New year thoughts

 

 

New Year

Tomorrow we will change the calendar. The number of months, weeks and days will remain the same. So, what will be different? Let us make some changes by:

Making:

Monday into WON the day

Tuesday to AMUSEDAY

Wednesday to WELLNESS  day

Thursday to THIRST( for anything) day

Friday to FREE day

Saturday to MASTER the day

Sunday to a SUNNY day.

 

Books

This year again I could read 150 books. Some of them were amazing, some average and some bad.  Will start 2024 with Jon Fosse, who got this year's Nobel Prize for literature, and Paul Lynch who got the Booker Prize. Few good books can illuminate your whole year. So, I wish all of you could read at least a few meaningful books this year.

 

The lame dog

In our housing society there is a lady who is paralyzed from waist down. Still, she drives a four-wheel scooter and manages most of the things on a wheel chair and I have always found her cheerful. She and her husband have a dog, who has only three legs. They take the dog out thrice a day. Either her husband will take it or she will take it in her scooter. If the husband is taking it, the dog will limp on its three legs, but with full of energy and enthusiasm.

 What really caught my attention is, there are two stray dogs in the society who will be waiting for this dog to come out every day. Generally, the guards won't allow stray dogs in our society. But these two dogs are always allowed. These two dogs will be waiting outside for the other dog to come out. The moment it is out they will rush towards it and for many minutes there is a display of pure love among them. They will cuddle, hug, rub each other's body, wag their tails and do whatever they could to show how concerned they are with that lame dog. The owner will allow them to carry on for a few minutes. The stray dogs will accompany the dog till the gate. Once the lame dog is outside the gate, both the dogs will come back and wait near the flat again. At every sound they will get up and confirm whether their friend is back or not. They will be eagerly waiting for the lame dog to come back. The moment they see him from afar, they will rush and it is time for another round of displaying love and affection.

 I always wonder what makes them bond so closely and what can be the reason for such intense love. In fact, it is contagious because after watching it for a few minutes I also feel happy and positive for the whole day. In those few minutes, I feel, they elevate happiness to ecstasy or rather blissfulness. I wish the new year will bring in such blissful moments to everyone’s life.

 

Hospital

Last week my son got admitted in hospital at Delhi due to some infection. We all know, today hospitals look more like five-star hotels. This one was not different.

The couple of days we stayed there gave us sour experience. The nurses were courteous and obliging. But I felt it was more out of training than their natural self. I was not expecting a ' Lady with a lamp'. However, that warmth was missing.

They have almost all equipment’s which could help doctors to get their diagnosis easy. Still, they were struggling to get to the real cause of his disease and in the process ended up doing so many tests.

I met two types of doctors there. We were sharing the room with another patient and his doctor always came early in the morning, wished him a good morning, explained the situation, clearly described his course of action, and while being strict on many aspects, gave a lot of comfort to the patient. On the other hand, our doctor was irregular, incoherent, inarticulate and looked confused many times.  With all due respect to the doctors, it felt he was more focused on the commercial part than the treatment as such.

 In short, the couple of days stay was not comfortable for any of us. We know hospitals need a lot of money to maintain their infrastructure and provide all facilities. But that should not make them consider every patient as a source of income. I fear, in the age of artificial intelligence, the processes are becoming more artificial. The warmth was really missing. Hospital should not be a place for treatment alone. It should provide comfort and confidence to every patient who walks in. I really wish that they bring in a bit more of humane and natural elements into their purely commercial minded systems.