The conversation

Cyclone Nilam in Tamilnadu & Hurricane Sandy in the US East coast were wrecking havoc .We were confined to the house moving around in the darkness, due to the regular power cut.It was pouring outside. My Uncle, who lives in Besant Nagar telephones, which is answered by my husband.Their conversation follows :

Uncle   -   (Sounding tense) "How's the situation?"
Husband - "Very bad . Water everywhere."
Uncle  - "I am watching the news right now. Very disturbing. I am worried."
Husband  - "Ya, I also saw."
Uncle  - "It seems a crane fell."
Husband  - "Ya, every day something or the other falls here. Trees are also falling."
Uncle  - "It is raining heavily and water has entered the city. The subway is flooded."
Husband  - "Ya, it is raining very heavily. Very strong winds. When has the subway not been flooded?"
Uncle  - "Large scale evacuation, I understand."
Husband  - "Yes, in the coastal areas."
Uncle  - "How 's the power situation?"
Husband - "Very bad, even now there is no power."
Uncle  - "Where is Mala ? Where are the children?"
Husband - "You should know. Have n't you called them?"
A pause..... and then
Uncle  -  "Is n't it Mohan in New Jersey?"
Husband - "No, it is Mani from T.Nagar. You spoke to me in the morning also."
Uncle - "Oh,  I am sorry,Mani. I think I dialled the wrong number."
The phone was abruptly disconnected.
(My Uncle was trying to reach his daughter & son in law in New Jersey! And my husband was referring to the situation in Chennai)
 

The Pigmy Agent

This happened about 25 years ago in Lucknow.

Coming out to the balcony to hang clothes, my eyes habitually surveyed the road, lingering for a few minutes before going in.The pedestrians -  mostly school children and a few office goers moving along; was the only activity on this otherwise quiet street, which had deviated a few yards from the hustle bustle of the main road.Aware of being watched, I looked around and saw this tall and stout man a few yards away on the other side of the road, gazing towards the gate and then at our balcony and me. My sharp memory reminded me that I had seen this man a couple of times near our gate.Brushing it aside, I ventured in to attend to my chores. An hour or so later, when I casually looked through the kitchen window, I saw him again under the shade of a tree, staring at our house.It seemed as though he was rooted to the ground and his eyes fixed. Feeling very insecure, I shut the window and waited for my husband to come home for lunch.

He was a deposit collector for the bank where my husband was employed. They were called "Pigmy Agents" and the nature of their work was to collect small amounts of deposits every day from the clients (which could be even as minimal as 1 rupee), and deposit them in the bank in their accounts. They were paid on commission basis and this man was earning a very high income owing to his large clientele.A volley of complaints against him sprung up all of a sudden and he was guilty of misbehaving with many depositors.Being his superior authority, my husband suspended him temporarily , until things were sorted out and he presented a convincing explanation and desist from his misbehaviour.A strange character, he was also mentally imbalanced at times and was said to have family problems.Fear of losing his income must have forced  him to take such steps which created panic in us. His repressed anger was clearly revealed in the way he stared.He also possessed a revolver which he always carried, probably to threaten us.

Fear led to insecurity and my overcautious husband arranged for security cover through a private agency.Since he did not want to harass him & to safeguard the depositors,police help was not sought.It was assumed that this was only a passing phase and he would overcome it.He was vindictive and carried out his self satisfying game triumphantly.It seemed as though he created panic only from a distance.

A guard sat outside our flat from morning till evening. The mind was fraught with anxiety.Fear gripped us as  the safety of my children was threatened.They were packed to school before he arrived on the scene, but there was always a hunch that he would be somewhere around observing our activities.My little son was personally dropped in school and brought back in the rickshaw, accompanied by the guard. My daughter cycled to school and much to her embarrassment, our faithful help followed her at a distance, till she safely entered the school premises.He would again wait at the school gate in the evening and follow her back inconspicuously.But ofcourse our enemy posing outside did no harm. It was very puzzling - his nonplussed behaviour.Even going out to buy day to day stuff became an issue for me and every action was done stealthily. When he saw me approaching he would retreat behind a tree, only to appear again as soon as I got into the car.Sometimes he would even stand there in disguise! He was enforcing upon us subtle psychological tension, which would make us miserable.

The ordeal continued for about three weeks by which time we started ignoring him .However our life became suspended in a void and no doubt we felt safe inside the four walls of our house.But there was nothing we could do about it and we hoped that he would soon put an end to this nefarious behaviour.Soon a transformation took place and he admitted his threatening behaviour  and expounded his questionable actions, after submitting his apology. He was only disturbed, deprived and lonely and his thoughts must have gone askew.Losing his job must have been an unexpected blow.He could only vent his frustration and anger on my husband whom he thought was responsible for his plight.Then he was ultimately reinstated back with adequate warning.







   

Drama on the road

After some shopping in Pondy bazaar,we walked towards the lane where our car was parked.As we approached the lane, my husband suddenly shouted,"Oh my God", and stared ahead in bewilderment.I anxiously looked in that direction and to my dismay, our car had been locked by the traffic police for wrong parking!( It was neither a 'no parking' zone nor was there any new signboard  suggesting it but then the rules are changed everyday by the traffic police and we have to abide by them.)The front tyre of the car had been clamped and a white slip placed under the wiper, with a contact mobile number of the traffic police written on it.

