Doctor’s Chamber of Tragedy

Doctor appointments always made Bitty feel all the more ill and even nervous. There was no particular reason for being so anti-doctor, she just never felt good about seeing a doctor.

That morning was a particularly gloomy one. It had been raining non-stop since the previous night. Bitty had developed a painful case of burning rashes all over her face, an allergy she had fought with intermittently since a very young age. The allergy was violent enough to get her a touch of fever, even she knew she couldn’t ignore it any longer. Her college friends had a movie planned that day (Come On its a Saturday!), which naturally she had to drop out from (Oh I am so jealous of you guys).

On top of that her father got her a day time appointment with the Skin Specialist she had been seeing forever. She had always hated the way the old doctor shook his head gravely every time , she hated the lollipops he gave her when she was a kid, and she hated the pile of bitter medicines she had to continue a whole week after her sad visits. Thankfully her allergy had got a lot under control over the time. Her visits now were limited to once or twice a year, unlike the almost monthly visits she had to make at a younger age.

Bitty’s mother had been over fussy and kept repeating every instruction again and again right from the time she woke up, for apparently no strong reason. She would be accompanying Bitty to the doctor’s chamber in another couple of hours, and somehow (Bitty thought) she always manages to make every situation about herself and her strong sense of responsibilities.

After nagging and chasing for a sufficient period of time, Bitty’s mother managed to get Bitty out of bed and start dressing. Bitty got a mild headache by then, a humming internal vibration. She was the 26^th patient as per the list, that’s what her dad said before rushing out for work (he made an appointment via phone). That should give her plenty of time before going to see the doctor. But like all Indian mothers, Bitty’s mother wanted to reach an hour earlier. Be it to board a train, or catch a flight, or see a doctor – her mother’s principles never changed. Be early, it never hurts.

Yes mommy it does hurt. My face feels like its gonna peel off, and you are telling me to go and sit for God-knows-how-long in that sick congested place you call doctor’s cabin.

And yet Bitty knew better than arguing with her mom. Her mom always won in arguments, always. So in 10 minutes she slipped on an attire that her mother thought was dull and discolored but didn’t push it, and strolled out with an umbrella with her mom.

The lobby in front of the doctor’s chamber was full of people, not one of them looked happy. That wasn’t really a new sight, but something else was. The whole place! It was clean and bright, there were new lights and fancier chairs. The old posters of aunties holding medicine bottles and grandfathers with sticky smiles and stethoscopes round their necks were gone. Instead here were pictures of young girls with glowing faces and flying shiny hair. Even the wooden uncomfortable benches vanished, these chairs looked almost elegant. Wow! That’s some renovation, Bitty mused. Finally the doctor must have realized it is important to showcase pictures with great skin instead of pre-historic pictures of tablets.

To be honest, that indeed lifted her spirits. She looked at her mom and thought she saw a hint of confusion just for a second maybe, but no she went back to her grown up serious mother-knows-best mode and patted the seat next to her indicating Bitty should sit down.

There were women around, well mostly. Hardly anyone younger to Bitty, she noticed. The paper list with serial numbers and names being ticked was also replaced by an electronic board on top. The number on the board showed 17. Good Lord, that’s at least one more hour before Bitty would be called. She turned to look helplessly towards her mother, who simply said ‘Sit here girl, you will be called anytime now’. She sighed and sat down obediently. Killing time would be tough with no headphones, and locked in a boring queue, her position guarded by her mother.

At some point of time when Bitty had almost dozed off (well the doctor was really old and slow), she was suddenly pushed awake. Startled Bitty looked up to see a large blurry woman trying to stand straight, she seemed to have fallen on poor Bitty somehow. Bitty rubbed her eyes and straightened a bit. Her mother was probably pacing in the lobby till the woman slipped, because she was now standing at a little distance with a blank face. The large woman had a wailing kid in her arms, and a super thin husband (hopefully) trying to help her. The chemist cum assistant had peeped out from behind the curtains, and decided to ignore and disappear again after a moment. The assistant had changed too! It wasn’t the frowning loud middle-aged lady, but a tiny girl (a teenager possibly) with a weird hair colour.

