Badal da entered the Airport with swollen red eyes and running nose, which he wiped with his handkerchief every now and then, His face was drained of all colors. Anyone would know from his face that he was not well.
The girl sitting behind the desk looked at him more than once while she was booking his seat. She asked very politely, "Sir, you don’t look well. Are you suffering from any disease?”
Badal da frowned at her, "Yes, I am a sick man. I am suffering from C A P S caps."
“Sir, is it very contagious?” the girl asked
“I don’t know…. I have not infected anyone in the last two years. Now can I get my boarding pass, please?"
“Please don't take it otherwise, sir. I asked because I thought you might need some help.”
“No, I don’t need any. …… Hmmm …please wait for a moment. OK … give me the seat on the passage end.”
"You mean the Aisle seat, sir? There is only one seat left in the rear end. Should I book it for you?"
Badal da just shook his head. He was not in a mood to talk. The girl handed him the boarding pass and asked him to proceed to gate number 34 after the security check-in.
There was a long queue at Gate No. 34. The boarding had not started. He walked to the airline staff standing near the entrance and told him that he was not well and would like to go inside the craft first.
He sympathized with him and asked him very politely, "Sir, do you need a wheelchair?"
“No, just want to relax on my seat.”
“Sir, it is one hour fifty minutes’ non-stop flight to Ranchi. I hope you won’t need any medical help in the flight.”
"No-no, I am quite flight-worthy. …. I mean, I am fit to take a flight. Should I show you my prescription?"
The airline staff smiled back at him and said, "That won't be needed, sir. Please wait here for some time. I will take you first."
After a while, he was walking through the corridor of the aerobridge. But many passengers walked past him, and he had to struggle to reach his seat. He put his hand baggage in the overhead bin and went to the washroom at the rear end.
When he came out, he found that the aircraft was a crowded place. People were looking for their seats and loading the overhead bin with their hand baggage. He coaxed and cajoled his way back to his seat. He got furious at the girl who gave him the seat at the rear end of the craft.
He became more upset when he saw that a hefty young man was occupying his seat. He requested him to leave his seat. The young man got up and said, "Sir, that window seat is mine. You can sit there and enjoy it."
He gave him a way to pass through him. But Badal da sat in the seat vacated by him and fastened his seat belt. He said, "No, Thank you. I have some medical problems. I have especially asked for this passage seat."
The young man threw his arms helplessly and complained, “You should have told me this before occupying the seat. Look at my weight. I cannot get past you to my seat unless you get up and stand here in the aisle.”
Badal da did the same. The young man brushed past him and struggled to his window seat. Now one seat between the two was still vacant. Badal da looked around for his co-passenger. Almost everyone had settled in their respective places. He asked the air hostess if someone is yet to come. She showed her ignorance. He had to wait till a nice bespectacled gentleman in his mid-thirties finally arrived. He quickly put his laptop bag in the overhead bin and sat in his seat.
Badal da also sat down. The gentleman smiled at him and also to the hefty young man. The aircraft started rolling. The air hostesses started the safety demonstration.
Badal da closed his eyes and tried to take some rest. But his mind was so agitated that he could not sit peacefully. The aircraft stopped and waited in the queue for its turn to take off. Suddenly he realized that he would not be able to go to the washroom for quite some time. He got up. An air hostess rushed to her and requested him to remain seated as the plane was ready for the take-off.
Badal da argued, "Please let me go to the washroom. It won't take long. See, I am suffering from a medical condition called FAPS. I cannot hold for long. It will come out."
The Airhostess nodded her head as if she understood everything and quickly took out a paper bag from the flap on the front seat and handed him, “When you feel like you can use this. But we cannot allow you at the moment to use the washroom.”
She quickly brought a bunch of tissue paper for him and almost ran to her station. The aircraft moved and started running on the airstrip. Badal da was confused and looked at the paper bag with amusement, "How can I use this in public?" he asked the gentleman sitting next to him.
The gentlemen whispered in his ears, "When you can't hold on, you can put your mouth in it and puke into it."
The aircraft was airborne and started gaining altitude. Badal da explained, "No, I didn't mean that. Actually, my stomach is …….," he left the sentence in the middle. He thought he would go to the washroom the moment the indicator for wearing a seat belt is switched off.
