It’s Doctor’s Day on July 1, and it’s only fair that we remember them.
We need to do better. Our ingratitude toward doctors is shameful. Almost all of us were delivered by a doctor in a hospital, but do we even remember their names, or send them a box of sweets on our birthday? Of course, it could be because we resent them. There we were, floating in amniotic fluid, minding our own business, without a care in the world. It was the best time of our lives. Food and drink was free. We had no idea about money. We were unaware of Karan Johar. Then suddenly this person yanks us out and starts slapping us on the bum.
After that, it’s all downhill. It’s natural to feel ill will. But things could be changing. Cultural forces are broadening our perceptions. In recent years, for example, the 37 different superhero movies released by Marvel have introduced us to Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom and Doctor Octopus. Two of them are villains, and one is a hero. Only one of them has a goatee, and he is the hero. This has changed my perspective on men with goatees. Earlier, I used to view them with suspicion. But now I give them the benefit of the doubt. Bearded or not, this is the right time to remember the famous ones. I was personally very affected by Doctor Spock. As a young boy, I was a big fan of Star Trek . I was very excited to discover that apart from outwitting aliens on a regular basis, Spock had also written the definitive guidebook on raising babies. Imagine my disappointment when I first got my hands on a copy, flipped to the author picture, and discovered that he did not have pointy ears.
There are many more doctors we have to thank. We have Doctor Trehan and Doctor Shriram Lagoo. We have Doctor Reddy and Doctor Ambedkar. Their contributions have been significant. Internationally, Doctor Who and Doctor No have been influential. Doctor Freud has us taught that it’s okay to be a pervert. Speaking of perverts, Doctor Scholl has helped us with our feet. Doctor Oetker has introduced us to eggless mayonnaise. Doctor Conan Doyle gave us Sherlock Holmes. Doctor Dwivedi brought us Chanakya. Doctor Johnson wrote a dictionary.
In the area of public service, we have the Doctor Uncle from Green Park Market in Delhi, who will write you a prescription for anything. Personally, I have very fond memories of Doctor Watson and Doctor Fu Manchu, the two assistants of Mogambo in Mr India . They didn’t do very much, but it was good to see that Mogambo respected the medical profession. Doctors are good. Doctors help and inspire us in many ways. On this day, let us honour them by moving forward boldly, inspired by the words of the greatest doctor of them all, Doctor Seuss. “And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! (98 and 3/4% guaranteed).”
In Shovon Chowdhury’s most recent novel, Murder With Bengali Characteristics , a doctor from a good family is the mastermind behind the New Thug Society
