Seventy-two-year-old Rajo Devi of Haryana who hit the headlines in 2008 by becoming the oldest woman in the world, is furious over a London-based newspaper report of her death.
Recovering from surgery to remove an ovarian cyst two months ago, Rajo Devi and her husband Bala Ram were taken by complete surprise when dozens of reporters, instigated by the newspaper story, descended on their home Tuesday morning.
“The world’s oldest mother is dying,” the report from London announced, also obliquely suggesting that her precarious health was a consequence of being made to bear a child at an advanced age. The writer even quoted Rajo Devi as saying: “The doctor never warned me it was dangerous to have a baby at my age.”
But Rajo Devi, who proudly celebrated her daughter Naveen Lohan’s first birthday in 2009, says the news story is not accurate.
“Few days back, some people from London came to take my picture. All I said to them was that I was feeling very weak and tired after my surgery,” she told this newspaper on Tuesday.
“Unhone bahut galat kara hai. Aake dekh lo, mai to tana-tan hoon, (They have done a very wrong thing. You can come and see how fit I am),” she said evidently in great spirits.
Dr Anurag Bishnoi of Hisar’s National Fertility Centre, who helped Rajo and Bala Ram have a child after a 57-year-long marriage, also said he is surprised with the inaccuracies carried within a widely circulated UK newspaper.
Ruing out any link between her present state of health and the birth of her child 18 months ago, Dr Bishnoi pointed out that her medical condition developed one-and-a-half years after Rajo Devi delivered a baby girl.