Monday, November 30, 2009

Great Loss

Being a doctor I am always consulted by relatives, friends and neighbours. I always try my best to satisfy them and help them. Now I understand one thing very clearly that what a patient needs is patient hearing and empathy. A little time to listen to their issues and words of assurance help them the most, even better than some medicine.

Mr J P Sharma was father in law of my cousin sister. This relation may seem a distant relation to some people but we had another relation doctor- patient relation. He would call me almost every month for routine check-up and I used to check him and advice necessary medicines. He had unshakable faith in me. Whatever is the problem I used to be the first person to be consulted. At the age of 83 years, thing started to get worsen, bleeding piles, anaemia made him very weak. That gentleman, who was a retd. Additional commissioner of CID fought bravely with all health challenges. Sometimes when I could not reach the same day, he called me; His voice on phone would sound “Dr. Pintoo, you seem to be very busy these days” and I always answered him like an obedient son “No Uncle, I will come today for sure. Till then you start …….and then we shall see what else we can do.” He never requested me to visit their place, he always called me as he had every right on me, and of course he did.

He was not well for almost a couple of month; I knew that things are not well. I visited him almost daily. His condition deteriorated hence his sons decided to consult a super specialist. But uncle was not very pleased with the idea. Even when the other doctor advised him to take other medicines, he got it confirmed from me whether it was OK to take those medicines. I told him that “Dr……. is a very senior and reputed doctor and his advice should be followed” “You are the most senior doctor for me” he answered. Somehow I convinced him to follow the new treatment and then he kept worsening. His intake reduced drastically and lost weight. He was unable to sit and talk for more than a minute. I had to go to Pune for a couple of days for a conference. When I came back to Nagpur and saw him he was almost gasping for breath. That was the first time he did not recognize me. I told Jijaji and other family member that he was not good and anything could happen within 24 hours. Some people advised to admit to big hospital, but that was like hanging him on IV lines and ventilators and making his remaining life more miserable.

He breathed his last on Sunday night. I LOST A PERSON WHO HAD COMPLETE FAITH IN ME. It was not a patient’s death; it was a loss which can not be expressed in words. Aunty (his wife) was inconsolable, she held me close and kept crying, I was trying to console her with choked throat. My moist eyes could see his still body and slightly opened mouth, as he would ask me about some medicine again.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Many Happy Returns of the Day

Upvan ke pushpon ki surabhi kahati hai,

Sooraj ki gunguni rashmi kahati hai,

Jharnon ki dhaaraa ki kalkal kahati hai,

Karti abhinandan srishti ki har rachanaa,

Shubhkaamnaa janmadin ki tumko deti hai.

Man ki nadiyon si uchchhrinkhal bahati hai,

Rajani ke swapnon si nainon men rahati hai,

Ban kar lohit har dhamni men bahati hai,

Trishnaa tumko kuchh dene ki rahati hai,

Shubhkaamnaa janmadin ki tumko deti hai.

Upvan-garden; Pushpa-flower; Surabhi-fragrance;

Gunguni-lukewarm; Rashmi-rays;

Jharnon ki dhaaraa ki kalkal-sound of water flow from fountain;

Abhinandan-greeting; Srishti-universe; Rachanaa-creation;

Shubhkaamnaa-good wishes; Uchchhrinkhal-unrestrained;

Rajani-night; Swapna-dream; Nain-eyes; Lohit-blood;

Dhamni-artery,blood carrying vessel; Trishnaa-craving,thirst;

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Happy Deepawali

Karte hain hum yehi kamana, deep sukhon ke sada jale,

Rahe door hi timir dukhon ka, har din hi samriddhi badhe.

Aalokit Sarthak dipavali, Pawan Preeti ki sada bahe.

HARSHit PRAFULLit jeevan ho, PADMA ka ASHISH mile.

Stuti Vedon ke PRAKASH ki, MRITYU par bhi viJAY mile.

PRIYA suSHOBHIT JYOTI ho, AADI se ant tak OM mile.

SHEFALI ke PUSHPA se poojen, RISHI gyan ki LATA mile.

