Sudha Rosaih, a 61-year-old retired maths teacher, died of Covid-19 at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Somatne Phata on July 15, 2020.
Known for her teaching style, Sudha, who taught at Kamalnayan Bajaj School in Sambhajinagar area, was popular among her students for making mathematics simple and uncomplicated, reported The Indian Express.
The couple’s son, Ritesh (27), has not had the courage to break the news to his father even as his mother’s funeral was held late on July 15, 2020.
The family lives in Indrayaninagar area of Pimpri-Chinchwad, where they also own a small-scale industrial unit. The couple’s only son, Ritesh too is under home isolation after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
“My parents were undergoing treatment at the ICU of the private hospital. My father was admitted first six days ago. Two days later, my mother had breathing problems. I got her admitted to the same private hospital where my dad was undergoing treatment,” Ritesh says.
Ritesh says he received a phone call from the hospital on July 14, 2020, evening, and doctors told him his father’s condition had deteriorated and he needed to be put on ventilator.
After this conversation, he spoke to his mother. “She was frightened when I spoke to her, and was worried about my father. Doctors told me she suffered a cardiac arrest,” he says, adding that his mother had diabetes and high blood pressure, but both ailments were under control.
He says he had to lie to his father about his mother’s death when he called him on July 16, 2020, to ask about her.
“My father asked me about my mother’s condition. I lied to him that she was moved to another ward as her condition had improved. My parents were next to each other in the ICU, and were on oxygen support. When my mother’s body was being moved out of the hospital, my father tried asking the doctors as to what had happened. They told him that they needed to conduct some tests and were taking her out of the ICU,” he says.
He says their industrial unit also had to be closed. “My father is in the ICU, I am under home isolation. We had to close the unit. My father was asking whether it was functioning… I told him it was, and that he should not worry,” he adds.
Pratima Kulkarni, a PTA member, said, “Sudha Rosaih was a strict but popular teacher among students. My son was her student when he was in Class IX. I had interacted with her several times. She was always polite with parents. She was known for her solid grasp of the subject.”
K Harinarayan of Pune Malayalee Federation said, “As soon as we got to know about the family’s plight, we offered help… Sudha Rosaih was well-known for her teaching style, which was quite popular among students.”