Warriors in white in the call of duty
Iwrite this piece as I return after an eight-hour night shift at the hospital. My mind battles mental exhaustion and sleep deprivation but my pen refuses to give in. So, I must oblige.
A few months ago, I met an acquaintance, a freshly-minted public servant, over a cup of coffee.Ourconversationgradually steered towards our respective professions and she indulged me in a monotonous monologue about her job profile and deliverables. Somewhere in our conversation she casually remarked, “Mind matt karna, but doctors aur teachers ki koi respect nahi hai India mein (Don’t mind but doctors and teachers don’t enjoy much respect in India).”
The arrogance in her tone was hard to miss. The 20-something arts graduate felt entitled after clearing just one examination. Perhaps, she forgot that she was only a public servant at the end of the day. I smiled back and felt sorry for her ignorance. I did not bother to rebut or invalidate her false notion about doctors because I felt she wasn’t worthy of it. That conversation stayed with me for many months until I forgot about it.
As the world finds itself engulfed by the coronavirus, it is the medical fraternity that is truly battling it out at Ground Zero, single-handedly. No, this is not a self-congratulatory note that I am writing on behalf of my tribe. We don’t work for recognition or accolades or claps, if you please. We only deliver our mandate and go to any extent to make things happen because that’s what we’re trained for. We forgo leaves, vacations, family weddings, prior commitments in the call of duty.
In times such as these, we even risk our lives with inadequate protective gear to deliver because if it’s not us, then who?
My acquaintance who chose a career in the civil service said she did so because she wanted to serve the nation. I want to tell her and many other bureaucrats like her that doctors also serve the nation but we choose not to brag about it. It’s a separate matter that we consciously stay away from the media glare.
In times of crisis like these, as they sit in the comfortable environs of their sanitised homes and shoot orders from their ivory towers, it is us, the medical fraternity ranging from doctors to nurses, that delivers on the ground.
We know that India loves and respects its doctors but we don’t crave for headlines or adulation.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also ignited the philosopher in me. Those with over-inflated egos need to realise that a humble virus has got the world on its toes. It makes one realise that nobody is indispensable. At the end of the day, we’re nothing but dust. It is a moment to reflect, look inwards and introspect. In this race for infinity, have we forgotten the golden virtues of empathy, sympathy and humility? Have our skewed developmental agendas gone too far without paying any heed to the equilibrium? These are questions that we all must ponder upon and collectively answer.
As I finish writing, my phone buzzes. It’s a WhatsApp message from my brother who is also a servant but of the civil kind and it reads, “You are a warrior in white, go girl!”
WE KNOW THAT INDIA LOVES AND RESPECTS ITS DOCTORS BUT WE DON’T CRAVE FOR HEADLINES OR ADULATION