“What did you say you were suffering from?” his co-passenger asked him.
Badal da stared at him. The gentleman coughed and informed him that he was a doctor.
"What kind of a doctor? ... I mean, what is your specialization?” Badal da asked.
“Well, I am Dr. A. B. Chaturvedi. I am a cardiologist.”
He took out his visiting card from the wallet and gave him. Then he asked, “Are you from Dhanbad?”
“No, I am from Jamshedpur. Are you working in Dhanbad?” Badal da asked.
"I am going to see the place. A newly built multi-specialty hospital has invited me to see the place. I may join the hospital if I like the place. Do you think it is a good place for me?"
“It is a coal mines area. There is nothing much for amusement.”
“But I have heard that it is a paying belt.”
Badal da looked at him with inquisitive eyes. What kind of place is called a paying belt?
The doctor explained when he saw that Badal da did not understand, “I mean the paying capacity of the people is good. Isn’t it?”
"But, you will have a minimal social life."
"Who cares? As long as I am getting the money?"
These young people are mad after money, Badal da burped and made faces.
The doctor was very eager to know more about Dhanbad. He asked, “How far is Dhanbad from Jamshedpur?”
“I think it is almost the same distance as it is from Ranchi to Dhanbad. ... You can either go to Ranchi or come to Jamshedpur in the weekends for a change.”
“You know what I was thinking? If I do some networking in Ranchi or Jamshedpur, patients from these places can also visit this hospital for my consultation.”
"Why should someone come to you all the way from Ranchi or Jamshedpur for a consultation?"
"There are only a few doctors who are a DM cardiology like me."
“What is so special about it?”
“I am an interventional cardiologist.”
Badal da thought for a while and then asked with inquisitiveness, “What kind of interventions do you do in the matter of hearts? Do you mend broken hearts?”
The doctor laughed, “No-no, I do CABG and Stenting.”
“CABG?” Badal da looked puzzled, "Why do you doctors use so much of medical jargon and abbreviations? If you try to find out its meaning in Google, you will find something like Craig Anthony Boy’s Gymnasium. No one can find the real meaning of CABG in Google, I am sure.”
The doctor again started laughing. The hefty guy sitting beside him woke up and looked at him with displeasure. He changed his posture and again closed his eyes.
The doctor said, "No, sir, you will find this term on Google as Coronary Artery Bypass Graft - CABG. It is the heart surgery which you all know as bypass surgery."
“That’s interesting.”
“What is interesting? You mean, is it interesting to find an interventional cardiologist near you? You can also send patients from Jamshedpur to me. You will find my phone number on my visiting card."
"Yeah, that's OK. But I did not mean that. I was just wondering why such a qualified doctor needs a marketing plan for getting patients."
The doctor tried to convince him, “We must let people know that I am available. You may call it a marketing plan.”
"But your work will earn a name for you. I think that is a better marketing strategy."
"You don't know, perhaps. It takes around three years for a doctor to earn his name. Why should I, I mean, why should people suffer for their ignorance?"
"So, you are saying that you are the only one who can do some intervention with the heart in the entire area."
“No-no, there are few of them both in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. But we can offer them better packages and facilities.”
By now, the doctor's enthusiasm had been subdued. Now he was more in the defensive mode. After answering, he started looking outside the window to avoid further questioning. But who could stop Badal da from asking? He again provoked him, "Package deal......you mean to say you take complete responsibility of the cure. Do you have any packages for my disease? I may be interested.”
“What did you say you are suffering from?”
“Well, it is called CAPS or may be FAPS.”
"CAPS? It must be a Coronary Artery PPPP…… let me figure out what it could be," the doctor started pondering, "Well, what are your symptoms?"
Badal da looked blankly at him. The doctor realized that he had used a medical term. He asked in layman's language, "I mean, what is your problem?"
"My boss wants to remove me from the job, because I visit the dispensary quite often.”
“Are you sick?”
“Well, I have some stomach problems for the last two years," Badal da started. He took out the list of his complaints and was about to read when the doctor hastily stopped him from doing so.
He said, “See, I am a cardiologist and do not know much about stomach problems.”
“But Dr. ABC, I thought you were also an MBBS doctor.”
