A beautiful day !!!

You know, some kids look younger than their chronological age. That day I was at my chamber when this child was brought to me by her mother. She was a cute little girl of 9 yrs and studied at 3rd standard. I came to know about her age from her registration slip, but she appeared much younger.. The way she talked, my heart did melt. I won't hesitate to say, but when she was talking, I just wished if she were my daughter... After I examined her, I was writing her prescription. Her mother was sitting opposite me across the table and she was standing near me watching curiously what I was writing.. For a moment I wondered if she was also going to say the same 'wonderful' words that one little boy said to me months back, "Uncle, your handwriting is not good !!" But thankfully she didn't say such.. :-)

After I finished my job, I casually asked the mother if other kids in her class are older to her..

Her mother smiled, but the answer came from the child,

"Actually uncle..."

She tried to say something, but hesitated for a moment, then looked towards her mother, then at me and then politely asked,

"May I say uncle?"

Oh, this little kid just asked for my permission to say something !!!

It was really great to witness that at this younger age she could easily understand that she somehow interrupted my conversation with her mother !! This is truly an example of good upbringing.. Anyway, charity begins at home!!!

I said with a smile which probably expressed my adoration that came straight from my heart,

"Please continue Majani.."

"Actually uncle, I only look younger, but I am old enough !!! You know uncle, I am already 9... "

Kids these days are smart.. But this kid could well retain her innocence while expressing it..

My smile broadened even more.

I playfully pinched her both cheeks and said,

"Oh, really? Yeah, I see Majani.. You are quite old.. But still you are a cute little girl to me !!"

She smiled.. For me, her pleasant smile was like the reward of the moment.. And by her innocence, she definitely made my day even more beautiful !!!

মূল্যবৃদ্ধিত এভুমুকি !!!

ডিউটিৰ পৰা ঘৰলৈ বুলি অহাৰ পথত অক্স্মাতে মনত পৰিল, শ্ৰীমতীয়ে বজাৰৰ পৰা কিবা নিব লগা হব পাৰে বুলি কৈছিল । পকেটৰ পৰা ম'বাইলটো উলিয়াই তেওঁৰ নম্বৰটো ডায়েল কৰিলো ।

"প্ৰণামী, কি নিব লগা আছিল অ' বজাৰৰ পৰা?"

"শুনিছা, বাকী সকলো আছেই । পোৱা যদি বিলাহী কেইটামানকে লৈ আনিবা ।"

পকেটৰ পৰা পাৰ্ছটো উলিয়াই চালো । অ'ত ত'ত বহুত ঠাইত পইচা দি দি পকেট একপ্ৰকাৰ খালী, খৰচ কৰিব পৰাকৈ এতিয়া বিশ টকাহে আছেগৈ পকেটত । হব আৰু , এলাহ লাগিছে, আকৌ ATM ত নোসোমাও আজি । বিলাহীহে নিব দিছে, একো নাই, ১০ টকামানৰ লৈ যাম , কেইবাটাও পাম ।

শাক পাছলিৰ দোকান এখন দেখি গাড়ী খন ৰখাই আৰামত নামিলো । বঢ়িয়া, বিলাহীকেইটা একেবাৰে ''মোক খা'' "মোক খা" কৈ জিলিকি আছে । আজি শ্ৰীমতীক খুশ কৰি দিম বাপ্পেকে ।

"বিলাহী কেনেকে দিছে ?"

"৬০ টকাকৈ ।"

"বহু বেছি কৈছে হে ।"

"এই দামেই চলি আছে দাদা । দিমনে?"

পকেটত থকা একমাত্র বিশ টকাটোলৈ মনত পৰিল । চাব্বাছ পাৰ্থ, বজাৰত জুই চাই দাম, আৰু তই বিশ টকাত এসোপা বিলাহী কিনি ঘৈণীয়েৰক খুশ কৰ ।

দুখ মনেৰে কলো,

"দিয়ক আৰু , পোন্ধৰ টকাৰ, মানে এপোৱা দিয়ক ।"

অৱশেষত সৰু ডাঙৰ মিলাই মাত্র তিনিটা বিলাহী হাতত লৈ পাম্প যোৱা বুকুখন সাৱটি ঘৰলৈ বুলি আগবাঢ়িলো ।

ভালকৈ বুজিলো , চাল্লা , বস্তুৰ দাম সচাকৈয়ে বৰকৈ বাঢ়িছে ।

(উপসংহাৰ : ঘৰৰ শাক পাছলিৰ বজাৰ সাধাৰণতে কৰিবলগীয়া নোহোৱাৰ বাবেই বোধকৰোঁ বহু বয় বস্তুৰ দাম দৰৰ বিষয়ে মই তেনেকৈ অৱগত নহওঁ । কিন্ত এটা বিলাহী যেতিয়া পাচ টকাৰে কিনিব লগা হয়, তেতিয়া সচাকৈয়ে গা বেজবেজাই যায় ।)

এটা শব্দৰ অনুপস্থিতি !!!

