Chapter 40: chapter 40

My father-in-law took it as her usual tantrum and was peeping from the room's window. She went to the washroom and pleaded for a glass of water which the boy handed over promptly. She gulped the entire water and bloated inconsiderately producing a strange noise. Raghav gently took the glass from her patting her back. My father-in-law sensed something unusual at once and went down to summon her daughter who refused to see her mother in this condition. My husband was given a call to fetch a doctor.The last words she uttered to Raghav were, "Beta Subha ho Gayi kya? ".(Son, is it morning?) She was in a state of perpetual intoxication due to a sudden weakness. She was in the regular habit of taking sleeping pills to lull him to sleep. It had become an addiction. She took her last breath in front of Raghav, the shop boy who took great care of my father-in-law. It took some time for the others to gather around. The doctor reached declaring her dead. When l received the news of her demise, I was deeply affected. l lost my desire to have food. My sons were having their second terminal examinations and I was preparing for my PhD entrance exam. Sometimes, my mother-in-law used to scold her for her foolhardiness. A couple of weeks before her death, she had confided to me,"Beta, Mai Odiya chinkara sun K NHI Marna, Mai apne Munde Kol Jana ya, Canada".(l don't want to die in my daughter's house bearing her curses, l want to move to my son to rescue myself from her torture).Nobody can go against destiny, it was her fate. My mother-in-law came back home late at night, ate her food, talked about her mother and retired to bed. My husband stayed back to spend the night with Granny's lifeless body. He had been such a bold man. It was unbelievable to evaluate his behaviour during the long covid.The next day it was time to bid her the final farewell.  Her daughter had to stitch her funeral attire within two hours, it was a white salwar kameez. Nani's son alleged it would take a few days for him to travel as he is not finding any tickets.Nani's daughter-in-law and grandchildren already had detached themselves from her, as they never spoke to her on a call even, so there was no chance of their coming.I and my husband performed her last rites in the absence of her son and daughter-in-law. I lent her the last sacred bath with curd, it was the first time l ever touched a dead body. l shivered at the first touch, sensing her cold body but gradually it gave me inner pride. My husband performed her funeral rites. All of us lent her a final adieu with due respect with tears in her eyes. I had been in continual contact with her only for three years. My love and sympathy for her will be eternal. l have seen her dying a thousand deaths before her actual death. She longed to see her son. I felt the fragrance of Keo Karpin oil which she used to smear on her hair, after her death, two times. First in my in-law's room, when l entered to tidy it and the other time when l was washing the bedsheet of my in-laws. I don't know what's the logic behind this but both times l felt her presence amidst the smell of Keo Karpin hair oil.Smells have a strong connection with a person's existence. We begin to feel or connect with that person through their fragrance before and after death. In Rk Narayan's, autobiographical novel The English Teacher, he enlightens the readers about the Jasmine-scented presence of Krishna’s dead wife Susila.