Mrs Simone was an old yet independent lady who lived in the IC colony of Mumbai, in a huge apartment with 5 lovely cats and kittens. She loved her cats dearly and devoted all her time to them. Everyone enjoyed her company; she was a cheerful woman who had a knack for starting conversations anywhere at any time. She was respected and admired in the society by all: the milkman, the parlour aunty and even her favourite, bespectacled Kirana’s store manager! Nobody would believe that she was approaching the 70s as she seemed very fit and able. Her morning routines involved long walks and some Kegel exercises along with the housework of cleaning, cooking and washing. She was advised by all to keep a maid at this fragile age but she always made a joke about it and preferred doing her chores alone.
Time passed and one day, while performing her daily chore, she was suddenly overpowered by a jolt of breathlessness, and within seconds, she was flat on the wooden floor of her house. When she was back to consciousness, she found herself restored to her bed by her thoughtful neighbours. A doctor was examining her and murmuring something about high blood pressure and a broken leg, but she barely registered anything. The piece of information that stayed was that she was on bed rest for the next one month. The suddenness of it all was very startling for her.
Within a few minutes, she had a phone receiver in her hand and a blaring son on the other end. Her son, even though in another continent himself, was certain that he would not leave Mrs. Simone unattended anymore. A doorbell rang, and the 24-hour help that he had appointed for Mrs Simone walked in and took charge of the situation.
Over the next couple of days, Mrs Simone slowly began to recover. The effect of the strong painkillers was fading away, and she registered the presence of the maid her son sent for her. At first, she was reluctant about trusting the maid, but when she saw her mannerisms and the obsession with cleanliness that the maid sported, she began to feel confident about her.
The maid had completely taken over the kitchen and cleaning, making it much easier for Mrs Simone to recover. However, after two weeks, both kitchen and cleaning supplies started to finish. Even her medicines needed replenishment. She thought about handing the money to the maid and sending her to the market, but her gut advised her against it. She called her son for a potential solution, but her grandson, Jack, answered the phone. Mrs Simone was overjoyed to speak with him. They chatted for a while, and Jack heard her problems. She wanted a solution that made her everyday shopping efficient and quicker so that she did not have to be dependent on a maid or anyone.
He thought for a while, surfed on his phone a bit and found her an easy solution. Love Local, an online grocery shopping solution that could deliver grains, oils, masalas, medicines, cleaning utilities and much more. ‘But I trust the bespectacled Kumar. He knows the brands I prefer and he also gives me a discount,’ she exclaimed upon hearing of LoveLocal. Jack had an answer to this too. She could order from Kumar uncle’s shop, or any neighbourhood retailer she preferred, on the app. Mrs Simone smiled at the perceptivity of her grandson. Only one problem remained. Where would she learn how to use it? Jack had an answer to that too. He immediately invited her on a video call (he had trained her how to make one years ago) and showed her how she could order with the click of a button. At the end of the session after having ordered her medicines and groceries online, Mrs Simone beamed at Jack, realizing that independence was not doing everything by herself after all. Having the right help from the right place at the right time was the only way to remain self-reliant, especially at her age. Soon her son joined the call too, and the trio enjoyed a fun catch-up session, despite being in two different corners of the world.
