Missing of an Old Woman (Story)

 Missing of an Old Woman (Story)

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--- Murthy Kvvs

The elderly woman was well-known in our pilgrim town, but I wonder if anyone was aware of her location, including her name, place of origin, and other details. It is difficult to understand the language she speaks. People would occasionally pause there to hear her tirades. 

 She occasionally gazed up at the sky as if she were receiving a message. Occasionally, she continues to babble incoherently. Occasionally, she would sleep with an old blanket draped over her. The people in our town are liberal. 

People discovered that she was not interfering with their continued amusement in any manner. However, she was constantly holding a long, heavy bamboo stick.  The crowd keeps a safe distance, keeping it in sight. People became less interested in her as the days passed.

Despite making her bed on the road barriers, not even the traffic cops would oppose her. Thankfully, cars weren't speeding; our folks would experience such a level of accuracy in things when they witnessed such heartbreaking images out of compassion. And to treat her mental illness, why shouldn't they take the initiative to send her to the top hospital?

On the road, people who were wealthy, coveted, and influential would pass by them with indifference. If they are committed to helping these unfortunate poor people, what can stop them? 

I encountered Gopal, a buddy of mine who owns a Xerox store, one day while driving. He informed me of the elderly woman's intriguing revelation. "Are you aware of anything? I spoke with the woman who was always by the side of the barriers, which is directly across from our store. She didn't have a severe mental illness. The way she was thinking was a little bit confused. Would she have been a normal person if any of her family had taken care of her? By now she must have been close to developing delusions. I'm scared it will get worse."

"You even dared to speak with her, Gopal. That's fantastic. She never ventured to be approached by people like myself who pretended to be good samaritans. In that improvised tent that could be swept away by any brave breeze, she was sleeping, taking a bath, and doing everything else. Thankfully, despite the car being on the road, no accident happened. According to your account, she might be okay if someone of any kind took a modest initiative. However, who would that be? I let out a sigh.

It's admirable that you're worried about someone impoverished. Let's hold off for a couple more days. We will then get in touch with any NGO addressing the root cause. Or let's bring the matter to the relevant government officials. I hope that will be enough on our end. Gopal said. Admittedly, "Hmm...you're right,"

 However, she was always present whenever I happened to be crossing the street for work.  She doesn't appear to care. I was inclined to talk to her to see how sane she was. 

A few weeks later, I received a call for an interview in Chennai. Aside from the primary reason, I thoroughly liked it for different other things. I traveled back to our pilgrim town via bus from Vijayawada. Bhadrachalam Road is the closest train station to us. Ironically, it is located at Kothagudem.

It was nearly late when I got back from my trip. That elderly woman was nowhere to be seen on the road. Startled to recognize the truth. I have carefully noticed that there is no sign of her makeshift tent or rags surrounding the road's borders. 

And my conscience groaned, Who am I to think all of it? The other side of it protested, but you're a human being like her. But how hard it is to have empathy, which is the greatest thing in the world. As I slept through the night, my mind was racing with all of these worries.

"Gopal...What caused her to vanish from there? Did she have an accident or what? The next day, I asked him. He shook his head in disgust at my inquisitive inquiry. 

"I didn't know much about it because I was preoccupied with my career. One day, my wife, who runs our store, claimed that the unfortunate woman had been taken by van. We don't have any more information regarding who the van belongs to" he said.

I sighed. God, what is the secret of your playing? She is already out of her mind. Where should she go and do? Once, way back in her life, she could have been a lady like any other. 

After a few days, being that old woman who vanished clueless, I went to Aalubaka...a small village where one of my friends named Naren kept working as a science teacher in a high school. He is a bibliophile. We get engaged in talking for hours and hours whenever we meet and subjects vary to infinite. He answered one of my queries related to mental ill-health.

"schizophrenia is very prevalent among the people. There are five types in it. In our country, people consider offending to meet a concerned doctor. And it gets chronic as time passes by. A survey report says every three people out of five need this kind of checkup but hardly cared for by people. What to talk of empathy? The less we talk, the better..." said Naren

You're correct. Every street would have these unfortunate people, and nobody cared about them. They might have been in a more advanced stage, not caring about hygiene or clothing.

"Fortunately, there is a trend of recognizing such people has begun" Naren handed me a newspaper. It included a fascinating news story. I was shocked to learn that it was about our town's elderly woman.

In the picture, she was getting tonsured. All of these individuals have been sent to the special hospitals by our sub-collector. My God, at least one officer was there with a real attitude.

(The End)

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