For the benefit of those who haven't read the previous parts
When I first came to Pune, I was full of enthusiasm and excitement about all the things I would do there and guess what was the first considerable thing I saw here? , the roof of a semi-private ward at the hospital!. I was diagnosed with typhoid, a disease which catches hold of you when you don’t pay attention to what and where you are eating. Like I always believe, everything happens in this world because the universe conspires to, so now I know who I have to blame for my condition.
The first thing you would want to know in a semi-private ward is who the other inmates where. Well my semi-private ward had four beds, and only one other bed was occupied. At the first night (I was rushed to the hospital at mid night) I was in no condition to notice anything about this place. All I remember about the night was a few conversations between the nurses which were in some alien language and so I did not care, all I did was sleep.
The first thing I saw in the morning was some doctor reading my medical reports. I don’t know when they took the blood out of me but he said that I would need a week long rest in the hospital. He specified on the word hospital (that’s where he gets his bread and butter; he is bound to emphasize on the word). So my so called journey towards a celebration called life did not start in a very nice manner (that’s what I thought at that time) but I have to be optimistic about it. I mean this is the city which is going to give me my career.
“Mr. Sameer, is there somebody with you who could get your medicines?” a nurse asked interrupting my thoughts
“No, I am on my own. If you could send somebody to get my medicines .I will pay for it”
“O.K”
The nurse walked away. A few minutes later, a young kid walked in with a plastic bag in hand
“Saheb, these are your medicines” and he handed over the bill. I stretched towards the drawer near my bed and pulled out my wallet, paid the bill with an extra five bucks the kid charged me for his efforts.
That was followed by a few hours of roof staring till the start of the visiting hours. I knew there was another patient there, so I guess there would be some people coming to meet him, probably that was the only way I would be able to see a non hospital face.
I was right about that; a man of medium height, thick moustache and extremely large belly walked in with his wife and daughter. My bed was diagonally opposite to the other occupied bed and we were separated by a veil which they usually use in the hospitals. They moved the veil slowly so that they could place the chairs around the bed. The patient in that bed was a very old man. He was very skinny with his skin sagging from every part of his body, his cheeks where sucked in and he did not seem to have teeth. The hospital robe was too big for him. He barely managed to hold the trouser on his waist.
Like all Indian families, this one had brought a lot of the old man’s favorite food items. Since the old guy was on his last stretch, the family does everything to keep him happy and well their antics put me to sleep.
A small poke woke me up; it was the nurse changing the needles. I rubbed my eyes, trying to see what has changed in the past few minutes; I raised the pillow and put it in between the wall and my back for some support. The old guy was still lying down and his granddaughter was giving her company.
“I have seen bad days, but nothing like this” I told myself. The boredom of lying down in the hospital was putting me to sleep every second minute and well I always felt as if I had slept for hours and when my eyes searched for the clock, it moved by a few minutes only.
The kid who had bought my medicines yesterday walked in, and gave a packet of medicines to the granddaughter. She went through the bill, something upset her and she started gesturing wildly. She thumped the bill in the boy’s palm, and she walked towards my bed agitatedly. I was surprised, I really couldn’t think of what could have happened.
“Excuse me, do you realize this boy has been fooling you?”
“ohh..umm”I stammered, “he charges me for delivering the medicines, if that’s what you are talking about”
“He is much smarter than that, He has billed you more than the MRP price for your medicines, on all your medicines”
“How much extra has he charged me?” I asked, not knowing what I should be doing about it
“At least 100 rupees. If you have a lot of money to give away, then, do what you want”
“100 rupees!”I tried to act cheated “ What did you get by cheating me? You know that is why India will never progress, everyone here is a cheat, except for this lady here” The boy let loose a giggle and there was thin smile on the girls face
“It’s ok, If you don’t care then you don’t have to act” She said turning her back towards me
“I wasn’t acting,” I said trying to get up, only to be reminded that I was tied up by a saline.
“let me decide that” she said and sat near her grandpa, trying to keep herself busy with a book.
I called the boy, he walked towards me sheepishly.
“Who asked you to laugh?”
