#21Days

Day 12

1.43 am

"Sonakshi Ma'am, care for some coffee?" After lugging boxes around the hospital for three hours, I guess the two of us deserve a break. I've been paired once again with Sukhmani Sippy Hospital's newest intern, Dr. Pulkit Awasthi.

I nod my head. Along with the fact that my arms are killing me right now, I'm slowly beginning to develop a headache. Dr. Pulkit smiles. "I'll get some." He begins to walk straight down the corridor when I stop him. "Where are you going?"

He looks confused. "To get coffee?"

"Isn't the cafeteria that way?" I point in the opposite direction. He smiles, understanding my confusion. "I'm going to the staff room. There's a coffee machine there." I walk up to him, hold his hand, and drag him the other way. "You know what, let's have a nice cup of coffee. My treat."

Ten minutes later, with two piping hot cups of latte in front of us, I'm clutching my stomach and laughing. Dr. Pulkit is regaling me with an incident about his first day at the Sukhmani Sippy Hospital. Over the course of the day, I've learnt a little bit about his background. Dr. Pulkit comes from a modest family. His father died when he was 12. His mother, who was a school teacher, raised him and his younger brother.

"Tell me, why did you take up medicine?" I ask, changing the subject. He sobers up. It's personal. But he doesn't shy away from answering my question.

"My Dad died because he didn't receive medical attention on time. One day he was throwing up blood. When we took him into the hospital, the doctors told my mother he needed surgery. But before they began, they asked my mother to fill out a whole bunch of forms and deposit a large amount of cash. By the time she managed to do all that, he was no more."

I can see it's difficult for him to talk about it. I have a fair idea as to what life might have been like from that point forward. But still, I wait for him to continue. Dr. Pulkit takes a sip of his latte and encircles the mug with his palms. I can see he is drawing strength from the warmth of the mug. I wait for him to process whatever is going on inside his head.

"When I decided I wanted to become a doctor, I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. We didn't have the finances. My mother was burning herself out with teaching in the school during the day and tuition classes in the evening."

He stops and takes another sip. I take one too.

"Between scholarships and bank loans, my mother somehow managed to pay for my med school."

He says no more. But I can see gratitude in his eyes, for his mother, who fought the world and circumstances mercilessly so that her son could follow his dreams. I suppose mothers are like that. They love their children unconditionally. They sacrifice so much for their children. And they do their best. Maybe their best is not good enough, but it's still way out of their comfort zone.

All of this talk is making the two of us emotional. Dr. Pulkit senses that too. So he pivots our conversation towards happier subjects.

"My mother is a huge fan of your show. She's not missed a single episode."

I can see he doesn't know the name of my show or my character. I smile. I'm reminded of another doctor who didn't. And just like that, thinking about him, I smile.

I hear someone clearing their throat behind me. I already know who it is. I don't need to turn and look. Whoever said think of the devil and the devil appears, spoke from experience.

"Mind if I join?"

Dr. Pulkit gets up to pull a chair towards our table. But just then his pager rings. He is wanted by the nurses in Level 2. He thanks me for the coffee and makes his way out. Rohit takes the chair Dr. Pulkit was sitting in a while before. Dressed in his teal scrubs, with his thick black metal eye frame perched on his nose; my heart begins to beat in an erratic way.