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!!!