ব্লাড বেংকৰ ডিউটিত আছিলোঁ  ৰক্তদাতাসকলক এজন এজনকৈ পৰীক্ষা কৰি ৷

এজন 32 বছৰমান বয়সৰ  মানুহ  আহি মোৰ সন্মুখত বহিলহি  ৷

ফৰ্মখন লৈ  সুধিলো, " পেচেন্ট কি হয় আপোনাৰ?"

উত্তৰ আহিল, "মোৰ ল'ৰাৰ মিছেছ ৷"

এইবাৰ মোৰ আচৰিত হোৱাৰ পাল ৷ মানুহজনৰ বয়সটো আকৌ এবাৰ ফৰ্মখনত চকু ফুৰাই চালো ৷ হয়, 32 বছৰেই হয় ৷

"আপোনাৰ ল'ৰাৰ মিছেছ মানে?  আপোনাৰ ল'ৰাৰ বয়স কিমাননো?"

"অ'হ! !! ছৰি ছাৰ, মোৰ লগৰ ল'ৰাৰ মিছেছ !!! 'লগৰ' শব্দটো ক'ব নোৱাৰাকৈ 'মিছ' হৈ গ'ল ৷ "

জোৰ কৰি উঠা হাঁহিটো কোনোমতে দমাই ৰাখি মিচিকিয়া হাঁহি এটাৰে তেওঁক  ক'লো,

"দেখিলে, এটা শব্দ মিছ কৰিলে অৰ্থৰ কেনে পৰিবৰ্তন হৈ যায়  ৷ হব   দিয়ক,  আজি আমি দুয়োটাই সেই  প্ৰমাণ পালো ৷ নে কি কয়?"

সেমেনা সেমেনি কৰি লাজুক হাঁহি এটাৰে তেওঁ ক'লে,

"নকব আৰু ছাৰ, 'মোৰ ল'ৰা' হ'বলৈ মই বিয়াই পতা নাই এতিয়ালৈ ৷ "

ময়ো আন এটা মিঁচিকিয়া হাঁহিৰে কথাটো তাতেই সামৰিলোঁ ৷ মানুহজনক আৰু অপ্ৰস্তুত কৰিবলৈ সত নহ'ল ৷

কিন্তু পেটে পেটে নিজকে নিজে  এইবুলি কৈ  ভিতৰুৱাকৈ পৰম ৰস পালো,

"ভাগ্য ভাল, 'লগৰ' শব্দটো 'মিছ' কৰাৰ লেথীয়াকৈ 'ল'ৰাৰ' শব্দটোও 'মিছ' কৰি আপুনিযে মোক ভুলতে  পেচেন্ট গৰাকী 'মোৰ মিছেছ হয়' বুলি নকলে,  কাৰণ তেনেকে কোৱাহলে  আপোনাৰ  'লগৰ ল'ৰাজনে' বৰ দুখ পালেহেঁতেন ৷"

:-) :-)

Everyone's wish I suppose !!!

That day I was talking to one of my patients. He was a young guy of 25 years. After his examination was over, I casually asked him what his father does for a living...

He answered,

"He has done a lot for us Sir. Now we have asked him to take rest.. My mother expired long back when we were still too young... I don't even remember her face... Whatever we are today, it's just because of him... He has done his part, now it's our turn to do ours. Now we try to have our own source of income and I hope he will be able to enjoy a better life !!!"

You know, his reply was totally unexpected, but it created such a heart warming feeling that I feel short of words to express it properly..

Same day I had my clinic at my hometown Morigaon. After finishing my duty at my workplace at Guwahati, I reached there at around 4 pm. In the evening we had a marriage invitation at Nagaon, which is around 40 kms away from our house. Actually one of my relative was getting married... As I was likely to become late after finishing my patients at my chamber, my parents left early for the marriage. At around 7.30pm, I started my journey with some of my relatives. As I reached the marriage hall, I noticed maa and papa with the bridegroom. Papa was telling something and both the bridegroom and my mother were happily responding with smiles. Yes, they seemed to be much happy and it somehow reminded me of the same boy that I met in the morning. Yeah, these 2 are the persons for whom me, my younger sister and brother could see the light of this world. Whatever we have achieved till date, we mostly owe them. And whenever we do something good and our parents become happy, it invariably brings us immense pleasure...

At 25, that boy was around 8 years younger to me, but the irony is that personally I have not been able to do the same till now.. May be my parents won't like the idea to take rest leaving aside their activities, but I have never been able to ask them to relax leaving all the responsibilities upon me !!!

