Anwara Begum has been experiencing severe symptoms of paraphrenia recently. Despite her condition, she firmly believes that she is perfectly healthy and that others are misinterpreting her experiences. She has been hearing voices, seeing things that aren’t there, and even feeling the presence of her deceased husband. Her family has been struggling to understand and support her, with some attributing her behavior to her age or even supernatural causes.
A recent episode highlights the severity of her delusions. She woke up in a panic, convinced that her family was eating the meat she had set aside for her son-in-law’s upcoming visit. Her erratic behavior and delusional beliefs have caused significant distress for both her and her family.
Everyone in the house was in a state of confusion, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. Many were furious because the meat was still raw in the freezer, and no one had even thought about cooking it. Anwar was particularly angry and was venting her frustration. Rants are often quite long in cases of paraphrenia. Just then, Paru arrived. Having quickly learned about the situation from her aunt, she ran to the freezer, took out the raw meat packet, and handed it to her grandmother, saying, ‘Grandma, we don’t have much time, there’s a lot of work to do. Come to the kitchen, let’s cook the meat yourself today.’ Grandma was still screaming, as if she couldn’t hear anything. Finally, as soon as Paru handed her the cold meat packet, Grandma came to her senses. She looked at her hand with wide eyes, as if she couldn’t understand anything. She looked at Paru in astonishment and said, ‘Did you just buy this now?’ Paru smiled and said, ‘Grandma, this was in the freezer, look, it’s still frozen.
Nanu: So I got that ghiran?
Paru: No, Nanu, you thought something wrong in your sleep, or dreamed.
Nanu: What do you know? What is happening these days! I got a clear impression that the meat is being eaten with the meat, today they are empty, tomorrow again, my special meat is a good match for someone?
Paru: Leave it! See what I have brought for you!
Anowara was a woman of many talents. She had a knack for crafting beautiful things with her own hands. Her joy knew no bounds when people gifted her materials to work with. Paru, her granddaughter, often brought her small gifts, like orange peels. Anowara had been drying these peels for months to make a fragrant face cream. She also made her own kohl for her eyes. Even at 66, her skin glowed with a youthful radiance. Paru had never seen such smooth, flawless skin.
Besides creams and kohl, Anowara was skilled at embroidery, making decorative items, and crafting various objects from recycled materials. The family never threw away straws after drinking sodas; they washed and saved them for Anowara. She would cut and design them into intricate decorations. She also made colorful toys from fabric scraps, like tiny pots, pans, boats, and fans.
One day, Paru visited a store and saw a bag that looked exactly like the ones her grandmother made. The store was selling similar handmade items for a high price. Paru thought, “If my grandmother’s designs were worth ten, these would barely fetch five. Why doesn’t anyone learn from her?”
Anwara, though always quite sophisticated, was at heart a child. Around 1988, when Paru was just 7 years old, Nana was still alive, and his paranoia had not yet set in. Both Paru and Anwara despised afternoon naps. After lunch, while everyone else was napping, Paru would quietly slip out from under their mother or aunt. In the courtyard of Nana’s quarters in the railway colony, Nana would be busy making small stoves and earthen pots for Paru. Paru would bring a handful of rice and cook it in that stove, then offer it only to Nana and herself.
Nana had a helper named Tajju, a little older than Paru, who would often join them in their games. There was another helper named Lily Apu who was very fond of Paru. Lily Apu had come from the village and had been with Nana since childhood. When she turned seventeen or eighteen, her family needed money. So, Nana found her a job at a garment factory. She would leave for work early in the morning, send money to her family, and return to Nana’s place after work. Paru loved both Lily Apu and Tajju. She hadn’t learned to discriminate, and the people in that house never showed any bias. Nana had a rule: after cooking, a mat would be spread across the entire courtyard, and everyone in the house, including Lily Apu and Tajju, would sit together and eat. Twelve-year-old Tajju would finish her chores and play various games with Paru. In the afternoons, their peers like Rekha, Daliya, and others would come out from the nearby quarters. They would all play games like “Gollachut,” “Saat Chara,” “Kumir Tor Jole Nemechhi,” and “Ful Toka.”
Paru would often tease Nana, but Nana would say, “How can you run and play wearing a sari?” Finally, Nana would escape by saying he had work in the garden. After playing, Paru would go to the garden to see what Nana was doing. Nana’s garden was full of various flowers, fruits, and vegetables. All the common flowers, fruits, and vegetables were in Anwara’s garden. He did everything himself, with only occasional help from Paru or Tajju. There were three types of mango trees in Nana’s garden. What amazed little Paru was that one mango tree had Fazli mangoes on one side and Langra mangoes on the other. Similarly, an entire Bael tree bore Pati Bael, but Nana had grafted a branch with Kul Bael. Such was the hobbyist and skilled Paru’s Nana, Anwara.
Paranoid patients are often neglected in our society. They are not diagnosed or treated properly. Unfortunately, it’s true that those we dismiss as ‘crazy’ on the streets are often suffering from schizophrenia or paraphrenia. Their incoherent speech or behavior is a symptom of their illness. At such times, families and friends need to be there for them, providing emotional support, understanding, and seeking medical treatment. Ignoring them or labeling them as ‘crazy’ and running away is not humane. These mental illnesses are often caused by significant physical or mental trauma, deception, or unbelievable events. As mentioned in the previous chapter, neurological problems, brain tumors, and other factors can also contribute to these diseases.
Scarborough, Canada
