Following interview of Bahen Haani Muchhala, Mumbai, by Mudar Patherya

When my brother was 35, he suffered a combined attack of jaundice and pleursy. We admitted him to Asha Parekh Hospital for an extended period, where doctors worked hard on him but when his body just refused to respond, they shrugged and said ‘You can take him to a bigger hospital.’ It was a polite way of saying that the case was useless; bhai ek dum weak thayi gaya hata; havey to anaesthesia bhi na apaayi.

While returning from the hospital that morning, I asked the driver to make a detour to Saifee Mahal. And then a thought flashed: Maula aap-aj bhai ne shifa no ek lukmo ataa karjo! Strange thought – lukmo! – but that is how the mind worked.

I reached Saifee Mahal. I wept. Those standing around asked “Umme-Haani, su thayu?” I told them. Just then Aqa Maula stepped out of his room, Shehzada Huzaifabhaisaheb submitted an araz on my behalf and asked me to wait outside Huzurala’s room. A while later, I was asked to go in.

When inside, I saw Aqa Maula, Busaheba and Shehzada Saheb sitting around a thaal on my right. I must have been weeping because Aqa Maula asked, “Tamaara kitna bhai chhey?’ I could not reply. Aqa Maula then asked more questions. I struggled to reply. Aqa Maula pondered for a couple of minutes, then looked up and said: "Lukmo aapis to layi jaaso?”

A theli was produced, Aqa Maula gave me three lukmaas and then pronounced “Khuda shifaa aapse!”

Aapse!

I reached the hospital. Tied a taaweez that Aqa Maula had given around bhai’s hands. Sought the doctor’s permission to feed a lukma.

The doctor wondered: lady, the patient cannot even breathe normally; how will he be able to eat a morsel?

I asked bhai. He indicated that he was willing. The oxygen mark was removed. I took a morsel out of the theli. He opened his mouth. I put it in. He closed his jaws. He chewed. Then ingested.

The moment the niwaala passed through his throat, bhai convulsed and vomited. Not a vomit, but a rumbled explosion that spewed out varied mucus colours - red, brown, black, green. The stunned doctors watched. One said, my god, we have never seen something like this in our lives.

That night we shifted bhai to Harkissondass Hospital. A few hours later, his stomach yielded water enough to overflow a bucket. The doctors continued to be fearful for his life; they indicated minimal survival chances. They finally embarked on injecting a needle into his lungs. Some hours later, the doctors said that the needle had gone into the right place and they did not need to try again.

Bhai improved rapidly thereafter. Within a month, he was out of the hospital.

For months, we had fed bhai medicines and failed. Huzurala fed him a morsel and gave him a life.

Copy ends