Whatever the boy is trying to do for his father, it might be an example for all of us. I am not going to discuss all other factors.. May be not everyone is lucky enough to have considerate parents.. May be not everyone is lucky enough to become self sufficient to support his/her parents.. Not all are lucky enough to still have their parents by their side when they are sufficient enough to support them.. Not everyone is lucky enough to have the mindset to do something for the parents.. And last but not the least, some people, it seems, are totally indifferent towards their parents or become totally self centered towards their "new family" or may be that they even get sadistic pleasure to witness their parents suffer!!! And for those last categories of people, I don't give a damn.

Well done boy, provided all of us can somehow think like you, no parents with a ''living child'' would ever have to suffer mental agony any more !!!

Teary smile !!!

That day I was at my chamber when one child of around 4 years was brought to me by his parents. The child was suffering from some ocular infections. To be true, it was an easy case to manage medically. I was writing the prescription when the unexpected happened. The child came to me and kissed the back of my hand. I was pleasantly surprised by his behaviour. In fact it was heart warming to witness the expression of love of his little heart. On the contrary, the mother became cautious. She tried to pull the child away asking him not to disturb me, but the child tightly clasped one of my finger.

I smiled and said,

"Don't worry Madam, it's not everytime that I get lucky to be liked by my kid patient making my job easier.. :-) :-)"

The mother smiled at me. I expanded my arms towards the child and he promptly jumped onto my lap and made himself comfortable by hugging me and by placing his head on my shoulder.

You know, this is amongst some of the very few incidents which make us feel strangely peaceful at the moment and which we just expect to continue for some more time..

But I had other patients waiting and I had to continue my work. I handed over the child to the mother.. She was smiling, but there was tears in her eyes.

"What happened Mam ?"

She replied,

"Nothing sir.. You are one of those few persons to understand his emotions !!!"

Her reply somehow penetrated the core of my heart...

Oh, I didn't mention one point..The child is mentally retarded.. And the mother is absolutely right in her words.

When we come across a cute little child, most of us would like to play/chat with him or her what if even for a moment... This is the human nature.. But most of us have reservations towards a mentally challenged child... This is the truth which we quite often try to deny or ignore. But can a truth be suppressed for long? No.. And the mother's expression was like a proof to what I am saying..

She is a mother, thus she would never feel or complain, but practically speaking, she has already suffered a lot in raising her kid... She will be ready to do anything for her child, but our positive attitude may help her in crossing all the obstacles...

In this post I am not going to discuss anything regarding our responsibilities or our duties towards these children or their parents.. It would be too long to cover in a single update. All I want to say is that I lifted the child to soothe my heart, but by my act I could bring some happiness to a mother's heart.. And that smile with her wet eyes... I am going to remember for quite a long time !!!!

I have witnessed my mother smiling with tears when I cleared my MBBS entrance examination. These are lots of many more examples. Everyone of you might relate to this I suppose..

Somebody said, what is that smile when there is no tears in the eyes !!! But isn't it true that sometimes these smiles become too heavy to bear ??

ASSAM MEDICARE SERVICE PERSONS AND MEDICARE SERVICE INSTITUTIONS (PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AND DAMAGE TO PROPERTY) ACT, 2011*

Uploading the full text of the law already in force in Assam: I suppose its high time that all my friends, medicos or non medicos, make themselves familiar with this law... So here it is... Go through the text at least once...

ASSAM MEDICARE SERVICE PERSONS AND MEDICARE SERVICE INSTITUTIONS (PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AND  DAMAGE TO PROPERTY) ACT, 2011*
(Assam Act No. III of 2013)

No. LGL.92/2011/18.- The following Act of the Assam Legislative Assembly which received the assent of the President is hereby published for general informtion.
An  Act to prohibit violence against Medicare Service Persons and damage to Property of Medicare Service Institutions in the State of Assam and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.

Preamble:
Whereas it is expedient to prohibit violence against Medicare Service Persons and damage to Property of Medicare Service Institutions in the State of Assam and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;
It is hereby enacted in the Sixty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title, extent and commencement:
    (1)    The Act may be called the Assam Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2011.
    (2)    It extends to the whole of the State of Assam.
    (3)    It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions:
In the Act, unless the context otherwise requires.-
    (a)         "Medicare Service" means the act of providing medical treatment and care including antenatal and postnatal care in connection with child birth or anything connected therewith, or nursing care in any form to, persons suffering from any sickness, injury or infirmities whether of body or mind;
    (b)        "Medicare Service Institutions" means a medical college, or a hospital by whatever name called or such other institution providing Medicare Service to the people, which is established and managed by or under the control of the State Government or Central Government or any local authority or any private person or persons, and includes a maternity home or convalescent home;
    (c)         "Medicare Service Persons" in relation to Medicare Service Institution shall include,-
          (i)   Registered Medical Practitioners, working in Medicare Institutions (including those having provisional Registration);
          (ii)   Registered nurses;
          (iii)         Medical students;
          (iv)         Nursing students;
          (v)         Any Para-medical or any other worker employed and working in Medicare Service Institutions;
    (d)    "Property of Medicare Service Institution" means the building and equipments of the Medicare Service Institution. It also includes personal vehicles and other equipments etc. brought to the premises or to the vicinity of the premises by the Medicare Service Person in connection with his/her duties;
    (e)         "Violence" means activity of causing any harm, injury or endangering the life or intimidation, obstruction or hindrance to any Medicare Service Person in discharge of duty in a Medicare Service Institution or damage to property of the Medicare Service Institution.

