First Sling

“Amma today I want cheese dosa for dinner”.Declared Achu. Okay I turned the stove on and placed the dosa pan on the flame. No no no he came running again, leaving his study table. See amma it has been a long time since you made payasam. So could you please make payasam now.. please ,please please…. Keep this pan aside pleeease.

Okay you win. I will make payasam for you , in the meantime you go and finish your homework. “ Jacob you already finished yours right? Go and play in the other room without disturbing your brother.”
There I became busy in preparing some quick payasam .Its almost done Again another scream. “Ammmma… Jacob is troubling me.”Mhm. …I rushed into his study room , there he stands making faces at Achu, trying his level best to irritate him.

“You young man out, out of the room right now. I pulled him out in a hurry, my payasam will get burned- and almost closed the door.He screamed loudly. Gosh… I didn’t notice his little finger stuck between the hinges. My God what do I do now, I am alone with the kids as their father is away most of the time on official assignments. I rushed for ice , in the meantime yelling to Isaac “ take my mobile and call the taxi” He did it in a split second .

Next moment I was down in the taxi carrying my screaming little boy. Rushed to the casualty of a nearby hospital. “Leave the boy here go pay the money and come”. Said the nurse. I ran only to find a long queue. I was worried to death. There stood a gentle man with a kind face. “ Please can I pay for my son first, please.” He agreed and I rushed in again.
X ray – for sure. Declared the duty doctor. Went to the first floor, carrying the lil one.He was clinging to me hard like a frightened kitten. Xray is done. Rushed down the flight of stairs, cant wait for the lift. Whew. … “doctor bahar gaya. Dus baje ayenge”(Doctor went out , will be back by 10.00 ) If you want you can take him somewhere else. Or give him some pain killer and wait.

No way. Im not going to wait for 3 hrs. Thanks a lot. I will find another hospital. Rushed to the next hospital. The girl at the reception was more humane. You just rush to room no.6 .Dont bother about payment now. Her words came out as a cool breeze for me. I ran to the room where the nurse took charge immediately. Ortho doc arrived in a haste. Examinations….yes there is a minor fracture on his little finger. Don’t worry he will be okay.

The little finger was plastered and the right hand secured in a sling.
It’s 10pm. There he is, sleeping with a band-aid on his right little finger and the hand comfortably held in a sling. Pains of bringing up two little boys single handedly.

But one thing is true, when you have problems to solve, you become strong automatically, and you will be surprised how gracefully you could overcome it. Thanks to my parents, for my upbringing , for teaching me to be independent even when I am miles apart from them in a foreign country.