Babee (with emphasis on the ending syllable) and Kirten stayed two doors down from me at the ayurvedic center. Babee seemed to have adopted me. She was quite concerned about my lack of jewelry, bindi, and appropriate clothing. She was also baffled at how I did not turn off the fan and go outside if the least little breeze was blowing. I also chose to keep the curtains closed for privacy but she would come and show me how to open the curtains and turn off the light as soon as the sun was up. She seemed to have adopted me and tried hard to enculturate me into ‘right living’.
For my part, I enjoyed her visits. We taught each other a few words but communication happened through gestures and other body language.
Babee has a beautiful singing voice. She would come and sit on the floor of my room, holding Kirten, and sing as she rocked him and babysat me. Her voice and the folk songs that floated around the room could easily been mistaken for an Irish ballad.
Perhaps her roll as her son Kirten’s caretaker equiped her for the task of taking me on as a charge. Kirten came for treatment for muscular dystrophy. At about 9 months she noticed he was not crawling or displaying other normal motor skills. Now, at 4 years old, Kirten cannot talk, sit up on his own, or take care of his own bodily functions. Babee still has an infant to care for. And care she does with such relentless love. Every weekend, when he has off from work, Kirten’s dad comes to visit him greeting Kirten with showers of loving smiles.
When Babee and Kirten first arrived, Kirten was the sadest little guy I think I have ever seen. But, within the first week of treatment (heated herbal poltices applied all over his body to increase bone and muscle strength) he started smiling and laughing. His legs, still too weak to hold him, were frantically patting the earth in joy as his mom supported him. It is the hope of doctor Aruna (means dawn in Sanskrit) that the treatment will at least give him the ability to sit up on his own.
Before the month is up, Babee will be trained to add the ayurvedic herbal treatement to their daily routine with go home with the tools to treat Kirten.
Blessings to you, Kirten