I was watching Demon Slayer in my room, I’m in love with the anime genre after watching the Naruto series. Dad came in his wheelchair to my room and went towards my bed and he got into my bed. He has never done this in my entire life and I believe it’s the effect of our small talk.
I asked him about his life in America. He was so happy to hear that question and started to talk about it. The first place He saw in America was New York. From New York the company which hired him took him to Texas where He was going to work. He got terminated from the work and got scared. He contacted Richi uncle who was settled in Texas and told him about his situation.
*Refer this map for the places (Bold font) mentioned in this article.
Richi Uncle was a very calm person. After hearing the situation Richi Uncle told Dad not to panic and asked Dad to pack his bags. Richi Uncle took him to his house and he settled there temporarily. Richi Uncle suggested that he get a car license. To get a car license in Texas was very difficult. He traveled to Louisiana and took the license from Louisiana.
One day He went to an office party and after the party when He came out the road was covered with snow. He drove the car but it was sliding in the snow and He somehow stopped the car and got out. Luckily one of his colleagues saw him and helped him to put a snow chain over the tyre. The colleague asked him to follow his car and they reached back the camp safely.
Leo Paul helped him with a job in Rhode Island. He packed his bags and went to Rhode Island via New York. His friend Xavier was settled in New York and he stayed with him whenever he went to New York. The work in Rhode Island was amazing. He got into a ship manufacturing company, But it didn’t last either and got terminated.
He came to know of an opening In South Carolina and took a bus from New York to South Carolina. The bus journey was very comfortable, he was amazed to see that there was only a driver in the bus. He worked in South Carolina for two months and came back to New York. From there he went to Wisconsin for his next job. He stayed in Wisconsin for around 6 months. Wisconsin become his favourite place in America because of the punctuality and kindness of the people.
He bought a car with George and they decided to have a road trip to South Carolina from Wisconsin. On the way they halted at Chicago and stayed there. The next day He drove the car and He was pulled over by the police. The police told him that someone had complained saying the people in this car were drunk. Police found out that they were not drunk and asked them to resume the journey.
He stayed in South Carolina for three months and moved to Atlanta. The nightlife in Atlanta was very much active. He worked in the gas station for 3 months and his health was getting bad due to cold weather. Dad decided to come back and took a flight to New York.
By now Mom came to my room asking what was happening. It was getting late and Dad got into the wheelchair and went back to his room.
I was sipping my coffee and Tiger came running towards Me, He looked handsome and pretty. The moment I took my mobile phone to capture some photos, He started to show off but that didn’t stop me from clicking. When I was going through the photos I was thinking about what goes through Tiger’s mind.
Let’s see from Tiger’s viewpoint now:
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole” Roger Caras, American Activist
Dad was tired, he said he needed rest for now; I helped him to sit down and sat next to him. It was a pleasant evening, Dad was training with his prosthetic leg and today he was doing very good. A year ago he had to amputate his left leg due to lack of blood circulation. My mind was drifting towards the hospital days and to distract my thoughts I asked him about his childhood.
One of his favourite memories is the one where he and his friends used to collect cashews and sell it for their pocket money. They used this cash to watch movies from the nearby theatre. I was so amazed to hear that they were involved in creating our village sports ground. In their times, the sports Ground was situated at another place and the owner sold the place, so they had to move all the clay to the new property and thus giving birth to our new sports ground.
When he was in 10th Standard or so, my Grandpa came back from Singapore losing his job and he was furious about anything and everything. Grandpa asked my Dad to leave the house and after that he stayed with his relatives. He stayed with his uncle in Pettah, where he took an admission for him in the ITI and that’s where he learned welding. One of our uncles was working in Siemens Chennai and he asked my Dad to join them, so he took a train to Chennai and started his first Job. He worked in Chennai for two years and was taking care of the family by now. He came to know about the opportunity in Mumbai Branch and by now his sister was married and was settled in Mumbai.
