No Q, but B Positive

Dr. Manoj Gupta and my wife Mehak, met for the first time this week. It didn't seem like the first time; though. As soon as Dr. Gupta started to write down the tests I should go through, for my annual physical appraisal, Mehak started suggesting tests that only the very rich; or very mad, go through. I haven't felt 'rich' in a long time, and the 'madness' I assure you, is quite temporary; till my business settles a little. The point is she did convince Dr. Gupta to write down every diagnostic test conceivable.

The next morning, after dropping Rhea to school and having failed to convince the Mrs., that the tests are unnecessary, we landed at DehraDun's (so called) best diagnostic center. The new building was immediately impressive, and we were both relieved to see that medical standards in our town are going north. Only until we stepped inside.
On entering, I could see huge and expensive equipment and uniformed staff, a decent seating area and the usual crowd that gathers in the morning. What a relief… both of us sighed. The TV meanwhile continued playing 'Bhajans' from one of the many religious channels.
I haven't worked for ISO to be able to judge the medical diagnostic standards of this place, but many years of world class retailing and customer service does make you notice things. The reception area had a sweet looking girl 'trying' to manage the 20 people, all asking for attention at the same time. When I suggested a queue to her, she promptly reminded me of my situation (that of a mere customer), and that she knew who came in first. The old Sardar gentleman standing right at the door couldn't even reach the reception for 15 minutes. Mehak's father is an ex-army man… so she took up the challenge and got me registered. This one minute job took us close to 20.

The sea of people then moved to the area where blood samples are taken. I mean everybody just moved there, with their little slips extended towards the staff. Survival of the fittest, I guess applies everywhere. The manager of the place of course, kept changing channels on the TV through all this.

“The CT scanning starts at 9, Sir”; made me find the morning's paper and rest. Mamta Banerjee will present the rail budget etc., occupied me for the some time till I realized that it was a quarter past. “Sir, the CT scan technician will be here soon”, coincided with a young chap entering the premises. He then turned the machine on and reminded me of the 'heating up' process that the machine must go through. Mehak by then noticed the head rest cover, which had seen hundreds before us, without a change. With her around; it had to go, and a new one took some time.  The scan finally happened at 9:40.

The tests came out fine. My cholesterol is under control, and the madness has nothing to do with my head, says the Doctor. Mehak now thinks its DNA related, and is trying to find other people in the family tree that can be blamed for my condition. My blood group is still B+ , hence in spite of my reactions to stumpy customer service, I will go back for my annual heath checks, hoping this time the CT scan will happen at 9 AM.  

Vineet Panchhi owns and runs Audio Wagon, his lifelong passion and now a music company. He blogs at Unplanned Journeys , and can be reached at: vineet.panchhi@audiowagon.com