We were agitated.Anything concerning the police naturally brings jitters and calming myself,I consoled my disconcerted husband saying that he should be happy that the vehicle was at least left in its place and not towed away to the police station. A bit satisfied,he nervously dialled the number on the slip.I waited with bated breadth, very sure that he would be the recipient of the choicest abuses by the traffic policeman.He listened to the voice on the other side and repeatedly thanked him. He seemed a bit relieved since the policeman had told him that he was nearby and would arrive shortly.Gratified, I stood on the pavement, observing the people and traffic around AND my dear husband.He was as usual very restless, walking up and down the road, and getting irritated with me for nagging him to move to the side or else some speeding vehicle would knock him over.Passers by were looking at us with sympathy.One look at the car,then at us, and then a sympathetic nod. Feeling embarrassed, I moved further away, feigning any connection with the man or the car!

Tension mounting, I was observing my husband's restless actions.Walking  up and down the road, he was craning his head now and then to see if any police van was coming towards us. Since half an hour had passed, he dialled the mobile number a couple of times. He paid no heed to my warning that the haughty policeman at the other end would definitely abuse him for repeatedly disturbing him.Anyhow, the calls were not answered.

Impatient and tense, he removed his spectacles, wiped it with his handkerchief, wore it back, took out the mobile from his shirt pocket and checked God knows what, almost dropping it in the process, since his eyes were only on the passing vehicles.As he was sweating profusely thanks to the humid Chennai weather, he again dug into his pocket and wiped his face,only to realize it was the piece of paper with the mobile number with which he was wiping and not his hanky! Conscious that I was watching his nervous action when I could not control my laughter,he gave me a dirty look which meant "shut up, you will not understand my tension".

At last the police van arrived and my husband excitedly ran towards it,and in the process tripped over a piece of brick.Anticipating arguments, I stood rooted in my place, sharpening my ears to hear whatever was being spoken. What an anti-climax ! The policeman was extremely polite and overcourteous and apologized for arriving late !Probably my  pathetic looking husband's respectable demenour and politeness subdued him.Tensions slackened and  both parties were apologizing to each other while discussing parking problems in the City.The fine was paid and the car was released and we drove back home, the policeman waving us good bye.        

       

Home Health Care

A phone call announcing the arrival of the "Doctor & his team",and we spruce ourselves up earnestly for their visit.The elderly patient is briefed, and she eagerly awaits them. A retinue of Doctor,an assistant and a nurse arrive shortly, and are received with great expectations.

These are the people from a Home Care Unit.The sequence of events runs thus: they would sit by the patient and after the preliminary enquiries and basic check-up, talk to them in the most kindly manner and assure them of the best care under any circumstance. Words would be exchanged and mutually admiring each other, the patient would thank them profusely for their concern.Meanwhile,discreetly observing the household and its occupants, they would talk about the most inane topics over tea.Mission completed ,they would  leave with promising prompt service when required.

These enterprising  people with such innovative and thoughtful ideas are to be applauded and encouraged, since many elders are being benefited by their schemes.Most of their clients are aged parents of  NRI children who are living far away and they avail the services for fixed charges, which may even be in dollars!Once in two months they visit these elders, check all parameters, treat wherever necessary and send the reports to their children. Both the parties are benefited - children don't worry and are psychologically satisfied and the doctors make enough money.

Inspite of all this, personally we were not happy with the way things worked for us in reality.On one instance when the doctor was called, she arrived after three days, that too after requesting in person four times and telephoning  innumerable times!(the patient was bedridden and could not be moved.)This is the immediate attention they have given !.A long list of tests were done on the patient and she was diagnosed with typhoid.I almost fainted with the diagnosis since even by my own experience , I knew she was not having typhoid.She was a heart patient and there was some other problem.Later I was told by a friend that this doctor diagnosed most of her patients with typhoid, a silent tie-up between the laboratory, the chemist and the doctor!But the adamant doctor insisted she had to be administered the required medicine and admitted in her nursing home. What did we find there ? My heart missed a beat - messy rooms, no lift, no wheel chair for the patient - very bad infrastructure!A guy looking like a driver appeared with an old ECG machine and keeping it tilted on the bed, started taking the readings. I became agitated and almost fought with him. There was no reaction from him!Helpless,with no way to alter the situation , I could only resort to my prayers. Somehow having got caught in their web of sorts, we stayed for two days and wriggled out of the clinic,with no visible improvement in the patient's health.I seemed to have straight come out of a Robin Cook's book!

Subsequently we went back to our familiar corporate hospital and she was treated there finally.What an irony that the charges in the Home Health Care clinic was almost the same as the corporate hospital, though both were poles apart in all aspects! We thought we would get immediate treatment near our house comfortably but we were wrong. And these are the doctors who receive an award almost every month from Lions Club, Rotary Club, what not for their services to elders! I loath to see their faces peeping out of the newspapers very often. Having borne so much misery, we have bid good bye to Home Health Care.It was an eye-opener and personally I would never recommend  to anyone.It seems to be more a money making business than a care centre for elders .