Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A government hospital

The filth, the clamour
The smell of blood, whiff of death
Poverty, helplessness
Apathy, gloom, juggernaut —
A government hospital.

17 comments:

nsiyer said...

I totally agree. And this is the hospital which caters to the majority.Alot needs to be done

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

surekh

feddabonn said...

only too true, and well said.

from a poetics perspective, i like the apathy, gloom, juggernaut line. while this may not be intended, it also raises for me the roots of the word juggernaut-jagganath, and i find that the lines are also descriptive of how i see most mainstream religion today.

having said that, i also feel that "poverty" and "helplessness" are too often used, and are less 'rich' in descriptive potential than the lines previous and after.

Chandrika Shubham said...

Very true, very nice. :)

Best wishes.

VENNILLA said...

Hi friend this is vennilla here.. ur doing a really good job.. can we exchange links..

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

Even though the govt. hospitals or as run by BMC in mumbai are in bad shape, I must say they offer excellet treatment at negligible cost.

I have worked in Nair Hospital under NSS. Later on seen tratment given in NAir, KEM, St,George and is throughly impressed.

At the same time I have seen Children Hospital in Jammu. Most horrible experiance. The worst seen in my life.

Gauri Gharpure said...

nsiyer-- yes, just because they cater to the majority, they need to be spruced up urgently..

Harekrishnaji-- i talked with a friend who's interning in ahmedabad and she said things weren't as bad there as they seemed here in west bengal..

baruk-- the semantics of juggernaut interested me very much too... right abt the poverty helplessness bit, but fit in fine when i wrote this. and tht's the real situation anyway, maybe tht's why it has come to be a cliche..

Chandrika, Vennilla-- thanks :)

Swaram said...

Sad but true :( And they r the ones supposed to be caring for so many people who can't afford anything more

firaq darvesh said...

very well said Gauri.....

may i add something ?


the moribund wards breath nurses with life
...the glitter of hopes touch prescriptions (in) twilight...
...fynile smell on floors of pain
... tiffins served with charity and love ...
a hospital is the prayer of our life !

baba/11-12-2009/18.56

Bhagyashree said...

I recently had made a visit to KEM Mumbai. My only prayer nowadays is that I never undergo a trip there again.. I would rather jump from a highriser than getting admitted there.

Malsawmi Jacob said...

The unpleasant side of reality! But a hospital is a place of hope too, na?

Gauri Gharpure said...

Baba, this is beautiful! you always show me a ray of light and make me focus on the better things

Bhagyashree-- hospitals have their inheritant gloom, but a govt. hospital, to which this ws my first visit, reeks of helplessness..

medicine costs have escalated like anything, even we dread going to a hospital and fear the prescription for a series of tests, but we have our mediclaims.. (tht leads to another issue of hospitals overcharging and doing unnecessary surgeries on people with a health policy)

it's the poor who have to haggle the most for treatment..

i also pray that you, or anyone, would keep away from hospital visits as far as possible

Mesjay-- hope, definitely.. tht's wht i guess my baba has pointed out in his line 'a hospital is the prayer of our life'

i see you here after long, hope you have been fine :)

Gauri Gharpure said...

Swaram-- bang on the point.. but let me not be so negative either. in spite of the shortcomings, these fre hospitals and some dedicated doctors are doing their job well, within the scope of whtever infrastructure they have

sanjeeta kk said...

But then there is always a ray of hope in those private hospitals which don't present the said picture.
Its again the everlasting debate between the have and have-not's. If you have it ($'s) you escape all the miseries of govt. hospitals or else....fate!

firaq darvesh said...

Dear Sanjeeta,
I would humbly put it this way !
There is something beyond our controll, iirespective of what we possess and what we not....

" Aasar yoon to they bahaaro.n ke ` KHALISH '...
Roti rahi dil me.n mire laakho.n k.aza..."
- KHALISH / 19-12-2009.
***
Aasar = symptoms.
k.aza = death.

shahana said...

Its really true.
nice post!!

FoodLovers said...

very nice