14

Team Mumbai

‘Encourage, lift and strengthen one another. For the positive energy spread to one will be felt by us all. For we are connected, one and all.’

—Deborah Day

Unconditional support is the most powerful force in the world. One that is beyond judgement, beyond imperfections, beyond tangible reasons.

As if the universe knew exactly what I needed at that point, it poured huge doses of it on me. I think I came to life finally within the comfortable confines of my Mumbai home.

Sparky, my feisty little dog, hurled himself at me as soon as he saw me. He wagged his tail furiously and his eyes told me how much he had missed me. While I was away, my long-time house help, Vaishali, had looked after him.

And then there was Mona. She had helped me quickly liquidate my investments to ensure I got them on time for my treatment. Before my diagnosis, she had not even been a close friend. In fact, in her typically blunt style, she had told me that she had not liked me earlier. I was charmed by her honesty. But cancer picks out and places in your inner orbit the most unexpected of friendships. Emerging as a true friend in my time of need, Mona had gone to great lengths to make my home spick and span. She had also kept an eye on my
house help and trained her to maintain a clean and beautiful home. Mona ensured that the house-keeping company drove away every known and unknown bug out. I thanked her lovingly for her support.

Dad and Mom decided to stay back in Mumbai for three months to help me out. Three dear friends also flew down all the way from Kathmandu to check on me. I thanked them profusely.

And on their heels came others. For there were a few heavenly beings who swooped down on me to support, surround and shower me with affection. They were Sushmita-ji,
Shailendra-ji and Samir.

Let me introduce you to each one of them, before I explain the daily routine they put me through and the role each one of them played in healing me.

The daughter of a senior army officer in Nepal, Sushmita-ji
is a meditator. Despite the luxury she was brought up in, her heart soon sought spirituality. She is now a part of Pilot Baba’s group. She discovered that she had an innate gift of understanding the intricacies of nutrition. She came into my life as a mother figure filled with wisdom, ready to take care of me with her nutritional skills.

Sushmita-ji’s stylish perm and bright-coloured salwar kameezes did not make her look spiritual at all. But then the moment you looked into her eyes, you were struck by her soul’s stillness—the spiritual thehrav. Years of meditation had left its mark on her.

Deeply spiritual, Shailendra-ji looked his part. With his flowing white beard and deep, all-knowing eyes, he seemed to be wisdom incarnate. He was a businessperson who one day realized that his path was spirituality. Life for him was not only about earning money and providing for the family any more. In his free time, he would pursue his study of spirituality passionately and deepen his understanding. He then spent years in sadhana and meditation. Shailendra-ji now teaches meditation in Nepal and has a beautiful ashram near Kathmandu.

Samir is a friend who, after getting divorced, became disillusioned with life. He soon turned to Osho and became his ardent devotee. He took to spirituality, philosophy
and meditation and now his life revolves around these aspects.

Each one of them had specific gifts which helped in healing me. Shailendra-ji helped me with guided meditation, Sushmita-ji cooked nutritious food for me and Samir taught me how to meditate the Osho way. They were a motley lot—people I loved and felt amused by. Surrounded by such experts, I felt like a dull diamond whose only task was to shine brighter each day.

Before my delighted eyes emerged a powerful team—some from Kathmandu, others from Mumbai. I fondly called them my ‘Team Mumbai’! Their simple clothes belied their powerful identities. They were all successful householders and business owners blessed with a deep understanding of the spiritual.

The mission of ‘Team Mumbai’? Taking care of me.

Their agenda? Restoring me to good health.

Their time frame? Yesterday!

They put me into a regimented routine, each expert not allowing the other to steal even a moment of their scheduled time from me. My day was divided into strict slots. Each hour was meant for a different activity. Throughout the day my ‘Nepali Joes’ focused on detoxing me, strengthening my immune system and monitoring whether the previous day’s discipline had brought in the desired effects.

This is what my day’s timetable looked like:

By bedtime, my body would ache with all the physical exertion of the day. My bones, especially, hurt.

Very lovingly, Sushmita-ji would press the exhaustion out of my body expertly with her therapeutic touch. She knew exactly how to relieve my body of the pain. She would massage me till I fell asleep. Later, she told me her sweet secret. She would keep praying while massaging me. I was overwhelmed by her kindness, love and concern for me.

Gradually, the anxiety that had become a part of my personality in New York began peeling away. Very much like the tightly clasped petals of a lotus flower gently opening to reveal its full beauty. My home was clean, my beloved Sparky was with me and I was surrounded by loving friends and my parents who were there to pamper me.

***

The highpoints of my day, however, were my early morning walks. Let me share my ‘discoveries’ with you.

I discovered that I loved waking up early. It opened a whole new world for me. I was startled at the bounties nature had laid out for my eyes. As I used to always travel by car, I had missed the beauty around me. This was undiluted joy.

Getting up at the crack of dawn, I would often walk in my terrace garden before going to the parks nearby. I would watch in complete fascination how the sleepy, tiny white petals opened out one by one on the dense dark-green hedges, how the morning light reflected on the perfect balls of water on the blades of grass, how the just-woken-up birds played their orchestra from various trees on my path.

Why had I not noticed so much of beauty before? Why had I not realized how green the area around my house was?

Mesmerized, I started paying attention to the various shades of green the grass sported, the changing colours of the sky, the sharp and sweet smells the breeze carried on its gentle breast, the secret holes in the banyan trees and the age-old etchings on the huge barks—the names of lovers who had perhaps never become one.

