The ill feeling:
That early morning of 21st October, I was struck by seasonal
flu and was feeling too weak to get up in the morning. Whole night I had been
tossing in bed which made me all the more drained and tired. When kanti aunti
knocked at the door, I was too tired to respond. Kanti aunti comes daily for
early morning household chores. Ashu opened the door and I could hear her
barging in. I hoped Ashu would tell her to come back later, as I wanted to rest
at that time. I was slightly irritated when I heard her coming in. she knocked
and came inside the room.
The concern:
She looked really concerned when she looked at me. I was all
wrapped up in blanket with the whole room smelling of medicines and vicks. She
instantly went to kitchen, heated some mustard oil with some ingredients and
sat down to give me a head massage. I was really touched by her concern. All
through she kept on advising me about what herbs to drink as tea. The extent of
her concern was evident when she even came back with few herbs(which she called
‘jaikush’ in her native language) after two hours. She must have walked few
kilometers to get those leaves. She really made me feel warm and loved. All
through this, I was really overwhelmed by her concern, care and simplicity.
The Grand Chennai:
Had it been Chennai(
the city I lived previously), my maid would have been very happy to return back
and would have celebrated her day as holiday. But looking at kanti aunti I kept
on wondering at the human touch with which people carry on their duties in
smaller towns and villages. Here people are more important than things, and
emotions prevail over thoughts. This magic touch seems to be vanishing in our fast
and modern metro lives, and seems to be far too much price for our urbanization.