The Job in Mumbai excited him and luckily his supervisor liked him very much and he was assigned to take care of contract jobs in various parts of Northern India. When he was in Mumbai he stayed with his sister. After three years, Grandma asked our relative to take a visa for him to Dubai. They pledged his sister’s gold for the visa and ticket amount. This time he didn’t take a train, rather a flight to Dubai!
While he was working in Dubai, he came to know that opportunities and payment in Abu Dhabi was comparatively much more than Dubai, so he decided to shift to Abu Dhabi. Eventually he got a job there in Power House Electrical company, which was a government job. It was the happiest day of his entire life.
By now the mosquitoes were starting to attack us. I told Dad that it’s better to get inside now and I helped him get up and walked back towards our house.
Hello there, You might be wondering why Mumbai? There are a lot of places in India which is more beautiful than of Mumbai, Some of you have also said/suggested there is nothing in Mumbai to see.
So let’s start with the idea how Mumbai was added to my bucket list. I have been a kid who watched a lot of Movies and in most of the movies Mumbai was there, I was curious about Mumbai and the crowd, the local trains and its rushes. One of the recent famous movie dialogues about Mumbai is “Powerful people comes from powerful places”. There is also another reason, You guys know my friend Bindi, we become friends during my visit to Meghalaya and kept in touch afterwards. (Those who haven’t read about my Meghalaya articles here is the link: Nongriat, Shnongpdeng)
So this year I was planning to spend my birthday in some other place rather than my home, after a long search I had shortlisted down to two places: Igloo stay in Manali and Mumbai. When I said my plans for my birthday to Bindi she asked to visit Mumbai, She was always sending me pictures of street foods in Mumbai which I have always wanted to try.
I was staying in Mumbai for 3 days and told Bindi to help me out with the planning, I had only very limited knowledge of places around Mumbai, So she sent me a list of places and I choose from that. I booked my stay at Zostel, I highly recommend Zostel to the other travelers out there.
Day 1:
I reached Mumbai: Lokmanya Tilak Terminal around 4:00 am in the morning. I was planning to take a train from Tilak Nagar to Andheri, My stay was at Andheri, unfortunately the train service only started after 6 am. So I talked to the auto rickshaws guys they asked for Rs. 500, I told no and bargained it to Rs. 300 and they happily dropped me at Zostel. When I reached Zostel the receptionist told me that the auto-rickshaw guy has looted me. Also the regular check-in time was at 12 pm. I told them I had reservations and have to reach Essel world around 10 am. Zostel guys made some adjustments and let me check in early.
I got some sleep and woke up around 7:30 am got ready, I had to meet Bindi at her place by 9 am, so that I can drop my things at her place and leave to Essel world. I took an auto from Zostel to Andheri railway station. I had to catch a local train from Andheri to Borivali. I was really nervous, I was worried if I will be able to get into the local train as it will be crowded. The station entrance was crowded, I got a ticket to Borivali. The station was so crowded and there were trains coming and going in every two minutes, I went to the platform and waited when the train came, I asked the person nearby will it be going to Borivali and got into the train. When I got down at Borivali I called Bindi and she told she was running late and told me to reach at her place and wait. I walked from Borivali station to Bindi place and she came there after some. We left my luggage there and got a auto-rickshaw to boatyard where we will get a ferry to the famous Essel world.
Essel world is an amusement park which has many adventurous rides and it is in the top 10 places to visit in Mumbai. We got into almost all the rides, there was one ride “Shot & Drop” we very much liked it and got into the ride 6 times. Around 6 pm we got out of Essel world took the ferry back to Borivali and witnessed an amazing sunset.
We took a bus and went to Borivali railway station, Nearby there was a Dosa place where we went and tried Masala dosa with two different flavours. The Masala dosa was not the same that we get here. It was very much different. Bindi told Mumbai has many cultures and people around India is been there. People in Mumbai like to experiment/mix food with different types of cultures traditional foods. So when you order your favourite dish in Mumbai, “Forget what it tastes like in your mind or at your place. It will be totally different.”’