I enjoyed feeling the cool breeze on my face. I began to pay attention to what I had taken for granted before: the birds, the beauty of sunrise, the different colours in the sky, the different shapes of clouds. My nature walks quickly became discovery walks.

Excited, I sought out other parks to walk in. To my delight, I found there were many—all within walking distance of my home. Like a kid in a candy store, I was excited.

I loved the feel of the crunchy green grass under my bare feet. I had heard that the western name for this age-old tradition was ‘grounding’ or ‘earthing’. Walking barefoot apparently allows the earth to infuse our bodies with negative electrons. Through the open pores of our feet, we can actually soak in precious antioxidants. It made me aware of energy flowing into my body.

And then there were Mumbai’s marshlands. Grasses, rushes and reeds dominated these low-lying wetlands. But it is the birds I noticed—a host of both local and migratory ones. Most had flown long distances, after spending summers on their breeding grounds in Arctic Russia.

In the midst of my walks, I would stand still, admiring the water birds—the blue-grey herons, bronze-coloured jacanas, the red-billed ibises, yellow-billed spoonbills, the stunning white storks as well as the waddling yellow baby ducks. They seemed to be quite comfortable with other resident birds like kites, kingfishers, shikras and koels.

But it was the graceful pink flamingos that quickly caught my eye. I loved their elegance. I still do not know why these splendid birds stand on one leg, with the other one kept tucked underneath their bodies. But it offered a charming sight. I understood then why people spent so much time birdwatching.

One scene I witnessed during one of my evening walks will always remain etched in my mind. The sun was setting and nature’s drama was in full glory in the multi-coloured sky. Two things happened at once. The music of birds rained down on the ground below and at just that moment, raindrops began falling from the sky.

As I hurried towards the shelter of my home, I noticed a bird with eight legs! I paused. What kind of bird was this, I wondered, looking at its greyish-white plumage, black edgings and orange-and-black beak. I still do not know which species it belonged to. All I know is that it was a mother. A loving, caring mother. She had puffed out her feathers, spread out her wings and was providing shelter to her babies under them. My heart melted. This was mother nature at her finest!

***

It was the month of July. Pillows of dark clouds moved restlessly in the sky. For some time, the Mumbai air teased our senses with the smell of approaching rains. Even the waves did their bit by rising high, dancing and thrashing around to the music of the strong breeze.

The sky turned grey. The first drizzle fell like a gentle whisper. Soon, the pearls of rain falling on the sun-baked leaves turned to a tinkling—much like the lilting sound of champagne glasses clinking. The scene changed dramatically as sheets of rain intensified. Everyone ran for cover.

With the first showers came that delicious scent of rain on dry earth. My senses were assailed by this favourite childhood smell. I had read somewhere that the word for it was petrichor. Its etymology fascinated me. It is derived from the Greek words ‘petra’, meaning ‘stone’, and ichor, which refers to the fluid that flows in the veins of the Greek gods. I found this description quite romantic.

Next morning, everything appeared to be bathed in rain. Mumbai was rejoicing. The first shower, like the first kiss, had taken it by surprise.

I loved the feel of the wet breeze on my cheeks and the freshness and newness around. I had begun admiring nature’s treasures that were sprinkled around me. I began to venerate each blade of grass and each leaf I saw. I think this state is called mindfulness. It was bliss.

One morning, I walked in the rain. It was such a liberating feeling. The birds were running for cover and here I was venturing out!

As I was walking one day in a newly discovered park near my house, I noticed people turning back to look at me. Some even stopped their cars. This time I met their eyes. What I saw in them was compassion and support. On a street, a man stopped to let me pass and gave me a thumbs-up! ‘Manisha Koirala, keep up the good work!’ he shouted.

I looked at him with ‘new eyes’—eyes that had been washed by nature’s purity. My heart soared. Instead of hiding my face underneath a hoodie, I bravely made a victory sign with my fingers and called out, ‘Yeah! We’re alive!’ Two humans had exchanged happiness—at a deep human-to-human level.

How soothing it felt to discover that people were not laughing at me or at my bald head. They wanted me to win. I had never seen this beautiful side of humanity before. Everywhere I looked, there were people ready to help me.

I started falling in love with life once again.

The brisk walk in the fresh air outside stimulated my appetite. I came home tired, but nicely so. I looked forward to my healthy meal.

As evening fell and the sun’s rays tiptoed out of my apartment, I felt the day stretching and yawning. Outside my window, I could see the orange-kissed sky turning the birds into dark silhouettes. Soon, they would be lost in the darkness, but not before meeting their families and telling them stories about their day’s adventures. Having done that, they would roost in the dark, their head tucked under their wings until dawn.

Every evening at this hour, satiated with activity, I looked forward to going to bed. I felt at peace. My body felt like a temple. My mind alive. Where was the space to regret?

I crawled into bed thinking how wonderful everyone and everything was. Never would I let negativity and stress enter my body again and become cancer.

I looked forward to waking up early the next morning. I knew I would wake up to the birds chirping, the church bells ringing and the call to prayer—azan—floating in the air and mingling with the sacred sound of ringing temple bells. I was thankful to be alive.

Yes, I was not in perfect shape yet. I did not look the way I wanted to—yet. But I was surrounded by people who loved me. I smiled as I slipped into slumber.

Yes, my most favourite people in life will always be those who loved me when I wasn’t quite lovable.