You neither allow me to eat, nor........

It was another frustrating day.  I could not share the festive mood in which my neighbours were in.   I was on my way to the Doctor to treat my wife for a suspected infection of dengue.  Though dengue was clearly ruled out after blood test, the persistence of vomiting in her made us suspicious still.  The untimely pestering of children to get their demands fulfilled first tested our patience.

After I reached the clinic, the first thing I did was to  include her name in the list of patients, warding off the threat posed by two other women patients in include theirs.  In the eerie silence of the doctor’s ward, the only voice we could hear was that of the doctor himself.  The patient consulting him was probably 50-55 years old.  Her dialogue was interspersed with complete sentences of English, which made us believe that she was fairly educated.  As the conversation with the doctor proceeded, it became clear that she was a teacher in possibly a Senior Secondary School.  First, she wanted a ‘certificate’ for the period of treatment she underwent with the doctor.  As the Schools were about to re-open after puja holidays, the teacher wanted the certificate to regulate her absence.  Don’t we  all ‘combine’ holidays with ‘leave of absence on medical grounds’ with the assistance of a helpful doctor!

As I was lost in my thoughts, I lost track of her consultation with the doctor.  When I picked up their dialogue again, I could hear her sobbing.  The doctor admonished her in Hindi, “Nothing, absolutely nothing comes good by crying.  Face the world with a smile and laughter.  When you laugh, the world joins you; when you cry, nobody would!  Unlike other doctors, I don’t beat around the bush.  I call a spade a spade.  I tell the truth on the face of the patients.”

Suddenly, all the waiting patients looked up.  The doctor continued, “ You have got to take a dose of Insulin daily for the rest of your life.  I cannot tell you for how long.  If it gets cured on its own, then I would be the happiest.  All I can tell you is, you need to take it till you get cured.  The moment you are completely cured, I would be the first person to offer you a box of sweets.”

Slightly convinced by this line of argument, the lady gathered some courage and asked the doctor whether she should take the dose of insulin before breakfast or lunch.  The doc became a little tougher.  He said, “You need to take it before lunch.   If  you don’t have breakfast, have one.  But don’t take lunch if you already had break-fast.  Take a dose of insulin at your school and have a cup of tea without sugar for lunch!  That’s it!”

The lady was downcast and crestfallen.  All her efforts at getting some ‘concession’ on the eating front have been in vain.  She left the consultation room in a huff.  As she passed by, I could hear her say, “Mujhe Khanay Bi nahin dhetay, Aur...........”