Experiencing goodness 2

Few days back, I wrote about the ‘pavwalah’. I had mentioned experiencing

the ‘good’ side of people. Here is the second. 

Mrs Sharma is a patient of mine. She has been one for a long time. Her standard

complaint is that she has an ‘irritation’ in the gums. Her gums irritate her and

she in turn irritates me ! If I cure her gum irritation I can get rid of my irritation

but it is yet to happen. 

She will call me for an appointment. I suggest,

“Ten thirty on 22nd, Thursday”.

“Oh, no doctor. I have a wedding to attend on 22nd.” 

“Ok, then.  Please make it on 23rd evening 5pm”

“23rd I have an appointment for my eye check up doctor.”

“Ok 24th if you please”

“My daughter’s exams start on 24th, doctor. I have to drop her and pick her up”

“Then make it the 20th”

“20th is Amavasya doctor, I am fasting and I also have to go to the temple”.

“Ok madame, you tell me when it is convenient to you”

She will mention a date which will be our weekly holiday. I reject that and again

it will be my turn to suggest.  After this elaborate exercise, we fix a date two weeks

ahead.  She will call me ten days before the appointment to confirm the date again,

then a week before and three days before. On the day before the appointment,

she will call and say “so sorry doctor, I have some urgent work at our native place

regarding a property and will be out of station for sometime. Can we make another

appointment ?”  I tell her to call me after she is back in Ponda and her ‘gum irritation’

would temporarily be forgotten. It would surface once more when she sees my face

somewhere once again. 

I have known Mrs Sharma for more than twenty years and she did make it to my

clinic a few times. I suggested some remedies to clear her ‘gum irritation’ but

none of them have been put into effect. If she meets me, the ‘gum irritation’ is

remembered and the above process starts all over again. So, I try to hide my

face and change lanes whenever there is a chance meeting. 

I tried to heave her off to my son after he became a dentist and then to my

daughter in law after my son married another dentist. Both of them very cleverly

told the lady that what she has is an old problem and it is better treated by

old people who know her and her problem well.  And they have put her back

on my turf. 

I was in the supermarket two days back. I had only three items in my hand.

Mrs Sharma was at the billing counter - next in line to the one whose billing was

going on. I tried to duck my head and rush past her to the next counter. All the

counters were busy with people having truckloads of purchases. Mrs Sharma saw

me and called out “oh doctor, come, come here”. She had two loaded baskets with

her. I pointed to her baskets and said that I was in a hurry and can’t wait long. And

there were already two more customers behind her.  “No, no. You don't have to wait.

You go next”. She pushed her baskets aside, told the people behind her that she

was letting me go ahead and made way for me. “Please come. You only have

three items”.  

I thanked her and the counter clerk entered my purchase. It was Four hundred and

six rupees. I handed a five hundred.  The clerk searched in her box for change,

gave me a hundred and asked “Sir, do you have six rupees?”. I did not have it and

said that I would get it from my car parked a little away. I keep some coins in the car.

Mrs sharma interfered. “No, doctor, you go. You don't have to come back”. She

opened her purse saying “I have lot of change here”, she handed six rupees to the

clerk and turned to me again  “You go doctor, people may be waiting for you. Don't

bother about this six rupees”.  

It was very very nice of her. Mrs Sharma is not an irritation any more ! 

Experiencing goodness - 1

It is common to see selfishness, intolerance, arrogance and such harsh

qualities around us every now and then. When we experience good behaviour,

it feels like a very refreshing change. But we forget it fast. I had two such

experiences in the last two days and am writing about it so that it remains

in the mind a bit longer. 

The ‘pav walah’, who makes and sells bread, starts his rounds at half past

five in the morning. He comes in front of my house around half past eight. 

When I hear his air horn in the back street, I go down and wait in front of

my house for him. 

He is a busy man and he is always in a rush. I heard his horn yesterday and

went down with cash in my hand. I had to wait longer than usual for him to arrive.

He came rushing on his bike, stopped abruptly in front of me and said

apologetically “doctor, pav is over. There were many customers today and

I have run out of my stock”.  

He started his bike and as I turned to go back, he stopped again and asked

“have you been waiting for long ?”  I said  “Yes. Nearly twenty minutes.”

