21 Days Lockdown - Day 3

Hey guys!

I hope you all are doing fine and staying away from the world outside. Today was the best day of my lockdown. I say that because I got to go for my regular duties breaking the monotony of the previous week. Although the lockdown started 2 days back, I have been out of regular work for almost ten days now. Most of it is because of the leave which I had taken to study for the final exams. Unlike other departments, we in Microbiology are not relieved one month before exams. We mostly get 15 days, if we are lucky then maybe 20. Due to the pandemic, we have been asked to rejoin the duties even if we had applied for leaves. It is compulsory for one of the senior postgraduates to be present in the department at least once in four days. So, as I reached my lab, that old smell of disinfectant mixed with old and new bacterial cultures from samples filled my nostrils, suddenly waking me up and making the laziness go away. It might sound like a bad experience in regards to the usage of word smell but there are certain bacteria which actually smell fruity and more like incense sticks. When I was in my first year of post-graduation I developed a habit of standing outside my lab for a minute or two, focusing my mind to Medicine in general then Microbiology and then enter. With time this habit changed more into routine activity i.e. I would start focusing while I was on my way to the lab blurring out all the worldly useless thoughts. Today I was a little surprised as I woke with that focus already in play. I think it might have something to do with a fresh brain for the past ten days and also the excitement to do something new and meet the new (old), people. 

In the middle of my work, I realised that that was the life I would always trade for an easy or a jobless one. Being at work fulfils me. I feel that I am full of new ideas and thoughts related to the problem at hand. It not only makes me earn my living but also stimulates my creative side which further makes life easier. Basically, going to work every day no matter what you do makes sense. It gives your life shape of a routine which requires you to instil further discipline in yourself. I think that this discipline makes me a better person. Another thing which most of us have forgotten in the midst of this pandemic is the care of regular patients. I know how important it is to make sure that we have enough number of beds and doctors available for patients of COVID-19 still, it is important that others are not kept in the peripheries of our reach. This makes my work more important than anything else. This also brings out the real image of the healthcare system in our country. India invests only 3.7% of its GDP in Healthcare which is lower than most of the countries in the world. We have broken ceilings at our government hospitals, malfunctioning machines, corrupt officials at high positions who obviously have been made to sit there by even more corrupt politicians. This also unearths the lies which our State, as well as Central governments, have been telling us i.e. they have invested heavily in the national healthcare and all is well regarding that. Although a sad thought but this is the truth of the nation which has 1.3 billion people who are ready to invest money in material things but not in their health. Maybe in this time and age, we have forgotten that - Health is Wealth. 

As time passed by, I came across a piece of very sad news i.e. a doctor in Malegaon, Maharashtra was beaten and misbehaved for some reasons some MLA found legitimate. Although there are two sides of the stories still I believe that being uncivilised is not the way to treat a person who is underpaid and overworked for the most part of his life. But as they say, this is India and politicians rule the society followed by money and then the people who know them personally. I feel that the way people think and operate in today's world is on the lines of business transactions. There is no more courtesy left in anyone. It is also disheartening because these are the same people who stood on their balcony and clapped for the healthcare workers on the request of our Prime Minister. I guess most of the them are hypocrite. This is also the same reason why I never accepted the appreciation which was given by the general public on the day of Janta Curfew. It has been so long that we as professionals been oppressed that now it all feels useless and just a show. Caring or appreciation for someone when the death is knocking on your door is a real definition of selfishness and that is what Indians have given us back. 

Moving on, rest of the day was fine and went as planned. I had a good session of high-intensity interval training to maintain my fitness (to survive these times). I also got the news that one of my family members have been called by the State Government to start duty to monitor COVID-19 positive cases. It worried me a lot because I am aware of the facilities provided by the same authorities even to the frontline workers are not just inadequate but also inhuman. Still, being exposed to the risks of being a doctor, I realise that she would be doing a great service to this undeserving nation and its population. In a nutshell, day 3 was a rollercoaster ride for me as I went from the peaks and trough of my mood listening to different news at different hours of the day. I hope you had a good time reading it. Please share your views and thoughts on it in the comment section below. 

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