Late musician Balabhaskar’s wife Lakshmi has regained consciousness 10 days after the accident that killed the 40-year-old violinist and their only child, according to their family friend and composer Stephen Devassy.
She has not yet been able to talk after the September 25 car crash on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, he said, but expressed the hope that Lakshmi would be out of ventilator on Monday, going by the doctors attending on her. Lakshmi, who is being treated at a Thiruvananthapuram hospital, has not yet been informed about the death of Balabhaskar and two year-old daughter Tejaswi, added Stephen, 37, who has presented several jugalbandi concerts with him on the keyboard and 'Balu' on the violin.
When Balabhaskar’s body was kept for public homage on October 2, the day he died, Stephen had given a concert in the state capital as a mark of respect. On Saturday, Stephen said over social media that he had spoken on Friday evening to Dr Suresh Kumar K.L. of Ananthapuri Hospital, where Lakshimi has been undergoing treatment for two weeks since the accident at Pallipuram.
“Lakshmi opened her eyes on Thursday and has begun to recognise people. But she is yet to converse, also because she is on a ventilator. She is unaware about the deaths in the family, but none is sure how to break the news and when. There are apprehensions about how she would take it,” Stephen notes in a live Facebook video.
“By Monday, Lakshmi is most likely to be shifted to the ICU (intensive care unit) or a room (in the hospital). She will definitely come back, according to doctors. We must take that as a positive development.” As for informing about the deaths of Balabhaskar and Tejaswi, it’s a challenging task for the families of Lakshmi and her husband, Stephen notes.
“Hope Lakshmi gets the courage to learn about it. For that, there will be prayers from all who love Balu,” he added. Recalling Balabhaskar’s last hours, Stephen said the violinist was peaceful ahead of his death and was conscious. “Suddenly his blood pressured dipped and he suffered a heart attack,” he added.
