Years ago, two children lost their mother in an unfamiliar city and a doctor took them under his wings. On Wednesday, the eldest one, Rita, is getting married.
Published Jun 14, 2023 | 9:30 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 14, 2023 | 9:30 AM
Dr Gandhimathinathan with Rita and Joseph on their engagement day. (Supplied)
It was a Thursday, Dr S Gandhimathinathan still remembers. He was in the outpatient department when a woman — pale, sick, and famished — walked in with two children in tow in October 2015.
The look of despondency on patients’ faces was not new to the seasoned doctor. Rosebeck, the woman, introduced herself in Hindi. The children looked on expressionless as if they had nothing else to do.
Rosebeck handed over her medical records to Dr Gandhimathinathan. She had earlier been to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai. The doctors there had referred her to the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine at Thoppur.
Dr Gandhimathinathan, the then Resident Medical Officer of the hospital, went through the medical records and looked up at the woman, and then averted his gaze.
Somewhere in his mind, he knew Rosebeck was sinking. He did not reveal it to the mother and her children but admitted her to the hospital, hoping for the best.
Little did Dr Gandhimathinathan realise that day would change his life for good.
The threat of Y2K — or the millennium bug — loomed large as the world inched closer to the turn of the century. The magnitude and extent of the threat were discussed across countries trying to get back on their feet after an economic slump had brought them down to their knees.
The situation, however, was a tad different in India. A few years earlier, India had opened up its markets to the world. A newfound enthusiasm gripped the young as opportunities started popping up.
The IT & ITeS sector was gradually booming. Rosebeck was one of the early birds to grab the opportunity in 1998. She left her parental home in Madurai after accepting a job in Bangalore, now Bengaluru, then considered to be the land of limitless opportunities.
Life looked bright for the bubbly graduate. She had a job, a handsome salary, and a young colleague was showing interest in her.
Rosebeck accepted him, John Fernandes, a North Indian, in her heart. Love had by then rendered her blind and deaf. She discarded her parents’ objections and married him in 2000, and shifted to Delhi.
A year later, on 17 October, the young couple welcomed their first child. They named her Rita. Five years later Alex was born to them.
Rosebeck was busy bringing up the two children and managing the house. Though tedious, she started taking her hectic days in her stride, as any other doting mother.
However, she was unaware of Fernandes’s activities until he brought a woman home.
The trust Rosebeck had in her husband and the expectations of happy family life were shattered when Fernandes introduced the woman as his new wife. With nowhere to go, she stayed under the same roof with the newlyweds — her husband and the other woman.
Fernandes’s second marriage added to Rosebeck’s burden. She was forced to take care of the couple, besides her children. Holding back the tears, she suffered in silence, even when she was physically assaulted. Despite all odds, she reserved a smile for her children, who had now started fearing their father.
Matters went from bad to worse for Rosebeck when Fernandes had a baby with his second wife. Still, she knew she had to survive for her children. Going back to Madurai was not an option since she had snapped ties with her family and friends.
Rosebeck became lonely in a crowded world. Silence became her only armour. Still, she couldn’t sequester herself totally into a cocoon. The children needed their mother.
Fernandes did not live long. An illness took his life. Despite all the suffering, he was the only link that connected Rosebeck with Delhi. With the link gone, she decided to leave and find her parents, hoping that they would accept their daughter and grandchildren.
She packed the bags, ignoring a cough that was becoming more frequent and violent with each passing day. In 2015, she left Delhi with Rita, now 14, and Alex, nine. But there was a problem.
Rosebeck hadn’t heard from her parents for the past 15 years. She knew they had shifted from Madurai after her marriage. Hoping to get their address from a cousin working in a Mumbai hospital, she boarded a train with her children.
By now, the interval between bouts of cough had become shorter. Each bout left her tired and gasping. Still, she dragged herself to Mumbai and found her cousin. Taking no pity on her and the children, he turned them away — she was the prodigal daughter in the family, who eloped with a North Indian.
Rosebeck still did not lose hope. She consulted a doctor for her violent bouts of cough. Though the doctor suspected typhoid, she continued her onward journey to Madurai.
A two days journey later, Rosebeck stepped down in Madurai with a renewed hope wrapped in trepidation. For the children, everything was new. New place, with different people in unfamiliar costumes, new language, smells, and sights.