POORTI kar de sabhi MANISHA, gaurav GARIMA samman badhe.

Vishnhu Bramha KAILASHpati, RAJESHwar ka dhyan Karen.

NEERAV shant amrit ka ARNAV, ASHWINI KUMAR pradan Karen.

Timir- Darkness; Samriddhi- Prosperity; Aalokit- Illuminated;

Sarthak- Meaningful; Pawan- Breeze; Preeti- Love,affection;

Harshit- Joyful; Prafullit- Delighted;Padma- Lakshmi;

Ashish- Blessing; Stuti- Prayer; Mrityu- Death; Vijay- Victory;

Priya- Dear; Sushobhit- To grace the position; Jyoti- Flame;

Aadi- The beginning;Shefali- A flower; Rishi- Sage;

Lata- climber; Poorti- Fulfilment; Manisha- Mental faculty,wisdom;

Garima-Grace;Neerav- Quiet as in meditation; Arnav- Ocean;

And They Lived Happily Ever After - 3 - The Dawn

The dawn brought a new hope in his life. The blood stains on his shirt were dry and lost the bright red tinge like his sadness. He was now more confident and started his studies. Sleep still eluded him. Dreams would disturb his sleep and he used to study all night and went for running. After coming back from running, he did pull ups, push ups with me. He always pushed for another set even when we were exhausted. I could sense fire in his heart reflecting on his face. Annual social gathering gave all of us a chance to see the changed Mahesh. He won prizes for Hindi elocution, singing, painting and running. He won maximum number of trophies. Applause never stopped for him. In the same program he became ‘Mahi’ from Mahesh. Students were chanting ‘Mahi…..Mahi.’ Even the dean of the college asked him in lighter vain whether there was nobody else in the competitions. I could see the expression of shock on Paro’s face. She left the ceremony after receiving her single prize.

Mahi and I studied hard for XII boards and appeared for PMT. There was no bound to our joy when we got the news of admission in the same medical college after counseling. We got admission at Sawai Man singh Medical College, Jaipur. Again we were room mates. Mahi’s hand was very good at dissection. Even our Anatomy professor appreciated his fine and delicate skill of dissection. He would work on dead body as he was doing surgery of an alive person. It was very difficult for Mahi’s parents to bear all the expenses of medical education. Scholarship was not enough as Mahi was very fond of books. He met those expenses by giving tuitions to some students of high school. When other students enjoyed movies, he was busy giving tuitions of Science-Biology. When others relaxed and went to canteen, he worked on his English. We were always together and often called by others as ‘KrishMish’. Mahi never talked with any girl. He never initiated any conversation with them, but would answer them very politely. He was hot favorite of all girls at the college, yet never had a girlfriend. Mahi scored well in Surgery and I did well in Medicine. We passed our UG and started preparing for PG entrance. We joined a multispeciality hospital, it was owned by Dr Uddhao. We worked their as residents,and handled ICU at nights. Mahi’s nightmares continued. Within a couple of weeks we became favorite students cum colleague of Dr Uddhao.

Monday, October 12, 2009

And They Lived Happily Ever After - 2 - The Transformation

Mahesh was glowing. I found him humming romantic songs of Kishor kumar all the day.

One day Paro came to me when Mahesh was not with me.

She asked me “where is Mahesh? Now a days, I find him roaming alone without you.”

“He must be busy with some activity. Why?” I asked her.

“I wanted to tell you that I found Mahesh following me on his bicycle”: she

“I think there is some misunderstanding, Mahesh can not do this”: me

“I caught him red handed twice and asked him why he was following me but he did not answer and ran away, I think you must tell him not to do this again or….. ”: she was serious. I was worried. I spoke to Mahesh but he was not keen to listen to me. Then the day came I always feared. We were at chemistry lab; I went to the teacher to show the color of my solution after titration. I could see Mahesh watching Paro. Paro went to her friends and spoke with them for a while. Then she returned with 3-4 girls accompanying her. She reached near Mahesh and started speaking something. I sensed something wrong. I could hear her voice but did not understand her words. I rushed towards Mahesh. When I reached there she was gone. Mahesh was red faced and trembling. Boys and girls were laughing at him. I took Mahesh outside the lab with me. “What happened?” I asked him. He was not able to speak. That was the first time he had that dream and woke up in sweats.

