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 !