Outside the railway station, a strange world welcomed the mother and children. Time had changed her hometown beyond recognition. Rosebeck decided to start her search from TVS Nagar where her cousin lived. She had a vague memory of the locality.
The memory, however, failed her. She could not recognise the locality. With dusk fast approaching, she panicked and the cough came back with a vengeance. Money was short and she decided to go back to the railway station for the night.
Rosebeck did not feel safe even at the Madurai Junction Railway Station. Rita was now 14, and Alex, 9, too young to take care of his mother and sister. Additionally, the children spoke only Hindi.
The cough became severe as if it would explode her ribcage. Tired physically and mentally, she slumped on the platform, unconscious.
An on-duty policeman had heard Rosebeck’s incessant coughs. He noticed the woman heaped on the floor, and two children trying to wake her up. He rushed in, but could not gather any information from the Hindi-speaking children.
The policeman summoned an ambulance and took the woman and children to the Government Rajaji Hospital. Doctors who attended to her realised that she was in an advanced stage of tuberculosis. Both her lungs were damaged.
They referred her to the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine for advanced treatment. Dr Gandhimathinathan was on duty while she entered his cabin.
It was Thursday, 22 October, 2015.
“A woman and her two children entered my cabin. I didn’t understand them as they were speaking in Hindi. I got the medical records from the Rajaji Hospital and started the treatment immediately because she was in a very advanced stage of tuberculosis,” the doctor said.
The children soon became friendly with the hospital staff. They stayed by their mother throughout the treatment, which did not last long. Rosebeck had now lost hope of finding her parents and wanted to return to Delhi, a place familiar to her children.
“It was end-October. Rosebeck started pleading with me to allow them to leave for Delhi. I refused as the treatment was going on and her disease was contiguous. I could sense that she was mentally struggling and worried about her children’s future,” Dr Gandhimathinathan told South First.
During her stay in the hospital, Rosebeck gradually opened up. She told the doctor her tale, and how she ended up on the hospital bed.
Meanwhile, the doctor had Rita and Alex tested. “On suspicion, we tested Rita. One of her lungs was infected and Alex was in the initial stage of the infection. We started treatment for all three,” the doctor said.
One day, Rosebeck called the children to her side. The doctor continued: “She told Rita to take care of her brother and also asked them to go and stay in some hostel.”
Dr Gandhimathinathan was at home when his phone rang around 6.30 pm that day. “Rosebeck expired,” the message was brief.
The doctor rushed back to the hospital ward. “I was heartbroken to see the children crying. They were trying to say something in Hindi. I could not understand,” he recalled.
Rita and Alex, at their young age with Dr Gandhimathinathan. (Supplied)
The children — helpless and orphaned — were inconsolable. Language stood between them and the worried hospital staff. Some of them held the children’s hands in a futile attempt to console them. But the children kept wailing.
From a distance. Dr Gandhimathinathan was watching in silence. He then made a decision that changed the course of the children’s life.
“Normally, if a patient dies in a government hospital while undergoing treatment, the body should be subjected to postmortem. As there was no one to claim Rosebeck’s body, I decided to bury her body with all rituals, without a postmortem,” he said.
“The children can visit her grave in the future,” he said. The doctor’s last sentence gave a hint of his plans.
Dr Gandhimathinathan was served a show-cause memo for burying Rosebeck without a postmortem examination. He gave a convincing reply and higher officials intervened on his behalf. The charges against him were dropped.
“I was worried about the health and the future of Rita and Alex. We treated them for eight months and they were completely cured. By then, the children had learned Tamil and were very close to the staff and patients in the hospital,” the doctor said.
Dr Gandhimathinathan decided that the children should continue their studies. He tried to find their relatives in Madurai with the help of the police. The search yielded nothing as the children were unable to provide any leads.
“We spoke to the Social Welfare Department officials and made arrangements for their stay in a government home. They joined a local school, and I took charge of them,” the doctor said.
Time flies. Rita has now blossomed into a fine 22-year-old lady. After completing Class X, she went back to the only place she could call home: The Thoppur hospital.
“If it is a holiday I used to go to the hospital. I love to spend my time there taking care of the patients. It is the place where my mother lived her last days. This is the soil where my mother rests,” Rita told South First.
She recalled her school days. “I did not perform well in school. The language was a problem. But I managed. I studied only up to Class X,” she said.