3. Offences against Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions:
Following acts by any members of the public shall be an offence for the purposes of this Act:-
    (a)         Violence against any Medicare Service Person;
    (b)    Damage to any property of the Medicare Service Institution or to any Medicare Service Person

4. Penalty:
Whoever commits any offence as defined in Section 3 shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees. 

5. Offence to be Cognizable and non-bailable:
Any offence punishable under Section 3, shall be cognizable and non-bailable.

6. Recovery of loss for the damage caused to the property:
    (1)    In addition to the punishment provided in Section 3, the Court shall, when passing judgment, order the accused person to pay, by way of compensation, such amount as may be specified in the order for the damage or loss caused to the Property of the Medicare Service Institutions:
            Provided that in case of damage or loss caused to any Property of Medicare Service Institution, the quantum of compensation shall not be less than the amount of purchase price of such property.
   (2)    Where the order of compensation made under sub-section (1) is not paid, the same shall be recovered under the provisions of the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 from the accused person as if it were an arrear of land revenue.
                                                                                            (Bengal Act 3 of 1913 )

7.  Act not in derogation of any other law:
The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law, for the time being in force.

Bitter truths of life: Part-1:

April 24, 2014: That day after casting my vote I was returning from my hometown Morigaon to my workplace Guwahati. It was too hot that day. Moreover I was riding my bike wearing a full mask helmet. After crossing around 50 kms, I felt an intense urge to have a bottle of cold drink... I stopped my bike and approached a shop near the main road.. As I was having my sip, one young lady with two little kids of around 4 & 5 yrs came to the same shop. From the evident malnourishment of the kids and from their worn out dresses it could be easily presumed that the lady was already having enough trouble raising the kids...

The lady was talking to the shopkeeper regarding something, but the kids were enthusiastically looking at me.. Probably they were amused by the way I was having my drink directly from the bottle or blah blah or whatever may be the reason, but it made me feel uneasy.... I smiled at them and both of them smiled back.. They were so cute... I felt like buying a cold drink for them, but didn't think it to be a good idea... Thus I thought of something else. I asked the shopkeeper for two Cadbury chocolates worth five rupees each... The mother looked at me with confusion.... She was trying to guess something..

"Excuse me dada, please don't take me wrong... but are you somehow buying these chocolates for these kids?"

"Yeah... Only if you don't mind...."

"Sorry dada, I beg your pardon... But whom will I meet tomorrow for their chocolates? Thus they don't deserve this much care... Kids, lets move !!"

I was literally dumbstruck... Didn't expect such a reaction.... To be true, I felt awkward, but was not offended as I could relate to her emotions....

You know, her financial status doesn't permit her to spend five rupees for a single chocolate, which will be like a luxury !!

The shopkeeper was also stunned...

He said, probably thinking that I was offended by her act,

"She is too arrogant...."

One elderly male sitting nearby wisely responded ,

"No brother... She has actually seen a lot and faced her life !!!"

I have to update this publicly... Take me wrong if you want...

So... Another ordinary news... I mean, one lady was inhumanely manhandled by an angry mob... But it was inevitable and the mob was actually fortunate... Coz, she is a doctor and it's acceptable to beat a doctor if someone has some issue, no matter even if the doctor is a lady... It's actually her mistake that she chose her profession to be a doctor... So what's new to share?

I am sorry, but I have every right to express my agony. I am shocked, because I have witnessed the video in which the lady was beaten live in front of the camera... I am not blaming everyone, I am blaming those few who are having the false, fixed and firm belief that they can beat any doctor anytime when something untoward happens to their family members while being treated...

To all my friends, whether medicos or non medicos, who are unaware of the whole incident, let me clarify first...