Today I was going to the South Mumbai, Bandra and Church gate was in my list. I took a local train from Andheri to Bandra. I got down at Bandra and my first destination was Mount Mary church it was around 2km away I decided to walk and explore this time and walked towards the church, On the way I got to see some amazing streets. The church was beautiful and was filled with some tourists, I spend some time in the church and after that I went to Bandra Bandstand and Bandra fort. Bandra fort is filled with couples, We can also see the famous Bandra Worli Sea link from here.
Bandra
After some time I got a bus to Bandra Station and got on a train to ChurchGate to my next destination. I walked around Churchgate and saw the Mumbai High Court, The beautiful Gothic architecture buildings. My first destination was Jehangir Modern Art Gallery, The place had some awesome collections of art, After that I went to the Prince of Wales museum. When I got out of the museum Bindi called and told that she will meet me at Churchgate I told her we can meet at the Mumbai Gate. We spent some time there and walked to our next destination Marine drive. Marine drive was filled with people and we sat there and enjoyed the sunset. Today we were going to eat at the restaurant Sardar which is famous for its pav bhaji. We had to stand in a queue to get in, it was amazing how they were making pav for the entire people at the restaurant at a time. On the way back I figured it out that there was a metro connecting from my place to Andheri railway station.
Jehangir Modern Art Gallery
Day 3:
Today I was going to Elephanta Caves for that I have to go back to Church gate and to take a ferry to the island, the ticket costs around Rs. 205 with return. The journey to the island is around 1 hrs. There are snacks and juices available in the ferry. People started to feed the birds with the snacks and the birds started to fly over to get their food. There is a toy train which will take you to the starting point of the Elephanta caves. I Skipped and decided to walk towards the caves. There is a two entry fees we have to give when we reach. One is an entry fee to enter the island which is Rs 5 and another is around Rs.100 for the entry to the elephanta caves. The caves was so crowded. Avoid Elephanta caves if you’re visiting Mumbai for a short time as it will take your half day or entire day if you don’t plan well. I reached back at church gate and went to the fashion street which is in the marine lanes. Fashion street has everything you need and if you’re good at bargaining you could get some good items at a very low price.
The Elephanta Caves
My next destination was Juhu and Bindi was joining me there, We were going to the famous Pritivi cafe to have some aloo parathas, As usual we had to stand in queue to get a seat at the cafe. The cafe has some amazing interiors with food. We went to the Juhu beach and went back to Borivali. There was a night market at Borivali and Bindi helped me to buy some kurti for my Mom and sweets for my colleagues.
Hello there! Have you read my article on Nongriat? Well, this is a continuation of my Meghalaya trip with Theraparatravels. We started to Shnongpdeng from Nongriat. When we were traveling to Shnongpdeng, my heart was still at Nongriat and to be frank, I was sad leaving the most beautiful place I have ever visited. On our way, we visited Mawsmai caves and Nohkalikai Falls as well. But sadly at Nohkalikai falls there was no waterfall and was too dry. From Nohkalikai Falls, we started our journey to Shnongpdeng. On the way, we saw a beautiful sunset even though I’m not a sunset person. I have seen it a million times on the sea, but this time the sun was setting on the hills and that was a view worth cherishing.
As we were a group from different parts of India, people had brought various types of local snacks and shared it amongst one another. The snack I liked the most was bhindi masala.
Around 7 pm we reached Shnongpdeng. We were going to stay in tents near the Umngot river. We could see a lot of vehicles parked, but there was no sign of any river nearby. Nadheem told that there were porters available to carry our luggage as we had to cross a bridge and walk for some time to reach our tents. While crossing the bridge, we could hear the river flowing below us. Myself and Bindi started to walk parallel to balance the bridge, but our minds were still stuck in the Nongriat root bridges. (there was no need to walk parallel as the bridge was safe).
As we reached our tents, we could hear the river more louder. Two persons were allocated to each tent, but no one went inside them. Everyone was tired after the long drive. After some time everyone settled down on the chairs they could find. While some started to have drinks, food and campfire got ready with good music. We could see some other groups playing songs and dancing around their camp across the river and near us.