Mahesh was totally changed. His smile and the glow were vanished like a drop of water in hot summer. Humming of songs was replaced by deadly silence. His sleep was gone; whenever he tried to sleep that dream woke him up. First semester result were declared, I passed but Mahesh failed miserably. His parents were informed. They came and were shocked to see Mahesh. Mahesh lost weight and with dark circles around eyes, he was unrecognizable. His parents were ready to take him back to the village, as they did not want to lose their only son. I tried to explain that he would be fine within some weeks and they agreed.

One fine day I sat with Mahesh and asked “Mahesh! Tell me just one thing, why did you come to Jaipur?” He remained quiet. “Didn’t you want to be an influential person? Didn’t you want to be a respected person in the society? Didn’t you want to make your parents proud?” He was shaking his legs, stretching his fingers. The sound of his fingers was the only response from him. Now I lost my temper, I stood up and blasted “Don’t answer me you coward! You are running away from your responsibilities; don’t ever dream of becoming something, OK? Go back to your small village and live like a villager throughout your life. Let the people make fun of you.”

“Ye……sss! I am a stupid villager. I am a coward. I don’t want to live here anymore. Nobody understands me, nobody respects my feelings. I am wasting my parent’s money. I will go back to village and help my pitaji in farms.” He was crying and struck his head on the wall of the room. I stopped him, he turned, blood was oozing through his wound. I held him close, he kept his head on my shoulder and cried inconsolably. I let him cry for a few minutes and then made him sit on a chair. I wanted him to flush out all his sorrow and anger through his tears. I applied pressure on his wound and stopped bleeding. “Kkrish! You too consider me a stupid villager?” He asked. “No, I know you are more intelligent than others but you need to become smart,” I told him honestly. “Mahesh! I am ready to help you by all means. You can answer all taunts and mockery by doing that, which other people expect the least from you.” We were talking for almost all night. He was now a different person.

Contd....

Friday, October 9, 2009

And They Lived Happily Ever After - The Nightmare

“I was looking at her; she was talking to her friends. I could sense her sweet voice like ringing of bells. I was spellbound. Her beautiful face was like a princess, fair, pink, big light blue eyes like deep waters. Her neck movements brought her golden brown hair on her forehead. She whistled them away with a puff. Suddenly she turned and started marching towards me. Her friends followed her. She stopped in front of me and opened her mouth with angry voice ‘What do you think of yourself? How dare you follow me everywhere? Don’t cross your limits you stupid.’ My ears, cheeks and the whole body were turning red and felt like burning. I could not utter a single word. ‘Who has given admission to these Hindi speaking villagers?’ she turned and went away with her giggling friends. I woke up, sweating and still feeling hot. Hot glare of sun was falling on my body.” I woke him up as he was very uneasy and sweating. I was listening curiously to Mahesh. This has happened innumerable times. Every time he went to the bed, he had the same dream.

Mahesh and I are friends for more than 14 years. I took admission in Sandipani Jr. College at Jaipur. There were two people; I met on the very first day of my college. I can not forget them, one was Mahesh. I found him sitting next to me on the bench at the class.

“Hello! I am Kkrishna” I said.

“ Haan? Hello, I am Mahesh,” He said.

“Mahesh?” I enquired with a smile.

“yes, Mahesh” he was nervous, shaking his leg continuously.

He was from a small village near Jaipur. There were no facilities for further studies after SSC; therefore he came to Jaipur to continue his education. He wanted to become a teacher, as teacher and the post master were the only person at the village who were educated and respected a lot. He was a simple, thin, medium height boy with wheatish complexion and lot of oil in his hair. Anybody could recognize him with the fragrance of amla oil in his hair. We were allotted the same room in the hostel. He was hard working and intelligent. He finished his high school in Hindi medium. He stood first in rural division. That was the reason his parents decided to send him to the big city so he could become something. Second unforgettable person was a girl.