Wednesday, April 2, 2014:

One lady gave birth to a depressed baby at Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital  (MMCH), an annexure hospital of Gauhati Medical College & Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, India... The baby later died and was handed over to the party after completing all the official formalities. After a few hours the party returned with a dead baby (may be the same or a different one) claiming that that very baby, which was not a newborn and was few days old, was handed over to the party by the on duty hospital staffs, which the hospital administration flatly denied. There was accusations against the hospital staffs of unethical baby trading practices, but the hospital authority accused the party of some conspiracy... In this act of accusations and cross accusations, there was huge hues and cry, the patient party vandalised the hospital property hampering the normal hospital functioning and thereby bringing inconvenience to other patients...

I am telling all these not to give clean sheet to anybody... There might be foul play from either side.. Investigations are going on and the law will take its own course... I am here to discuss the part what happened next... This might be just another spicy news for somebody, but as a whole for the society it is a totally demoralizing incident.

So, the aforementioned lady doctor reached MMCH at that time to attend her duties. She was totally unaware about the happenings. She is a Pediatrician in the hospital, but she was neither related to the treatment of the newborn who died afterwards nor the mother. But somebody recognized her to be a working doctor and thus the mob became violent on her. She was beaten and some even tried to snatch her clothes. For the sake of argument, suppose somebody else from the hospital is at fault, but is she supposed to suffer for the fault of others?  Obviously no...

The incident took place just 4 days back and we (including me) have finished our responsibility by wearing black badges. To be true, we are trying to act no nonsense, because we don't want other innocent patients to suffer for the misdeed of others. But how long will it be possible to work in such an environment? Enough have been talked regarding the change in the mindset of those people. Legally punish someone so that it might become an example for other such people, so that they think at least twice before manhandling any hospital staff. Nobody is supposed to take law in their own hands... It's high time to practically implement some stronger laws to protect the interest of the healthcare professionals. This somehow can be expected to  provide  a secured working environment and thus eventually it will act in the interest of the smooth patient care.

Its now or never.. Otherwise that day is not so far when such a day will arrive when such kind of people will use to beat a doctor to relieve their boredom.. Coz, it's real fun to beat a doctor... Nothing to worry about the consequences !!!

Feeling depressed? So beat a doctor !!!
Feeling angry? So beat a doctor !!!
Feeling sad? So beat a doctor !!!
Feeling humiliated? So beat a doctor !!!
Feeling bored? So beat a doctor !!!
Unemployment? So beat a doctor !!!
Inflation? So beat a doctor !!!
Price rise? So beat a doctor !!!

Nothing more to say !!!

A warm hug...

That day I was at my chamber at Morigaon when my papa did ring me up,

"Bacha, Rantu (Papa's cousin) called me.. You remember him I suppose... He will come to your clinic.. His daughter is having some eye related problems.. Don't charge them your consultation fees..."

I had a smile.. Being at my hometown, I consult so many patients for free even at my private chamber.. I am not saying that I have achieved a lot, but these are the people whose love and wishes pushed me to the stage that I have reached now... Yet maa and papa quite often remind me the same due to the fear that I might not recognize somebody...

I do remember Rantu khura (uncle)... I have met him for a number of times, but I didn't know much about his family..

After around 1 hour Rantu khura reached... There was with him a lean adorable little girl of around 9 yrs. I guessed it correctly that she was his daughter.. She was so friendly and she behaved like she knows me for years... And yes, after a cute interaction of around 10 mins, I was pleasantly surprised to know that this kid, who is around 23 yrs younger to me and who is actually my cousin, knows a lot about me.. I examined her, prescribed medications and asked to review after 2 weeks...

She was my last patient for that day and although our destinations were different, we came out of my chamber together.. Rantu khura started his bike and my cousin waved me bye bye...

But just before she rode on the rear seat, she came in front of me and spread her arms with a cute innocent emotional smile which only a child can bear... I had no other option, but to lift her up... She tightly hugged me, then momentarily loosened, looked into my eyes, taking time kissed my both cheeks one by one and then kept hugging me circling her legs around my waist and placing her head over my right shoulder... To be true, I was totally unprepared to face such a situation and the  emotions simply brought me immense happiness which was more than enough to melt my heart... I wanted the moment just to continue... I brushed her hair using my left hand, lightly messaged her back by the right one, returned her kisses and after sometime placed her on the rear seat of her father's bike...

It was a totally unexpected gesture to express a child's love towards her elder brother... It may be that she somehow became fond of me and may be that she didn't want to leave that much soon or whatever may be the reason, but her actions made me deeply feel that yes, she is my little cousin...

That day it was for the first time that I had met this little sister of mine... I am not quite sure for how many times I will be able to meet her in future, but she made me responsible to be a good brother and the feelings are just priceless...

You know... In this era of technology, it's not essential to meet somebody frequently to act if you care, to express that you care...  You don't need to be a doctor or a teacher or anyone else to have these pleasant feelings... All that you need is to be the caring elder one...  Be the one and you will always cherish being the same !!!

