The Awakening

A new facet of life was introduced to me in Shahapur. The harsh and true face of life surfaced, shattering my beliefs.
A number of shocks - unexpected struck at the very core of my existence.
I awoke from a good dream to a bad reality. The wonderful days of Medical college were over! And life was not rosy as it seemed.

Why Shahapur?
Destiny and Choice both played a major role ........
Though I'd made up my mind quite early about shahapur as my Internship destination, life seemed to have other plans. My initial posting with 3 of my friends was Jawahar in Wada District of Maharashtra. For me it was a blessing in disguise for closing a chapter in my life. But loyalty to my group made me shift my posting to shahapur.
And so shahapur it was!

Keeping aside the personal turmoil, shahapur made a permanent imprint on me.
Much of it seems to be fading away with the years yet its so afresh..........

The Karmabhoomi - Battlefield (Hospital premises)
A dilapidated rundown building that had so much in common with the patients it catered to. Undermaintained, understaffed, stained, by generations of corrupt officials. Helpless against the onslaught of its supposed to be protectors and the almighty time.

The Shack (Interns residence)
For thats what it was, situated just next to the Hospital gate under a banyan tree. 2 rooms connnected in the back with a common bathroom attached and a loo located way behind the shack. (Making the trip public knowledge)
The shack as the name suggests was in rundown condition. The verandah behind the shack was occupied by canine and porcine neighbours (pigs) who wallowed around in the litter haven.

Me and my gang with a couple of others inhabitated this Old and dilapidated.........yet cosy shack
Under 5 star conditions that boasted of Frequent power cuts (forcing zero visibility in the rooms; the windows were left closed for the fear of peeping toms and adine fellows.)No water for the better part of the day, Dust-cobwebs coexisting with us we
spent small very rare moments of leisure.

But then it didnt matter a lot to us, especially me for duty always had prime position. We all made the best out of our last few months together.
The Shack rocked and ruled!
(As on today there are no physical signs of this shack. )

The Gurus
Dr Kazi (Orthopaedic Surgeon) and Dr Puri (Gynaecologist & Obstetrician)
were the ones who trained us. Great people with loads of experience.
I'll always be indebted to them.
God Bless them!

The Clientele
Hmmm....A generous mixture of Ignorance, Illiteracy, Poverty, Dejection, All at one go!
Poor yet self respecting people, Exploited to their bones....
Just Rich enough for the bus ride to Shahapur.
Tribals smiling even when in pain or at the loss of their loved ones.
Some of them hard headed....
Some aggressive.....abrasive.....
But they held Doctors in High respect...though at times their diagnosis and line of treatment superseded the doctors.... Come whatsoever saline (IV Fluids) were a must to any patient. If not heeded with.... be ready for the wrath....


The Staff
Yin & Yang.....Good & bad....both sides of the same coin....
similar was the case with the staff..... though I'd say the balance tipped heavily
towards the negative side.
'Care' the basis of Healthcare was absconding...missing....or maybe it it ceased to exist in the real sense.
All the masala... lazy, careless, Gullible, redundant, Corrupt, at times Shrewd people who fed upon the miseries of the people.
Some highly hardworking, honest.... but diminishing in numbers gradually....

At the end of the day it was frustrating......

The Ambulance Driver
He finds special reference due to his notoriety.
Good chap, but parked the Ambulance at his house (A K.M away from the hospital)
He was the last knife into the patients body, since due to his absence the poor patients had to spend precious money on private ambulances. I'd always believed that there existed a nexus!

We (One of the Male Interns) used to accompany emergency transfer patients to Thane Civil Hospital in HIS ambulance. Usually the time was always after midnight. And Saheb was seldom around, thus wasting precious time of the patients life.
The man had Loads of Attitude! We were always at a war of words.
Even while behind the wheel, he'd sing songs in his not so gifted voice. Consequently I felt even the more sleepy which he resented. He'd suddenly slow down or brake to wake me up.

Once at the hospital(thane), After dropping us at the Casualty, he'd disappear leaving us stranded at the mercy of the not so welcoming staff of Thane in the middle of the night.
With no place to sleep we were at his mercy till his return.

Jayaram Unofficial Mama
The hospital had 2 people by the name of Jayaram. The elder one was the asssitant to the Superintendent. He considered himself to be a man of great importance.

The younger one was a self proclaimed ward boy.
The 24*7 days drunk, used to hangout doing odd chores and entertaining the hospital.Every patient was his relative. He earned enough to fill the tank by ordering us to look after his acquaintances (Overnight/nonexistant ones). He was a funny deviation from the routine. I still remember his songs & Jigs which he claimed would perform all night when anyone of us interns would get married. In return he wanted a gift of 50-100 Quarters of Alcohol!

This alltime swaying official of the hospital was the first person to reach the casualty and make a diagnosis. The common question was " Will He/She survive?"
So that he could start inflencing us and the Post mortem attendant to let him do the Post mortem (it fetched him enough for a weeks Alcohol).

Sheikh The Pharmacist
This potential Liver failure candidate (b'cos of his 24 hour alcohol shift) was seldom around on duty. Even if by any chance he dropped in, it was expected by his majesty that doctors like us should dipense medicine while they loiter around enjoying the day. Such was his devotion to work, that he seldom knew about the medical supplies stock. Consequently we never had the necesary medicines. By any chance if he'd procure the supplies after a considerable delay, they (the medicines) were supposed to stay locked up or mysteriously disappear. The patients had to buy the medicines which they were supposed to get free of charge/at a nominal charge.
We'd a tough time facing the patients wrath and explaining to them that It wasnt our fault. Complaints to the superintendent fell on deaf ears.
The system sucked......It smelled of all round corruption from top to bottom.


The Entry
It was military style.....pure rawness.... afterall the situation demanded a heavy handed attitude....ofcourse for my ownsake.....
I was out to forget something which was going to be present in front of me all thru those 3 months. I was angry with her.....destiny was getting bitchy as always....
It was like gone in 60 seconds.

Dont remember much but the anger that was foolishly trying to pushdown the pain.
I failed badly and it was evident.

The Grave yard Shifts
The objective of joining Shahapur was etched clearly in the mind.
The conflicting situation made my resolve firmer. I would not allow destiny to break me.
I would survive............ No matter what may come.
Thus began a journey that tested me each day till the end....

Hard work was never a turnoff. I was used to working long hours from my days in college.
Now, In fact it served as an intoxicant. It helped benumb the mind.
We were divided into groups of 5-6 Interns. Most of them my group mates.
And then there was Destiny. We were given 30 hour shifts (including OPD & IPD) followed
by a rest period of 12 hours.
These timings were non applicable to me. I worked non stop till fatigue took over and
forced me into a brief slumber.
I was available to fill in for my friends without any qualms.
I was the subject of mirth, ridicule for my friends. They did not agree with my schedule.
I was 'Constantly OnCall' But then I never cared.....
My memories and the self enforced silence kept me company till the end.

There was this renewed zeal to learn anything and everything. I never let an interesting case
go by. The anger and contempt on destiny was positively diverted for more meaningful
purposes.

The Graveyard shift moulded me to a great extent.






There are innumerable incidences that left an imprint. Most of them so fresh in my mind...... others at times resurface out of nowhere leaving you mesmerised......