After a tearful farewell in Dawki , i have joined in my new hospital and finally my things were shifted and arrived home. And today i recall my first day when i had gone to Dawki.....a fresh graduate , updated with the latest in dentistry, very enthusiastic and looking forward to my job , all eager to put to practice what ever i had mastered in college.....the best part was that here i would be my own boss. No more running over to the head of the department for every small permission. I could not wait to start off. I was given a quater and so brought my stuff what ever i would need to turn that little cold whitewashed 3 roomed place into a livible one. After all this was going to be my home for the next , God knows , how many years . And i did turn it into a very cozy home. I had a constant flow of visitors......my friends would come from far and near and spent a weekend......and would enjoy like no body's business. By the end of their stay , they would all leave recharged......lol. In the hospital , i started seeing patients and i remember they could not understand my language....so i thought , if i had to reach out to them , i needed to learn their local language......and i did . My teachers were all the kids in the area. I would spent hours with them and thats how i picked up the language and by the end of 6mths i could converse well enough with the patients. It was my first stay in a rural area.....i started observing their lifestyle.....their occupation.....their habits......well no where did dentistry figure in their life. How was i going to talk to them about cosmetic dentistry when some of them have never used a toothbrush in their lives. I suddenly realized i had a big challenge in front of me ......so all the classroom talks took a back seat. I had to get to the root problem first....create an awareness among them.,introduce them to dentistry. The hospital had many programmes. I got involved in them and when ever we had a health camp i saw to it that i could speak something to crowd about teeth.This paid off in a big way. But apart from that , I learnt a lot about rural life.....saw their hardships....saw the many elections where the candidate comes and makes promises and then forgotten for the next 5 yrs.I saw the simplicity of the people , their kindness, their trust on me, their warmness....all that they have given to me in the past years. I am grateful to each one of them. Today as i stand and bid them good bye , i could only say a thankyou to them.
A chapter has closed in my life........and whenever i open this page i would always recall my days here with fond memories.
2 comments:
very warm post nitu. n very illustrative.i cud see glimpses of a very interesting, enriching and adventurous experience.i have always dreamt of staying at and getting to know newer places.i think ur unique method of trying to pick up d local language would come in quite handy!
take care:)
nicely written nitu....can feel hw u felt while leaving that place
Keep the Good work on
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