|
Henry Jayasena Column - 172:
Story of a Cancer Patient, Part 13:
Helping Hands
"See this is such a little." Says Manel. "You must eat all of it."
She adds cheerily. You can protest, you can cry, scream, do anything.
But the food must be eaten.
Not that it ends up amicably all the time. There are times when we
don't speak to each other for some time after such a meal. Those are the
times you feel that this cancer thing is a curse - a rotten deal. But
anyway one overcomes these bouts and gets ready for the next bout with
chemo!
I must not fail to mention one thing. During chemo treatment the only
food that retains its original taste and flavour is the 'Kola Kenda' or
herbal gruel. All other food comes with the taste of some awful
medicine. I am still surprised at the magic of 'Kola Kenda'.
To add to my troubles there was an upsurge in my blood sugar levels
for no apparent reason. This could play havoc with your system. I felt
like the proverbial ill-fated man who was gored by the bull after
falling from the tree!
Although the situation is under control now, some of the residual
marauders are still around and attack my weakened body intermittently.
But I have learnt how to handle the rascals. A real problem was that my
sight was getting weaker.
It seemed the cataract formations that were there even earlier had
become worse by now. Reading had become quite a chore for me. I had to
get my wife to read any article in the newspapers that interested me.
She could not do it all the time. She had so many things to do. It
seemed that there were cataracts in both eyes. The right eye was worse.
Some said that I was too weak and that I should not add the strain of an
operation. "No, it is a very small routine operation.
There is no danger in it," others said. Even medical opinions differ.
I was in a quandary. Fortunately I could still write although with
difficulty. And that meant a lot to me.
During the first few weeks when I was very ill and confined to bed,
the only thing I could do comfortably was listening to music through a
small cassette player - a walkman they call it - although I was not
walking! Most of the cassettes in my possession were old and dusty.
I did not want to play them on the walkman , which I had borrowed
from young Pasan Mayura - son of my actor friend and helper, Nimal
Jayasinghe. In fact it was I who gave the names 'Pasan Mayura' to the
boy when he was born, in 1975.
Now, I was looking for good cassettes. I am fond of Indian devotional
songs. I believe they are called Bhajans. I am also fond of Gazal and
Thumri recitations. Lying in bed I was thinking from whom I could borrow
a few such cassettes.
Suddenly - I don't know how - the name of Pradeep Ratnayake came into
my mind. I had not met him very much except for a couple of times at his
Sitar Recitals at the Lionel Wendt. We had gone up to him to
congratulate him on his superb playing. That was about all.
I knew he had returned to Sri Lanka only a few years back after his
music studies in India where he had excelled in the Sitar. I also knew
that he had recently got married to Madhubhashini, daughter of Prof. J.
B. Dissanayake and his wife, Kusum. I telephoned the professor and
obtained the telephone number of the couple.
Madhubhashini answered the phone. I told her what I wanted. "Let me
call Pradeep." She said and called him to the phone. I told him that I
was ill and would like to listen to some nice, soothing Indian classical
music, especially in the variety of Bhajans and other devotional songs.
Would he have such music and if so could I borrow them for a few
days? "Yes, I have some Bhajans and also some benedictory recitals which
are designed to heal and bless people - especially people who are ill.
I have some soothing music by Ravi Shankar and other Maestros too. I
will copy them tonight itself on a couple of new cassettes and let you
have them..." Pradeep responded quite calmly and unassumingly. I was
much more than surprised at his kindness. Much more than happy in his
response.
"May you be blessed, son..." was all I could say in reply.
The very next day Pradeep came to my home accompanied by his young
and beautiful wife, Madhu, and presented me with two new cassettes to
which he had copied all the music I required.
"Please accept at least the cost of the cassettes.." we told them.
Both smiled and simply shook their heads to say "No." They spent over
one hour with us, chatting like old friends although it was the very
first time they were visiting us.
They would have of course noticed how emaciated I was, but not once
did they mention it or refer to the subject of my illness. We did not
have to give them graphic details of what happened to me, which was the
usual form expected of us, by most visitors.
Their politeness was not forced but something that was part of their
lovely nature. Even long after they bid goodbye and left I was thinking
how wonderful it would have been for our country if we have at least a
few hundred such young people, with such simplicity, charm and
intelligence....
Some of my friends who had come to know of my fondness for Indian
devotional songs and classical music also came to my aid. Harold Peries
brought home a host of such cassettes. And also Upekha - daughter of
Chitrasena and Vajira.