We settled down at the campfire and started talking and eating our food. My heart was still at Nongriat, and all I wanted was to go back. Everyone shared their experiences of the trip, and especially each one of us was happy that we could complete the trek to Nongriat. After sometime we decided to go and sit down on the bridge that we crossed. As we were walking through the bridge, everyone was talking something and I was just looking around. I was Wonderstruck seeing the most beautiful thing, the river in the middle guarded by giant mountains on both the sides. You guys should see the place at night; It seemed to me like I was in Jurassic world. I stood there admiring the view and feeling the cool breeze, it was like the mountains calling me to stay with them. I was so thankful that I could be there, to open my eyes to the beauty that surrounded me.
A little later, Nadheem joined us and told that we could go and sit in the middle of river. There was a small bamboo bridge below us. We all said yes and joined hands for a night adventure. We found a place in the middle of the river as Nadheem told and settled down there. Some people started singing songs and Nadheem along with Bindi joined them. Bindi knows the lyrics of most of the songs by heart. As none of us had any night vision camera, we all turned on our mobile flashlights to get a picture of us.
The next day I woke up early and started to the bamboo bridge we sat on the previous day. The sun was not up yet. I went down and settled down on a rock to see the sunrise. Sitting there, I was searching for the mountain that called me the other night. I sat there admiring the view and listening to the river, as she was telling stories to those who open up their hearts and listen.
After some time, Bindi, Rachita and Srujana joined. Bindi came and laid down on the rocks saying her usual dialogue “I’m set here”. She does this everywhere she goes and looks up into the sky. We were all wondering where the transparent green waters were which we get to see when we Google Shnongpdeng and were disappointed not seeing it.
While Srujana and Rachita went back to the tent, Myself and Bindi went to the otherside of the river to explore the place. There were lots of boats and each boat was painted beautifully. We went further ahead to explore the places which was when I realised that I could have gone for a river trek if I had woken up early in the morning.
We simply roamed around and went back to bridge we crossed the previous night. Then we looked down, and looked each other in awe as we could see the riverbed and rocks very clearly now and it was all in green.
We went to have our breakfast as we were going for boating after that. We changed our outfits and went towards the boats. Each boat could accommodate five people and as we started, we could see people trying to catch fish by looking through the river. After sometime, we reached a small waterfall and the boat went straight to it. Gurvir was sitting in the front of our boat; He got panicked and started telling us “don’t move, don’t move” while he was doing all the shaking. A few minutes later, he became calm. We stayed near the waterfall for sometime and then went back.
On our way back, we saw someone trying to swim across the river. As we neared him, we could see that it was actually Sree who was having a good time. This was the time I regretted not learning swimming (adding my to do list: Learn Swimming). There were some other activities like zip lining, cliff jumping as well in store for us. Some of us went for it and I skipped it all as I didn’t know swimming.
We went back to the bridge to capture photos just like the ones we get when we google Shnongpdeng and yes we were lucky enough to get some good pics.
Then we saw a foreigner swimming below us and there was a good spot to take a picture from above. Myself and Bindi went down and asked Rachita to take a picture of us from the top (you would have seen that picture at the beginning of the article).
Sometime later, Sree joined us after coming back from cliff jumping. I was too busy taking his photo and for some reason, I looked down the river. My precious red glasses fell off and had already gone into the depth of the river. It was hopeless to retrieve it. It was time to leave Shnongpdeng and so we went back to our tents to have our lunch and kickstarted our journey back. By now I was well and good at saying goodbye to beautiful places.
Hey there! First of all, I came to know about Nongriat through Rachita Saxena instagram stories. (PS: She is definitely a person to be followed on Instagram). We travelled with Thera Para Travels. Yes! You heard it right. Many of my Malayalee colleagues had asked me the same, “Thera Para Travels !!!! Is that a real travel agency???” At some point, even I have asked the same question. But here I am, writing about them. So next time when you hear Thera Para Travels, Just close your eyes and say “Yes, I’m in”.
So let’s get back to the trip. We were a group of 14 and none of us knew each other, but everyone knew Rachita. I’m skipping the part where we all landed at Guwahati Airport and from there to Nongriat.
