Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Bhola's Wife Has Malaria

No project news. But when I spoke to Bhola this afternoon, he was in Dumka getting in wife treated at the doctor's. In fact, she was being administered "drips" because she was extremely weak from fever. Bhola said she was in no "danger" but was very weak because she had been suffering from low fever for the past few days.

Bhola's wife was apparently staying with her parents in a village near Dumka. And Bhola got a call last night saying her condition was quite serious. So he rushed to his in-laws' place and took his wife to the hospital in Dumka. I spoke to him a few minutes ago and he was in Ramgarh at his brother-in-law's place. His had left his wife with her parents and is on his way back to the project. Since today was manasa puja, a puja in honour of the snake god, he had been invited to his b-i-l's place for lunch. He was having it now, at 5:00 pm!

At the moment I'm somewhat disturbed by the news on TV about the collapse of a school roof in Kapkot, Uttaranchal. The details are quite sketchy because it's a remote area and it's only claim to fame is that it is the starting point of the trek to the Pindari and Sunder Dunga glaciers. My friend (who's a sadhu) runs a school for children in that place and I am wondering if it's his school that has collapsed in the the cloudburst. I'm also wondering if I should go there to see if I can help.

Wonder what's happening to the monsoon this year. It's raining in places where it doesn't and there's no rain here in the east and crops and people are withering away.

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