Mid-day

Mumbai, Mar 20: Delphi Verghese (52), an alcoholic and unemployed man, died at 1 am on Monday morning.

He leaves behind a story that is symbolic of the plight of many bar girls in Mumbai.

His wife, Shamim (25), a former bar dancer, who now works as a stewardess at Sridevi Bar in Chembur, is the only earning member of the family.

She has two young children to look after.

A few years ago, Shamim met Delphi, an alcoholic who was twice her age. The couple fell in love, but it never put an end to Shamim’s struggle to survive.

Says Satyavan, a neighbour at New Nimonia Baug, Govandi, “Shamim used to dance in the bar and feed the family, but her husband blew up her hard-earned money on alcohol. Now that bars have shut, life has become difficult for her and her children.”

Delphi was suffering from tuberculosis since the past few years. Wept Shamim, “He had his dinner and was fine. But at 1 am, he started vomiting blood. I panicked and shouted for help. However, before the neighbors came, he passed away.”

The neighbours immediately informed the police, who brought the body to Rajawadi hospital.

Doctors suspect he could have died of HIV, but Shamim maintains that it was tuberculosis. The body has been sent for post-mortem.