“Oh”, he said. “I feel very bad that you have to go without pav after waiting

so long. But wait, don't go in. Can you wait a bit longer ?” I said “yes”.  

“You just be here”, he said, “I will go to the market and buy pav for you” and

without waiting for my reply he started off. 

He returned in less than ten minutes, handed me a parcel and said “Now I feel better.

I felt very bad that you waited for me and had to go back empty handed.

It won't bother me any more” saying that, he zoomed away, without waiting

for me to pay him !  

I will have to stop him again tomorrow, thank him for his kindness and

pay him for the bread !

HandaaDI Santaana Gopalakrishna Temple.

I am on yet another trip to Brahmavara near Udupi. A short trip of two days.

I had some free time in the morning and went driving in the interiors.

I was looking for lesser known old temples in the vicinity. It is a good way

of traversing through the interiors and the old structures appeal to me

in an unexplainable way. 

The very fact that they have been in existence for centuries and the

religious rituals are being performed day in and day out without a break,

appeal to me and humble me. And since these temples are not

‘tourist attractions’, there is no crowd and no ‘development’. The

places still retain some old world charm and the surroundings are

usually clean and un disturbed. 

This morning I ended up visiting three old temples.

The ‘Panchalingeshwara’ at Barakur, ‘Mahalingeshwara’ at Brahmavara

and ‘Santana Gopalakrishna’ temple at HandaDi. I could not gather much

information about the first two but the Gopalakrishna Temple provided

lots of information. 

Santana Gopalakrishna temple is located on the bank of the ‘Sita’ river and

the surroundings are pleasing and picturesque. It happens to be built by

the ancestors of my hosts Smt Shalita and Sri Ravindra shetty. The

centuries-old temple has been reconstructed using the funds donated

mainly by the members of the four families known as the ‘HandaaDi

Naalkumane’ - the four well known families of the village HandaDi.

The six hundred years old idol is re-installed in the new structure.

Smt Shalita happens to be the great great great great and much greater

granddaughter of one of the four families, HandaaDi PaDumane. 

The stone plaques preserved in the premises give the history of the original

installation as well as the description of the lands along with the income

from these lands (taxes) gifted by the then ruler ImmaDi Narasimha of the

Vijayanagara lineage. The year mentioned is 1492 AD. It states that the

idol of ‘Gopinatha’ was installed by Sanku Hegade who was the son in law

of one of the local lords HosabaNNa Setti who was under a greater lord Mabu

Setti. It also gives clear and complete details of the lands and states that the

income should only be used for the maintenance and conduction of the daily rituals.

I spent a very satisfactory time roaming around the surroundings.

The installation of the centuries old idol in the aesthetically pleasing

brand new structure brought to the mind Sri D V Gs lines 

ಹೊಸ ಚಿಗುರು ಹಳೆಬೇರು ಕೂಡಿರಲು ಮರ ಸೊಬಗು

ಹೊಸಯುಕ್ತಿ ಹಳೆತತ್ವ ದೊಡಗೂಡೆ ಧರ್ಮ

ಋಷಿವಾಕ್ಯದೊಡನೆ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಕಲೆ ಮೇಳವಿಸೆ 

ಜಸವು ಜನಜೀವನಕೆ ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ! 

Bhagavadgeeta personified !

An encounter with a simple soul and his umbrella (and a lesson in Bhagavadgeeta)

Few days back we visited a seasonal waterfall near Ponda. The falls is on the slope of a nearby hill. It was raining and we had planned to walk in the rain and get wet. We were going under the fall anyway. We took the car halfway and parked it on the mainroad where it branched towards the hill. The place has a small roadside shrine of an unknown deity.

Two of us had reached the place early. Since it was raining we stood under the awning of a roadside shop waiting for the third person. There was an elderly gentleman in front of the shrine. As we watched, he wiped the shrine clean, lit a few incense sticks, offered a few flowers and came to where we stood. He had an umbrella in his hand. 

“Do you want an umbrella ?” He offered his umbrella to us. He had seen us alight from the car and since we stood under a shelter, thought that we were waiting for the rain to stop.

We politely declined his offer and I asked him “Don't you need the umbrella yourself ?”

