CONCEPT OF TIME in two sentences! A mother calls up at 11 PM at night wanting to know whether I was still in the clinic to see her ‘lil baby who, it transpires, on questioning, hadn’t passed poop in all of 24 hrs, though he is hale and hearty so I tell her that it doesn’t seem like such a great emergency and that doctors don’t generally sit in their clinics past 8 PM and for heavens sake, it was just shy of midnight and could we schedule to see him in the morning which disappointed her but she agreed reluctantly and I was left wondering about the way people understand the ‘concept of time’ especially in India and how people expect doctors to always be at the beck and call at all times as happened the very next day when “Abdullah ki mummy” landed up at the clinic at 2:30 PM and woke me up from my slumber, me being an ex-fauji and wedded to my afternoon siestas and all, and she was surprised that I wasn’t in the clinic, I mean, have a heart, it’s 2:30 in the afternoon, and I tried to send her off and call her back in the evening but she was hell bent on pulling me out of the land of nod and landed up at home and I had no choice but to see the young sheikh and it was difficult to slip back into my dormancy and I cussed and muttered under my breath but then I also have to keep my patients happy, so there I was seething under my phony smile and life carried on and realization dawned. (end of sentence one) I have finally understood the ‘concept of time’ in India and you can now find me in my clinic from 8 PM to 8 AM and from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM (end of sentence two)
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 03:14:37 +0000
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