New Delhi: Helen Keller once said, "I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light." Today, on the occasion of Best Friend Day, CitySpidey talked to Tushar Deshmukh, whose mother died in 1993 Mumbai bomb blast, following which, his friend Yogesh Mhatre's parents adopted him.
Tushar said, "I was born in Pune but shifted to Mumbai when I was just 13 years old. My mother died in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast. I was in 7th standard and my father got married again but it was hard for me to live like that."
"I was in 9th or 10th standard and I was very disturbed at my home. I even attempted suicide at that time. I was standing in the queue to pay the fee for my 11th standard and that is where I met Yogesh Mhatre, who soon became my friend. On that day, as we talked, I told him about my mother and my life after that, even the fact that I don't have a good relationship with my stepmother," he said.
Tushar continued, "When I was in 11th standard, there were times when I was emotionally disturbed and I had to take psychological help. There he was, my friend who was helping me a lot in dealing with all those things. After that, in my 12th standard, I left my home and started staying in my college canteen. This is when my friend told everything about me to his family."
He shared, "When I was in the first year of my college, my friend's mother and father decided to take responsibility of me and let me stay in their house. I left my house with nothing in hand, no clothes, no money, I immediately came to their place and they took charge of my life. I stayed with them for 23 years. It was a joint family and my friend also had a brother. It was very kind of them to accept a new boy with nothing in his hand and be a member of their family and since then, we have lived as a family for 23 years."
Tushar said, "My friend and I started a car rental business and now I am a business partner and a family member as well."
"When Covid hit us all last year, I started working to help people. I started working as a social worker for 3 months and I cremated 14 to 15 dead bodies because no one was there to do so. Many patients were not getting admitted and I was helping them but on June 11, I was tested positive for Covid. My friend immediately got me admitted to a hospital and the situation became quite critical. The doctors even said that they are not sure whether I'll recover or not," he added.
Further, he said, "However, I was unconscious for 12 days in ICU and after that, I regained consciousness and for one month, I was in ICU as Covid patient. Due to that, I got a blood clot in my stomach and stayed in the hospital for one more month but luckily, I recovered."
Talking about leaving his home, Tushar recalled, "My stepmother had a business of food and she used to make me do laundry and all sorts of work. For lunch and dinner, she'd just give me one vada pav. My father was not aware of all this and for him, it was always my fault. He thought that I didn't want to adjust. It was after all this that I decided to leave my home."
"I have six uncles and two aunties but they did not take my responsibility or even helped me when I was going through a lot, but my friend and his family took me in and cared for me like their son," he concluded.
