RADHICA DE SILVA
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Amidst the grief of losing her grandmother, SEA student Shrishti Maharaj summoned up the courage and walked into her examination room on Thursday, determined to make her late granny, Anasoiah Maharaj, proud.
As the first-born granddaughter in the family, Shrishti shared a close bond with Anasoiah. It was Anasoiah who had been in the birthing room when Shrishti was born at the Mamatoto Birth Centre. She taught Shrishti to sew and whenever the family went on outdoor excursions at the Bamboo Cathedral, both Anasoiah and Shrishtri stuck together.
Anasoiah fondly called her "scholarship girl” and was actively involved in her SEA preparation before the family got COVID-19 and Anasoiah died on 21st December 2021.
Shrishti, her father agriculture economist Omardath Maharaj, her mother Gaytree and her sisters Shriya and Shradha were able to overcome the virus.
As they said goodbye to Anasoiah during her funeral on December 30th, Shrishti, a student of Chaguanas Government Primary School, cried for her granny, knowing she would not be around for any of her life achievements—including SEA.
The family became even more conscious of the risks of the deadly virus.
Maharaj said when physical school resumed for SEA students, they were sceptical about sending Shrishti so they opted for private tutoring.
"Preparing for SEA during the pandemic was a life lesson for us all, not just for Shristi, when COVID-19 came into our family and it was heart-breaking," he said.
He said in December his mother began feeling unwell.
"It was a traumatizing experience for all of us including Shrishti. My mother wasn't eating, and we decided to take her to the hospital on December 14th. We called the ambulance, which never came. Her oxygen levels were low, and I drove straight into the COVID testing site with her. The nurses took charge, and I was not allowed back into the tent to say anything to her, not even to say a prayer," Maharaj recalled.
He added: "Coming home that day, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I kept questioning whether I had made the right decision leaving her there. She had not eaten.”
While hospitalized, Anasoiah was robbed of her phone and other personal belongings. She succumbed to the virus six days after she was hospitalized.
Before she died, Maharaj said she made a call to her son Mahindra, telling him to trust in God.
"If this is God's will, we have to accept it. She was facing the reality of death," Maharaj said.
He said the children were devastated and following the death, Shrishti's SEA preparation was disrupted for a short time.
"We lost that Christmas break which we had planned to use to prepare Shristi for her exam. When we came to January, we had anxiety about going back to school. Preparations continued and we did private lessons with her schoolteacher. We hired two tutors—Karen Mohammed and Sharlene Gonzales—who worked with her tirelessly. She had a strict programme of SEA preparations and she had one day completely off per week," he recalled.
Shrishti now sleeps in her grandmother's master bedroom. Even though she misses her grandmother's embrace, for now, she is content to stay in the room where she feels her granny's unbreakable bonds of love.
