A fortnight before the July 11 blast took his life, foreign exchange dealer Asim Kumar Bhajan (45), had concluded a trip to his native Kolkata and zeroed in on a flat he wanted to purchase for life post-retirement.

Six weeks on, his deeply distraught wife, Kakoli, says in halting Hindi, “He had come to Bombay in 1990 after being offered a job by DSP since he saw a bright future here but he was deeply attached to Kolkata where he had lived till he was 30.”

The sudden death of her husband has turned Kakoli’s world upside down —she has to single-handedly bring up son Anirrudha, in Std VII, who has since withdrawn into a shell. There are no relatives in the city to lend support.

The shy 38-year-old housewife is also intimidated by the financial challenges that face her. “Till a month back, I hadn’t ever written a cheque. I don’t know English well, and have never held a job. Who will give me work, and what can I do? The tension of dealing with the future is deeply disturbing.”

While there is the state compensation and some efforts by Bhajan’s employer to put together aid, Kakoli is worried about meeting the education expenses of her son.

“He has at least 10 years of education to go, including a professional degree like engineering. The expenses will be immense and I don’t know how I can pull on.”

Kakoli says her sources of strength so far have been Asim’s colleagues and the housing society where she stays in Kandivali East.

... contd.