Two days back I was sitting by the window busy cracking the Deccan Herald daily crossword, when my daughter appeared from nowhere and commandeered me to speak to the person on the phone. As I said hello, the voice from the other end said “Sir this is Krishna Bai from Mumbai, hope you remember me”
It was 2009 when my daughter rang up and loudly proclaimed that she was carrying twins. There was huge excitement in the family. There was no history of twins either from our side or from the father’s side. Preparations began in right earnest, including selecting a”in womb name”. They were named “Ya Ya and Yo Yo” by their 4 year old elder brother Ayaan. It remained so till their “Namakarana”. The function is a significant “Samskara” that formally gives the child a name and identity. The elder twin was named Agastya after the famous “Agastya Muni” a prominent ancient Indian sage known for his role in spreading Vedic culture to South India. The younger twin was named Aarin meaning “mountain of strength,” “enlightened,” or “pure”.
Daughter dear had contacted her friends to recommend a night nurse to look after the twins. Caring for the twins is a very daunting task. Everything has to be repeated. You feed one, then burp and put him to sleep the second one is ready. This double whammy continues through the night. If it’s not feeding, it’s changing nappies, lullabying and so on. Mornings are devoted to massage, bath and sun bathing.
Few days prior to the expected date of delivery, a middle-aged lady aka Krishna Bai rang the doorbell and announced that Komal had sent her. Akhila felt a big sigh of relief. After a short interview the 55 year old lady was hired as a night nurse. She would start work at 9PM and continue till 9AM
We soon visited Mumbai to be with our daughter and the children. We immediately got into the groove and assisted her in form or the other.
That is when I happened to meet Krishna Bai. She had a very grandmotherly look, loving and caring. To me she was an Indian version of Mrs Doubtfire, very affable and pleasant person. It was easy to get into a banter with her and talk about all and sundry. On one such occasion she began to narrate her difficulties in procuring government rations. Probing further I found out that she did not possess a ‘Ration Card” which would have otherwise entitled her to life sustaining goodies such a rice, dal, oil, wheat etc. All free or at a very subsidised cost.
All her attempts to get a ration card had failed as she did not possess the all-important “Birth Certificate”. As the conversation continued, I felt pity for her predicament and decided to do something about it. On probing further she mentioned that her parents always mentioned that on the day she was born, then ‘Bombay’ had experienced a terrible explosion in the dock.
My naval background triggered a bell to ring and remember the terrible dock explosion.
The Bombay dock explosion of 1944 was a catastrophic event on April 14, 1944, when the British freighter SS Fort Stikine, carrying explosives, caught fire and exploded in Victoria Dock. The two explosions killed over 800 people, injured thousands, destroyed or damaged many ships, and caused immense property loss and homelessness. The disaster is not directly related to the annual celebration of World Maritime Day, but it led to the establishment of Fire Service Day and Fire Service Week in India on April 14 to honour the firefighters and emergency responders who perished.
With this piece of valuable information, I was able to help Krishna Bai obtain a, Birth Certificate’ and subsequently the much coveted ‘Ration Card”.
Strange but True.
After a lapse of 15 years I was speaking with Krishna Bai and fondly remembered the good old days and off course the ‘Ration Card’
Captain's Corner 