Friends

Neeraja's behaviour was causing concern to her friend Ramona. However due to her impending trip abroad she is unable to do much. Then she remembered that Another classmate of hers and Neeraja's, Dr Shiv Narayan Sharma was in town. If anyone could be of help it would him - considering that he was a renowned Psychiatrist. Read on ......


Dr Shiv Narayan Sharma was in deep thought. His mind was wandering aimlessly. But foremost on his mind was the thought about how much he hated people with tonsured heads. It was beyond him to understand why people shaved their heads. When he had worked in the gynaecology ward he used to detest new born babies who had no hair on their heads. Their whole aspect was one of an evil goblin. In addition to hatred of bald heads, it was his biggest grouse that as he was growing older he too was losing his hair. One of his worst  fears was that he would frighten himself to death one day when he woke up and looked at his image unexpectedly in the mirror. His Peladophobia would be the death of him.

Then his mind refocused on the problem at hand . Ramona - called to request him to have a look at another classmate of theirs - Neeraja - whose behaviour at best could be termed as erratic. Ramona  was very sketchy with the details. This was quite frustrating but the problem piqued Dr Sharma's curiosity. On the one hand he was angry that he was left holding the baby and on the other he was alarmed that a classmate of his was unwell and required help. He gave a sigh and went inside to call Neerajas daughter to find out what exactly was the problem. The girl seemed relieved that finally someone was taking interest in her problems. Not withstanding the girl's narrative Dr Sharma decided to visit Neeraja to gain an insight into her problem. He had not met her in thirty years and was wondering as to how he would explain his sudden manifestation to Neeraja. Then he remembered that another of their classmates , Venkataswamy was in town on a holiday to meet his relatives. It would be a good idea to take Venkatswamy along. There was always safety in numbers...

Venkatswamy and Dr Sharma , had kept in touch over the years. They made it a point to meet every time that Venkataswamy was in town.Once in a while (the dirty men they were) they used to leer at attractive girls.After explaining the problem to Venkatswamy it was decided that both of them would visit Neeraja.

Venkat's Narrative

When Shiv told me that we needed to meet Neeraja I was naurally surprised. We had not met her in thirty years. I did not understand the good doctor's sudden desire to meet her after such a long time. On the appointed day, while we were travelling to Neeraja's house he told me the whole story as gleaned from Ramona. He said that all his training indicated that Neeraja was suffering from a psychotic episode. In any case we would find out soon enough.We reached her place in due time and as we reached her place , her daughter opened the door. We were struck by the uncanny resemblance that the young girl bore to her mother. We were transported back in time. On introducing ourselves the questioning look on the girl's face cleared up. She let us in . The house was tastefully decorated and pleasant. The girl then started telling us how a few months back her mother started behaving erratically. We were soon to have a first hand experience of this aspect, when Neeraja walked in .
At first it was all okay, She remembered us from school and insisted that we have muffins and tea, And when we demurred she became rather insistent and became aggressively hospitable. Then to gain her confidence we talked a bit about school and then she asked us in a rather pointed manner as to why we were there. While we were deciding as to how best to reply to her she called her daughter and told her to close the windows as she feared that all the antennae outside were being used to spy on her and her visitors. Then she asked us to talk in low tones so that no one could hear us. She also told us that she could not switch on the fans as the ash which was on them would come down upon us. That something was wrong was never in doubt . But what it was, was what the good doctor had to analyse through his diagnostic skills.

When we left the doctor confided in me that all the symptoms pointed to paranoid schizophrenia. At the moment we needed to chalk out a plan to induce her to go to a hospital. As to when that would be was anybody's guess.... That moment came sooner than we thought it would. That day morning the daughter called Dr Shiv Narayan . The call was desperate. The girl told the doctor that at the moment she was locked up in her room as her mother was attacking her over some minor argument that they had had that day. The Doctor called me immediately and we went to Neeraja's place immediately. The problem as analysed by the doctor was to persuade Neeraja to go to the hospital, In her present state of mind this seemed impossible. We chalked out a plan whereby one of us would gain the trust of Neeraja and ensure her going to the hospital. The plan worked to an extent - in that Neeraja did get into the auto Rickshaw but on finding out that she was going to the hospital, immediately jumped out in the middle of a very busy intersection.

