Lockdown With Maaji

It was just a day after all of us had clapped our hands, rang bells and blew conches to show our gratitude to all the medicos, police personnel and all workers braving Corona to serve us, that I caught sight of Maaji on her wheelchair, just at the doorstep of her flat. I was sweeping the floor and as I opened the grill door to our flat, I felt something was amiss. 

The caretaker was not to be seen anywhere and Maaji had slumped in her wheelchair with her hand stretched out as if to call somebody. I rushed to her side and felt her pulse, which though weak was beating at regular intervals. I gently wheeled her inside and splashed a little water on her face and she recovered. First I gave her a glass of water and knowing that she was a diabetic, I got some sugar from her kitchen and gave her a big spoonful of it. Slowly she regained some energy and raised her hands in a gesture of gratitude.

Her caretaker had failed to turn up and the agency had called to say that they would be sending a replacement for her, but it would be evening before they could identify a suitable person. The night shift caretaker had not stayed back till her reliever came and Maaji was on her own from 7.30 that morning. It was nearing 10 o’clock and she had not had her breakfast though she had taken her medicines as a result of which she showed symptoms of hypoglycemia. I hurried to get her some breakfast I had made and also to lock my home to be with her till any arrangement was made. My husband had gone to Mumbai to attend a wedding but could not return as scheduled due to the lockdown. Fortunately, our daughter lived there and he was spending the time with her family. I was alone and so could adjust my schedules to help out Maaji.

Maaji was a very sweet, soft-spoken lady who endeared herself to everyone in society. She actively participated in all the social events and get-togethers and was always among the prize winners during the game shows. As one who organized the games, I admired her skill at puzzle-solving and her wide range of knowledge. The caretaker problem gave me an opportunity to know her better.

I brought sabudana khichdi from my home and laid out the table for Maaji. By this time, she had recovered sufficiently well to steer herself on her battery-operated wheelchair to the dining table. Her eyes lit up seeing the khichdi and started reminiscing about the first time she made it for her husband who loved it. She did not know the proportion of water to the saboodana and so the khichdi turned out to be totally different from what it ought to be! I had cut some fruits and made her some green tea and after her breakfast, she had her regular dose of medicines and was her normal self once again.

By this time, the Agency called to say that they regretted they would be unable to send any caretaker till the lockdown was lifted. Seeing the expression of hopelessness in Maaji’s face, I told her not to worry as I was free to take care of her. To say she was delighted and grateful is an understatement. She kept thanking me profusely and hoped it would not be a bother. I reassured her that I would be happy to look after her and then suggested that she could come over to my place as I could take better care of her in a place familiar to me. She thought of it for a moment, but then with a pleading look on her face asked, “can you not move in with me for a few days?” Somehow I felt that her look was beseeching and could not turn down her request. Her flat had not been swept, mopped or dusted and when I fetched the broom to sweep the place, she was almost in tears. “Bitiya, I miss my daughter but God has sent you to me in her place”. 

Maaji had shifted into our building only a few months back and so we did not get to know each other much. Now we had all the time in the world to do so. She was widowed early and had brought up her son and daughter with the support of her parents. She had inherited quite a fortune and so there was no dearth of money. Her son was a software engineer in the US and had settled there. Though he kept asking her to come and stay with him, Maaji preferred to be in India and have her space. Her daughter was happily married to a businessman and it was with them that Maaji had gone on a holiday a few years back. They were almost through the holiday when tragedy struck. The car they were traveling in was hit by a truck killing her daughter and son-in-law on the spot and Maaji lost both her legs. Tears welled up in her eyes as she recollected the incident, but being a brave woman, she soon composed herself. Since she was not willing to live in the US, her son who had searched the internet for a gated community where his mother could be comfortable, zeroed on our society and had come with his wife to settle her in this flat. Maaji felt comfortable here as there were no nosey parkers and she was happy to be on her own. The caretakers were good and she felt there was nothing to complain.

Meanwhile, I had finished the house cleaning and asked Maaji if she would like me to read out something to her as there was still time to prepare lunch. She then led me to her pooja room which was spotless and divine. She made me light the lamp and agarbatti and then started chanting various slokas. It was a new experience for me and I was impressed with her voice and the flow in which she chanted sloka after sloka.

