In the four decades that Aruna Shanbaug has been lying still in her bed in ward number four of KEM hospital, seven deans have changed. Shanbaug may not recognise them but she holds a significant place in their memories and many of them have protested against the euthanasia plea
In the four decades that Aruna Shanbaug has been lying still in her bed in ward number four of KEM hospital, seven deans have changed. Shanbaug may not recognise them but she holds a significant place in their memories and many of them have protested against the euthanasia plea.
Dr Pragna Pai, who served as dean in the hospital between 1989 and 1999, would rustle up dishes for Shanbaug when she could consume solid food. Pai, who can speak Konkani fluently, said she would read out stories to Shanbaug in that language during her tenure.
"I would read stories out to Aruna and prepare sheera and monthad (a sweet) for her. I knew Aruna was fond of chicken and fish and I had arranged for her to get them. She hated her mouth being cleaned or nails being cut and would express her pleasure and displeasure through her gestures," she said.
Asked if the hospital had tried to trace Shanbaug's family, she said, "We did not find anyone at the Mahim address that was there in the hospital records. Someone had told me that he knew someone from Aruna's family, but no one came to see her. I think if the family would have come, the emotional healing might have helped Aruna even more. But then, all nurses are like her relatives and are, in fact, more than relatives."
Pai's take on euthanasia?
"Aruna is not on any external medical support and we are not taking any extra medical efforts to keep her alive. The nursing staff is taking excellent care of Aruna, which has been proved by the fact that she doesn't even have bedsores in spite of her vegetative state. Life and death are matters for the almighty to decide. We want Aruna to die a natural death. It is our perception that she is in pain but we don't know what Aruna feels. We are just feeding her and cleaning her,"
Dr Sanjay Oak, the current dean of KEM, maintained, "The hospital staff, especially the nurses, has taken immense care of Aruna and we are dedicated to her."
In good hands
A doctor who was part of the team that examined her recently said, "Patients in a vegetative state don't usually survive for more than five to seven years. The fact that Shanbaug has survived for so long is proof that she has been taken care of properly."
Daksha Zaveri, who used to head the social work department of the hospital, said, "Hope is what all of mankind depends on. I have worked closely with people who suffer like Aruna and I never ever felt that death is the solution for this. I remember that Aruna liked listening to music and we had arranged a radio for her through a trust as radios weren't cheap then."
Incident
On 27 November, 1973, ward boy Sohanlal Walmiki, upset at being ordered about by Shanbaug and at her threats of complaining against him, entered the basement at u00a0KEM, where Shanbaug, then 24, was changing. He choked her with a dog chain, cutting off oxygen supply to the brain. Since Shanbaug was menstruating at the time, he sodomised her.u00a0
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Culprit
Walmiki was not convicted for rape. He was jailed for robbery and attempt to murder and freed six years ago. When staff at KEM hospital were asked about his whereabouts, one staff member said, "The last thing we heard was that he was working in Delhi."
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The fiance
Shanbaug was supposed to get married to a junior doctor working with KEM when the incident happened. After the incident, he waited for few years hoping that she would get better, but then lost hope and moved on. "What we hear now is that he has started a family and is settled," said a doctor.
A senior nurse said, "He used to even help her with physiotherapy exercises, but I think he gave up and decided to move on."
"10 years ago, when I was on duty, I saw a man entering the ward and staring at the door of the room where Aruna has been staying for decades now. I felt that the man knew Aruna, but he never bothered to come to me and speak to me. I u00a0wanted to speak to him but he was gone before I could do so," said a nurse who u00a0has been looking after Shanbaug.
Legality
While euthanasia is legal in countries like Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland, it is still being debated in countries like India and u00a0the US.
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Belgium's first
Mario Verstraete, a 39-year-old from Ghent, became the first person in Belgium to use the country's new legislation legalising euthanasia. Verstraete, who had multiple sclerosis, died on 30 September, 2002 after being given an injection by his doctor, just eight days after the law came into force.
Celebspeak
Aruna has given life a chance for 38 years. She now has the right to get what she is asking for -- relief from immense suffering. 
For a lot of people, mercy killing is wrong, but it seems right in her case. It is a special case and I hope she is granted the dignity she is asking for.
-- Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who directed Guzaarish
What can I say? Justice for some is injustice to another
-- Hrithik Roshan, who essayed the character of a bed-ridden Ethan Mascarenhas, who seeks the right to end his life in Guzaarish
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