Real life story of a Rotary Volunteer who ventured against threats to his life to argue and convince aggressive mobs trapped by misinformation and fanaticism propagated by vested interests, political clouts and self styled medicos, that Oral Polio V...
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The entire village folk was so much sad and concernedabout Rabia.
Most of the day and night she sits awake on thenarrow veranda of Babli's house like a stone idol, with her eyesstaring at the sky or just looking at the vast emptiness beyond.Never opens her mouth except when Nannee or Bably forces amorsel or two or holds a tumbler of water at her lips. Neverexpresses thirst or hunger as if such things never existed for her.
Babli, for no obvious reason except perhaps forhumanitarian consideration, took it as a duty on her to take careof Rabia right from the time she was taken to the hospital. Shewould help her to the toilet and to the bath room for an occasional wipe. Nannee would help or seek the assistance of aneighbour or, at times, of Annamma if she were around. Theywould change her dress, comb the hair. Rabia would sit like anobedient girl not responding to anything that happens around,not even the pull on her hair that became knotty with dust andsweat, having lost the very sense of pain.Once or twice she rose to walk on to the middle of thegalli (the narrow lane). She would sit down scratching the mud as if searching forsomething lying there buried. Babli had to pull her up and puther on a mat inside.
Nanny was concerned about Babli's future.
"How long can you go on nursing this woman? Weshould find her a place in the asylum or a poor home."
"Who will look after her there? She may need abystander. It was alright if she could manage on her own or atleast ...."
"But my little girl, you have to settle in your life. Thinkof that"
"Nannee, suppose this happened to you. Will I not beobliged to take care of you?"
"Look. Now I am there to help you. I am healthy enoughto manage myself. You never know when Allah will beckon me!I am already close to my pit. What will you do when I amgone?"
"I will grab your room also as I did my grandmother's.So simple as that."
"You, naughty little thing!"
"Nanny, first thing, you are not going to die so soon. Youwill live to be a hundred. You have to live! I need you, all mylife. I have virtually lost my mother; My grandmother is gone.For me only you are there. I love you nanny I love you so much.I can't lose you!"
Bibly's eyes were overflowing blinding hersight. She put her head on nanny's chest. Nanny too was moved.
"That is okey my child. Someday I must go. That is inevitable.And you have to fix your life. You can't live alone. You do needa support. We have to do something before it is too late."
"......"
There were already proposals pouring in from boys inthe same and neighbouring villages. They were all stalled forsome reason or other. Either nanny would not like the boy or hisfamily or Babli's mother had some objections. Babli was notenamoured by any of the proposals that came. She wanted toresume her studies. It was her desire to be a nurse in a whitedress with a white head gear, so nice like the white bird she usedto see in the hospital. The white bird is gone. With the comingof Rabia her white dream is also fading off. Yet she is contentthat she is nursing! Nursing as a religious duty.