She was fair, tall, breathtakingly beautiful with big blue eyes and golden brown hairs cut in steps up to shoulders. She walked like a princess, straight and carried poise, her name was Ms Paro Singh. Mahesh and I watched her with our mouth open. Nobody could ignore her presence. Her soft and sweet voice added with an English accent made her unique. She belonged to a different world. Her friends and she used to speak continuously in English and laugh a lot at other people who could not speak English. When some senior boys asked some questions to our batch, she was very confident. Mahesh fumbled with words and then spoke in Hindi. That made seniors and group of the girls laugh.

Paro, Mahesh and I were in the same group for practical. Mahesh was very particular with studies. His practical records were always up to date. His drawing was very good. Paro always asked for his practical records to complete her practical book. One fine day I noticed, a pencil sketch was drawn on Mahesh’s copy; I recognized at once, it was Paro’s sketch. It was a very good sketch, so alive as real Paro. Mahesh never showed it to anybody. Paro once invited us at her house for her birthday. Mahesh drew a beautiful portrait of her. We laminated it and gifted her. She was very happy to receive such a beautiful gift with personal touch and she declared it the most precious gift among so many expensive presents.
Contd....

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Apnee Eid

Khojati hai har taraf bechain yeh meri nigaahen,

aaj ho deedaar unkaa aur apni Eid ho.

Thaam dil baithaa kiye hain aaj bhi ham raah men,

woh nigaahen phir uthaa den aur apni jeet ho.

Dil ke kone men dafan hai raaze ulfat aaj bhi,

ham rahen khaamosh unse, preet ki yeh reet ho.

Woh kalaabaazi dikhaakar logon ko behalaataa hai.

chaar sikke bhi mile to jaise uski jeet ho.

Teen futiyaa chhotu phir chamkaa rahaa hai jootiyaan,

uske liye 'bachapan kaa saawan' jaise jhoothaa geet ho.

Ghoorati gehari nigaahen cheethron men jhaankti,

note ko thaame yun gudiyaa man men jyun bhaybheet ho.

Chund sikkon men kharreeden dil ki jo apne khushi,

maangtaa maasoom bachpan ghar men jisse eid ho

Apni wafaa ke dard men mai to khoyaa hi rahaa,

bhookh, laachaari, garibi ko to undekhaa kiyaa,

inke toote bachpanon ki taan jo mai jod doon,

bhookhi nangi zindagi ke raaston ko mod doon,

Aao milke zor se dhakkaa lagaa den waqt ko,

milke seenchen insaaniyat ke sookhe is darakht ko,

muskuraate bachpanon kaa phir hamen deedaar ho,

woh haseen ki naa sahi zindagi ki deed ho.

Laute bachpan ki deewaali aur apni Eid ho.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Om Shanti Om

Original-" Meri umar ke naujavaanon" From the movie "Karz", Sung by- Kishor kumar
Idea of this parody was given by my cousin, Lokesh Bhaisaahab, thanx.

Meri umar ke pahalvaanon, Kushti naa ladanaa o deevaanon,
maine kushti ladke daant tudaaye taang tudaai,
jhooth to kahate nahi hai, kahate nahi hain log koi
are! kushti se badhkar nahi hai,badhkar nahi hai yog koi
chalte nahi kuchh daanv pech kushti ladate waqt yaaron,
chalte nahi kuchh daanv pech kushti ladate waqt yaaron,
us hospital men koi bhi nahi doctor thaa yaaron,
to gaao O....M, Shaanti om,shanti shanti om,
ooom shaanti om shanti shanti om.