One should not allow the nasty chemo and the devastating ray therapy
to hold one down long. I managed to get up from my bed and engage in
some of the day to day activities in the home.
In fact that is what the doctors recommend too - to get back to
normal life as soon as you can. I tended my plants as best as I could -
watering the plants with a bucket and a tin full of holes. I used the
hose too but that was a little difficult as the rubber hose seemed to
have a will of its own!
I was medically advised not to undertake long and tiring journeys and
not to expose myself to large gatherings or crowds. The reason is that
with all this treatment of chemo and ray therapy your resistance becomes
low and you could fall victim to even common viruses.
In any case, considering the physical state I was in, I was not too
keen to expose myself to crowds or be seen in public. I was only too
well aware that these days, weeks and months should be spent quietly.
On the other hand I did not feel too lonely. I could still read a
little with difficulty and engage in writing for longer spells. Or I
could dwell in the world of imagination, which could be quite pleasant.
I have been quite adept at day dreaming from the time I was a child.
I even limit listening to music. Too much of that could make you
inactive and lull you into slothfulness.
Lots of people wished me well. Some had conducted Bodhi Pooja for my
recovery. My elder sister at Kalutara and my younger sister at
Wathupitiwela had offered week-long Bodhi Pooja.
My brother in law from Alutgama, Kandy brought freshly chanted Pirith
Nool weekly to be tied around the wrist or to be worn around the neck.
My life long friend Kapilasena Wijetunga from Matale went to the temple
with all his family to offer Bodhi Pooja and invoke the blessings of the
Gods on his friend.
I particularly remember the kind gesture of Rev. Kassapa from Padukka
- a monk who specialises in Shanthi Karma. I had taken a couple of my
friends who were ill and supposed to be under the influence of inimical
planetary changes, to this monk's temple for Shanthi Karma. That was
before I fell ill.
He came early one morning, made me sit in the hall, and chanted
Pirith for nearly one hour. This was very soothing to me and I could
feel the body relaxing with his deep-voiced melodious chanting.
He had also brought a fresh Thambili fruit which he had been chanting
over for several hours the previous night. He bade me drink the water
little by little and also anoint my head with the chanted water.
After the rituals were over he gladly partook of a cup of tea offered
by my wife. Then he drew his chair very close to where I sat and
whispered in my ear.. "Mahattaya, please do not misunderstand me for
saying this. But if you need any money at this moment - and there must
be a lot of expenses - please do not hesitate to tell me."
I had to assure him over and over that right now things were not so
bad. I could see that it was with reluctance that he accepted my
assurance. Since all the treatment at the Maharagama Cancer Institute
was given free of charge, we did not have to spend a lot of money -
except for travelling etc. and I mentioned that fact to Rev. Kassapa.
Then there was my friend, Felix Premawardhana who had been praying
for my recovery. It seems that there is some international church forum
that prays regularly for patients all over the world.
I believe this is done by the Church that Felix and his wife Indrani
belong to - the Baptist Church. I felt rather honoured to have been
included in a world-list of cancer patients.
[To be continued]
[email protected]
***
Thought of the Week
A few of us, with the help of the Peoples Bank have been doing a
particularly good bit of work over the last year or so.
I mean the telecasting of a weekly program by the title of 'PARAMITA'
over ITN every Saturday at 7.30 p.m. 'PARAMITA' depicts episodes from
the 'JATAKA POTH VAHANSE' - stories from the Buddha's cycle of life
before attaining Enlightenment.
This series should be particularly useful for the young generation
and children whose knowledge of Jataka Stories would be minimal. In our
day our parents and grand-parents and other elders related Jataka
Stories such as the Sanda Kinduru Jatakaya, Vessantara Jatakaya,
Serivanija Jatakaya and a whole lot of others - not necessarily as
religious education but more as entertainment at Story Time.
That kind of story telling has become almost totally defunct in the
new era of super heroes such as Harry Potter, Superman, Spiderman,
Batman, The Incredible Hulk etc. This should be only a kind of first
step. Serious sponsors of good TV fare should think of bringing stories
from the Bible, the Mahabharata and other such revered sources for the
benefit of the new generation.
Stories for the PARAMITA series are adapted for the screen by veteran
tele-writer and novelist Somaweera Senanayake.
The series is directed by Thusitha de Silva who has won many awards
for his work. Music is provided by Maestro Rohana Weerasinghe. Camera
handling is by Thisara Thulvan, Editing is by Chaturika Fonseka and
Bhatiya Dunusinghe, Art Direction by Rohana Hewavitarana and Makeup is
by Taranga Rukmalwala. |