The gang before starting the trek, From left Srujana, Myself, Bindi, Rachita and Sree
Let’s start with Nongriat, We reached around 4pm at the top from where we had to climb down 3200 steps to Nongriat village. Some of us brought sticks to help climb down. At first, only a few steps were visible. I thought “One step at a time” and started to descent. We had a tourist guide (Phayas) who was only 16 and was earning his share for college. How cool is that?
On the way to Nongriat with our guide Phayas (in the middle)
On the way, Phayas told us that he needed only 20 minutes to climb down and 45 mins to climb up. I was wondering how he could walk like that. As we moved down, the number of steps kept on increasing and it was more like a labyrinth of steps. We saw many people who were climbing up. They were sweating and tired, stopping regularly to breath. This made us worried. By now, Bindi, myself and Phayas were the only ones visible.We continued to walk..walk..and again walk.
As we walked, Bindi told me that she had a thing, a competition in her mind had already started and that she should reach first at Nongriat before anyone else could reach, NOT EVEN ME!!!! And we reached Nongriat before anybody else and you can guess who reached first.
The feeling when you complete a target cannot be said or written, but should be experienced atleast once in a lifetime.
When we reached the place, my expectations were blown off. I was expecting a place without electricity, and was hoping to live in a bamboo hut. But I saw small concrete structures and there were more tourists than the Khasi people.We were so thrilled and then Phayas pointed to a hill and said that we came from there.
From there we started our trek.
We sat down on the steps, waiting for the others. Then a small kid came over to Bindi and asked for candy. Bindi told that she would give her a candy if she gets to see some magic trick. Then the small kid told that she knows magic and planted a kiss on Bindi. These kids have a way of getting things done (Be prepared to play with them if you’re planning a Nongriat trip).
Our group was to stay in different homestays. Myself, Sree, Rachita along with Gurvir went to a house which was near the double decker root bridge. As it was night, we couldn’t get a good view of the bridge. So I made a mental note to wake up early and visit the double decker first. When I reached the homestay, I heard Malayalam, which reminded me of the fact that there would be at least one malayalee where ever you go in this world. Later I got to know that they were medical students from Trivandrum Medical College and they were visiting Meghalaya after coming from Nagaland.
Next morning I woke up around 5:15 am and the sun was already up. I was so excited that I went straight to the double decker bridge and started exploring the place. It’s so good to be in a place where you can find yourself. The water is so clear that you can see small fishes and if you put your legs in the water and stand still, you will get a natural fish pedicure. I just walked through the narrow path for sometime listening to the sound of jungle.
Bindi with her painting near the double decker root bridge, click here to see the painting
We had a long day ahead. We were going to the Rainbow falls after breakfast, so I went back and got changed for the trek to Rainbow falls.
We started the trek around 9am. There were more steps, bridges and hills ahead of us. After an hour and a half, I could hear the sound of a waterfall. As we neared, I couldn’t believe my eyes as the water was plush blue in colour (I have heard about blue lagoons, but never believed it). It’s so beautiful that my heart skipped a beat (probably due to the long trek). We had to descent down to reach the Rainbow falls and there were no steps, but only a narrow lane of rocks.
Rainbow Falls
Some people who were nearby the falls showed signals to descent slowly. We did the same and reached the Rainbow falls. When I was there, I just wanted to take off my t-shirt and jump into the water. A few minutes later, Sree came and jumped right into the water, but got out of it quickly. The water was so cold that he had to come out.
The people in there asked us to stay in the water for sometime, so that our bodies could adjust to the cold temperature. We did the same and it worked. Around 12, we descended back to the village and on the way back, we had some delicious Maggi. By the time we reached back, everyone was so tired that no one wanted to leave the comfort of their houses.
Our homestay owner had 7 children and each one of them was naughty, but one got very close to Rachita and Sree. She was hanging on to either Sree or Rachita all the time. The children there are so crazy that if we taught them a trick, we had to continuously do it until they’re tired (Mostly Sree was the victim). When Rachita put on her sweater to go outside, the little girl went inside and brought her sweater asking Rachita to help her put it (she was trying to be like Rachita). These kids have magical powers that they never get tired. Even when they fall down, they don’t cry but rather just get up and walk like nothing ever happened.