Make a wish!!!

That day after finishing my duty, I went to a nearby hotel.. To be true, I was desperately in need of a cup of coffee... I took my seat when one man approached me... I recognized him, his wife was admitted in our hospital...  He asked for my permission and took the seat in front of me..

I enquired about his wife and he informed that she was gradually improving. My coffee was yet to be served and thus we kept talking, but gradually he became emotional...

"You know sir, I belong to a very poor family. My father was a daily wage labourer. We were 4 siblings... Both my parents had done their best to support us all. My father's wish was that he will give us the opportunity to study so that we would be able to do something in future...  But my father passed away when I was in 6th standard. It was gradually becoming unbearable for my mother to run the family and being the elder son, taking the responsibilities, I had to quit my study... Even before I could realize what I should wish to become in future, my student life abruptly came to an end... I never wished all these... I was sent to a family as a helper where I stayed for around 7 years. It was then that I felt like I needed to do something else, but I was not sure what to do... I returned home where unexpectedly I met this pretty girl with whom I fell in love... She came to our village to attend a function, but within 2 weeks we became a married couple. Thankfully both the families accepted our relationship... We both were young and ignorant and thus at a very young age and within a few months of our marriage, she became pregnant... We didn't mind at all... In fact we all became too happy... But it was a high risk teenage pregnancy and moreover delivery was attempted at home by some local dais... There was profuse bleeding...  She was shifted to a hospital... Fortunately the doctors could save her, but our dream to become parents just got shuttered... It was too late and we lost our first child... What to say sir... There are countless unfulfilled wishes to mention... Right now, our daughter is appearing for her board final exams and we, I mean her both parents are at the hospital.. Whatever may be the reason, we failed to support our daughter in her need of the hour... All these are happening against our wishes... I hope, my wife will be ok soon and we will be able to support our daughter to get proper education... Right at this moment I feel that for me, these two are the most prioritized wishes that need to be fulfilled  !!"

I smiled, patted his back and said,

"You know, it's not necessary that all our wishes come true... Even so many wishes of mine are not fulfilled till date... But it is good that we keep wishing and it's even better that we try to act harder to achieve all those... Don't worry... You wife will be alright soon.. And convey my regards to your daughter..."

I wasn't sure whether I was able to morally support that fellow by my words.. He was under emotional stress and I felt that rather than an advisor, he needed a good listener at that moment...

Anyway somebody had already said... Between the wishes we make and the things we actually get, our life keeps waiting !!!

Beat that doctor black and blue!!!

That doctor is bad because he advised you to admit your patient, but you left the hospital against medical advice and later your patient died at home !!!

That psychiatrist is useless because he advised your near one to continue medications for 3months and then to review, but just after 20 days your near one stopped all the medicines and you were quite busy even to enquire and after one and half months his/her condition became even more serious!!!

That doctor is ill mannered because you were drunk, you were verbally abusing that doctor using unconstitutional words even in presence of some other's kid nearby some other patient while he was treating your relative and the doctor asked you to be polite !!!

Your friend met an accident and died on the the way to the hospital. That doctor should be beaten because he couldn't prevent the accident!!!

Your patient became critically ill after using contraindicated herbal preparations by quacks for months and died 2 days after admission to the hospital... Punish that doctor because he had just killed that healthy patient !!!

Your patient died even after highest possible care provided by the hospital... You should damage the hospital because no other patient deserves any treatment!!!

The number of these kinds of people who 'unnecessarily' blame the doctors are not very large... Majority of people understandand and behave accordingly... But the good people rarely come forward for support... I do admit, sometimes even the doctors are  at fault and thus I have specifically used the term 'unnecessarily'... But isn't there a judiciary system in India? Who are you to decide the punishment?

I am sorry to say, but if this trend continues, the time is not too far when there will be real scarcity of real 'good at heart' doctor and and I am not quite sure whom to blame...

Priceless feelings: Enlightened by the younger one...

Few moments back I called my younger brother... Someone else pickeked up the phone call...

"Sir' e operation kori ase.... Kindly alap pisat phone koribo neki baru?"
["Sir is busy doing an operation... Would you kindly call after sometime?"]

Probably my brother had handed over his phone to someone before entering the operation theatre...

It was for the first time that I got this kind of response while calling him... Somehow it made me nostalgic and reminded me of the very first innocent question I asked my father after seeing my brother in the hospital for the first time after his birth,

"Papa, bhaity' e saku duta nukhhulei dekhun..."
["Papa, why doesn't bhaity open his eyes?"]

At that time I too was a little kid... Most of my childhood memories have gradually vanished, yet  certain things like this one are still intact down my memory lane... And the feel that my my 'that cute little brother' has grown up and that now he can even perform surgeries made me silently smile...And that feeling is just priceless!!!