Desperate situations demanded desperate measures. And this was one of them as by now a crowd had gathered to witness this unexpected drama which was developing on the road. People thought that it was a case of spousal abuse and were shouting encouragement to the lady to make a break for it while she had a chance.The situation was becoming desperate and we knew that it would not be long before someone decided to call the law enforcement agencies. So while one of us was explaining to the crowd that it was a trivial matter, the other, with much persuasion and threats  somehow convinced her that we were visiting someone and managed to get her into the auto rickshaw. In the autorickshaw it was a matter of clinging on to her for dear life to prevent her from making the great escape again. Much to our relief and that of everyone concerned she was finally committed to the hospital. The treatment was not easy. She was pretty far gone and extreme measures had to be resorted to for bringing her back on track. She was an uncooperative patient. The treatment which involved a series of shocks and medicines. It was a very tense time for all of us. Especially for the daughter. Who had no one to depend upon.Finally after a month Neeraja was released from the hospital completely cured of her affliction. I am sure she had some introspection to do - as to what she had to do with her life from now on....

A Different Neeraja

Life till then was going well - considering... that - a few years back when her children were still young her husband had passed away. He was a brilliant scientist who was working in one of the top projects of the country. As a young man who had joined the government research lab , his genius was spotted very early. Things started moving fast . He was soon offered and - subsequently accepted the job at the secret facility. She was a starry eyed young girl who considered herself lucky to net such a brilliant person. Like all geniuses he was an impatient and sensitive person and easily frustrated when things did not go his way. In the process to deaden his feelings he started drinking heavily. The consumption of alcohol gave him a feeling of invincibility and creativity. according to him some of his best work happened when his senses were heightened with alcohol . Often in moments of sobriety he used to marvel at his own creations when he reviewed them. Soon whenever he felt that he was caught up in a problem he started drinking to find the solution.
As was inevitable he began to start his day with alcohol. He found that partly it reduced the hangover from the previous evening and this in turn helped him face the day with renewed vigor. Along the way he did not notice the unhappiness that his drinking was causing his wife and child. During one of his drunken gropings his son was born - an autistic child. The wife brought up the children single handedly with little or no help from her husband. There were fights - with the wife insisting that he desist from drinking and he trying to reassure her that it was a pastime which he could give up anytime that he felt like... She had no one to turn to. Her mother passed away at an early stage due to cancer. After her marriage, she had in her arrogance belittled her father and her brothers. Now when she could have done with help and support of her relatives, no one was willing to support her nor help her. Her life had become a living hell. Even in such circumstances she was too proud to seek assistance from them.
And then the expected happened. Her husband, while at work - one day suddenly collapsed. He was immediately removed to the hospital. where it was diagnosed that he had suffered from a severe heart attack. While immediate life saving measures were instituted, the effects of prolonged alcohol abuse started manifesting themselves and from there it was totally downhill with him dying due to multi organ failure.
Were it not for her close school friend Ramona, she would have given up a long time before. Her friend helped her to overcome this personal tragedy. With the money from her husbands office she relocated to her home town of Hyderabad . She invested wisely and bought a flat close to her parents' residence. Not that it made any difference to her relations with them. The bitterness and alienation was complete. In small ways she tried to make amends. Her father came round after a few years. The lure of the grand children was too strong for the old man to resist. She started teaching in the school her father had set up. However the funds did not last long. She was forced to take up a job at a reputed semi government institution.People were nice and considering her plight, they were sympathetic and patient with her.
It was a difficult task of juggling her job,and bringing up her children alongside. But somehow she managed to do it.The years passed. Ramona her best friend settled abroad. The children stopped depending upon her for everything. At least the daughter.She grew into a comely young women who had inherited her mother's looks and her father's brains. The son was a different story altogether. From thee childhood he was slow on the uptake and was diagnosed with autism. With his mother's patience and extra attention,he, however managed to scrape through the classes and had reached his senior secondary class.
All through this period the only person she was in touch with was her friend Ramona. Whenever Ramona was in India she always made it a point to visit her friend. As a  result of these visits,a warm friendship developed between Ramona and her friend's daughter. She always made it a point to guide the child and at the same time enjoin upon her to look after her mother and brother. One day in a year and conversation over the phone was how Ramona kept in touch with Neeraja. But that one morning brought back so many memories. It was the same every year.
Until that fateful day in 2010. As was her wont Ramona went to meet her friend Neeraja that morning. That day was different. The moment she entered Neeraja's home she knew that something was different. Her friend did not greet her with the usual effusiveness. In fact she seemed withdrawn and distant. "Probably work pressure" thought Ramona. But then the visit went from bad to worse. When Ramona in her forthright manner inquired what was wrong, she was in for a shock. Neeraja accused her of  coming there to rob her jewelry and went on further to say that she was encouraging Neeraja's daughter to consort with unsavory elements, To say that Ramona was shocked was putting it mildly. Somehow she managed to keep her counsel to herself and escaped from her friend at the earliest.
That day she was very restless and kept wondering as to what had happened to her friend and why she was behaving in the manner that she did; Whatever the cause she resolved to get to the heart of the matter . The only drawback was that she did not have the time to do so.  She was scheduled to leave the country soon....