So my Mentor's Son took me to an Anniversary Party this weekend. It was very interesting! Everyone was only in American dresses and I apparently did not get the memo that the "Whose Who" of Nagpur was going to be there. I felt super undressed and to be honest a little uncomfortable. I just didn't feel like I fit into this glitzy glam lifestyle people were leading. One girl whispered in my ear, "Don't worry I felt out of place when I first came here, but now I just try to keep up with the fashion. Oh, just know that no one repeats a dress here more than once." Wait, I am sorry is she freakin serious? On top of that, I was asked countless times why on Earth I would work at a government hospital? People were pretty pretentious and made comments like, "Well the poor deserve what they get" and "Some care is better than nothing." What happened to thinking of health as a human right and helping your fellow man? I guess that India no longer exists, and maybe it never did. As the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. To me, poverty appears to be ubiquitous in society, but to everyone else, I think it has become obsolete.
India is full of corruption and scandal. I went to a conference on, "Have People Lost Faith in Government Hospitals?" The answer was a unanimous yes! Apparently 50 years ago, the politicians and government officials used to go to government hospitals for treatment. Now they won't even step in them... So we tried to discuss what happened? As the private sector came into play, everyone realized there was more money there, so most people did not want to work for the government. Also corruption became worse, and the resources and infrastructure of the hospitals started to crumble. This mainly happened because there is no single governing body that oversees the governmental health system. And it is hard to call up the Prime Minister and tell him what is going wrong with the machine down the hall. They truly lack a solid health administration committee and until they decide it is worth the investment, I am afraid it will never get better.
It is not about raising doctor salaries or improving the education sector (although to be honest working on these areas wouldn't hurt). It is about giving doctors access to supplies and resources to do our job! We are only as good as our hospital. We can make a diagnosis but if we can't carry out our treatment plan, then we have really not done much after all. It is quite sad. I was a little disenchanted by the whole talk, but atleast people are aware of what is happening. One audience member grabbed the mike and just started yelling at all the speakers for thinking big ideas but not implementing anything. To him I say, Hooray for having the guts to stand up to gov't officials!!
After the conference i went to a Pediatric Genetic Conference. It was amazing to see how hard these doctors work to help the lives of so many children. With every door that seems to shut, more doctors help open them one by one. They are dedicated people who put patients first.
So on my way home from a very long Sunday, I come back and all the gates are locked. I waited 30 minutes in the scorching heat and then had to jump the gate (with the help of my autodriver, ofcourse) and wait on the lawn chairs outside. After being outside a total of 1.5 hours in the heat I was soaking wet in sweat and super irritable.
Rajan, the house helper, had gone to the market and when he realized what happened waiting he felt so bad. His friends had seen me outside the house and ridden their bicycles to go track him down in the market. He brought me cold water, and coconut water (my favorite) and was so apologetic. Then when Aunty came home she was soooo sad and felt sooo bad. She wouldn't stop saying sorry.
Despite my exhaustaiton I had promised a family friend that I would stop by her house. Although I wasn't in the best mood, as soon as I got there everyone showered me with kindness and sooo much food! We then came back to see Rajan and his friends hanging out outside. Aunty felt so bad that it was so hot, we came into the house and made everyone ice cream sundays! It was so much fun. They were preparing for a friends wedding. We then went outside and went through all the saris the bride was going to wear and it was such a blast.
This is the India I know and love. It feels just like home! Then I realized what the best part of India is: the kindness and hosiptality among friends and family. It is hard to juxtapose the corrupt governmental India from the big hearts of the people here. But the dichotomy, nonetheless, exists and like everything else in life, you just have to take the good with the bad. This place is far from perfect, but it has some of the warmest people I have met.
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