The White Apron

She wasn’t the kind of girl to give up easily.
The White Apron

Kamal Baruah

(kamal.baruah@yahoo.com)

She wasn't the kind of girl to give up easily. Well, after two years of toil in her studies, she finally reached the podium, facing an expectant conference crowd. She made us proud in all she did, beinging so much happiness for us. We're in a state of euphoria for the past couple of days soon after her name made it to the list. The hall was filled with delighted parents in the orientation programme. More than a hundred aspirants took admission for studying medicine there. The hall was set up for the D-Day for enthusiastic freshers to an oath ceremony at 9 o'clock.

High sweet voices began chanting Sanskrit hymns when lighting a lamp. It brought the essence of the burning flame upwards that signifies knowledge to take up to higher levels. The welcome address by the principal spoke about a broader perspective of the opportunities available in the health sector. The teachers serve as felicitators who motivate students to inculcate practical learning with academics.

Doctors must learn their healing abilities to cure patient and that's possible through patient-doctor relationship. Saving a life is the prime role of a doctor in the society. We're astonished to hear that doctors can't cure most of the diseases. Why they look so proud when there is no such thing as cure but there is treatment? The father of the modern medicine William Osler says, "one of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine". But in reality it's different.

While looking back at the past, the entire hall gazed in awe at the inspirational success stories of students came from a humble, unprivileged background. There were other speeches from parents, who sacrifice time and sleep to take care of their wards and all gave them a round of applause too. Meanwhile, inspirational teachers taught us some valuable life lessons.

It was a magical morning to witness a healing experience through specialists all around the dais. God can't be everywhere, so he sent doctors to prescribe "Rx" for patient. The Latin word "Rx"is a customarily part of the superscription of a prescription said "to take" through God. The programme didn't begin to drag but participants interacted well with effective delivery.

The slideswere lively and engaged the audience with humour. The presenters told stories and shared anecdotes from their life experiences. Their emphatic statements captured our attention and there was a break at 12 noon. It was shocking after assembling in the meeting hall after lunch as we had to leave our wards there. We felt it was too early for our daughter's separation from us.

The first year MBBS students returned for the first class at 2 o'clock. I saw my princess wearing a white apron moving along with the class. It was the first time we've been separated since her birth. She illuminates all our days so far but suddenly we felt her absence – her caring, gentle nature. So life has changed with her new career path while my princess is away miles and miles from home. Memory will always be etched of those happy days of ours.

We were almost the last to leave the administrative block of TMC. I could hear someone quietly sobbing from front passenger side. However, I had knowingly shown her (better half) that I had not noticed. As I drove back home faster, the clouds drifted and shifted away but I wondered if my princess knows how much joy to us she brings in our days? As we go grey gracefully now, the white apron could certainly hear the wistful longing in our old age through the sounds of heart, lungs, bowels and arteries from her trusty stethoscope.

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