"After my MBBS, I did my MD and then DM in cardiology. I am a super-specialist, sir," the doctor said with pride.
"Oh, I can understand now. It's been long since you passed your MBBS, and you forgot what you read at MBBS level,” Badal da had no intention to undermine the doctor.
But the doctor suddenly lost interest in him and started playing with his TAB. Badal da was not a person who would spare the doctor so easily. He pestered him, “At least tell me what FAPS or CAPS stands for.”
The doctor started thinking aloud, "Since you have abdominal problem. It means, FAPS could be F for Functional…… yes Functional….... and A for Abdominal …. Yes. P for Pain and S for Syndrome. Now I got it. FAPS is Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome,” he smiled at Badal da.
"And what could CAPS mean? For your information, both the terms mean the same disease,” Badal da tried to show he had some knowledge about the term.
"Well, on that line of thought, CAPS could be Chronic Abdominal Pain Syndrome," the doctor said with the glow of triumph on his face.
Badal da took him lightly, "What you said could be right and could be something else also. You are only guessing."
"No-no, CAPS is nothing other than Chronic Abdominal Pain Syndrome, and FAPS is nothing other than Functional……"
"How can you be so sure? After all, you are a super-specialist," Badal da said with sarcasm.
"You must be having pain in abdomen off and on. Sometimes quite severe, sometimes mild. The pain starts, especially when you are psychologically disturbed. Am I right?"
The doctor had said point-blank on his face that he had some stomach problem, which was related to his state of mind. He probably wanted to take his revenge from Badal da for calling him a super-specialist with a hint of sarcasm indicating he had forgotten what he had read in his MBBS level.
After hearing this, Badal da became silent and started thinking. The doctor pushed him further into the corner, "You don't need a package. The problem is in your mind. Probably you have some work-related or family-related problems, which you are not able to handle. Your mind then tries to vent the pressure in the form of some bizarre physical symptoms. If you start facing the problems and become positive in your life, then all your health problems will go.”
The doctor looked straight into his eyes to show him that he had ultimately won. Badal da turned his head on the other side. He became more depressed than he was in the beginning.
He thought to himself. He must be right. After my wife Modhumita died, I must have become crazy. My son Babla also calls me crazy. My daughter Tumpa talks to me as if I am stupid. I probably have lost the capacity to understand their world. I am a misfit in this world. Oh god, I don't want to live anymore.
He closed his eyes and prayed from the depth of his heart.
And his prayers were probably heard by the god. Suddenly the aircraft started shaking and jerking. The chief of air hostess announced that they were passing through a turbulent zone and requested everybody to fasten their seat belts.
While all the passengers were filled with panicky, Badal da was saying in his heart, Thank you god. Thank you for listening to my prayers. Let the plane crash. I don't want to live anymore. Thank you, god.
But after a brief period of turbulence, the aircraft regained its control and started flying smoothly. Badal da was not happy. He was waiting for another phase of air turbulence.
He started thinking about what will happen after his death. Tumpa might come, but Babla won't be able to make it on time.
After my cremation, both will sell my apartment and part their ways with their share of the money, he thought. A small drop of tear rolled down his cheek, which he very quickly wiped away with his finger.
Suddenly he remembered Mr. Gurbakhsh. He didn't know him personally but heard that both his sons were working in some other country. When he fell ill, one of the neighbors took him to the hospital, where he died. Both the sons could not get leave from their respective jobs. They requested the neighbor to cremate their father. When they got leave from their jobs and came down to India, they thanked the neighbor and gifted him the palatial house, their father built.
Babla does not need my money. After she gets her job, Tumpa may not also need my money. In fact, both of them don't need me. Whom am I living for? Babla says I did not enjoy in life. I thought to live together and seeing children growing is the real enjoyment of life. I was so happy when Modhumita was alive. Now I am a lonely guy and probably have become crazy. I may be creating problems for others. Oh god, please, please, please let me die. I don't want to live anymore. Let the plane crash, and my children don't find my body. Please god.
Badal da felt that something was sinking inside him. He could not stop his tears from rolling down his cheeks.
The plane did not crash and landed safely at Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi. Badal da was still alive to face the world.
With the sense of defeat from all corners, Badal da burned with rage and decided to destroy his life, while alighting from the aircraft.
