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*17-6-1987, Auroville:
J.P has a fractured skull, but I am told he is conscious again, and talking… I haven’t
yet gone to see him.
*19-6-1987, Auroville:
I went to see J.P in the hospital. As I stood there next to him for about an hour and
talked to him, he began to realise what had happened and why he was now lying
there; he remembers nothing as yet of the accident itself. His face is swollen up
and his eyes and eyelids are hugely tumefied, his torn ear has been stitched; he
cannot swallow anything and feels dazed and cannot see – it is all dark to him, but
he could sort of perceive my hand as I moved it in front of his eyes, and reach for
it…
… I went to a restaurant to have fish and cold beer; L came in and joined me. I like
the contact with her: she is still free from the conditioning of Auroville’s affairs, and
there is somehow a flow between us that has different colours and depths…
*20-6-1987, Auroville:
I worked at the Kitchen most of the morning; but without J.P, and with the new
“management” of A and Dhanapal, and with Dadu announcing his “retirement” (this
sweet old-child-man is a barometer!) it was all a little tedious…
*22-6-1987, Auroville:
The last X Rays taken of J.P showed another fracture at the back of his skull, which
had somehow pressed on the optical nerves ends causing his near-complete
blindness…
And N… He fell down last night, in another bout, he says, of intestinal crisis, and
went unconscious in a bush of thorns by the roadside, and got himself all scratched
up and sore – and desperate! He still refuses to go back to Debu for more
treatment; he is still so proud and so tight… One can only try to help when help is
wanted! I feel bad, though, and useless!
… G.M has written again: he has seen C several times, and it now seems that he’s
taken a work-contract in Abu Dhabi for a couple of months…
*23-6-1987, Auroville:
When I went to visit J.P this morning I was met by an unexpected barrage of
hostility from a German fellow named Kl who was there on duty along with a girl,
also German; J.P himself had relapsed into a semi-conscious state, was very
dehydrated and yet was unable to absorb anything orally and was left uncared for
medically but jealously surrounded by these two people; it was impossible to get a
clear statement from Kl, who had seen the Doctor earlier. I had to soon leave
because this tussle couldn’t be any good for J.P. I tried to return later, on my way
back from Pondy, but the guy was still there… Back in Auroville I went to see Eric
who I thought was more or less in-charge of coordinating the duties and care for
J.P, but I found that neither he nor anyone else here knew anything or had any idea
what had to be done and that no one was in direct contact with the Doctors… So I
tried to convince him and Edgar to move and meet the Doctor and find out what the
position was… This was all very vague and discouraging; I had kept away from
doing any regular shifts because, so soon after my illness, I didn’t feel ready at all