The kid who made us tired every time she’s around
Around 6:30pm, we went to the other homestay where the rest of the team was staying. On the premises, kids were playing carroms and they played like professionals. As I watched the kids play carroms, they started to sing BONEY M- Brown girl in the ring ( shalalala ). It’s good to be with kids.
Then I asked our team if anyone was interested in playing carroms to which they all said yes. Myself and Rachita were a team and the other team had Srujana and Sree. Srujana said that she did not know to play and we told her that we would help her out. Once we started to play, she started to point out the rules of the game and gained coins for her team. But obviously myself and Rachita won the game.
We went back to our homestay and talked for sometime. Everyone was so tired that we started limping by the end of the day. Now we knew why we shouldn’t skip leg day at the gym.
Next morning we had to start our climb right after breakfast. I woke up early and went to the double decker root bridge and sat on it for a while. I didn’t want to go back. My mind was saying to stay there for a month. I convinced my mind that I will go back and stay there for a month.
It’s so sad to leave a place which you love. After breakfast, Bindi and Srujana told that they’re going to climb up early and asked me if I’m joining them. I said yes, grabbed my bag and started to climb. I didn’t want to look back. That would make me even sad. So I just walked towards the steps without turning back.
All of us were worried to climb up as it demanded hard work and more patience. Anyway, everyone started to climb up(There is no other alternative). Srujana had breathing problems and was stopping regularly to control her breathing. I also stopped and waited for her. After an hour we reached the top. I was not that tired the way I expected it would be. I guess stopping for Srujana helped me as well.
When we reached the top, Bindi was already there. She told us that she lost her way and had to walk extra. We waited for everyone to reach and said goodbye to Nongriat, the place of root bridges, blue lagoons, waterfalls and the happy people.
I was back from office and no one was at home. I took my tea and shuffled through my movie collection, selected the movie ‘The Great Wall’ and started watching it. At some point my phone rang and I took it. When I picked it up, a scream was heard from the other side. It was Dad and he was screaming “Jiffinnnn come fast Mom has been hit by an auto”. His voice was breaking.
I jumped off from my seat and went to the place where it happened. My mind was racing fast and it was saying to kill that auto driver. How dare he could hit my Mom!!! Just then I saw my car coming from the opposite side. It was raining heavily, they slowed near me and said to come to the hospital. I couldn’t see Mom .I went ahead of them clearing the way as I could.
When I had reached the hospital, my friend dad was there. He said to take her to another hospital as the hospital didn’t have any neurology department. My brain was shutdown and all I was thinking was where they were, as they should have reached by then. They reached after some time. No one in that bloody hospital came to help Mom out of the car. When I opened the door, she was saying something. I tried to talk while she was taken out. She was holding the seat tightly and not letting go of it. Somehow me and my cousin lifted her up and brought her to the casualty. When we laid her on the bed, blood started to flow. The Doctor who came to check saw this and asked us to take her to another hospital. I told her to do some first aid for stopping the blood and then called an ambulance, as I said “we are taking her to another hospital”. When I saw the blood from her brain, my mind was saying “It’s the same wound which was on your friend who passed away a few months away”.
Dad was shivering and was not talking a word. The ambulance came pretty fast. I told everyone who came with Mom to go with the ambulance and that I will take the car and follow them. Ambulance went past when I reached the car and saw it was open with parking lights on and the seats were covered with blood. Somehow I got up and followed the ambulance. On my way, I called my brother, cousin and friends to reach the hospital.By then, the ambulance was not in my sight.
