Sunday, May 01, 2005

 

What a contrast

When I visited the Bangalore Institute of Oncology, little did I expect that it would turn out to be so depressing. I knew that it would not be a pleasure visit, but I wasnt ready for the sights that greeted me there. There were people recovering from radiation and chemotherapy. People of all ages. I particularly noted a kid of about 8 sleeping on the sofa in the waiting room. She was hairless (probably signs of the treatment in process) and was surrounded by her family. A little while later, an older man came in with his family. He looked like he was in his last legs. He had a lot of difficulty walking, he would walk about three steps and then stop to recover and then continue again. Probably the only thing I was glad to see in this environment was when I saw a doctor coming out to meet the patient. In her forties, someone who would impress upon you at first sight, she had a wide smile on her face, the smile that did not vanish at any point.I guess it does lift the spirits of the patients when you see a doctor with a pleasing demeanor.

The very next day I visited the Forum (the shopping mall) in Koramangala with a friend. It did not take long to register the contrast between the two places. Here there were a lot of smiling faces, faces that had perhaps have not been acquainted with sorrow. Couples walking hand in hand ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. Who knows what this tomorrow brings?

This made me realize one thing, you never know but happiness in life might be ephemeral, enjoy it while it lasts. As someone once said "The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it".

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