Teji Bachchan, wife of the late Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and mother of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, died on Friday after a prolonged illness. She was 93.
MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan was reading a religious book, sitting outside mother Teji Bachchan’s room on the 11th floor of Lilavati Hospital, Bandra. Perhaps, he was seeking divine intervention after the doctors declared his mother critical on Thursday night.
Teji, 93, passed away on Friday at 1.05 pm after a prolonged suffering from old-age ailments. “She died a natural death due to health problems which anyone might face at her age,” said Dr Narendra Trivedi, vice-president of Lilavati Hospital.
She was admitted to the hospital in June, 2006, and never came out of it ever since. Every member of the Bachchan household - Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Shweta, Ajitabh, Ramola and their children - was present when Teji breathe her last.
Things turned for the worse on Thursday night, when Teji’s urinary tract severed and her chronic chest infection aggravated. “She was immediately taken to the ICU,” said Trivedi. A close family source revealed that the doctors made three attempts to review her condition on Friday morning, but things went from bad to worse.
Teji was battling the Alzheimer’s - a progressive and fatal brain disease that affects ones memory and thinking - for the past eight years. “About 6-7 months ago, she had stopped recognising any of her family members, including Amitabh,” said a hospital source. “Parts of her brain had stopped functioning.” Yet, the Bachchans did not lose heart. They kept her alive virtually on pills. Teji was recuperating in one of the most expensive suits of the hospital, costing Rs20,000 per day. She had six nurses attending her 24x7. “The best consultants from the city were called in to treat her,” said one of the doctors.
“Amitabh Bachchan made it clear that he wanted the best for his mother till the very end.” She was not put on ventilation. “It’s a painful process, which requires pricking needles. The family wanted her to die in peace,” said another attending doctor.
Bachchan’s family physician Dr Jayant Barve refused to speak about Teji’s ailments. The Bachchan clan is known to be blessed with very good eyesight. Teji was operated for cataract only after she turned 90. Dr Himanshu Mehta, family ophthalmologist, said, “Big B too has a very good eyesight. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to sustain such long shooting hours.”
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