Maine ladladke kushti haddi tudaayi dekho
maine ladladke kushti naak tudaayi dekho
isiliye nahi hui abhi tak, isiliye nahi hui abhi tak, meri sagaai dekho
Ldki waalon ne meraa photo jab gaur se dekhaa
Ldki waalon ne meraa photo jab gaur se dekhaa
ladki ne gusse men aake meraa photo phaad phekaa
To gaao O.......m,shanti o....m, shanti shati om,
om shanti om shanti shanti om.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Demystifying Hinduism

When I was a child, I always preferred books over sports. That was the time when I read Puranha, shrimadbhagvat, Ramayana, Ramcharitamanasa, and many religious books. My nanaji(maternal grandfather) Pt. Mohanlalji Sharma, a teacher by profession, always encouraged me to read Kalyana and other religious publication. I can distinctly recall many stories told by him,mainly related with Krishna. I always wanted to be second Krishna. We used to visit nanaji’s place every summer, Bharatpur, 50km from Mathura, Krishna’s place, my birthplace. I used to visit many temples holding hand of my naniji, Hanuman’s, Radhaakrishna’s and Gangaji’s temple. I can’t forget ringing bells, musical aartis, sweet Prasad, bhabhoot(holy ash) and beautiful marble made idols of gods and goddesses. My father, a doctor was practicing at Indore. We had a neighbor, Mr L C Jain, a book shop owner. His home was my favorite place, as I used to get lot of books to read namely Panchtantra, Chandamama, Nandan, Parag. These were the books which left a great impression on my personality. When others were busy playing games, I used to engulf myself in books.

As I grew up, I learned that most of the instances depicted in religious books were far from convincing logic, exaggerated. I decided that I shall not be just a reader; rather I shall try to put some light of logic on those unclear instances and stories. My father, a very well read person, is a follower of Arya Samaj, an organization which does not believe in worshipping the idols. They consider God as a superpower, unborn, eternal, without shape. They consider all gods as great persons with ideal and extraordinary qualities. My father (Dr Vedprakash Sharma)’s knowledge of Vedas and Upnishadas helped me further to understand the Hinduism. I also read Holy Kuran, Holy Bible, Buddha and Jain philosophy. There is so much to read that it might take decades to read and understand religions.

I was suugested by a good friend that"every religion is a myth...That's why every book written on a religion is called mythology..Because no one knows the exact truth ..."

Well I think that is not completely true,

Our religion is not mythology(hinduism)

Ved- the word is made up of "VID-GYAAN" of sanskrit, it means knowledge.
Puranha- It means, "that which lives from ancient times"
Upnishad- The sanskrit term upaniá¹£ad derives from upa- (nearby), ni- (at the proper place, down) and sad, that is "sitting down near" a teacher in order to receive instruction"laying siege" to the teacher, as a Scholar puts it. "according to native authorities upanishad means 'setting to rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit ".

some people have made it a myth, thats why somebody has to spark a revolution and bring the change in the mindset of the hindu society. It sounds definitely a big task, but "A JOURNEY OF THOUSAND LEAGUES START WITH A SINGLE STEP", may God help me to achieve this endeavor.

God has given me almost everything, now it’s my turn to payback. Materials don’t matter here; therefore I decided to offer the Almighty, a view to clear the mist around Hinduism. In this process I don’t want to hurt anybody. My only motive is to serve my god in my own way. A TRIBUTE TO HINDUISM.

Please visit www.demystifyinghinduism.blogspot.com

zakhma ke khandahar

Baarishon men bhigaa huaa haraa bharaa badan meraa
sharad ritu ki teekhi dhoop men, tinake saa woh sookh gayaa.

dard ke saath paal rahaa thaa jigar men chupchaap jise,
ek thes lagi aur yaad ke pulindon ka zakhma phoot gayaa.

tera aanaa hi nahi huaa is benaseeb ke toote ujaad ghar men
jod rakhaa thaa is khandahar ko, aas ke saath hi toot gayaa.

tairkar paar kiye the jisane, woh lakh samundar gahare
sunaa hai ki chullu bhar ashqon men hi khud doob gayaa.

