End of open house at 3,Krishna Menon Marg

In the backdrop,stands the abandoned house that was once an iconic address,a space that was open to all before it turned into a fortress this January. That was when George Fernandes,the former fiery socialist leader,was reunited with his family after wife Leila Kabir Fernandes returned to take care of the ailing Rajya Sabha member,who was beginning to forget things,people. Alzheimer’s did that to him.

In August,the house was given up to the government by the family. It had been witness to many things,including the bitter fight that ensued between the two women in his life — the friend who he shared a rapport with,and the wife who returned after a 26-year-long hiatus — and his own fall from grace as the private spilled over into the public. Jaya Jaitly was barred from entering the sprawling lawns to collect her books,furniture and paintings,when Leila returned and barred her from meeting George.

That lawn,which was once lively with people,pet dogs and manicured grass,now wears an unkempt look. For weeks after the house — he had lived there since 1998 — was given up,no gardener has turned up. Only monkeys and pigeons occupy the lawns,the corridors and the driveway. Except for a flutter of wings,and an occasional cry,an eerie silence fills the space.

“I gave up the house in August. There was no point keeping it. We are living in this rented bungalow and when the tenants vacate my place,we will move in there,” Leila said. For Jaya Jaitly who used to come every morning and spend time with George before leaving for work,the house symbolized happy times.

She decorated the house with furniture,hung her paintings and,in a back room,kept her books and manuscripts. She demanded that Leila return her belongings and went to collect them this July but wasn’t allowed entry.

She stood at the gates,pleaded,but the house was out of bounds for her.

“I don’t know where all of that is gone. She gave up the house but we were not informed. It is fine. I was only concerned about my manuscripts. But what can we do,” she said.

Since October 13,George has been at a private hospital. He was diagnosed with dengue fever and is now very weak, said brother Richard Fernandes.

Earlier,the house doubled as the headquarters of the All-Burma Students’ League and became the pad for many other social activists who flocked to the house-without-the-sentry. Because this house was accessible to all,former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao was forced to change his route,skirting around the house without gates to get to Race Course Road,said Anil Hegde,Fernandes’ Man Friday.

After the 2001 attack on Parliament,the old gate was retrieved from a corner and installed until a new gate arrived. Since then,the gate remained but people could walk in,and the guards would nod and let them in. They know the sorts — activists,student union leaders,anyone who needed to be heard.

Now,all have gone. George was moved to a rented bungalow in Panchsheel Park earlier this year where he lives with Leila. The brothers are allowed to visit him through a court order. But colleague Jaya can’t.

A lone chowkidar guards the house. There is no electricity. The guard uses a candle to light up his long,dreary evenings. He said the house has been allocated to someone but nobody has come to take possession yet.

The gate is unlocked. The only difference is now nobody walks in.