Humanity lost: Because she is not my daughter !!!

That day one well dressed man in his early 50's approached me... He came for the 2nd dose of Rabies vaccination for his 17 year old daughter... She was bitten by a stray dog and accordingly the treating doctor advised her the post exposure vaccination.

"Sir, are all the doses necessary?"

"Yeah for sure... You will have to bring her on all the scheduled dates here..."

He got somewhat annoyed...

"Actually sir, it's far from here.. It's really difficult..."

"Where are you from?"

"Chandmari..."

I smiled and said, "It's hardly 4 kms from here.. The vaccine is given so that she doesn't get the disease... Do you know,  how many people survive after  rabies is diagnosed?"

"Yes Sir... Nobody survives.."

"You already know it... In case of rabies, the mortality rate is 100%... Then where is your problem?"

He became irritated...

"Actually it becomes too troublesome for me to manage time... Today is day 2... I'll have to bring her here for another 3 days.. After all it's me who is facing the trouble... "

Something clicked my mind...

"Is she your own daughter?"

"No.. She is our helper... She stays with us.."

You know... Take me wrong if you want, but frankly speaking, I just hated that guy at that moment and thus I said,

"I already knew it... That's why you are least concerned about her well being... Provided she was your own daughter, you wouldn't have felt all these problems... Rather you would have enquired me if she would need something else even after getting all these injections... Mind you, she is a young girl and someone else's daughter who is serving your family leaving behind her near and dear ones and yet you are this much reluctant to protect her even when the government is providing the vaccines for free... Grow up man... Try to act human !!!"

No further explanations required... I already told him what I was supposed to !!!

A shoulder to cry upon...

[Confession: Unlike my previous posts, some of the facts are modified in this update to maintain privacy. But the incidents are presented as they happened in reality...]

That day one of my junior approached me with his wife.. They came to consult some doctors in our institute who are in good terms with me and I accompanied them. That junior was too close to me, his wife is like my own sister in law and above all these, they were in so much distress that I couldn't leave them alone.

The previous night that junior's younger brother called me and described in details about some diagnosis... Literally he was crying....

"Partha da, you know... Dada is controlling himself, but what to say about bou (sister in law)? She is crying since the morning.. They will meet you tomorrow... Please... Please help them out..."

Initially when I met them, both of them appeared calm and quiet... It seemed like they could somehow control their emotions. Thus without asking anything else, I just smiled and patted her shoulder saying, "Don't worry, everything will be alright!!" Anyway, I didn't want to reignite their suppressed fragile emotions anymore...

Everything went well.. We consulted 2 doctors from different departments and they advised some investigations to be done...  Both my junior and his wife were trying to act practically and eventually they could maintain their calmness.. But as we were returning, incidentally she met one of her maternal uncles and... and she just broke down into tears...

Quite often we come across such incidents when we see people trying hard to control themselves.. But once they meet  some near and dear ones, they can't help, but get overwhelmed by their emotions and break down, which is actually good for them in the sense that even if for temporarily, it helps in relieving their grief to some extent...  Most of you can probably relate to this...

You know... When we are in distress, we may need several things to overcome the situation, but most importantly we need someone whom we can trust, someone with whom we can share our grief... In other words, we will need a shoulder to cry upon.... That shoulder may be in the form a caring husband or a loving wife or a protective parent or a good friend or anyone upon whom we can rely... And until and unless you are the one, there is every chance for you to misjudge their emotions !!!

The tragic episode is now over.. She had to undergo some procedures and everything is gradually returning to normalcy.. To be true, I have encountered similar several incidents in the past, but this was for the first time that I was able analyse the situation and thus it made me  realize once again something most important in all our life...

Being human, our activities should be such that it not only fulfil our interests, but also help or support someone else or can reduce someone's sufferings...

Win someone's trust and be the 'shoulder'.... And you will feel that you have already achieved something in your life !!!

Tummy, marriage etc... :-)

That day I was interacting with a kid. He is around 5. Actually his father is my patient and thus I had met him for a number of times. They were about to leave my chamber and then something clicked my mind... I jokingly asked the child one question which I quite often use to ask my nephews and nieces...

"Baba, tell me one thing... Am I good?"

He knew what I wanted to hear... With a bright smile he answered,

"You are a 'very good' doctor uncle... "

Wow... My chest got expanded I suppose... And the increase in my smile... Nothing new to mention about that... I got the desired answer... Anyway, nobody can be better than me in self praising, I mean praising himself or herself... :-):-)

"Thank you, thank you Baba.. Tell me.... Am I a boy or a man?"

He thought for a moment and then said,

"You are a 'man' uncle..."

This time I certainly failed... At least the kids in my family know it well to please me by saying that even at 32, I am still a boy... :-):-)

I asked him, "Why not a 'boy'?"

