What is Depression?

Kanchhi, was a middle-aged woman who lived in my neighborhood. Her morning started at 4 am. She would sweep the whole house from top to bottom and then mop it. Do Puja in the morning, taking care of the plants and pets, and then taking care of her own family. The house owner has migrated to the USA. She and her husband were given the responsibility to take care of this big house. In return, the house owners have provided them with a flat to live in with an additional salary. The couple is sincere in their duty.

Kanchhi had a simple face and graceful gestures. She was very innocent. She did not belong to this big city. She belonged to a tribal community in the far western region. She also worked as a housemaid at other places to meet her family’s expenses. She was illiterate, and her husband didn’t like to work anywhere else. He would rather help her in doing the chores. Besides her busy schedule, she would manage to talk with her relatives on her phone in a loud voice and sometimes watch TV in the evening. She was always loud. Everything could be clearly heard in nearby places, her speaking, laughing, arguing, mostly with her husband, but she didn’t care. It was just who she was, her style.

In 2020, when Corona was at its peak. People were allowed to leave their houses only for a few hours to buy their basics. One of our neighbors, recently divorced and was living alone in his flat. One of his tenants living on the ground floor got infected from Corona and was led to the hospital. His house was sealed by police and was instructed not to open the main entrance door for a couple of days as Corona was spreading like a wildfire. The same day at night he climbed the roof of his house making a loud noise. He pulled out his T-shirt and threw it away and started shouting. “ Hey………., Nobody come inside my house or you will die of Corona.” People came out to their terraces and balconies. Some of them gathered near his house trying to console him, as his attempts were scary. Police were called immediately.

Hearing a lot of noise outside I came out on my balcony.

Kanchhi was already on her balcony, looking at the incident.

“Who is he” sister? – She looked at me and asked.

“He is Mahesh’s Uncle’s relative, don’t you know about him?”-  I replied.

“Nope”-  She answered

“He’s been living here for a while now, he rented the lower flats but they were sent to the hospital now he is all alone in his house “—I continued.

She ignored my answer and continued talking- “People are talking so many things about him”

“What are they talking”- I inquired.

“They are saying, he may commit suicide cause  he is suffering from depression.”

“Yeah he seems to be very lonely nowadays ”-  I said

“Can you tell me one thing sister?”-  She inquired 

“Yeah, Of course”-  I said

“ What is Depression”- It was a straight question.

I was startled at the moment, I have never heard such a question in my life.  I looked at her face as if she was an Alien. Perhaps she understood my feelings.

“ Isn’t that something that happened to that Indian Actor Sushant Singh, I have seen so many times on the television about him going through depression ”- She answered by herself

“Yeah……….., something like that.. when a person doesn’t feel so good….from inside……”

I was trying to search right words to answer the question of this simple lady. She was still looking at me. Her daughter came searching for her on the balcony.

“Moomeee……,  Momee…….”-   Her daughter called.

She left, answering her daughter away leaving me in statue mode. The lonely man was rescued by the police. I was trying to decide which incident shocked me more. When depression and anxiety have become second nature to us, humans, how can such people still exist?