“Oh. I don't really need it. I am going to be around here. I belong to the ‘zalmi’ community and stay closeby”  

He told me that people from his community took care of the shrine and a few other small temples nearby. They attend to the daily maintenance and upkeep. It is a traditional voluntary work.  

“You don't know us and you are offering your umbrella. What if we don't return it to you?”

“Why will you not return it ?” He retorted. “You will use it when it is raining and after that you will give it back. And if you don't return it, I will take it as god’s will !”

He spoke very casually but the words stuck in my mind. He said he took care of the cleaning and maintenance of the nearby temples. From the way he spoke it wasn’t a burden or compulsion. He considered it a privilege. He does not derive any benefit from the activity. It is just ‘Nishkaama karma’ upon which Krishna insists in Bhagavadgeeta. 

Work or a task done without any expectations, as a service to society or god !

He felt that we were in need of an umbrella and offered his umbrella to us. We were  strangers. The thought that we may not return it did not cross his mind. He was a good man and considered us to be good. “सर्व भूतस्थमात्मानाम सर्व भूतानिचात्मनि ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्म”  The yogi sees himself in others and everyone in himself, says BG.  

And his final statement - accepting the will of God, actually is what Krishna advises Arjuna to adapt !

That ‘zalmi’ gentleman was Bhagavdgeeta personified !    

‘Kaala RiNa’ - Nashaananda

I understand that there are many types of ‘RiNas’ viz Dhana riNa, anna riNa,

pitru riNa, guru riNa etc etc.  A ‘riNa’ is something that you owe someone or

what someone owes you. It could be in this life or one of the previous lives.

If someone makes you part with your money for no benefit, we say, maybe

you had his/her riNa. Meaning you probably owed him/her in your previous life .

Most of us have heard it. I will have to add ‘Kaala RiNa’ - the amount of time

you owe someone - to the list after my recent experience. 

I must have somehow made someone waste an hour or two due to my actions

in some earlier life and hence the fellow came to me yesterday to claim that

time back ! Actually what happened is like this. 

We were about to close the clinic last evening around 7pm. I understand that

it is the time when business picks up for many. But in our practice everything

ends at seven. Since I stay above my clinic on the first floor, I asked my helpers

to close down and I came up. Within a minute one of them came saying “ sir

there is an unruly patient in the waiting room. He forced himself inside without

even removing his footwear and he is sitting there eating our biscuits. He is

not listening to anything we say.” 

I went down to check. I saw this fellow - actually a patient whom I had seen in

the clinic a month back and who never turned up for further appointments -

sitting in the waiting room with his shoes on, a helmet on his head and a

packet of biscuits in his hands. He got up as soon as he saw me and offered

me one of the biscuits. (If you are wondering about the biscuit packet - my

helpers usually make tea for themselves after work and enjoy a few minutes

of chitchat while munching biscuits and drinking tea. Hence we store some

biscuits and tea). I refused the biscuit and asked him what he was doing there.

He opened his mouth to answer but no words came out of his mouth. In fact,

there was no space for words. His mouth was full of biscuit crumbs and

whiskey fumes !  

I sternly told him to close his mouth, keep the biscuits packet down and

leave the waiting room. He was not ready to move. It was raining outside,

the waiting room was dry and cosy and it contained biscuits ! He was probably

hungry. But it was not possible for me to play host to a drunkard - I will call

him Nashaananda because he seemed to have a great measure of both

‘nasha’ and ‘ananda’ - who was tight as a tick because he liked my waiting

room and biscuits. So, I opened the door, firmly took the packet of biscuits

from his hands and pulled him from his seat. Very reluctantly and very

unsteadily he got up and stood there swaying back and forth. I held his

shoulders, gently steered him out, took him to the street, wished him

good night and came back hoping that he would find his way back home.

I instructed my helpers to lock the clinic. 

Within a minute my helpers were back. They said (in unison) “Sir, he is

sitting on your scooter, he is very unsteady, and he is trying to start the

vehicle” I ran out again taking an umbrella with me. The fellow was sitting

on MY scooter which was parked in front of my clinic, swaying dangerously,

trying to insert HIS scooter key into the keyhole with an unsteady hand !