He answered, "Because you are married..."

I was amused you know...

"How do you know that I am married?"

He brushed his hair and answered with a shy smile,

"Because uncle... Your tummy is big !!!"

This time I couldn't control myself... Both I and his father just laughed our lungs out....

Didn't know that a big tummy is a sign of married marital status !!! :-):-):-)

Pure heart...

Day before yesterday I was interacting with one of my patients... She is little girl of around 7 years... Actually she had undergone a minor eye surgery a few days back... So before, during and after surgery, this was for the sixth time that I have met her... The way in which she talks, you won't have any other option, but to adore her... After having so many interactions  in last 6 weeks, she became so close and I think somehow she is too fond of me... For instance, yesterday itself, she was the last patient in my chamber and even after her examination was over and even after I advised her to review after 2 weeks, she kept talking for around 20 minutes related to various topics viz. her school, her elder sisters, the puppy in the next door neighbour etc etc.... I was also enjoying the sweet conversation... At last her mother, who was the silent smiling spectator of our conversation, intervened saying,

"Beta, I have to go... Anyway, uncle is also having some other works I suppose... Let us move... Or else you may stay with uncle and you will have the whole night to talk to him... :-):-)"

At last she left with her self made promise to call me as frequently as possible using her mother's cell phone...

During those 20 minutes, one of my teachers did ring me up when she and her mother was still there with me. Usually I try to avoid taking calls while examining my patients, but as we were having just some casual talks, taking their implied permission I answered the call. I was unaware that the child was closely observing that I addressed my caller as 'Sir'... After the call was disconnected, she asked me,

"Doctor uncle, you are way too grown up... Yet you are having a sir?"

"Yeah Majani... "

"Ok..... We have our 'Miss'..."

"We too have our 'Miss'..."

"Ok doctor uncle... Does your teacher also teach you 1,2?"

I was taken by her so innocent questions... Thus I smiled and lightly pecked one of  her cheeks and answered,

"Actually Majani... We are somewhat grown up you see... So our teacher teaches us what comes after 1,2... :-):-)"

You know... Most of us won't be able to recall how we were or how we acted at her age.. Leaving aside a few, probably we all behaved in the same way as that of this child ... But these cute questions gave me the chance to peep into the pure heart of a child once again...

Somebody rightly expected...

"Oh time, oh time... Take me in your flight... And make me a child once again just for tonight !!!"

No wonder... We all have every another reason to miss and cherish our childhood!!!

A brief glimpse of parenthood...

That day I was on my way to my hometown Morigaon. I rode a bus. One young lady in her mid thirties took the seat next to me. She was accompanied by 2 kids of which one was an infant and another one was of around 3 years. Just after the bus started moving, the younger one started troubling her. In no time the little one was provided an infant feeding bottle. The mother came well prepared I suppose... He became calm, but evidently it was becoming troublesome for her to manage both the kids in the moving bus.

After some silent moments, she hesitantly asked me pointing towards the elder one,

"Can you please hold her for sometime?"

I was not in a position to say 'no'...

She said to her daughter,

"Aijani, Tumi uncle'r usarat jua"
(Aijani, go to uncle..)

It was too cute  to see the child climb onto my lap within moments even before I could say anything... :-):-)

For initial 10-15 minutes she kept me busy asking various questions... After that the real scene began, I mean, she started to fall asleep... For me, it was for the first time that I was travelling a public vehicle with a sleeping kid on my lap. I had to manipulate my arms around her to hold her properly so that her head doesn't collide with the window glasses. In one sense I was facing trouble managing her posture, but in another sense I was gradually becoming protective for the child. I had the feeling as if she was my own daughter !!!

Usually I myself fall asleep during any journey when I have to travel alone, but they day I couldn't sleep even for a moment. At the end of the journey, I felt pain on my forearm owing to constant inexperienced handling of a sleeping child for around 1½ hours.. But the pleasure was far far more than all those pains...

The child was in deep sleep on my lap even after the bus stopped.. I got off the bus still holding her... Seeing her innocent happy face, I felt like the child should never be disturbed... But I had to... Our destinations were not the same !!!

At last I woke her up, made her sit on a bench in a nearby shop, lightly pecked her both cheeks and headed towards my clinic. Her mother didn't utter even a single word, but by her gracious smile she silently conveyed me "Thank you..."

You know, though I have not become a father till now, this incident made me feel the pleasure and responsibility of being a parent. Side by side it also made me realise once again the plight of the parents in bringing up their children.

That day I helped the lady a bit, that too on her request... But provided there was no helping hand, then also she would have somehow managed the same. She is a mother, and anyway she rode the bus well prepared to face any situation for the welfare of her kids !!!