Oh! Doctor!

My cousin is just my age but a lot more mature. Throughout our childhood he had a genial spirit and was given to enjoying the good things in life. When in PUC, he would ride his bicycle to our house and on sunny afternoons we used to gorge on potato buns which were a novelty then – and of course, it was always he who paid.

Our family has been regularly using his services, and at critical times, he is always there for us. And so is he to a lot many more families and friends. Recently I had to visit him due to a sprain in my left knee. On examination, he felt that there was an accumulation of blood due to some internal bleeding, yet felt that perhaps it would be prudent to seek the opinion of a specialist orthopedist.

Accordingly, an appointment at the specialist’s hospital was fixed and we hastened there forthwith. The specialist was a mix of a stern faced yet outgoing type of doctor. He carefully examined my leg by folding it in different ways and later concluded that I have to get a few X-rays of the knees. On examining the X-rays carefully, his face took upon a grim expression and he said “Actually, you have two options – Since you are over 55 years you could have osteoarthritis as the joint has worn out, and further due to injury there seems to be a ligament tear resulting in the weakness in the knee. This could be studied intensively for ligament structure and blood-capillary structures..”

“What is the second option?” I pleaded, sensing in a panic that the whole mission would turn out prohibitively expensive.

“The other option is that you could have a sprain of the knee, and you could rest your knee for about ten days and observe for improvement”, he declared plainly.

“I’ll choose the second option!” I added hastily, and much to my relief.


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As we were driving down from M.G. Road to our home in Bangalore, my brother-in-law chanced to see a fairly large compound with a spacious building with a name board “NATURE CURE HOSPITAL”.

“I wonder what sort of treatments they give you in a Nature cure hospital?” My brother-in-law asked curiously.

“Perhaps they allow nature to cure the patients!” said my sister.

“And they collect the money!” I said.

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