Sharad ritu- season of autumn; Tinakaa- blade of grass; Pulindaa- bundle; Zakhma phootanaa- oozing from wound; Ujaad ghar- ruined house; Khandahar- ruined house; Samundar- ocean; Chullu bhar- quantity contained in the hollow cup made by the palm of the hand(small quantity); Ashq- tears

Tukadaa

Dooriyon ki dhundh men, chhup gayaa dhoop kaa tukadaa,
thithurane lagaa hai phir, man kaa akelaa saa dukhadaa.

phir jam gayaa dubak gayaa, beaawaaz andheron men,
laavaa saa pighal nikalaa thaa, ek mom kaa tukadaa.

thandi safed chaadar odhke phirse jo so gayaa hai,
bah rahaa thaa jharne ki tarah, ek barf kaa tukadaa.

teri hansi ki gunguni dhoop ki roshani jo mil jaaye,
surajmukhi ki tarah khil jaaye, man ke upvan kaa tukadaa.


Tukadaa- piece; Dhundh- mist; Thithuranaa- shivering with cold; Mom- wax; Jharnaa- spring; gunguni- lukewarm; Upvan- garden

Saturday, September 5, 2009

dastak




Toone chhuaa to rukti hai saansen,

chali purvaai madmast kahaan se.

Yeh aakaash ki sindoori si chunariyaa,

jismen uthi hai baadal ki gathariyaa,

kampti hai jaise saagar ki gaagariyaa,

dene lagi hai dil ko yeh jhaanse,

...............madmast kahaan se.

Yauvan malay ki surabhi too laayee,

kaisi hai mujhape masti yeh chhayee,

soojhe nahin ab kuchh bhi mujhe to,

nikli siskaari kaisi jubaan se,

...............madmast kahaan se.

Detaa hoon dastak tere yauvan par,

baahen failaaye khadaa hoon chaukhat par,

tere hi haathon men kismat hai meri,

mujhko milaa le, too apni jaan se,

..............madmast kahaan se.

Pranhay nivedan tum naa thukraanaa,

pyaase vyaakul ko tum naa tadpaanaa,

teri hi poojaa tum bin nahi doojaa,

mujhasaa premee phir milegaa kahaan se,

Toone chhuaa to rukti hai saansen.


malay- sandalwood; surabhi- fragrance

Ek aur nazariyaa-

detaa hoon dastak tere yauvan par,

baahen failaaye kahadda hoon chaukhat par,

bal hai peshaani par kyun o priyakar,

pitvaayegi mujhako kyaa too apni maan se.

he he he

peshaani par bal- folds on forehead

Saturday, August 29, 2009

kyon??

Thartharaate hont, dagmag kadam, panili aankh hai,

aaj phir chhootane lagi hai kalam haath se kyon?

Sookhi nahi thi pichhale pannon ki syaahi,

rukti nahi aawaaraa shabdon ki aavaajaahi,

charmaraate kivaadon se woh barbas ghuse aate,

aur tooti hui khidki se dabe panv nikal gaye kyon?

...................kalam haath se kyon?

Rojandaari ki kadi mehanat se sooraj bahut thak gayaa,

chaand bhi naukri par aane se pahale hi bhatak gayaa,

bojhil andheri raat ka wazan uthaane se katraate hue,

kuchh beemaar taare bhi, chupchaap chhitar gaye kyon?

...................kalam haath se kyon?

railgaadi ki tarah khadkhadaataa dil, thaharne lagaa hai,

patariyon par break ki tarah, cheekhkar bund hone lagaa hai,

station pahunchane ki aas men, outer par hi padaa rah gayaa,

zindagi ki hariyaali ke signal, achaanak laal ho gaye kyon?

..................kalam haath se kyon?

Shaayad bahare kaano men mere, kisi ki taan pad jaaye,

shaayad kisi saaz ki aawaaz, dil tak mere pahunch jaaye,

shaayad kisi kaa geet mere honton se phir se mil jaaye,

bedum meri aas pe, woh phir ek baar huns pade kyon?

...................kalam haath se kyon?

Rojandaari- daily wages;

Saturday, August 22, 2009

HOPE....

“Sir, are you not going home?” the nurse on night duty asked me. I was standing beside bed no.2 in ICU. Adithi was lying on the bed surrounded by many wires, as if we had tied her with chains so that she should not leave us. There were many pipes inserted in the body, as if we were trying to pump life in her body. She was on artificial respiratory support. We tried to remove it, but her own respiratory efforts were too poor to allow removal of ventilator.

