Rain: reminiscing in a childhood short story by mummasauruss prisha lalwani
The moment we think of it- lots of emotions, memories and childhood short stories fill up our minds. The beautiful fragrance of the soaked mud, how colours of nature pop up, the sky is beautiful, earthworms and snails wriggle out of their hideouts… how we got drenched in the rain ‘by mistake’ and then caught a viral and happily missed school. It is a different kind of thrill to see your children showing the same excitement with the downpour… and sometimes, I wish I could join them in the craziness too.
There are infinite rain memories in my head, also because I was a very naughty child and did what I pleased. So, soaking in the rain wasn’t a huge challenge, but there’s one rain memory that is above and beyond them all. Let me narrate it to you like a childhood short story.
Mayank and Reema have been married for 7 years and have a 5-year-old, Karishma. Reema’s brother Pramod stays with them, to help with Reema’s pregnancy, and support Mayank in his business.
Mayank: Reema’s husband.
Reema: Mayank’s wife, expecting her second child in around 3 months.
Pramod: Reema’s younger brother.
Karishma: Reema and Mayank’s 5 year old daughter, aka Kari.
This gem of a childhood short story is set in July 1989, in Bandra West, Mumbai.
“Karishma…”
“Karishhmaa…”
“Karishhmmmaaaaaaa…”
Screamed Reema, calling out to her daughter.
“Yes Mumma? What happened?”, spoke Karishma, still mesmerized by the cartoons on her TV. She had just come back from school and was having lunch.
“Call Mama and Papa, ask them to come home right away”, Reema could barely speak as her water broke and was flowing out of her body. She was in terrible pain.
Karishma sensed something was wrong and left her meal as is. She dialled Mayank’s office where both Mayank and Pramod worked.
“Hello, Angela didi, I am Karishma, is my Papa there? Is my Mama there?” she asked frantically at the office reception. Soon, Pramod came online.
“Hello, Karishma? What Happened? Your papa hasn’t reached office yet. He had just left home 30 minutes ago. I think it will take an hour more to reach Kalbadevi’s office”.
“Mama, I don’t know what has happened to Mumma. She is in too much pain and she is doing bathroom continuously. She asked me to call you and Papa. Please come home to help with her immediately” Karishma said.
“OK OK Kari, I will leave immediately and will leave a message for your papa here in the office. Don’t worry, I will rush home. Take care of Mumma and give her whatever she asks for. Don’t leave her side until I am home, ok?”. Pramod tried to sound as calm as possible so that he could give some courage and hope to Karishma. She was an intelligent girl, but, she was just a baby.
Thanks to the rituals around eclipse, she had to go foodless and waterless for a whole day and spent the past two days vomiting. Pramod rushed home and took her to their registered maternity home, just nearby. He rushed to get a taxi because Reema was in no situation to walk. It was raining cats and dogs. But it always rains like that in Mumbai. Bravo to the city, for it never stands still, despite the heavy downpour.
“Reema is being treated by Dr Rajani, who is on a 10-day leave. She has gone to Shirdi with her family and is not available right now”, informed the nurse at the maternity home. Pramod was panicking and scared. He had never managed such an event before and had no idea of how complex the situation could be. Should they wait for another doctor to come attend Reema? Or would the situation manage itself and de-escalate on its own?
He tried calling Mayank in office, and incidentally, due to heavy rains, he had just reached office. Pramod gave him the complete update. Mayank told Pramod to wait until he reaches back if they can, and he will come and see what can be done.
By the time Mayank and Pramod were on the call, the hospital decided to take Reema into the operation theatre because they couldn’t wait any longer. They decided to do an operation and deliver the baby. Reema was in too poor a condition to object or question any of it and just went along with the doctor’s decision. Because Reema’s water had broken, the uterus was drying up of fluid, posing a life threat to both, Reema and her unborn baby.
He saw that Reema was in the operation theatre with the available doctor, and Karishma was just standing there randomly, clueless as to where she should go. Pramod hugged his little niece. He seated her at the reception. She was looking out the window as the rain was falling with loud clatters. Pramod requested a couple of nurses to keep an eye on Kari as he made arrangements for Reema.
Pramod called all near and dear relatives to reach Mumbai as soon as possible. Mayank’s parents lived in Varanasi and Reema’s parents lived in Nagpur. They planned to travel immediately, but would take 12-20 hours at the least. On the other hand, Mayank finally reached the hospital and Reema was still in the operating theatre.
“Jiju, by the time I could disconnect your call and communicate with the doctors, they had already taken Didi to the OT. I couldn’t do anything Jiju. I am so sorry”, Pramod’s eyes welled up.
“Rakh saai te, Pramod! Uho Sab Bhali kando”, Mayank assured Pramod to have faith! (Keep it on the lord, he will fix everything.)
Mayank and Pramod felt like their throats were choking.
The doctor approached them – ” You guys are lucky! She has delivered a baby girl, and is fine, given her situation. But the baby girl won’t last through the night if she is not placed in an incubator right away”.
“Uh, ok. But what is an incubator ?” asked Mayank.
