105 / 365 of reading one short story every day.
When I started reading this essay, my first thought was the grey haired, small briefcase carrying, tweed jacket wearing doctor of the Hindi movies. He would come in a with a solemn expression, inspect the patient with all the seriousness of a cloudy day and then the standard line would come - 'inhe dawa ki nahi, dua ki zaroorat hai' ( the person needs prayers, not medicine.) Oh how many memes and parodies have been made on this!
Narayan recounts the time of the personal family doctor who had all the authority or maybe even more than the head of the household. He loved to come in, mostly unannounced, listen to the woes and pains and then give a series of lectures. These could range from the quality of vegetables to the oil used and the lack of herbs growing at home. Sometimes the talk can even go to the political party reigning ta the time and the state of affairs at England (essay takes in the time when the British raj was tumbling)
By a few tappings on the abdomen and chest and a good many wise knockings on the head, the doctor would then proceed to sound advice. This would then be argued by the noisy matriarch or the overbearing grandfather. The children will show their brown teeth and the occasional uncle will bare his pan stained ones too in either debate or despair. But the family doctor was a just that. Family. He would have a delightful and warm authority over the household.
Narayan compares the same to today's clinical and professional attitude of doctors who believe in money minting rather than a pure and keen interest in patients. He says that the long queues, the multitude of doctors at a single nursing home has become like Chinese products in the market. We are split for choice but still come back with a low quality item.
The charm of a doctor's visit and the respect of the profession keeps growing less.
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