She is just 14 days old. Covid-19 devoured both her parents even before they could give her a name. That’s not the end of her ordeal. The nameless orphan is herself battling for life in ICU in one of the private hospitals in Rohtak district of Haryana.
Her parents —Narendra Nandal and mother Mamata Nandal — died back-to-back, leaving behind a five-year-old distraught brother Kush. Both the hapless children are now dependent on the 65-year-old widow and their grandmother Sumitra Nandal.
Sumitra, who lost three fingers of one hand in an accident earlier, is still dealing with the shock of having lost her son Narendra on May 8, and then her daughter-in-law Mamata on May 16.
Her world crashed in front of her own eyes in a week’s time. It was not easy for the devastated woman to cremate her son and daughter-in-law, one after the other.
“I thought my son and daughter-in-law would come home soon. But I did not know that I won’t ever be able to see them again. What can be worse for an old widow mother who has lost both her son and daughter-in-law within a gap of eight days,” said an inconsolable Sumitra.
She said, “I know the hurt that we feel, the void that it has left in our hearts. This little boy and girl who don’t have their mom and dad now… You hear about the deaths, but you don’t ever really hear about the people left behind, and in this instance, it’s a five-year-old boy and a toddler girl child.”
The baby girl was born on May 2.
Narendra was working as a DJ operator during marriages in Rohtak district while Mamata was a housewife. Narendra went to a private hospital whereas his wife Mamata was admitted on May 2. She gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. After returning from the private hospital, Narendra got fever and later tested corona positive on May 3.
Sumitra said, “Narendra was first to complain of fever, cough, and cold on May 3. His condition started deteriorating after he tested positive for Covid-19. I could sense something wrong as my son wasn’t responding to the treatment well. My son’s condition was very bad and I then tried to shift him to Government or private hospitals but there was no availability of a ventilator or ICU bed there. I lost my son to the virus on May 8.”
She said, “My daughter-in-law Mamata, who was pregnant, was admitted to a private hospital and she delivered a baby girl on May 2. But on May 4, she tested positive. She was put on a ventilator for a week. Later she died on May 16. Both lost their lives in the span of eight days.”
“What can be worse than a widow old mother who has lost both her son and daughter-in-law. Who gets the responsibility for these children if I die? Who would take care of both? …How would they get education or other basic facilities? There can’t be anything bigger loss than seeing both son and daughter-in-law pass away,” the grieving mother says.
Another member of the family who did not wish to be named, said, “They took loan and spent lakhs of rupees trying to save both Narendra and Mamata but could not do so. Now, the baby is still in ICU in a local private hospital. Family members have lost faith in the Government and the administration. Due to Government apathy, many families like ours have lost their breadwinners and are in debt.”
She further said that Kush’s grandmother is trying to find a way to make sure the boy knows how much he is loved, especially in the absence of his parents. He’s having a difficult time understanding and realizing that now, his parents are no more in this world. Kush, who used his mother’s mobile phone throughout the day, is missing and recalling his parents at least twice or thrice a day.
The second wave of the deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the country as it is breaking families and destroying lives. Life just won’t be the same after the dust from the coronavirus pandemic settles.