She was brought to the “Leela Hospital” for headache, not responding to routine pain killers and pain increasing in severity. Examination showed involvement of brain. Urgent CT scan was done, that showed bleeding in brain. She was unable to speak within few hours. The right side of her body got paralyzed and she went in coma. She was not responding to verbal commands. Swelling on her brain was increasing causing compression of nearby centers thus damaging vital function of body. We had to operate, and remove a part of skull to reduce the pressure inside. She showed some signs of improvement. I asked my assistant to write a prescription for her, he wrote “Mrs Aditi” “No, its not A-D-I-T-I, It is A-D-I-T-H-I, got it?

“Excuse me sir, its not A-D-I-T-I, It is A-D-I-T-H-I.” She had told me, when I had mispelled her name during our first meeting.

She was a kannadiga girl from a small town , Hubli near Bengaluru. She was very attractive, dark complexion, big black eyes, and dark thick short hair, tall and dressed in decent western attire. I met Adithi for the first time in uti bank. She was in customer care department. She had excellent communication abilities and a very sweet tongue . Though I was a ‘priority customer’ of the bank and the whole staff used to treat me very well, Adithi was very helpful and cooperative with other clients of the bank too. “Doctor, can I come to your OPD for medical advice?” she asked me one day.

“Sure! My pleasure!” I meant that. She started visiting my OPD at Sawai Mansingh Hospital. It used to be a pleasant change from loud, arrogant patients to sweet and cordial person. One fine day she introduced me to a charming, fair, 6 feet tall boy with straight nose, athletic body, wearing a polo shirt, six pocket jeans and Nike.

“Sir! Meet my special friend ..”

“Hello SIRJI! I am Prathames” he said politely.

I stood stunned, in my white apron clad dull attire, black leather shoes, thin black semi rimless specs, wheatish complexion, and a mediocre height of 5feet 8 inches.Looking at his personality, I almost dropped my pen and then maintained my composure with great effort.

“ Hello Prathamesh!” I stressed on sh part of prathamesh, we shook hands. They were a fantastic couple, anyways. The doctor was lost in the crowd of impatient patients.

She used to bring her relatives, neighbours or any needy person to me for the treatment. One day she was brought by her father. He told me that she collapsed on the sofa at her home and had convulsions. She was seen by a local general practitioner and the prescription declared her a patient of ‘HCR’.

I asked her “Did you have blackout, headache, nausea, vomiting?”

“I felt that the room was spinning and I went in a dark tunnel with no light or sound. I still have mild throbbing headache, didn’t have nausea or vomiting,” she answered, looking tired.

“Adithi! What happened? Please tell me, I can help” I enquired.

“Not now sir, I will tell you later”

“OK! I want you to undergo some blood tests and CT scan of brain, these are routine investigations for this type of complaint, nothing to worry” I could read anxiety on her face.

“I am OK with blood tests sir, but please sir, I don’t want that CT thing, it is like entering a tunnel with nobody around, I am scared of loneliness!” she was trembling.

“OK Adithi! Calm down, we shall do it later” I gave her some samples to relieve her anxiety and asked her to meet me the next day. I could see Prathamesh peeping through the door but not coming inside the chamber.

Adithi avoided the CT scan, I got busy in my routine activity. After some days my phone rang, it was her “Sir! I want to ask you about HCR, What is it?” “Adithi you come to my chamber I’ll explain you.” “ It is very crowded sir, with all your juniors, students and patients and…” “OK! Why don’t we meet after my duty, we shall have some coffee together.”

We met at MI road and decided to go to the Revolving Restaurant at Om Tower. It is a nice place to sit and watch the city through the bird eye view. Its like Him watching all creatures doing their stuff without interfering them.

“Now tell me sir…”

“ krrish, call me krrish”

“Tell me about HCR, KKkrrriishh..”she fumbled.

“Whenever a person is under stress, feels neglected, his or her subconscious mind prompts him or her to seek attention of others to gain sympathy. For this the person pretends to be sick, mimicking unconsciousness, convulsions, or the disease they know something about, it happens unknowingly. Women suffer more with this problem as they are under stress most of the times, besides they are very emotional. If they feel neglected or avoided, some of them may suffer with this disorder.” I completed the monologue.

