LIFE IS UNCERTAIN, LIVE IT WITH COMPASSION, SAYS NARGIS

JAMMU : Jammu and Kashmir’s Patient Zero, Nargis Khatun, 65, was returning from a pilgrimage to Mashhad, a Shia shrine in Iran, along with her husband when she tested positive for Covid-19 at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu on March 8.

“I had no idea that I had contracted the infection. My husband and I got tested just to be on the safer side. He tested negative but I was positive. I was nervous so doctors counselled me. They told me about the importance of a proper diet and taking medicines on time,” she recalls.

After a month in hospital, she left for her native Shey village, 15 km from Leh. She has fond memories of the sendoff and recalls how a lady doctor gave her a greeting card, bouquet and fresh oranges the day she was discharged.

“I don’t fear this infection anymore but I’ve learnt that simple precautions such as wearing a mask, social distancing, ensuring personal hygiene, particularly washing hands, and a healthy diet can keep it at bay. It is difficult to live in isolation, away from your family. No one wants to live in isolation but my husband was supportive and kept me motivated,” she says.

EMERGED STRONGER

Overcoming the infection at 65 has made her stronger. “This experience taught me that life is uncertain. We should live it with humility and compassion,” says Nargis.

Her son Gulam Murtaza, a PhD scholar at Jammu University, says that his mother being a devout Muslim, keeps praying all the time and he has never seen her without the tasbih (rosary with prayer beads) in her hands. “The tasbih was with her throughout the treatment and her source of strength,” he says.

On her routine at the village, Nargis says, “I go to the farm and tend to the livestock. I am regular with the namaz and pray for mankind. I pray this infection ends at the earliest.”

NO REGRETS, FINALLY ACCEPTED

She admits that initially people avoided interacting with her family. “We faced it (the stigma) but this infection is everywhere. People have now realised that anyone can get it. So I have no regrets. The villagers have finally accepted us,” she says.