Congratulations Mumbai

Shobha Jarkewadia, who gave birth to Lakshmi, is now basking under media attention. Seated on crisp sheets on a hospital bed, she confesses that she had been terrified at the thought of delivering her baby on the train. She thanked a ‘‘messiah’’ in the form of a mysterious doctor who helped her.

The 28-year-old was travelling to Cama and Abless Hospital at Fort, Churchgate, for a sonography when she went into labour. Her mother-in-law Leela, a midwife, was with her. She gave birth, helped by Leela and the doctor. When the train arrived at Churchgate, she was taken to the hospital.

‘‘A girl selling wafers offered her dupatta to wrap my daughter,’’ Shobha says, pointing to a bundle of cloth. ‘‘She even escorted us to the hospital, leaving her business for the day.’’

Hospital Superintendent Sadhana Tayede says: ‘‘As a member of the medical fraternity, I would like to thank the doctor who supervised the delivery. Given the unhealthy conditions of delivery, we plan to keep the patient under observation for a week. Shobha is also anaemic. But both mother and baby are doing fine.’’

Resident Medical Officer Vijaya Chauhan says: ‘‘We believe that a doctor named Seema Bagade helped Shobha. We have no other information on her. But her timely intervention was commendable.”

Shobha said she will soon be back to work at the flower market at Nallasopara. ‘‘I worked till Wednesday evening at the market, went home and cooked dinner for my husband and five-year-old daughter. Why would things be any different now?’’ But for now, Shobha is enjoying all the fuss over her baby girl. ‘‘She is so smitten by all the attention, she might just decide to come in next year to have a baby again!’’ said the doctor attending on her. Asked what she would tell her child about the stroke of fame she brought along with TV crews and lensmen visiting, she says: ‘‘Congratulations!’’