“ Am I insane?” she was looking puzzled.

“No, I don’t think you are suffering with HCR. Can you tell me what happened with you? You are not the same Adithi I used to know.” I was looking at her, she was so beautiful and good human, I could do anything for her if that could bring happiness in her life.

“You remember Prathamesh..?” “Of course, nobody can forget that hunk”

“I can’t either”

“Whaat?”

“Prathamesh and his family are very conservative, they are all hardcore followers of their guru ‘dadaji’ ,his wish is their command. One day ‘dadaji’ suggested a marriage proposal to prathamesh’s father a for Prathamesh.” Now I was restless “then?”

“His family blindly said yes to the proposal, and when they told this to Prathamesh, he opposed it tooth and nail. He told them about me, they were not ready to listen to anything about it, they told him about our different cultural backgrounds, castes and most important thing that I am older by 2 yrs, they said it was inauspicious.”

“Prathamesh was taken to ‘Dadaji’ and he accepted the proposal as the ‘Prasaad’, I know he loves me but he is marrying Pinky tomorrow.” Her eyes were full of tears. I was helpless, no medicine could cure that problem and no surgery could relieve her pain. I held her hand softly and tried to console her. The Revolving Restaurant had come to its original position after moving in full circle. She was single again.

Adithi was still mentally coupled with Prathamesh. Prathamesh introduced her to Pinky as an old friend. Pinky used to call Adithi and she visited their place occasionally. Prathamesh never gave Pinky all the rights of a wife. They had two children, Indra and Sweety. Prathamesh loved the kids so much, he fulfilled all their demands. Pinky was not happy with Prathamesh, she always complained that he never introduces her as his wife. Quarrels started erupting on petty issues. They stopped talking with each other. Prathamesh started avoiding to stay in the house at nights. Adithi never allowed him to stay with her. I think that was the time canvas was unfolding for the new picture. Pinky left the house and went to her parents. All efforts of both parents proved futile to patch up between them. Prathamesh did not allow Pinky to take the kids with her. Pinky was also accused of having an extramarital affair. After a couple of months they settled for divorce, Prathamesh was awarded the custody of both the kids.

Prathamesh and Adithi married within a week of the divorce. They purchased a new flat and moved in with kids. Adithi looked after the kids untiredly, and kids were happy to have a new, caring and affectionate mother.

I left the govt. job and joined a corporate hospital “Leela Hospital” as a senior consultant, now which became the field of action (Karmabhoomi) for Dr. Krrish.

One day Adithi came with an odd request. She wanted to go for family planning surgery.

“ You don’t have kids Adithi” I tried to explain her

“ I have two, Indra and Sweety.I don’t want anybody to share their part of love and care, not even my own child.” She was glowing.

Next day she was operated for Tubectomy. I don’t know what should I call her, great mother or great woman.

“ Sir! You were telling me about some medicine for the bed no. 2” the assistant brought me back in the present. I told him the medicine. The day after was not a good day. Her BP fell, now we were playing with double edged sword. Rising of BP had the same risk as the fall of it. She was giving a great fight to destiny. We were hanging between hope and despair.

Prathamesh did not leave the hospital for a moment. His beard and tired look were not enough to tell his sad story. Adithi gave me the second chance in my life where I was feeling helpless. She was critical with no apparent brain activity. It was a tough decision, whether to pull on a person in this state or remove the ventilator. Unfortunately that judgment was left on me.

My vision became blurred; I removed my specs to wipe it. It was crystal clear, my eyes were overflowing. Some tears fell on her feet. It was a very long, dark night. I was awake and waiting for dawn.

Prayers worked partially, Adithi recovered a bit. Now she is not on ventilator but still in coma, like a yogee living in the materialistic world yet totally detached from it. She does not show any response to verbal or, painful stimulation. She was discharged from “Leela Hospital” and is being taken care by Prathamesh and kids at home for last 6 months. I will keep waiting for her to come and seek another consultation.