Ceramic to Patola

"I did not even allow her to go and buy vegetables," Jignesh Bhai said with a faint effortful smile. Dense dark black hairs on his head were shining deceptively marking a healthy person. Thin aquiline nose looked more prominent and sharper on his emaciated face. There was glint in his eyes as he looked lovingly at his wife squatting on the floor.

"He was well built and very healthy. I am having his photographs when he was not sick," said his wife and she started looking down. While she bowed her head I noticed a thin film of tears spreading across her large limpid eyes.

A child was sleeping oblivious to our presence. A small girl in a school dress entered the room. Her elder sister also entered. The small girl looked at me with curiosity. The elder sister was not interested. She went inside the room adjoining the drawing cum living room without taking notice of our presence.

"Tamaro naam su che - What is your name?"

"Vidya," she said and she sat close to her mother, almost in her lap.

"You are in which class?" I asked in Hindi as my Gujarati failed me.

Her mother responded, "She is in Class 2."

"And her sister?"

"Class 5," she said and smiled.

"Are you resident of this place?" I asked.

"No, we were living in Morbi. Two years back, my health started deteriorating. I was unable to eat. I was constantly feeling breathlessness. I was getting tired while walking. I went to a doctor and I was diagnosed with silicosis. The doctor suggested that I should not only leave job but leave the city. He mentioned that the ambient dust in Morbi was deleterious for my lungs. I migrated to this place leaving my home there," said Jignesh bhai.

I listened.

"The doctor said that if I have to stay alive I should leave Morbi immediately," Jignesh said. I was looking at him. His glottis surrounded by the sunken sternal and cavicular head regions on both sides of the neck looked bigger. Every time Jignesh breathed it appeared as if two heavy loads tied symmetrically on both sides of the pulling down the sternocleidomastoid muscles inside. Just above cavicle and sternal notch there were big depressions.

"What is that?" I asked wife of Jignesh indicating towards a metallic frame with hooks on two ends. White silk threads were tied to the hooks. The bunch of silk threads were tied around black marks made on the silk thread with cotton threads.

"It is part of Patola fabric thread dying process," she said. [Patola is a double Ikkat type of fabric that is primarily associated to a place Patan in Gujarat. Patola is a very intricate type of weaving in which both warp and waft are colored in such a way that the pattern look same on both sides of the fabric.]

I was quietly trying to understand the process. A pattern of Patola made on a paper was lying near the frame.

"I was not knowing about this. I learnt this after he became sick," she said.

"Do you weave Patola fabric?" I asked.

"No, I only dye. After dyeing I return threads to the trader. They get it weaved into Patola," she said.

I was listening.

"On a good day I earn Rs400/- for the work," she said and added "the rent of this house is Rs3000/- per month and I also have to pay haptah (EMI) of Rs6000/-.

"I did not get about the haptah (EMI)," I said.

"We have taken loan from L&T Finance and we have to pay haptah," she said.

"How many years did you work in the factory?" I asked Jignesh Bhai.

"I started working when I was very young. I am 37 now. I have worked for 20 years," he said.

"After working for so long you could not save money," I said.

"While I was working I was taking care of the entire family and my parents. I did not waste money," he said.

"What made you take loan?"

"I took loan for constructing a house. After two months of disbursement of the loan I was detected with silicosis. I was jobless. The medical expenses increased exorbitantly. The loan I took got exhausted in visiting hospitals and buying medicines," said Jignesh.

"How much loan did you take?"

"Rs 1,75,000/-," he said. His wife and added, "I mortgaged my gold jewellery to Muthoot for Rs30,000/-. It got exhausted too in buying medicine."

I listened.

"I had to borrow money from my extended family and friends," said Jignesh.

His wife came with a bunch of medical reports. Jigneshbhai Motabhai Parmar, Age 37, Male, Weight 41.5 kgs. 20/06/2022. The latest report of January 2023 mentioned weight 39kgs.

"His weight has reduced," I said.

"I do my best and prepare foods he liked so much but he is not interested to eat. After taking a morsel or two he says he is feeling like vomiting," Jignesh's wife said and bowed her head once again. The same scene of tears spreading over her eyes repeated.

"You should eat. You should be strong," I said looking at Jignesh.

"I am strong. I am hopeful. I am willing to do as much I can so that nobody in future gets this disease," Jignesh said with a huge smile.

We got up to leave Jignesh's house. He also got up. He was tall. Too thin and frail for his height.

"No, you should not get up. Please take rest," we said as we left the room.

"How long do you think Jignesh would be alive?" asked my senior colleague after coming out of the house.

"I am hopeful," I said.

"Did you see those depressions in Jignesh's neck?" he asked.

I did not speak but I could see those palpitating sunken membranes in the neck.