Rita left the government home four years ago. “Once we attain 18 years, we cannot stay in the government home. So I decided to go to the Thoppur hospital itself. My uncle (Dr Gandhimathinathan) is my other mother. He gave me a temporary job at the hospital. I started to earn,” she chuckled.
Meanwhile, Alex completed school and is now pursuing a course at the Industrial Training Institute in Madurai.
Dr Gandhimathinathan has been watching the children grow up. As days passed by he started worrying about Rita, like any other parent.
“I have only one year more of service left before retirement. I decided to marry off Rita for an assured future,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Tamil magazine ran an article on Rita. “After the article was published, four people approached me, seeking her hand in marriage. But they were handicapped and one was much older than Rita. I was very confused,” Dr Gandhimathinathan said.
Paulo Coelho’s famous quote from The Alchemist, “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” came true for a confused Dr Ganndhimathinathan.
Rita with Joseph after their engagement on 12 May. (Supplied)
The doctor was at work when a man met him. He introduced himself as Arunjunai, a businessman running a chain of hotels, Arunachala, and department stores in Madurai.
Arunjunai had read the magazine article on Rita. “He wanted to know if I would marry her off to one of his employees, Joseph,” the doctor said.
Joseph, holding a Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration, had lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother. He later joined the Arunachala Group.
“Joseph joined my company at a young age and has been with me for seven years. A very disciplined and dedicated boy. I read the article one day at 9.30 am. I showed him the article and asked him whether he would like to marry Rita. He replied positively,” Arunjunai told South First.
“I went alone to the hospital and met Dr Gandhimathinathan. I had heard about the doctor and his works and have great respect for him. I told him my wish. Initially, he was a bit hesitant, but later he came around,” the businessman said.
Arunjunai did not stop there. “The same evening I took my wife, Joseph’s mother, and other relatives to the hospital and confirmed the marriage. Rita too likes Joseph. We decided to hold the marriage on 14 June,” he said.
Everything happened so fast that it left Dr Gandhimathinathan happily dazed for a while.
“I was surprised when Arunjunai met me and made the proposal on behalf of an employee working in his company. The same evening we confirmed the marriage,” he said.
On World Nurses Day, 12 May, Rita, and Joseph exchanged rings.
Dr Gandhimathinathan knew he was running out of time to make the preparations. “I was certain about not taking any loans or donations for the marriage. I decided to do it on my own. I got ₹3 lakh from my wife and ₹1 lakh from my sister,” he explained.
Invitation to the wedding of Rita and Joseph. (Supplied)
The doctor soon learned that he was not alone. “One of my friends, Dr Parithi Ilamvazuthi, came forward to take the place of Rita’s maternal uncle. Rev Sr Tahainisi Mary, Correspondent of Nirmala School, chipped in with nearly ₹1.75 lakh. We decided to take the marriage ahead,” the doctor is busy making the arrangements.
Sr Mary had taken care of Rita during her school days. “We bought jewellery, costumes, and other household items for Rita. We also purchased 1.5 cents for her,” Dr Gandhimathinathan is a proud man today.
Arunjunai helped in starting the construction of a house for the couple. “On behalf of our hospital, we printed invitations for the marriage reception. The wedding will be as per Christian tradition,” he said.
Rita’s “relatives” in the hospital are equally pumped up. Sudha, a staff member, told South First that Rita is like a daughter to everyone in the hospital.
“We are happy to see that our girl is heading for a happy future. For us, this marriage is like one in our own house,” she said.
The love others shower on Rita — once a 14-year-old helpless girl wailing by her mother’s body — has made Arunjunai teary-eyed.
“I am surprised. This girl is a blessed one. How many good souls have carried her life forward after the demise of her mother? My turnover from business is in crores. Beyond money and materialistic things, such acts of goodness make life beautiful and meaningful,” he said.
“The sacrifice of Dr Gandhimathinathan and others is beyond comparison. We will take care of Rita as our daughter,” Arunjunai promised.
So, what about the bride? She is happy, though a certain reality is tugging at her heartstrings.
“I will never forget my uncle in my life. We don’t know what would have happened to us if he wasn’t there. He is sending wedding invitations after his duty hours. The only thing thing that worries me is that I have to leave this hospital,” Rita smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Dr Gandhimathinathan lived up to his name, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.”