Instinctively Bitty looked up at the board – it now said 25. So 15 minutes later when the board shone ‘26’, Bitty couldn’t help wandering why the doctor was taking so long. And she got her answer the moment she walked in with her mother through the long curtains at the door of the chamber. The doctor was not the old man she knew so well, it was a lady in her thirties. She must be new in this profession, Bitty thought. She obviously preferred multiple assistants unlike the experienced doctor, and she had re-decorated the room in her own accord too. Even some of the stuff on the racks looked different.

This time her mother was the one who expressed her surprise. ‘Where’s the doctor?’ she asked. ‘Oh he is in the next cabin. You got to go through the other door at the back of this building if you want to see him’, the lady doctor filed in. Bitty’s mother was going to say something, when the large lady burst in the room. ‘I am up for number 26!’ the large lady had a surprisingly thin voice. The assistant with weird hair colors stepped forward and told the large lady as well as Bitty’s mom ‘Sorry if you could please wait outside. We don’t allow so many people inside together’. ‘But my daughter..’ Bitty’s mom had started talking and got cut short. ‘She is in good hands, don’t worry Ma’am’.

Bitty’s mom maybe a queen in her own household, but she was rather shy to argue in public. Silently she went back to her seat in the lobby, the large lady followed with a grumpy face.

Inside the cabin, Bitty felt equally confused but decided not to speak up. The only thing which kept her tight in her place was – she in fact already liked the lady doctor better than the old doctor. She didn’t dress like a nerd, she had a light perfume on her, and she smiled sweetly at Bitty before getting down to business.

The lady looked closely at her face for a while before asking Bitty to close her eyes and relax. That she did. She could feel multiple hands on her face now, one massaging her forehead lightly, one applying some kind of cream or lotion on her face. ‘She’s a much better skin doctor’ Bitty thought half asleep.

For the next ten-twelve minutes what went on was pretty much skin care. Some oil, some cream, some paste, some water, some powder – on and on they went in series. Bitty’s headache was gone. Even her rashes were burning less. She was indeed feeling fresher than a bit back. She didn’t know there were doctors who could instantly cure allergies. No injections, no tablets, no bitter liquids to drink. This was the best doctor visit ever! Bitty never realized when she dozed off again.

When Bitty stepped out of the cabin after her short but great nap, her mother let out an audible gasp. Was something wrong with her face? She looked at the mirror on her left and was stunned. Who is this Beauty-queen staring back her? Her face was whitish and let out some kind of shine. The rashes were almost invisible. Was that (OMG) makeup? Her eyebrows looked neat and shaped. And her hair – it was straight, reminding her of the lower end of the broom that was under their bed. But she looked beautiful, she herself couldn’t help admiring in the mirror. God I would burn the ramp!

 Bitty was jolted back to the real world when she heard her mother shriek over the bill. ‘Rs. 3500, is this a joke?’ her mom looked like she would start crying. Two girls at the reception desperately tried to explain her that she actually got a great deal.

‘Look at her ma’am. We got her a Gold Facial, a full face threading, and hair straightening done – within our discounted package.’

 ‘And her rashes got cured with all that?’ Bitty’s mom was furious by then.

‘No we don’t cure rashes ma’am. We hide them. You won’t be able to see her rashes now. This is a beauty parlor ma’am not a doctor’s chamber.’

This was a nightmare. The world seemed to collapse for Bitty’s mom. She kept mumbling this was supposed to be a doctor’s chamber. She had been bringing her daughter for treatment all these years. Who are these new people? What on Earth are they talking about? How come the signboard outside say it’s a doctor’s cabin when it actually has got a bunch of fake looking fools inside?

‘No, check the sign board again Ma’am. It’s a Ladies Salon. The doctor still sits in the other half of the building, you can go from the back door. We bought these two rooms six months back for our business. It’s a very famous parlor ma’am, we give the best services at great price.’

Bitty didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. The whole situation was so funny and tragic at the same time. She wanted to run away from the bickering between her mom and the parlour ladies, and the curious gazes of all the people waiting in the lobby – as if they just spotted the stupidest people around, uneducated freaks.

Ultimately Bitty’s mother paid off the whole money and pulled Bitty out of the place, wiping tears from her eyes furiously. They didn’t talk a word on their way back home. Obviously her mother had forgotten the real reason of going there, because not once did she mention again about actually treating her rashes. Bitty’s rashes started to burn again, but now is not a good time to bring it up. They had worse issues to deal with at the moment.