The Patient @ Bone Setting Clinic

A Middle aged bony man with a loose shirt hanging on him as if he were wearing the shirt of someone bigger than his size had entered the unauthorized bone setting clinic. In India, there were many such clinics without permission and authorization. His face was oily and sleek with dark complexion and his spoiled teeth indicated that he was addicted to chewing some kind of tobacco. The foul smell from his mouth was pungent and spread the entire clinic as he entered and it was of alcohol. His wrist was swollen and he was wreathing in constant pain. As he sat and extended his hand, showing the bulge, the touch of the bone setting doctor was like pricking with needles and he was screeching and yelping like a child. He withdrew his hand and said it was more painful than the death and requested the doctor to do it smoothly. Likewise he did. This time the suffering was endless and the pain was excruciating.

The unqualified doctor had started massaging the hand by applying oil which he dabbed from the bowl beside him, then he applied white colour ointment on the wrist massaging and the addict patient was dying in pain and yelling that he would come the next day or every day, if need be, but leave him now. But the doctor was merciless and heedless and in fact he was focused on the hand not the face of the patient. The doctor continued massaging without leaving his hand, squeezing and kneading the bulged muscles and nerves mechanically and professionally without any emotion on his face and his face was inconspicuous because he had worn a green ventilated face mask made of cloth, generally worn by the doctors at the time of operation. The suffering of the patient was unbearably terrible and intensely widespread throughout his body. Only the tears had not come out and the patient felt relief after the fifteen most unbearable and painful moments of his life. The patient’s wrist was circled with a pink coloured bandage from elbow to the palm and the fingers were included in tying the bandage.

Now, the patient had walked out of the clinic triumphantly like the winner of Olympic gold medal, full of smiles and no pain now. What a serene feeling he thought but a bandaged hand which was supported by another bandage and that was hung over from his shoulder. His son who happened to bring him to the clinic had paid the fee to the bone setting doctor who looked very young. The doctor, again without any emotion behind his mask had taken the fee and placed in a wooden counter upon which four bowls with oils, paste and cream were present. After locking the money counter with a small key, the doctor had handed a card to the patient’s son which was like a visiting card but containing all the items neatly in two rows which were not supposed to be eaten by the patient on one side and on the other side was the name, address and contact number of the clinic.

Laxman-- living with contentment despite obscurity

                                  Laxman

Laxman was, by profession, the Free Lancing Trainer of Personality Development who had conducted three to six hour ‘life skills workshop’ in various schools and made a difference in many students’ lives but not to himself except the meager money for doing the job. His job was to visit the different schools and seek the permission from the Principal for conducting the workshop for their higher class students so that they could excel in their studies with this motivational session.

 Getting the permission from the Principal was the most arduous, skillful and challenging task for him because on a day, many would come and meet the principals for the permission to do some demonstration or the course for the school students and they would have to wait for long hours at the Principal’s office like the medical representatives wait for a Doctor. Sometimes, he had to take the prior appointment to meet the principal if the school was bigger in terms of strength not name.

 With a plethora of enthusiasm and hopes that the day would bring some permission to do the workshop of Personality Development, he would start his day happily with a smiling face, formal attire and a bag across his shoulders, which consisted of credentials and certificates accredited to him by the previously visited schools. This little man would go on his Splendor bike which he had bought through EMI and that was the only material possession of his life because he had neither a laptop nor a smart phone.

If he got any permission fortunately from the school by any chance, he would have to do a demo first, explaining the benefits of workshop to the students and the workshop would be followed the next day for the interested students who had enrolled their names. So, he had to convince the Principal, students and parents occasionally, if need be. Finally, after the workshop he would get the money through the principal after some deductions which meant the collected money from the students would directly go to the management and it would take some minimal percentage of the money and remaining amount would be delivered to Laxman.

                                                                                                             

Convincing and persuasion was the Bread and Butter for him, in fact for many as well.

 And Laxman was a master in it.

Laxman was a man in his early forties with the height of Sachin Tendulkar but differed in colour. His complexion was black with a bald head that always shone under the sun like a star at night and had whole-hearted smiling lips all the time on his face. He was married, blessed with a boy and a girl after many years of his love marriage. He had an indomitable enthusiasm for life and had lived his life speculatively for major events and blissfully for trivial events of life.  

Despite many obstacles and hardships, the smile on his lips indicated that he was ready to fight against them no matter how hard and great they might be.

His only ambition in life was vaguely unknown to himself but had mentioned many making difference acts as his aims but often neglected them because a fully eaten person could only feed the other. He was starving financially for many years and the worst part was that he had never learnt from his mistakes and never honed his attitude in earning the bread and butter. Defending the self was his biggest mistake and that had led him to bankruptcy. He always mentioned that he never had any regrets as though his life were perfect as that of a saint.

That was a lie. In fact, known to many but not to him.