124 chapter
treatment for that. His friends did not show that [probably referring to a diag-
nosis of mental illness written in Rajendran’s records or in a prescription] to us
or anyone. If he had done something, if he had taken medicine continuously, it
wouldn’t have been like this.Despite the trauma of his father dying, there was no indication of Rajendran
receiving any treatment other than medications. Rajendran’s wife meanwhile
asserts her belief in a pharmaceutical solution to her husband’s problems. At
the end of the interview, Rajendran’s wife said she believes he has improved
during his stay at this hospital, and she heard he may be released soon:
Kavitha: When will he go from here, get improvement and leave here?Rajendran’s Wife: Doctor did not say anything about that. Th e nurse said that
we can go on this Sunday. Maybe we can go on Sunday.Kavitha: Do you believe that this problem won’t come again? Or, if it does, will
you come here, or.. .?Rajendran’s Wife: We will only come here. We won’t go anywhere else.Rajendran’s wife did not rule out the possibility of Rajendran’s problem
returning, but, as opposed to Abdul-Rahman who says he is open to using
any kind of therapy to get relief, she affi rms an allegiance to this hospital.
Yet Rajendran was continuing to take ayurvedic medications to treat himself,
indicating that the boundaries between medical categories are somewhat fl uid
for this couple. We did not see Rajendran again, and were unable to arrange
a follow-up interview with him. I hope that Rajendran and his family have
found relief, or at least a way to live with his problems.
Lakshmi: The Gulf Wife, Blessed by Devi
Lakshmi is a 26-year-old woman who is not employed and whose husband is
in Saudi Arabia doing manual labor. When Biju and I met Lakshmi, she and
several relatives were staying at Chottanikkara temple on one of the visits they
regularly undertake for prayer and the maintenance of Lakshmi’s health.
We interviewed Lakshmi and her relatives in their room at the temple guest
lodge, where Biju and I were also staying. Lakshmi’s relatives did not speak
during the interview, but Rajan, the young man who works at the temple lodge
whose own experiences with possession were presented in Chapter 2, also