I was sitting in a Doctor's chamber, patiently waiting for my turn to be called inside. After quickly going through the old magazines, I had not much to do either apart from being patient as the BSNL 3G connection failed yet again to activate the Facebook page. So I turned to the nearest person for a casual chat. Both of us were having the same symptom- bloated tummy, heartburn, acid reflux and so on. I found him to be an avid speaker and he rightly didn't give me much of an opportunity to speak. His punishing work schedule had a toll on his health. He told, often, he had late lunches as he had to attend a lot of "Patients" in his "Chamber".
Please don't draw your conclusion as this person at the doctor's chamber to be himself a doctor. He was an astrologer. He used to treat those "patients" who believed in changing fortune by wearing few stones.
I felt like telling him " You are indeed a doctor for those with signs of mental weakness. "
Unfortunately, I too have some close family members with the same ailment who run to the astrologer at the drop of a hat.
That time, I was travelling from Kolkata to Kanpur by Rajdhani Express. My co passenger seemed to be a religious man from the script of the book he was reading and his immaculate white attire. He had a bout of cold and air conditioning further worsened his condition.
"Do you have a Dispirin ?" he asked me.
At Kanpur station he too dropped down and I was amazed to witness two scenes. One was the unmindful paintings created at the bottom of each pillars in the railway station by the City's habitual paan chewers and the other was the reception the old gentleman received. A large group had gathered at the station to have his darshan. People kissed and bowed to him while few took care of his belongings. One middle aged man who was accompanied by his teenage daughter ( The girl was his daughter's age and I couldn't listen to their conversation) was crying for mercy with folded hands. He wanted the holy man to bless his daughter. The wise man closed his eyes, murmured something and blew away the evil spirits from her.
As my Dispirin tablet worked overtime, the divine person moved forward with hands raised showering blessings and healing people on the way.
You can contact Kamaljit at kamaljitmedhi1975@gmail.com
