A Doctor With A Bowl in hand!

Around January 1978, I along with my wife and infant daughters was in occupation of a room with inbuilt washroom and kitchen @ a rental of Rs.14/per day. The accommodation in the close proximity of AIIMS New Delhi was provided on daily basis by the owner Shri Jain to needy people on visit to AIIMS or Safdarjung Hospital. The building was quite spacious on the main road near Uphar Cinema Green Park, next to Hauzkhas and adjacent to the National Book Trust of India, New Delhi. All along periphery of the courtyard inline rooms were built to let out to attendants of the indoor patients or to the outdoor patients who had to go for frequent check ups. It was mandatory to show documents from the hospital to prove that the boarder was a genuine tenant.

My room was on the ground floor and so was the room of Doctor Neeta (Name changed) MBBS (Retired Army Captain).

Dr.Neeta was elder to two of her brothers. Her father was a retired SDO. As Army Captain she sponsored education of her brothers and also supplemented the upkeep of the household. Once the brothers got settled in their life, they persuaded Neeta to take voluntary retirement. Dr.Neeta obliged her brothers and started private practice. One day while on visit to a patient, the auto rickshaw she had boarded turned turtle.  Her spine was damaged and she lost control over urinary organ besides motor nerves. She could thereafter walk on walker only. At times while walking on the walker, she was unconscious of her dripping. Both her parents used to visit her rarely. Her father assured her frequent visits provided she paid him for to & fro. The Doctor was apprehensive. She said in case she lived longer, she could start a clinic and live at least on the fees she might charge for medical certificates etc. Her total bank balance to start the clinic was rupees thirty-five thousand. She was reluctant to spend out of this treasure on the to and fro fare to her parents. Brothers too were cold and ignored their sister. They rather humiliated her by their actions and gestures.

At times she used to come with a bowl and ask for some eatables.

Her longer stay made Jain apprehensive. He started persuading her to vacate the room on one or the other pretext.  Strangely, Neeta’s father too supported Jain clandestinely. Dr.Neeta approached me to persuade Jain to let her stay on humanitarian grounds.

Somehow Jain let her stay for one more month. I returned to the valley and one month later, I came to Delhi for one day. In the afternoon, I visited Jain. Jain was extremely upset. He had accepted an advance of few thousand rupees for the sale of the premises worth crores for twenty-four lac only. After a second thought he wanted to return the advance money and back out the deal, but the other party was adamant.

Jain realized that he was reaping returns of the seed he had sown. He had dismantled the window and door frames of the room that was under Dr. Neeta’s occupation despite chill cold of January to eject her illegally.

As you sow, so shall you reap is a saying worth weighing in gold. I am witness to many such events. I pray all to be cautious. Keep your eyes and mind open lest you should play JAIN.