When I reached the hospital, the ambulance was parked near the casualty. I saw my cousin at the bill counter giving them my Mom’s details and paying the amount they have asked. She was in the Emergency room and I went inside. The doctors were rushing towards her as she had started to cry with pain. I was stuck there seeing that. My mind was away as someone started asking me questions, and I could not hear anything. Somehow I came back to reality and realized that the person in front of me was the doctor who was asking me about Mom’s tablets, previous surgeries, medical history etc. He told me to be there. Meanwhile my cousin had also come inside the Emergency room and seeing him I wanted to cry aloud, but somehow I held up. He then talked to the doctors and I just stood there not knowing what to do. By then, a nurse came with Mom’s belongings and said to keep it. Mom has started to scream “Ammaaaa” aloud, when the doctors were trying to figure out where she had injuries. She would scream aloud all the time and this made it difficult for them to identify the wounds. While she was taken to do the CT scans, a nurse came and told me to accompany them. As we lifted her from the trolley to scan, she started to cry in pain. They gave me a jacket and told to hold Mom’s hand so that she would lie still during the scan. She was screaming during the initial scan, and after all the scans were done we went back to the emergency room. By now she was dozed off with drugs and not responding very well. After a while, she started to shiver and started crying again. As we got the results of the scan, the doctors said “There is a puncture wound in the brain and her pelvic bone is broken, we will be shifting her to Trauma ICU”.
By now everyone had come to the hospital. When I went outside, Dad was sitting there shivering. He was still in shock and some of the people who came there was telling that it was his fault of parking. I went and bought a cup of coffee for dad and told not to listen to anyone, there is nothing to worry, and that she will be okay.
After sometime, she was shifted to Trauma ICU and they allowed us to see her. When I went inside, she was shivering. I had a conversation with the nurse on the dosage of insulin she was taking, the surgeries she had done and told her that I will bring the pills she is taking for diabetics as soon as possible. But the nurse said there is no need of any rush, as it was okay to bring those tomorrow. My brother and cousin said thay they would stay there and as we were not supposed to wait outside the ICU, we had to wait in the waiting hall. They asked me to take dad home and by then it was 2am. On the way back to home, we went to the police station and logged a complaint against the auto. As dad was not able to note down the auto registration number, it was a dead end.
He explained how the accident happened. “It was raining heavily, and as they had only one umbrella, he dropped Mom at the passenger door and went to the driver’s seat.That’s when the auto came and hit mom. She flew away and dropped near the back tyre. The auto stopped and the driver came. I was busy calling out for nearby people to help out and by the time I looked back, the auto and the driver had vanished”
I was praying to God to keep her safe. We reached home, I tried to sleep but my brain was not in a mood to shut down. When it was 5am, I went back to the hospital. Visiting time was from 6am to 8am. I went and saw Mom and she was sleeping peacefully. By then, the head nurse came and told that the senior doctors will be there by 8am and asked me to wait outside until they arrive. I waited at the hallway praying under my breath ‘Hail Mary’. After some time the doctors came and said there is no need for any operations, but that she should be kept under observation for some days. I informed the same to my brother and cousin who were awake during the night, waiting at the hallway, and told them to get some sleep.
On the third day she was shifted to a room. Everytime she tried to move, there was pain, but she had no idea of the accident, and didn’t know where she was. Her memory would come and go often. During the night she will try to remove the drip saying “Why are we here”. She was discharged on the 5th day. The doctors and the physiotherapist told not to mind the pain and asked us to make her walk with that pain, or else she will never walk again. Our first task was to make her stand and when we helped her to stand she would scream. We had to make her stand with all that pain.
“ It’s so painful to hear the scream of your loved ones and it’s more painful when you’re helpless to do something to ease that pain”.
After a month, we had some improvements. She was now able to stand for a few minutes. We had brought her a wheel chair and we often took her outside to make her feel better. We made her to take baby steps, which resulted in huge screams, and the neighbors would then rush to our home asking what had happened. We hired a physiotherapist to help her, and she was a big help to us. Her exercises were showing good results.
After 5 months……
She is now able to walk without any screaming. The good thing is that she has no recollection of the accident or the hospital days. She still needs some help to walk, I’m sure she will be able to walk without any help in a few months and I’m thankful to GOD for bringing her back to us and giving us the courage to withstand the bad days.
Software Engineer | Bibliophile | Trivandrumite, Lived in Thrissur, Proud GECian, Loves Food-Music-Adventure-Films
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