Didn't sleep at all. Kept waking anxious about the day ahead. Gigi left the room at 5:30 with the crushed medicines. He was going to try bringing tea to his room and hopefully P will drink - I left the room at 6:30 and Gigi and P were already at the ghat. He did not have the chai - I had an additional set of meeds. The ambulance guys (Dr. Anoop) said they would come by 10 and Suni had started organizing the charter. Many things had to work to get him back. P suddenly decided he would like to go to the Andhra idly/vada place near Kedarnath. Gigi and I went on a cycle rickshaw and P came on his cycle - we had to get there first to get the guys there to help with the meeds. P caught up with us and stopped at SK cool care. Gigi and I proceeded to the breakfast place and requested the guy there to drop in the meeds with anything P would order - initially he refused - but I think he saw the desperation in my eyes and finally agreed. P had to order coffee or this was going to fail. He walked in a bit later. I was having poori's but couldn't taste anything - he had idly vada and just as he was finishing the guy (God bless him) came to P and asked him if he would like his usual filter coffee. P was happy and had the coffee with the meeds. We walked down to Dasaswamedh ghat… the three of us took a photo
and then proceeded to Manikarnika. P wanted to buy a new sarod… luckily for us the shop was closed and I told him I need to leave at 10 so had to get back to the room. P was getting a bit drowsy and tired and agreed. I took his cycle and Gigi and P came on a cycle rickshaw. Finally P was in his room…and we waited keeping an eye from Temple on Ganges. At 10:45 Anoop and three others arrived with the ambulance. I went up and told him P was asleep in his room and that they could go in from the side door and it maybe simple to do this now… Gigi waited there while I went back to the hotel hoping that they would be quick… Gigi heard some shouting and then it was quiet. I was in the hotel - in the kitchen looking through a mesh. Suddenly Anoop and the other guys came running out and P was out - the ambulance was parked at a distance and P threw some stones at it and it too disappeared…now what?
P went into his room and came back out - and walked away…we all waited. This wasn't going well. Then we saw P come back with a whole bunch of people…one of them looked like the doctor from the hospital. They all walked in. There were a couple of cops too. Then I got a call. It was the doctor asking me to speak to P. "Do you know what just happened?". I told him I know exactly what was happening and that he needs to cooperate with the doctors. I was asked to come into his room to convince him. Went in and told P in as clear a way as possible that he needs to come with us to the hospital right away - then he showed me his broken sitar - "look what your friends have done". But miraculously P came out with us and after a brief hesitation climbed into the ambulance. Anna, Gigi and I followed in a taxi. At the hospital he was again refusing to allow them to inject him. We were in a VIP lounge, cops, doctors, P and I. P said he had cursed me - told the cops that my dream of seeing P in this situation had finally been fulfilled. "You are not a true artist, a lesser man - and you will never get it." I came out not sure what the doctors were planning. A physician came out and told me he has spoken to P and that he has now agreed to come peacefully on the charter - and he was quite confident everything would be fine. I told him that there was no way P was getting into a flight without sedation - then finally they forcibly sedated him and wheeled him out into an ambulance. The charter flight was to arrive at 3:15 and we were leaving right on time (2 pm). Three of us followed in the taxi. When we got to the airport, P was sitting up inside but very groggy. We waited nearly 2 hours before we were finally on board. Two pilots, an assistant, Dr. Nitin, an anesthetist, a male nurse, Anna and I. I was sitting on an ice box near P's feet. He was knocked out. We took off from Benaras at 5:30. 4 hours to Bangalore. Time passed very slowly. P would shift occasionally but the nurse was really good and kept P comfortable. I had a sandwich. 3 hours into the flight there was slight turbulence and P was restless - but that soon passed. We landed at 9:30 at HAL. I saw Suni and Gautam waiting with an ambulance…incredible. P was now awake - he was shifted to the ambulance and I rode in it with him and an attender. P made eye contact but looked furious. We reached St. Johns Hospital and were taken to Casualty - where Dr. Shanti was waiting. She asked me what the problem was in front of P and he said he was fine. He wanted to leave and had come to be with Mummy and Pappa. Gautam and Suni arrived soon and took over - while I made my way back home. Pappa was going to be with him tonight. Saw Anjali and Sid sid - often felt that I may never get out of Benaras…
and then proceeded to Manikarnika. P wanted to buy a new sarod… luckily for us the shop was closed and I told him I need to leave at 10 so had to get back to the room. P was getting a bit drowsy and tired and agreed. I took his cycle and Gigi and P came on a cycle rickshaw. Finally P was in his room…and we waited keeping an eye from Temple on Ganges. At 10:45 Anoop and three others arrived with the ambulance. I went up and told him P was asleep in his room and that they could go in from the side door and it maybe simple to do this now… Gigi waited there while I went back to the hotel hoping that they would be quick… Gigi heard some shouting and then it was quiet. I was in the hotel - in the kitchen looking through a mesh. Suddenly Anoop and the other guys came running out and P was out - the ambulance was parked at a distance and P threw some stones at it and it too disappeared…now what?
P went into his room and came back out - and walked away…we all waited. This wasn't going well. Then we saw P come back with a whole bunch of people…one of them looked like the doctor from the hospital. They all walked in. There were a couple of cops too. Then I got a call. It was the doctor asking me to speak to P. "Do you know what just happened?". I told him I know exactly what was happening and that he needs to cooperate with the doctors. I was asked to come into his room to convince him. Went in and told P in as clear a way as possible that he needs to come with us to the hospital right away - then he showed me his broken sitar - "look what your friends have done". But miraculously P came out with us and after a brief hesitation climbed into the ambulance. Anna, Gigi and I followed in a taxi. At the hospital he was again refusing to allow them to inject him. We were in a VIP lounge, cops, doctors, P and I. P said he had cursed me - told the cops that my dream of seeing P in this situation had finally been fulfilled. "You are not a true artist, a lesser man - and you will never get it." I came out not sure what the doctors were planning. A physician came out and told me he has spoken to P and that he has now agreed to come peacefully on the charter - and he was quite confident everything would be fine. I told him that there was no way P was getting into a flight without sedation - then finally they forcibly sedated him and wheeled him out into an ambulance. The charter flight was to arrive at 3:15 and we were leaving right on time (2 pm). Three of us followed in the taxi. When we got to the airport, P was sitting up inside but very groggy. We waited nearly 2 hours before we were finally on board. Two pilots, an assistant, Dr. Nitin, an anesthetist, a male nurse, Anna and I. I was sitting on an ice box near P's feet. He was knocked out. We took off from Benaras at 5:30. 4 hours to Bangalore. Time passed very slowly. P would shift occasionally but the nurse was really good and kept P comfortable. I had a sandwich. 3 hours into the flight there was slight turbulence and P was restless - but that soon passed. We landed at 9:30 at HAL. I saw Suni and Gautam waiting with an ambulance…incredible. P was now awake - he was shifted to the ambulance and I rode in it with him and an attender. P made eye contact but looked furious. We reached St. Johns Hospital and were taken to Casualty - where Dr. Shanti was waiting. She asked me what the problem was in front of P and he said he was fine. He wanted to leave and had come to be with Mummy and Pappa. Gautam and Suni arrived soon and took over - while I made my way back home. Pappa was going to be with him tonight. Saw Anjali and Sid sid - often felt that I may never get out of Benaras…
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