About a couple of months back a NRI doctor based out of England during his visit to Kolkata contacted Porosh. He wanted to avail Sneho package for his mother who was showing early signs of dementia. She was being taken care of by the maid who had been with them for the past 15 years or so.
The very next day Porosh visited the residence of the doctor to meet his mother. She was bed-ridden and wore an emaciated look with listless eyes. The doctor son seated next to her was gently caressing her forehand. However, hardly did she respond to any external stimulus. After initial interaction with us he enrolled for the package. Our duty started the very next day.
The initial few days were a bit challenging as the maid felt threatened by our presence. She felt that we were there to oust her from her job. Obviously, we were not getting much co-operation from her. On the contrary, we were greeted with suspicion which we chose to ignore. The focus was to ensure that the elderly lady recovered and led as normal a life as possible.
We engaged her in brain and music therapies. As weeks rolled into months there are visible signs of improvement. The smile is back on her face. She shares incidents from the past like her fondness for studies, Rabindra Sangeet and yes, the ethereal smile of Late Uttam Kumar.
Now the situation is such that she calls us up to enquire the time and date for our next visit. The maid no longer nurses any grudge against. Instead she participates in our adda session with mashima. We try as much possible to keep her in good humour.
The biggest satisfaction for us is the blessings we receive from her. We wish mashima a long and happy life.
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