Sheela Seth has not shed a tear since learning of his demise. When someone asked her, "What will you do now?" a blank stare followed. It was probably too soon for her to face the reality.
She hasn't shed a tear since she came to know she lost her husband, the bread-winner of the family, in the Opera House bomb blast on Wednesday evening.
“We are worried now. We have been asking her to cry, but she hasn't cried at all,” Shailendra Seth, her brother-in-law and elder brother of Mukesh Hajarimal Seth, a diamond broker who was killed in the blast, said.
“He generally called up in the evening to tell me what he wanted to eat at night. ‘Cook this tonight,' he used to call and tell me. That evening he did not call. He did not even come to have his lunch that afternoon,” Sheela Mukesh Seth said, asked when she talked to him last. She looked lost. It was evident that she had not come to terms with the fact that her husband was no more.
“He used to come home everyday for lunch except on Saturdays,” nine-year old Mohit corrected his mother. “We have told him that his father is no more. But he probably does not know what it means. We sent him to school. We did not want him to stay home in this environment,” Aruna Mehta, Mohit's aunt, told The Hindu.
The hush-hush talk about her and their only child's future did not seem to upset Sheela. But when someone asked her, “What will you do now?” a blank stare followed. It was probably too soon for her to face the reality.
“He was everyone's favourite. Everyone in the area knew him. He was a very jolly person, always willing to help others,” Jeetendra Seth, Mukesh's brother, said.
“We were six siblings — two sisters and four brothers. But Mukesh was my favourite brother. He was like my son. He was very caring. I always had a soft corner for him,” Aruna, the eldest of the siblings, said.
“I have undergone a bypass surgery. Mukesh used to call me up every week to ask about my health. He was very caring. I have not been able to sleep since the time I heard of his demise. We did not expect such a gruesome death for such a lively person,” Ashok Gandhi, Mukesh's uncle said.
Mukesh's two brothers Jeetendra and Shailendra, wondered at fate.
“Usually, Jeetendra and I linger around the place where the bomb exploded that day. Mukesh never went there. But on that day, I don't know why, he decided to pass through that way. Just five minutes before the blast that day, we all were standing together in another lane and I went away for my work in a close-by building. Within minutes, I heard the blast and rushed out. I frantically tried to call him, but he did not answer the calls. I even cursed him in my heart that he did not understand the urgency of the moment. But then I said to myself, maybe he is helping some victims. Little did I know he himself was the victim,” Shailendra said.
“We both escaped death but we lost our brother,” Jeetendra said.
They said they came to know the sad news only at around 11 p.m. when they rushed to the nearby Harkisandas Hospital. “They did not even have an ambulance. We had to make arrangements for his body to be taken to JJ Hospital for post-mortem,” Indu Jain, Mukesh's sister, said.
Lived near blast site
Mukesh's house is barely 800 metres away from the blast site. “When I saw smoke billowing from near Pancharatna, I tried calling him. I called him up for more than three hours, but he did not answer. All these people kept on telling me that he would be fine, but I felt very scared,” Sheela said.
“We will try to support her. But she will now have to do something to support her son and herself,” Indu said. But after being a housewife for more than 11 years of her life, Sheela hardly looked confident enough to take on the challenge.
Keywords: Mumbai blasts, Zaveri Bazar, Dadar, Opera House, blast trauma
It is hard for mother and son..,even though everybody know death is a apart of life..it is very hard to accept it and believe it ...In the same way how hard is to be self relient ...and it is important woman to get everything she can to stand on her feet and be strong..not only for her and family ..but to rest of the world. I pray God be with Sheela to guide her and strengthen...her in all things...
A very very sad news, heartfelt condolence to the whole family. The wife certainly needs professional help to go through this tragedic loss. Our heart and soul are with them and with all those who loss near and dear one. May God give them courage to bear this loss.
Where is the government we elect to protect the people of country. For our PM or other leaders that may be just another blast but it has certainly ruined many a lives again.
I feel this menace can be tackled to a large extent if political leaders especially the Prime Minister and Home Minister have the will to do it and devise suitable mechanisms to curb terrorism with experts. This should be a national priority like the literacy mission, Health mission etc.Religious leaders,Social activists, NGOS, Media owners, Educationists,etc should also be involved. This is a social disease worsened by religious fanatics and vested interests.Hence the Govt alone cannot solve this by itself but has to take the lead and responsibility. The PM should take the help of all CMs and review progress periodically.Mere words of solace and visits by leaders, when some event happens, provides only temporary relief. Ultimately money is needed for any work.Hence budgetary allocations should be done for anti - terrorism measures in all spheres of life by Central as well as State Govts.It should not be clubbed with routine allocations.This will send a clear message to the terrorists.
this is simply heart wrenching...my sympathies are with those families who lost their loved ones..But imagine what would be going through us Kashmiris?? We have been facing these situations since ages! Every family in Kashmir has a story to tell,just like Sheela...i only hope that the real perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice and the sanctity of justice prevails...
I wish the utterly useless political leaders in charge of anti terrorism and security see the photograph in this article.
Picture speaks louder than words, his son is almost my son's age. May God Bless them
May God give her (Sheela) the strength to bear his unrepairable loss.
Such stories have always moved my heart and I go into depression. May God help all those people who lost their loved ones.
I realy feel shame for Political leaders they are just busy in earning lot of money not knowing how somebody feel when close ones died .We have to kill terrorism
The Hindu: One day after a bomb blast you post an article saying the wife of a victim is yet to come to reality. Will you be able to if this happens to you?
A very sad news. The family suffers like other victims families. Through this column let me pray for their solace and future peaceful life.The Taj culprit is still with us and the terrorists know even if they are caught nothing will happen to them. It's high time the Indian govt and the courts realise that the terrorist be punished severely so that they won't attempt such acts so freely.
This is the most insensitive story. The lady is stunned and submerged in grief. She needs support from family and friends and not questions from press reporters. It will be nice if the state government can provide professional help from psychologists to grief stricken people, especially women. The stupidest question is, "What will you do now?" It goes without saying, "she will now have to do something to support her son and herself." But, it is hardly a couple of days and she should not be expected to ponder such eventualities. Since he was "always willing to help others" it is for those grateful people to come to assist his family.
This is heartbreaking. Is there a way to contribute money towards the welfare of the family members of the victims ?
Very worried and pained to see this mother and her son. May god give her the strength and courage to face all the difficulties. A pitiful situation like this should not happen to even our worst enemy.
This is very tragic ... we need to show our power ... a country of 1billion need to react. Innocent people need government to protect them Is this too much to ask?
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