GET WELL SOON ‘LA BELLA’ AUNTY
FILE PHOTO: Mary Lobo or ‘aunty’ as she is lovingly called has been admitted to hospital
One of the most beloved figures among the student crowd in the city, especially those from outside the state, Mary Lobo or ‘aunty’ as she is lovingly called has been admitted to hospital and she is giving anxious moments to the countless people she has fed with her own hands. Students, community members and well-wishers of Lobo aka ‘La Bella aunty’, a septuagenarian who runs a restaurant in Khanpur area of the city, have been wishing for her good health for the past few days.
Severely dehydrated and running 106-degree temperature, Lobo fell unconscious on Tuesday and was shifted to an ICCU at a private hospital inUsmanpura by a Goan family she knew. With timely help and prompt medication, Lobo is now responding to treatment.
As news of her hospitalisation spread, students, friends and members of the Goan community she belongs to prayed for her quick recovery.
“We got a call from Anna that aunty was unwell. We reached there and found her unconscious. We immediately shifted her to a nearby hospital in Khanpur. As it did not have an ICCU, we were advised to shift her to another branch of Life Care hospital at Usmanpura which has an ICCU. Since her condition was critical, we did not wait for the ambulance and shifted her in an auto-rickshaw,” said Fabiola.
Feeling happy at the decision to shift her immediately to the hospital, she said, “Thank God, now she is conscious. As she has tremendous fighting spirit, she is responding to the medicines. I think she must be concerned about students and their food,” Fabiola who has been frequenting Lobo’s home for years said.
As per the doctor, Lobo has responded well to the medication. Dr Darshan C Shah, director of the hospital, told Mirror, “When she was brought here, she was unconscious and in bad shape. We had to put her on ventilation.
She was in severe dehydrated condition with 106 fever and low blood pressure. She was also diagnosed with severe urinary infection. But she responded well to the medicines. On Friday, her heartbeats were irregular, but on Saturday she was stable. If she is in the same condition for two days, she might be brought out of ICCU. We put her on ventilation on the first day but now she is on simple oxygen.”
Dr Mayur Gajjar, another doctor taking care of her, said, “It’s her fighting spirit that she has responded to medication greatly within a short span.”
When Mirror talked to Lobo and told her that students and friends want her to get well soon, all that she mumbled was, “Mare ubhu thavu chhe (I want to get up).”
Since nobody has been allowed in the ICCU, students and her regular customers have been inquiring about her health with Raju Pillai aka Anna who has been running the restaurant in her absence. Anna said, “Many students and customers have been asking about her. They are concerned about her well-being and are praying for her fast recovery.”
Her restaurant had become an informal place for students to discuss movies, matches, in short discuss everything under the sun even as they relished aunty’s chicken cutlet, rice and curry. La Bella had become one of the must-go places for non-vegetarian lovers.
Aunty made her food affordable for the students, whom she considered her children since she did not have kids of her own. She did not raise prices even when costs of ingredients went up and never forgot her regular customers whom she invited home for Christmas and New Year.
“As she ran her restaurant on no profit, no loss basis for years, it is obvious that many students who frequented the restaurant had become close to her. They are now concerned about her health. She made such good food that it never upset anyone’s stomach.
Now when her health is upset, students are upset. But at present none is allowed to meet her as she is in ICCU”, said Emelliano, who has been taking care of her at the hospital with her wife Fabiola.
Severely dehydrated and running 106-degree temperature, Lobo fell unconscious on Tuesday and was shifted to an ICCU at a private hospital in
As news of her hospitalisation spread, students, friends and members of the Goan community she belongs to prayed for her quick recovery.
Emelliano and Fabiola Rodrigues who have known Lobo for long were informed by Anna, her trusted lieutenant at the restaurant for the past 40 years, of aunty’s critical condition. They rushed her to hospital.
“We got a call from Anna that aunty was unwell. We reached there and found her unconscious. We immediately shifted her to a nearby hospital in Khanpur. As it did not have an ICCU, we were advised to shift her to another branch of Life Care hospital at Usmanpura which has an ICCU. Since her condition was critical, we did not wait for the ambulance and shifted her in an auto-rickshaw,” said Fabiola.
Feeling happy at the decision to shift her immediately to the hospital, she said, “Thank God, now she is conscious. As she has tremendous fighting spirit, she is responding to the medicines. I think she must be concerned about students and their food,” Fabiola who has been frequenting Lobo’s home for years said.
As per the doctor, Lobo has responded well to the medication. Dr Darshan C Shah, director of the hospital, told Mirror, “When she was brought here, she was unconscious and in bad shape. We had to put her on ventilation.
She was in severe dehydrated condition with 106 fever and low blood pressure. She was also diagnosed with severe urinary infection. But she responded well to the medicines. On Friday, her heartbeats were irregular, but on Saturday she was stable. If she is in the same condition for two days, she might be brought out of ICCU. We put her on ventilation on the first day but now she is on simple oxygen.”
Dr Mayur Gajjar, another doctor taking care of her, said, “It’s her fighting spirit that she has responded to medication greatly within a short span.”
When Mirror talked to Lobo and told her that students and friends want her to get well soon, all that she mumbled was, “Mare ubhu thavu chhe (I want to get up).”
Since nobody has been allowed in the ICCU, students and her regular customers have been inquiring about her health with Raju Pillai aka Anna who has been running the restaurant in her absence. Anna said, “Many students and customers have been asking about her. They are concerned about her well-being and are praying for her fast recovery.”
Her restaurant had become an informal place for students to discuss movies, matches, in short discuss everything under the sun even as they relished aunty’s chicken cutlet, rice and curry. La Bella had become one of the must-go places for non-vegetarian lovers.
Aunty made her food affordable for the students, whom she considered her children since she did not have kids of her own. She did not raise prices even when costs of ingredients went up and never forgot her regular customers whom she invited home for Christmas and New Year.
“As she ran her restaurant on no profit, no loss basis for years, it is obvious that many students who frequented the restaurant had become close to her. They are now concerned about her health. She made such good food that it never upset anyone’s stomach.
Now when her health is upset, students are upset. But at present none is allowed to meet her as she is in ICCU”, said Emelliano, who has been taking care of her at the hospital with her wife Fabiola.
I still remember Mrs Lobo converse with us, asking us about food. After a point of time, she remembered what each of us liked. The food was delicious and was sold very cheap
While I was studying at CEPT, La Bella was our go-to place for delicious food. Mary Lobo is kind, has great sense of humour and we all called her ‘angel’. She knew us by name
I went there day before yesterday. La Bella gives a homely feeling. The food is amazing. I loved the cutlets they made initially, now they don’t. Rice and curries are to die for.
Going to aunty always felt like visiting our grandmother. We used to go to her every Christmas and Easter and every time, she had cake and candy ready for us to enjoy
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