G. Balamani is about 60-years-old. She is mentally ill. She is unable to recollect when she had her last meal and one can barely understand the words she utters.
Balamani’s residence is right at the heart of her village, the population of which is about 3,000. But no one in the village realised that her husband Jagannatham, 61, died few days ago and she slept with the body in the same room, unknowingly.
“We might have seen both Jagannatham and Balamani on Thursday or Friday. We were alerted only on Monday afternoon when a foul smell started to emanate from the house. We broke open the door only to find worms on Jagannatham’s body. We thought both of them had died. Balamani regained consciousness only after we shook her body repeatedly,” said Bijja Mallesham, a neighbour. However, no one in the village is sure as to when Jagannatham died.
Both Jagannatham and Balamani used to be rag-pickers. The villagers said that for the past two months, they were not getting pension of Rs. 200 each like many others and this had made their lives more miserable. “It seems they sold their ration rice for a cup of tea and bun,” commented a villager, who came to Jagannatham’s residence.
Balamanni looks expressionless. “She used to move along with her husband and collect rag which they used to sell at Daultabad. With the death of Jagannatham, she lost support. Who will take care of her now?” asks G. Veeraiah, Balamani’s relative.
