. An era ended with her passing. She was one of those rare people who gave generously of herself but never asked for anything in return. For us, she was a tower of strength and love who knit the family together. Her house will never be the same again.

We went to the Netherlands after the funeral. We are there at the moment and enjoying every moment as we watch the antics of Nayantara, our granddaughter, almost three months old now. Her sweet smile soothes us and takes away a lot of the pain of the last few months. We all wish that we could have shared these moments with Ma. I cannot help thinking that, in the midst of life, we are in death.

Mother, we will miss you.