From the Himalayas to the Sierra Madres: Off To See the Taj

Well the word around town is “monsoon”… It’s been getting cloudier and cloudier the past few days, a sign of the monsoon. Our friend Mr. Singh took us for another drive today up through the foothills of the Himalayas and said that the clouds will gather and condense for days and weeks and then the hardest and longest rains in the world will be upon us for a month or two. While it sounds terrible, I’m excited at this point because the heat here when the sun is out is borderline unbearable. The Indian people don’t seem to mind as they continue to wear their jeans and long sleeve shirts. I’m wearing these very light, button-down shirts with light long pants to rounds every day. They’re definitely cooler than regular khakis and polos but they don’t change the fact that it’s 105-110 degrees every day. Today was much cooler, with overcast skies, thankfully. Mr. Singh told us that this has been the hottest summer in 64 years, lucky us! Most of the time we are indoors, with fans, out of the sun and pollution thankfully (I have not mentioned that I’ve never been somewhere more polluted, I can actually feel a difference in my breathing even after a few days, the air quality is extremely poor here, a very large contributor to the high asthma rates).

These things aside, the week has flown by and I can’t say how much fun it has been. I’ve learned so much about the doctor-patient relationship simply by observing. Intently watching the countless interactions in another language could not be more helpful and insightful. Never have I learned so much about body language: what seems to be of comfort to the patient and what doesn’t, what is reassuring, all things that are just as, if not more important than the actual diagnosis and prescription.

We have been in Dr. K.B. Joshi’s office from 5:45-8 PM every night this week. He is a general practitioner, as well as a cardiologist (chest specialist). He is a very kind man and another amazing doctor. He works from 8 AM until 10 PM EVERY DAY and sees about 20 patients an hour, yes 20. Although this number may seem a bit disconcerting, you must understand the medical situation in India. There are 1.2 billion people here, and a shortage of doctors. Not like the shortage in America, but like a waaaayyyyy greater shortage (sorry for the lack of numbers, I’m writing this post at home without internet so I can’t look it up. If someone knows/can look it up and wants to comment I’d be really interested to know). If doctors didn’t churn out patients very quickly, millions of people would not get seen nor treated by a doctor. This is why Dr. Joshi sees 20 patients an hour and works 14-15 hours a day. While observing him in clinic, he always stops and explains the situation of each patient to us, and teaches us everything we need to know about the sickness/disease to understand the diagnosis and situation of the patient. We feel bad sometimes when he does this because he is incredibly thorough with us, and takes a lot of time teaching us while the patients sit there waiting. The doctor patient relationship interests me greatly, and it’s amazing how respectful and reverent the patients are of the doctor and his services. All of the doctor’s words and opinions are respected. It is how I believe the relationship was in America 60 years ago. This style of relationship has its plusses and minuses (a minus maybe being that the doctor has too much power and never doubts his own abilities, getting carried away with a prognosis or prescription). Anyway, this week has been great with Dr. Joshi and I am grateful for everything he has done for us and taught us.

To the surprise of my mother and sister and all those who are aware of my fear of shopping (with the exception of ties and shoes), I have been shopping my ass off here with Callie and Zack. The number of shops and the prices are jaw dropping. And by jaw dropping I mean I bought 7 scarves, 4 pairs of pants, 1 tie, an elephant figurine (made of silver and another alloyish material), a kurta (formal male Indian shirt), 2 sets of bed sheets (including pillow cases), and another huge blanket, all for around $50.

I’m learning more and more about the mindset here, so much having to do with destiny. My Indian mother, Mrs. Sethi, always says, “It was our destiny to meet up in this life. I always try to enjoy every moment I have because in my next life I may not be a human. So I enjoy every moment that I can while I am here.” What a great way to look at life, so fascinating and enriching.

We’re heading to see the Taj Mahal in a couple hours, and I’m incredibly excited. It’s about a 10-hour drive from Dehradun, and we’re joining up with another couple of interns to join us on our adventure. I’m incredibly excited. I will try to write another post this weekend if I have internet. If not, it will be 8 days before I do, so farewell for a bit!

Peace, and I hope everyone is having a safe and fun summer so far.