The Doctor and the Director

The Doctor was loved and revered by all. He was brilliant and skilled in his diagnosis. But more than that he was a healer. Much more than a doctor. Anyone who has been afflicted with a life threatening disease will know what I mean…..the difference between a doctor and a healer. Always calm, always smiling, detached but never aloof, he listened, he spoke, he touched your soul exactly where the wounds were. And to think that he chose this profession on the toss of a coin. All he had to say was “How are you?” and everything would seem brighter. One often wondered where he got his seemingly supernatural stamina and tolerance dealing with suffering and disease all the time.

His fame grew and more and more people thronged to the public hospital where he worked, braving all inconveniences of a government hospital to be treated by him and him alone. He remained his affable caring dedicated self…..the fame and the adulation didn’t touch him. So this was the Doctor.

And then there was the Director. A tall, handsome, dashing man in his early fifties, also a brilliant doctor chosen from amongst many eminent peers to lead this same hospital. He too was known to be a deeply spiritual man with an enviable track record in his specialty. Just the right man to steer this institution. One would have imagined that the Doctor and the Director would absolutely hit it off.

But strangely enough as the Director settled in, the Doctor seemed to be getting side-lined. At least that’s how it appeared to his patients. His OPD slots were assigned to other doctors. His appearances started getting rarer. The Director kept deploying him elsewhere for administrative work. It seemed the Director just didn’t appreciate or value the Doctor’s abilities which had seen generations of patients heal and made the hordes revere him like God. However, if you were very persistent and insisted on consulting the Doctor you had to go through the Director. The Director held all the cards in his hand.

Everyone missed their beloved Doctor. And had to settle for memories of him. Newcomers to the hospital were narrated stories about the Doctor, his brilliance, his dedication, his serene aura and how he was a true friend, philosopher and guide to each of his patients. He became a legend, larger than life.

The Director in the meantime was going great guns taking several initiatives in modernising and enhancing the capacity of the hospital. He won many awards and accolades. And gradually as is inevitable, people accepted this state of affairs, including me.

Till one day someone mentioned that the Director was going to retire in a year’s time. I perked up…... could it……could it possibly herald the reappearance of the doctor?

P.S. Strange though, I must say, that no one ever saw the Doctor and the Director together.