“Kya sir, you don’t know how to get angry also”
“Accha, and what about overcharging me?, had you not gone to her, I wouldn’t have known”
“What do I do sir!, the cashier at the pharmacy does these things, I don’t know about it at all”
“Ok, do me a favor, call the pharmacist here, and let me talk to him”
The boy went and called the pharmacist. The pharmacist apologized and also sent my one hundred and thirty five rupees back.
“Here you go” I handed them over to the boy
“Why me sir?”
“Had you not done the mistake of showing that lady” I pointed towards the girl “ I wouldn’t have got them back, so keep it , but make good use of it”
“Ha,sir, I will give them to my mother now only, thank you sir”
I smiled to him, and he left the hospital with a spring in his step. This was the first time, I smiled in this hospital, and like always, one smiles only when we see someone else smile or make them smile.
The specialty of the hospital was its food. The look, the feel and the taste of the food makes you realize that you are sick, maybe it’s a part of the hospital strategy to make sure that their patients stay an additional day. My food was curd with rice, and both the curd and rice was cold. It seems that the cook forgot to add a little of salt to the food. I put the plate aside and went back to staring at the roof.
The fragrance of hot Dal and rice distracted me. The pharmacy boy was holding a plate of rice and dal.
“Is this for me?” I asked
“Yes,” he said with a mischievous smile
“And who gave it”
He winked , put the plate on the small table near my bed and left. He returned swiftly and said
“She said to tell you that her name is Rashi” and left again.
I was smiling from ear to ear. Now I did not want to leave the hospital. Rashi was sitting with her back towards me, but I knew that even she would have a smile on her face. I ate the food and to be honest I don’t remember how it tasted, when you feel good about something, everything around you is good.
I was smiling from ear to ear. Now I did not want to leave the hospital. Rashi was sitting with her back towards me, but I knew that even she would have a smile on her face. I ate the food and to be honest I don’t remember how it tasted, when you feel good about something, everything around you is good.
It was around 4 in the evening and it was the time for the patients, who could, to have a walk and move around a little bit. Rashi helped her grandpa to stand up. He sat on his wheel chair with Rashi’s support. He pulled open his drawer and took out a pair of glasses from it. They did not look like the one worn by people who have had a cataract operation. It was more stylish and was a design which was once popular in the early 70s.
He asked Rashi to push his wheelchair towards me.
“You are new here” he asked.
“Yes I am” I said, but he did not pick it. He pushed his neck towards me, urging me to talk a little louder and I repeated a little louder. He came closer to me and added in a soft but naughty voice
“I hope Rashi did not trouble you a lot, she gets angry quickly”. He waved his hand to Rashi, signaling her to push him away.
I had met a lot of people, a lot of people had peculiar habits and Rashi’s grandpa was definitely one of them. I don’t think he could see much through the glasses, but he wore a warm smile, he couldn’t talk much but what he talked was sweet. He had a certain charm and pride on his face, the one you have after you have lived a satisfied life. There was immense respect for him in everyone’s eyes. I had decided to stay back on my bed. It was just the first day, though it felt like I had been here forever but already he was the best part of my day. He was the first one to enquire about me, and well the fact that he still has a penchant for life at a stage when he adds to his age everyday was unbelievable.
The zest for life is an unbelievable thing. I had seen those words in literature and on cinema but here was a person, living those words in front of my eyes. He wasn't going to die young, nor was he suffering from any critical illness which would eventually take him away. Age simply caught up.
My eyes were fixed on the door waiting for Baba. He was one person who you just cant have enough of. No wonder it took him a more than an hour to find his way back to his bed. I pulled a chair and sat besides his bed.
"Baba, what is your age?" I asked him
"I get a lot of this" he replied with a smile
"Well, no better way to start a conversation with you"
"You think I am old?, See I never went to school so I lost count but the last time I remember my age I was 18"
"and I guess that was a long time ago?"
"No man, It wasnt that far off, may be a few years ago"
"Could be decades!"
"Yes, I will not rule out that possibility. But lets not talk about numbers now, I need to work out".
He caught me by surprise
"Open my drawer, my dumbbells are in it"
I opened his drawer. It was filled with a lot of medicines.
"I get it you meant the medicines, when you said workout right"
"No, no bugger. Look properly," he said. Rashi stepped in from behind.
"Looking for the dumbbells?" she asked
I nodded, noticing the smile on her face