“There are special units in some hospitals where premature babies are kept. Your child is born 3 months before the due time and is not fully developed. If we let her be inside the womb, it would have taken the lives of them both. So, unless she is placed in an incubator, she won’t live. We do not have that service, so please reach out to Dr Khare’s Clinic in Dadar. I can share the number and call them for a recommendation of immediate admission. But you will have to arrange for transport on your own.”, the doctor informed.
“Thank you Doctor”, said Mayank. He entrusted Karishma to Pramod and asked them to wait in the reception, while he went to fetch a taxi to transfer Reema and their newborn.
It should have taken 5-10 minutes but Mayank was gone for around 50 minutes before he returned with a taxi. “There’s just no taxis available. It is raining terribly and there’s knee-level water outside. I am taking Reema and baby to the hospital. You drop Karishma at our neighbour, Tanu Bhabhi’s house. Tell her everything and entrust Karishma to her, and then quickly come over to Dr Khare’s hospital”, instructed Mayank.
Pramod helped Mayank and Reema with the baby in the taxi and said a silent prayer for all of their well-being. He came back inside and asked Karishma to come along.
Karishma was a very talkative girl. She always had a lot of questions. But today, she sensed something serious was going on and chose to be quiet. Pramod felt awful about how the entire situation was affecting Kari. But there wasn’t much he could do, or even explain in that moment.
He tells Kari that he will drop her at Tanu Aunty’s house, and give her a change of clothes, so she can relax there, while Pramod and Mayank look after Reema and her baby sister.
She obediently complied – no questions asked.
They couldn’t find a single auto or taxi for them. Mumbai saw heavy rains every year, but this was catastrophic. Harsh winds, water to a person’s knees, and a constant downpour of heavy rain made finding a ride insanely impossible.
Pramod thought it would be a saner idea to walk back home since it wasn’t that much of a distance anyway.
They had one black umbrella to share and within a minute of walking, they were both soaking wet. The umbrella barely saved them from any water droplets. Besides, there was a lot of water on the roads anyway. Karishma was in the water up to her chest.
Pramod kept saying a silent prayer in heart and held Kari’s hands tight. They kept taking small steps towards their way home. Pramod couldn’t even hold the umbrella with one hand since the winds and rain were so strong. They kept walking slowly but steadily, Pramod hanging on to the umbrella and Kari’s hand with all his might.
As they moved ahead, the water level rose. Kari could just barely keep her neck out of the water. Pramod was terrified thinking what if there are some snakes, leeches, or something in the water? What if some drain is open? He was contemplating lifting her as he held on tight, and at that moment, the wind blew so hard, the whole umbrella inverted. Pramod held on as tight as he could, but eventually, the inverted umbrella flew far away from his hand.
Pramod and Kari were struggling to take any steps since the wind was blowing straight in their direction. He was crying, weeping almost, but Kari was braving it. Partially because Kari didn’t understand much of what was going on.
Pramod kept praying in his heart – worried if Reema and Mayank had made it to the hospital, if the tiny new baby would survive this ordeal, all the way wondering how a small child like Kari was able to just brave through, step by step.
He decided he must turn around and get a taxi, and take Kari with her to Dadar, at Dr., Khare’s hospital. It was getting impossible for them to walk home. Maybe it was simpler to hire a taxi and travel for an hour than to walk in this rain storm for another 10 minutes.
But, finding the taxi was another task. No taxi was willing to go anywhere. The taxi drivers themselves were stuck in the water with their taxis, unable to go anywhere or leave their cab anywhere. After facing rejection from a few taxi drivers, Pramod was begging and crying to some taxi drivers to charge whatever amount they wanted, but they could just take him to Dr Khare’s clinic.
The entire ride was full of bumps and hurdles until the taxi car finally gave up and stopped at one point. The kind taxi driver requested another passing taxi driver to urgently take his passengers to Dadar. After a few attempts, another taxi driver agreed.
Pramod held Kari’s hand and cried continuously at Dr Khare’s hospital. He kept praying for the safety of the whole family.
Finally they reached the hospital and checked at the reception. Reema was admitted to the second floor.
They saw Mayank stand there, staring at Reema, with folded hands and a constant gaze. He turned to look at Pramod, saw his situation and tears rolled out his eyes.
He hugged the soaking mess that Pramod had become, and said ” We did it, Pappu. Reema and the baby, both are stable. You don’t have to worry anymore, son. They are all fine”.
Pramod smiled and cried, but he felt so much better. Mayank hugged Kari with a sense of guilt and relief, He asked her asked her if she was okay or if she needed anything, in an attempt to cheer her up and show some care for her.
She was okay, but she saw a canteen on her way up and was hungry. So she asked her dad for a pack of some Picnic crisps and a chocolate. Mayank and Pramod immediately smiled and took her to the canteen. Kari got a stack full of snacks. She had been through a lot, and deserved every pack she asked for! After all, soon enough, she would not be alone when eating her snacks, and would have to share each pack with her sister!
It was the 22nd of July, and I was just a little over 4 years. I have imaginatively built up conversations for the sake of storytelling, but it was actually a day that I saw the worst rain of my life, and also my first experience of having a sibling.
My sister was born 3 months premature and was in the incubator (now known as NICU) for several months, until she could come home.
This post is a part of the Speak Easy Season 3 hosted by the talented bloggers and storytellers Dipika and Ruchi.
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