KISSA KURSI KA

It is all about the chair that you sit on…your position of power. How difficult it is to come down from the throne just when you get used to being treated like the Queen of Sheeba! Hélas! That is what is about to happen to me!

After undergoing the surgery in March, the second round of treatment, the chemo therapy began on the 29th of April and was scheduled at a gap of every 2 weeks. I went through 8 rounds and the last chemo therapy was on the 5th of August. It was 3 and ½ months of sheer hell and endless side effects. In fact, initially I would have a bad week and then a good week, but in the latter 4 rounds there wasn’t a single day that I felt totally well before I went in for chemo. My plight was so pitiful!

While Tisham was still in Singapore during my very first round of chemo, he sent me a beautiful message which I saved up. This is what he wrote to me, “Ma, you should sit back and let yourself be pampered for the next 4 months! Love you!” That is precisely what my family did to me…Pradipta, Tisham and Diya spoilt me rotten. Every single restriction imposed by the doctor was adhered to unstintingly. I was the Queen of Sheeba!:)

My meals were either cooked by Pradipta or by Tisham just minutes before I ate to ensure its freshness. Tisham, who has inherited his passion and enthusiasm for cooking from his grandfather and his father, would bake chocolate cakes and puddings. Dr. Rao had prescribed a high calorie, high sugar diet. Hence I lived on kheer, stewed apples and pears and sooji halwa replete with nuts and raisins…all specially prepared by the two important men in my life. Ice creams were bought for me every second day as that had become my primary food. Diya bought the most exciting flavors of ice cream like the water melon flavor and honey cinnamon flavor. I was steadily and surely gaining weight to throw around!

For some chemical reason, soon after the chemo, I would invariably spend the entire Saturday and Sunday weeping. Pradipta insisted that my drug “Taxol” had psychedelic effects which made me so crabby. I would have a stream of tears flowing down incessantly…and of course that was misery sans reason! Tisham decided that I needed to distract myself. He made me watch mushy romantic films or various episodes of “Frasier”, which normally had me giggling.

I was in the limelight, held the centre stage of the family. Yet, little did I appreciate my “position of power” at that time. Friday, the 3rd of September is my birthday. On that day, all restrictions that had been imposed for chemo therapy would be removed. I would be FREE, FREE and FREE….at least for the time being. I am waiting for the day with baited breath.

However Tisham points out the flip side. He says that, that day onwards I would be reduced to a riffraff, a common mortal, ousted from my glorious throne…to go out shopping, watch movies, plays, and eat at restaurants just like you all.

Which would I prefer? Good Heavens, what a question to ask! :))