Water and Toilet
If I am asked to choose between a pot of gold/ a chance for fame on one side and a clean toilet facility forever /water on the other?
My choice for life would be water and a clean toilet.
The jack pot struck last night,
The water pipe started hissing, howling and a sharp grrrrrrr….
Sound engineers could use this to depict snake hisses
So back to basics, we have no water now, the pump I am told is more than 25 years old, today is Sunday, power outage time is still on its way, it’s already freezing temperature here, however the pump has failed the tube well pump, this is when I keep reminding myself how fragile everything around us is.
Well coming to desires, Yes! now I am having this desire, I pray to God Almighty every day please, please do not deprive me of a clean toilet and potable water until I die.
I don’t believe in wasting water and electricity ever, all valuable lessons taught by my elders. It still rings in my ears Valiammachy’s words, when you get out of a room turn off the light and the fan, believe me I tend to overdo this all the time walking without light wherever I am office or home …
Decades back I got a call from Amma that my Valiammachy is not well, Dr. Ninan Kuruvilla, (Baluchayan) I had mentioned earlier, one of the most brilliant doctors I have met, rushed to Kayamkulam with my parents. The scene was described, Valiammachy was sweeping the yard and she couldn’t straighten herself, she was in deep pain and she was literally lifted to bed, for both my grandparents my Amma was SOS. One phone call to 77829 that’s what P&T changed 2329 our old telephone number to, as part of increasing the number of telephone services in Kollam. 4 wheels and a chassis would slide and roll straight to Kayamkulam in less than an hours’ time to attend to my most beloved grand parents.
Baluchayan was a maverick with so much of experience, knowledge and diagnostic skills far superior to many doctors around; immediately said she has Multiple Myeloma and she has to be handled with utmost care.
A few of her ribs were in bad shape already, and she was in acute pain, practically intolerable and any pressure could make it worse, a fall a hit somewhere etc. Valiammachy was taken to hospital.
I rang Baluchayan and he explained her diagnosis, what she needs is support and strength to fight her condition and she can walk if she has braces, everything is very painful. At the moment she is bedridden.
What he explained was similar to a car’s wind shield cracking when a stone hits like a projectile, sometimes it stays at a point with one dent and now a days there is glue which can fill and repair it, at times it radiates to all sides like the rays of a twinkling star, at times it just expands like a spider web and chips beautifully like cut diamonds. Soon it can just become brittle and fall all over.
I didn’t wait for a moment, I was heartbroken to hear Valiammachy being bedridden and I knew she would be in very low spirits, if she is deprived of moving on her own, normally nothing affected her will power. I flew down from Sydney to be with her, when I came to her bed, I knew I couldn’t hug her; I just told her she will be fine and is going to fight this. I will do everything in my capacity to make it happen, that was a promise.
She was very relieved to see me and these were her words. Tell me what is wrong with me, Valiappachen is no more, I am all set to join him in heaven above, she was very clear where she was going, those were the women I grew up with, these were my heroines, they were sure of what they did and how they lived, there was no room for any #Me Too in their life, head strong, straightforward hardworking, no nonsense, focused women.
She said: at the moment I am bed ridden; I cannot stand this bed pan business and not able to wash myself clean.
As long as I am alive I want to go to the toilet on my own and wash myself. Please check whether there is any way to do that. Those days the word Cancer was such a taboo, it was just like having daughters pregnant before marriage, absolutely scary. Everyone wanted to hush it and didn’t know how to deal with it. People believed Cancer was like Lord Yamraj, ready to take you South on the water buffalo with the noose in his hand.
Every disease and challenges in life can be fought with courage, it’s tough but it’s always good to know the truth, the limitations, fight with hope, prayers, help from family, friends, hospital and medicines. Everything is about the right attitude to fight a disease with accurate knowledge.
I still remember talking to the doctors in Lisie Hospital Ernakulam and asking them to prepare my Valiammachy for braces, they said its painful and if she can prepare herself to take the pain, then she can walk and do her personal activities for a long time. She did undergo the procedure, I still remember the brace, reminded me of the horse saddle, leather with straps and she did start managing her chores herself. She lived a few years….
When we rebuild Kerala, please let’s make sure we give every citizen the right to have access to clean toilets at home and in public places with uninterrupted supply of water, let’s educate children and elders the need to keep toilets clean, the need to preserve water, the need to leave the toilet clean for the next user.
Water and Toilet would be my choice for survival and desire.
Air at the moment we are still far away from private Air.
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