Not my subject

Time : 7 am, 30th Jan., 06. Location : Chair Car, Indrayani Express. Destination: Pune (for an interview) Condition : Deep slumber (after 48 haphazardly hectic hours.). The panoramic view of the exotic hills not enough to make me stretch my seemingly non-ending sleeplessness. A shrill voice did disturb it a bit. But, a tired body and a fatigued mind ignored it. But the voice didn’t bulge. And now it had a shriller company. Regaining partial consciousness, I diverted my attention to the episode being played. Two little teenage girls were cajoling a person, whom I learnt was a doctor to pay a visit in the next coach to their father having acute chest pain and difficulties in breathing. The TC, from his passenger list had figured this doctor out. He was also literally prodding the doctor for his services on urgent basis. The doctors blunt reply in an indifferent tone that he is just a physician and this is not his “subject” shocked me out my comfortable chair. I joined the girls and many other co-passengers in requesting the doctor for providing his attention to the case at hand, but to no avail. He continued his gaze outside the comfortable AC coach window and advised the now nearly weeping girls to get down at Pune ( which was over 1 hr) and find some doctor there. Courtesy, some other gentleman who contacted his family doctor and could arrange an ambulance at the next station, the “subject” got down at the next station. I do not know what happened to him. I do not guess whether the doctor could have alleviated the pain of that man. But the inhumane tone and behaviour from him was certainly unwarranted. Maybe, he belonged to that breed of doctors such as Dr. Asthana of Munnabhai MBBS fame, who do not love their patients. I shared this over here, as this was one of the rarest moment in my life, wherein inspite of deepest desire to help someone out in his moment of crisis, I was utterly helpless. Shame on you, Doc. Shame on you.

I think Railways should consider having a doctor -on – call arrangement at its stations. Its over three days since the incident, but I am not able to get the imprints of the episode just fade away. Anyways on a lighter note, “Why is a doctor’s work called practice ?”