SIRSI:A pall of gloom descended on Haldipur in Honnavar taluk of Uttara Kannada district, the birthplace of Aruna Ramachandra Shanbhag, as news spread about her death at KEM Hospital in Mumbai after being in a coma for 42 years.
The sixty-seven-year-old had gone to Mumbai in 1973 to work as a nurse at the hospital.
Bhagirathi, Aruna’s sister-in-law, who learnt of the death through the media, said she knew about Aruna’s deteriorating health from a newspaper a few days ago. Two years ago some relatives had gone to Mumbai to see her. The doctors and staff were taking good care of her. “Her tragic death is a shock,” Bhagirathi said.
Malati Annappa Prabhu, Aruna’s childhood friend, said they studied together at RES School in Haldipur. “She was intelligent. Till SSLC, we studied together and later Aruna went to Mumbai seeking a job and I got married.”
Aruna’s relative Shanteri Shanbhag (75) said, “From her childhood days, Aruna had sound values and was from a traditional family. Such a good girl lived such a pitiable life.”