We then got back to her room and I felt that she was hesitating to say something to me. Then it dawned on me that it was time for her diaper change! I asked her about it and again she was touched. “I did not know how to tell you”, she said, while her throat was choking. I had to lift her on to the bed for this, but with her co-operation, what I thought to be a Herculean task, was not so. Now that she was comfortable, I propped up the pillows for her on the bed and as she stretched, switched on the TV for her and went to prepare lunch for both of us.

I had gathered that she had spent quite some time in Gujarat, and when I asked her what to make for lunch and she had opted for one-dish meals, I suggested Dal Dhokli. Her eyes gleamed and she was excited that I could make it. We then had our lunch and then she had her siesta.

When she woke up, I had her tea and biscuits ready and we had another chit-chat session. Knowing how puzzles interested her, I opened the app on my mobile and both of us played word games and scrabble. Then we did our prayers, watched television, had dinner and went to bed after finishing the dishwashing, etc. Maaji maintained a diary and while I cleaned up the kitchen, she made her daily notes. Maaji was most uncomfortable that I had to do all the work, but then when I told her that I would be doing the same in my home too, she could not say anything more as she was quite helpless.

A week passed with this routine and Maaji was very happy. She also made a WhatsApp call to her son and daughter-in-law and introduced me to them as her second daughter! They too were relieved that I was taking good care of her. On my part, I enjoyed her company and got to learn a lot from her. I had lost my mother a few years back and in Maaji I saw my mother come back to me.

Our happiness was short-lived. We had spent quality time together for the length of almost a fortnight, when one morning, Maaji did not wake up. I went to her bedroom and felt she was sleeping peacefully, but when it was past her usual time, I went to wake her up, only to find her still. I was shocked and then called a doctor neighbor to come up and check her. She came only to pronounce that Maaji had passed away in her sleep maybe a couple of hours back. 

I was totally taken aback by the news. How normal she was the previous night, and in the morning, all of a sudden... I called up her son, Kiran to give him the news. Due to the lockdown, he expressed his inability to come but asked me to do the needful. He said, “Didi, you do not know how much Maaji enjoyed being with you. She looked upon you as her savior and kept telling me all the time that but for you, she would have gone into a coma the other day. I was getting ready for work while she was probably getting ready to go to bed when she called me to say that she enjoyed being with you in the past few days and thanked God for this opportunity. These are the very last words she spoke. We are moved and feel deeply indebted to you and it is my earnest hope and desire that you will henceforth look up to me like your own brother. Though I will not be there to perform the religious rites, I am confident that you as her newly found daughter would do all that is necessary and she will surely be happy wherever she may be. Stay blessed, Didi and stay in touch. Once the situation improves, I shall come down and do what is needed with the flat and other belongings...”

As news spread, our society residents took up the responsibility and in no time all arrangements had been made. Since there was no waiting for anyone, a few of us and the priests made our way to the crematorium after carrying out the rituals. The whole society was out on the balconies and as the body was being brought out, rose petals were strewn from above and Maaji was taken away with great dignity and grace. At the crematorium, when I pressed the switch for Maaji’s body to be wheeled into the chamber, for a moment I was stunned for I felt Maaji’s hands on my shoulders blessing me.

A couple of months later, Kiran flew down to India to clear the house and settle all the matters. My husband had also returned from Mumbai by then and he invited Kiran over for dinner the day he was to return to the US. We spoke a lot about Maaji and the courage she showed in bringing up the children and also when she lost her daughter and son-in-law at the same time. After dinner, Kiran took out Maaji’s diary and gave it to me. “Didi, see for yourself what great support you were to my mother in her last days!” Since the diary notes concerning me hardly ran to fifteen pages, I browsed through it very quickly, but I got stuck at the very end. Was I dreaming?? No, I wasn’t, as the next things Kiran handed over to me were the keys to their flat and a power of attorney made in my favor, transferring ownership of the flat, as per Maaji’s desire in the last diary entry! I could not accept it, I said to Kiran, but he would not have “No” for an answer. “It was Maaji’s wish that her house should go to her daughter and it is reaching the right person. From the practical point of view too, it will be impossible for me to manage the house from so far away. Since you have accepted me as your brother, I will have the right to come and stay here whenever I visit India. I have left the house as it is with all the furniture, along with Maaji’s happy memories which I am sure you will cherish. My flight is a little past midnight, and I take your leave,” he said. My husband and I were speechless.