Messed-Up Monday

This evening, when the team got back from their village visit, I wrote a long, long blog. But when I tried to upload it, the whole thing disappeared. What a pity. It was a passionately written piece about corruption in the medical profession. And it drained me out. I don't wish to rewrite it all over again and even if I did rewrite, it won't read quite the same. The emotion will be missing. Hence, I'll just stick to facts and events in this entry -- my second attempt.

When the team reached Danga Roldih Tola, they found out that Santlal's father had died yesterday at around 10 am. All the men had gone to bury him. Only the women were left in the village to mourn. So they came away without meeting anyone. There was no point in imposing on them in their grief.

Santlal's father had been ill for quite a while. Apparently he had fallen ill the day he came to get his son admitted t o school. And never recovered since then. We first heard about his illness when the team visited Santlal's home about two weeks ago. His father, though able to talk, was very, very weak. Last week too, the team had dropped in to enquire about his health. They felt he perhaps would not survive. They were right.

No one knows what was wrong with him. He had gone to Godda for treatment and the doctors there had adviced him to come back for tests. Of course, he did not go back. Perhaps because it was to far to go. Or maybe he could not afford the treatment. We don't know. He told the team that his pain was unbearable and he did not wish to go that far for treatment.

There are no real doctors here. Most of the people who practise medicine are "quacks" with no medical background. They are quite effective for minor illnesses. But when there's something seriously wrong, then they can't do much. And it appears there was something seriously wrong with Santlal's dad.

We will visit the family after a few days. Since Santlal is the only son, perhaps he will now be expected to stay home. We will have to convince his mother not to stop his studies. He's a bright kid and we think that now more than ever, he needs to get an education.

It was at this point that I started my tirade about corrupt doctors etc. But it all got wiped out. And now I am too tired to go into that again. But my heart is heavy. And I am sure everyone who went for village visit today are feeling a bit low. I'm glad they "feel". The visits are paying off. They are getting to the villagers are individuals. People. Not just a human mass called Santhal. Nilambar and Bhola seem very involved. Sharad, is deeply touched.

The well-diggers did not show up today. I was half-expecting them not to come. They were paid on Saturday and I suppose till that money is finished, they are not going to come to work. How does one "uplift" these people or help them to move forward? Conventional wisdom suggests that they should be eager to finish this well and move on to other work. They know we want another well. Shouldn't they try and finish within the shortest time so that they can take up more work and earn more money? But that's not how things work here. As long as there's even a little bit of money left they wouldn't work. It's only when their resources are completely exhausted that they start looking for work.

Well, that's all from me tonight. I'm sleepy and tired. Perhaps tomorrow's blog will be less insipid!