D N O C H P...read ahead!!

No I am not trying to revisit alphabets and it is not an acronym as well. This was the line on the ophthalmologist's clinic dashboard. I probably read it many times that I remember it very well. The letters I guess has to do more with the similarity in D & O and N & H. Why did our forefathers come up with weird terms such as ventriloquist or ophthalmologist. The words sound constipated anyways.

The scene is the ophthalmologist's clinic. It seemed to me as if I was entering one of the swanky hotels in Bangalore that keep dotting the city quite often than clinics. The old clinic with its brazen wooden cover, the stern receptionist, and the ubiquitous formalin (or whatever) aroma rising in the air, being replaced by plush interiors matching with exquisite chairs and Norah Jones singing from a channel speaker. Welcome to the clinic of the future!

I beat time to reach the place only to find that there were four patients ahead of me. Actually, a clinic is a great place to spend time, provided you enjoy people's rantings, expressions, and chat. Some people interest you that you keep following their antics. Folks these places though seem boring, they actually offers a lot to the keen observer. "The Terminal" is a case in point. It is an amazing movie that delves in to the moments of a passenger stranded in an airport terminus.

Back to the clinic now. There was this interesting couple who sat opposite to me. The guy had a patch on his eye and his beautiful wife accompanied her. With a patch on his eye, he strained at the TV watching the day's proceedings of the stock market. She was glued to a magazine and never bothered about anything, occasionally lifting her head to check the TV. There were this two old ladies (I realized they were sisters) who were like "I am busy than thou" attitude. They did not have an appointment and yet were grumbling that they see the doctor since they feel they will see him for a few minutes. The clinic staff seemed peeved with these ladies. And then there was this big family of five persons come to see the doctor.

As time passed, I kept my fingers crossed expecting the patients finish their appointments so that I can reach office after my visit. It was the turn of the couple to see the doc. The lady kept browsing the magazine till she reached the room and then realized that she has to leave it in the lobby!! And then it was the turn of the old ladies. The joy on their faces when entering the room reminded me of Kapil's toothy smile when he held the World Cup in '83.

My turn came and I was upset that I have to leave the show. The doctor recognized me and we chatted things other than the eye. Everything in the clinic had changed except the doctor and his smile. There ends my day at the ophthalmologist. I am sure one day another person may be writing about me ranting or idling in a clinic or a bus station or the airport.