I first re-adjusted the stand of my scooter which was about to give way,

pulled the fellow  from the seat and again took hold of his hands and led him

away from the scooter. I realised that he must have somehow ridden a scooter

to reach my clinic and asked him where he had kept his scooter ? (His helmet

was still on his head). But other than a very stupid smile, he had nothing

to offer. He stood in the pouring rain, getting wetter and wetter, with his

helmet on his head and a very stupid smile on his face. 

Now, I did not know what to do with him. I did not want him to come back

to my parking space and sleep there the whole night in the rain. And I was

not prepared to offer him our guest room. I was feeling sorry for him but at

a loss as to what to do with him. I did not want him to locate his scooter

either.  Because if he succeeded in starting it, it would be a disaster. 

Meanwhile my helpers were concerned about me and had called my son.

In a few minutes my son arrived. Together we made the fellow locate his

mobile phone which was in one of his pockets, took it into our possession

and tried to find some contacts. But it was locked and this inebriated fellow

did not remember any number, code or picture ! He gave his phone to us and

stood there swaying. It looked like he was trying to say “Ok, now that you

have my phone, amuse yourselves”. 

Now, we had no other option. I called the police control room and told them

that I had a harmless drunkard on hand and that I did not know what to do

with him. I was expecting them to say that they have better things to bother

about than a harmless drunkard. But I was pleasantly surprised to see a patrol

vehicle arrive in minutes !  There was no need for me to say anything. One look

at the man and they understood the situation. They made him take his helmet

off, put him in their car and asked me to follow them to the station and

lodge a complaint. 

When I reached the station I found the fellow sitting in the corridor on a bench.

He seemed quite happy sitting there looking at the happenings around. As we

entered, he got up and unsuccessfully tried to walk to the door. The police

decided to put him in a room and as they led him there, another gentleman

arrived intending to lodge a ‘missing’ complaint. He took a look at our

Nashananda, gave a surprised cry, slapped him on the back and enquired

what was happening? He got the same beautiful smile with which all the earlier

questions had been answered. 

I learnt that the latest entry was a family friend of Nashaananda, and

explained everything to him. He was eager to take possession of the fellow.

He gave an undertaking to the police that he would escort the man and hand

him over to his family. I was relieved, and so were the police. An officer asked

me if the fellow had caused any damages and whether I intended lodging a

complaint ? I said no. Other than taking away an hour and a half of my time

and three biscuits, there were no charges against him !

Everybody left the station, the police got involved with another case and I

returned home an hour and a half late for my dinner and I coined the word

‘Kaala riNa’. I have no idea in which previous life of mine I had robbed an

hour and a half from Nashaananda and how ! 

An old patient better than an old doctor !!??

I joined the Goa health services in 1982. I was transferred to Ponda in 1986 and I

have been in Ponda since then. Earlier in the government hospital and now in

Private practice. I have spent nearly forty years in practice at Ponda. 

Young children whom I treated at the beginning of my practice are now grown up adults

and have their own children. They sometimes bring them for consultation. One of my

old patients recently brought her granddaughter and said that I now have the third

generation under my care ! I was overwhelmed by the faith and goodwill. Felt privileged

to have treated three generations and retained the goodwill ! This qualifies me to be

called an ‘old dentist’.  Some people use a better term and say  ‘an experienced one’ ! 

Geeta is one of my very old patients. She has experienced the entire gamut of

dentistry in my clinic. Cleaning, fillings, extractions, root canals, implant and whatnot.

Luckily for me, whatever has been done to her teeth, seems to be fine till now. 

Having undergone such a lot of procedures she is naturally very conscious about

her dental health and consults me at the slightest hint of trouble.

She visited the clinic a few days back saying that she has some unpleasant sensation

in one of her teeth and that she suspects a cavity. She pointed to a place between

two of her upper teeth. I examined the teeth and only found a bit of roughness on the

surface of one of the teeth. I told her that there is no need to do anything immediately

and that we may take a look after six months. But she insisted that I do a ‘filling’ and

cover up the roughness. 

When I started scraping the surface to place a sealant, I found that there really was a

cavity and that the tooth was actually decayed. I continued and completed the filling.

After finishing my work I told her that I was wrong in my diagnosis and that she was right.

I assured her that the cavity has been attended to and there is no cause for any concern.  

She laughed and said “They say that ‘an old patient is better than a new doctor’ isn’t it ?

In my case  an old patient is better than an old doctor too !”