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An Unforgettable Experience
Hemanta Sen
Short Essay
It was a very hectic day driving since the time I got up all because I was trying to chase an agent who promised me to get my tax return, some welcome cash before I
was coming to USA. My office hours were always fixed starting from 6.30 PM IST (8AM CST) during the winters. That day I arrived at the office half an hour before my shift started, just enough to freshen up in the restroom before an 8 hours long shift.
As I proceeded to go out for my usual nicotine break, I headed towards TD’s (my best friend) workstation who usually accompanied me in such breaks. Just then the caller Id of my cell phone showed ‘TD calling’. Unfortunately that time the call was of a different nature. Radhika’s (TD’s girlfriend) father had expired. The person I had met twice last week was dead now. Being a chain smoker, only 20% of his heart was functional. Without wasting any time TD and I reached DLF, a posh colony in Gurgaon where Radhika’s family had been residing for just over 6 months. We were informed that uncle’s dead body had been taken to a private hospital, only 3 miles away from Radhika’s house. We rushed to the hospital immediately, only to find one of our other friend and Aunty (Radhika’s mom) in a state of despair. Wrapped in a white sheet on a stretcher was uncle lying outside the hospital campus, almost by the side of the road.
If the death of a person does not take place in the hospital, the law prohibits the doctors of that hospital to provide a death certificate or to keep the dead body in the mortuary till the time
As I proceeded to go out for my usual nicotine break, I headed towards TD’s (my best friend) workstation who usually accompanied me in such breaks. Just then the caller Id of my cell phone showed ‘TD calling’. Unfortunately that time the call was of a different nature. Radhika’s (TD’s girlfriend) father had expired. The person I had met twice last week was dead now. Being a chain smoker, only 20% of his heart was functional. Without wasting any time TD and I reached DLF, a posh colony in Gurgaon where Radhika’s family had been residing for just over 6 months. We were informed that uncle’s dead body had been taken to a private hospital, only 3 miles away from Radhika’s house. We rushed to the hospital immediately, only to find one of our other friend and Aunty (Radhika’s mom) in a state of despair. Wrapped in a white sheet on a stretcher was uncle lying outside the hospital campus, almost by the side of the road.
If the death of a person does not take place in the hospital, the law prohibits the doctors of that hospital to provide a death certificate or to keep the dead body in the mortuary till the time
a death certificate is produced before them. Since uncle took his last breath in the house after which he was brought to the hospital, there was little the hospital authorities could do to help us. The only option left for us was to carry uncle’s body immediately back to the house. Thankfully the law did not stop us from seeking help from the ambulance service and why not, as that was a way to make good business out of death (the ambulance charged Rs700 just to cover a distance of 3 miles). Radhika’s only brother stays in Canada; his last visit to India was only a month back. During his visit he discussed with TD his plans to provide uncle with better treatment in Canada or in USA but now that was divine intervention. For ‘Bhaiya’ (brother) to come to India would at least take 24 hours of travel time apart from the time taken to arrange for tickets and to manage things at work before leaving is time consuming, hence he was not expected to reach India till another 48-50 hours. The only option left for us was to make sure we put uncle in the mortuary ASAP and to make that happen we would need a death certificate.
It was almost 8 PM, five hours since uncle’s eyes were open for the last time. If not anyone else, I got a faint stink of the dead body, however, just to make sure I don’t create a panic situation I only disclosed it to TD who also confirmed me the same.
It seemed that Radhika’s relatives were distant or they all stayed far away. The only family that turned up that evening was uncle’s brother. To our knowledge he had a MBBS degree. This soared our hopes high, thinking that at least now there is a scope to get the much needed death certificate.
It was almost 8 PM, five hours since uncle’s eyes were open for the last time. If not anyone else, I got a faint stink of the dead body, however, just to make sure I don’t create a panic situation I only disclosed it to TD who also confirmed me the same.
It seemed that Radhika’s relatives were distant or they all stayed far away. The only family that turned up that evening was uncle’s brother. To our knowledge he had a MBBS degree. This soared our hopes high, thinking that at least now there is a scope to get the much needed death certificate.
