House of Cards: A Novel Read online

  As he was about to close the drawer, he saw a photo album. Though he had seen it many times before, something seemed different as he opened it now. He said to himself, ‘Amma was so beautiful when she was young. Had she been taller, she could have entered the Miss India pageant. She’s wasted her beauty by becoming a teacher and a housewife. Had I been in her place, I would’ve pursued modelling and probably made more money than Dad and taken less time than him. She could have become a lady doctor and joined Dad and they could have built many more nursing homes together. Amma would have also been famous. She’s spent so much energy on teaching children in government schools.’

  Sishir closed the drawer and took his car to the gas station to fill petrol. His classmates Neeta and Naren were partying at a bar. Since they had been drinking, they asked him to pick them up and drop them home. When he went inside the bar, he was surprised to see Sarla Aunty, Prasanna Uncle and their daughter Dolly having beer. The last time he had met Sarla Aunty was at a temple where she was dressed in a traditional nine-yard sari and wore exquisite gold jewellery. Though he had nothing against women drinking, the two images of Sarla Aunty were jarring.

  Sarla Aunty became pale on seeing him. But she smiled and said, ‘Come, boy, join us.’

  ‘No, Aunty. I don’t drink.’

  ‘Then your first peg will be a whisky,’ Prasanna Uncle joked.

  ‘Well, that time I’ll call you for company.’ Sishir quickly said goodbye and walked away.

  When he came home and told his parents about it, Sanjay happily said, ‘You set them right.’

  His mother, however, was worried. She said out loud, ‘It’s wrong. Sarla comes from a conservative family. If her mother gets to know about this, she’ll faint.’

  Mridula’s words annoyed Sishir. He argued, ‘Amma, what exactly is wrong? Is going to a bar wrong or is drinking with your daughter wrong?’

  ‘Well, she’s a woman and she shouldn’t drink.’

  ‘Who said that you have to be a man to drink?’

  Sanjay wanted to support his son and said, ‘Sarla’s worked hard and made loads of money. She has a right to enjoy it too.’

  Mridula got irritated. ‘What do you mean? Haven’t I earned money with hard work too?’

  Both men knew that this might lead to a scene, so they got up and went to their rooms. Sishir thought, ‘Amma and Dad have lived together for so many years, but they are poles apart. Maybe their upbringing and professions have influenced their thought processes. Thank God they aren’t similar. Otherwise, I would’ve had a tough time. This way, I can take advantage of Amma or Dad depending on the situation.’

  20

  The Ways of the World

  While Sanjay was driving to the nursing home the next day, he thought about Mridula. He knew that she was upset about the previous night. Recently, he had observed that she often talked about impractical issues. She told him that he was not helping poor people as he had earlier promised. He said to himself, ‘Yes, I’m aware of my promises, but I was inexperienced at the time and I don’t have to fulfil the promises I made then. Mridula doesn’t understand this. In fact, she’s blunt and speaks her mind freely. In today’s sophisticated society, it isn’t necessary to tell people what’s on your mind. When someone comes to invite us for a wedding, sometimes she immediately tells him or her that we won’t be able to attend the event because we’ll be out of town. It’s so rude. She defends herself and says that she’s being straightforward and honest. But honesty isn’t needed everywhere. She just doesn’t get it.’

  When he reached the hospital, Rosemary greeted him with a warm smile and handed over a list. When Sanjay saw the list of patients and their scheduled operations for the day, he remembered his father’s words: ‘See God in your patients.’ Yes, he did see God—Goddess Lakshmi in fact. Every patient was a source of income to him. In government hospitals, the patients were dependent on the doctors. But in private practice, if he and his doctors were not good to the patients, they would go to another doctor and spread rumours about the nursing home. That would be enough to spoil the reputation of the nursing home. It took several years to build a brand but you could lose it very quickly. He kept his personal relationships and money separate. That was why he also kept Shankar at a distance and Shankar understood that.

  His phone rang. The receptionist told him that Dr Vasudha was on the line and wanted to talk to him. Sanjay recognized who she was. He told the receptionist, ‘I’m busy. Tell her to call back in the afternoon.’

  A queue of patients was waiting for him. Mechanically, he got up and washed his hands. Since he had become famous, patients from other states also came to see him. Some people said that he had a magical touch, but Alex said it was his super-salesmanship.

  Sanjay’s thoughts continued to trouble him. Bheemanna had said long ago that Mridula’s horoscope would bring her husband riches. Today, Ratnamma wholeheartedly agreed and proudly told everybody, ‘My daughter-in-law has brought luck to our family.’

  It was rare for a mother-in-law to pay her daughter-in-law such a compliment.

  Lakshmi, however, had a different opinion. She said, ‘My brother, Sanjay, is a hard-working and brilliant doctor. That’s why he’s successful.’

  Surprisingly, Mridula agreed with Lakshmi, despite the fact that the sisters-in-law did not get along too well.

  Soon, patients started walking in and Sanjay forgot about Mridula. By the time he finished his rounds and OPD, it was 2 p.m. He thought that it was better to eat in the canteen and check the quality of food there. Rosemary arranged for his diet meal. Sanjay was conscious about his diet. Though he was fifty and had a few grey hairs here and there, nobody could guess his age correctly. Most of his friends were jealous about his youthful looks and pestered him to share his secret. Sanjay diplomatically said ‘your friendship’ but he knew that regular exercise and diet were major factors.

  Rosemary ate in the canteen every day. She knew the difference between Sanjay’s and her position and ate at a different table. Sanjay appreciated her gesture.

  She was the head nurse and knew instantly when patients tried to fool her.

  During her first year, she had once asked for fees from a patient who said, ‘I’ve given the money to the other nurse.’ Rosemary assumed that it was true but after checking the accounts, she realized that he had never paid. Some patients would tell her, ‘Oh, we know the doctor well. He told us not to pay.’

  So she thought about what to do and came up with an idea. She decided that she would give pink and green paper slips to Sanjay. If he signed on the pink slip, the consultation was free and if he signed on the green, the patient would have to pay half of the total charges. No matter what the patients told her, she charged them based on the colour of their paper slip.

  A few years later, patients had started playing new games. They would get their operation done elsewhere, come for the dressing and say, ‘Your nursing home has forgotten to take out the unclean cotton swab from the wound. That’s why my wound isn’t healing. I’ll sue you.’ Rosemary had discussed these things with Sanjay and introduced a new computer software where the details of the patient, operation and everything else was recorded and the patient’s signature taken.

  In the afternoon, Dr Vasudha phoned again and Sanjay asked the receptionist to put her call through. Vasudha said, ‘Dr Sanjay, I hope you remember me. I was your classmate at BMC—Bangalore Medical College—thirty years ago.’

  Sanjay had not forgotten her. It was the same Vasudha who had said that she had sympathy for him but not love. He said, ‘Sorry, I knew three Vasudhas in college. Which one are you?’

  ‘I was in your batch and also Santosh’s relative. I used to come to your house too.’

  ‘Yes, I remember now.’

  ‘You’ve become so popular in Bangalore. I’m proud that we’re good friends.’

  Naturally, she remembered him because he was successful today. He purposely did not call her by her name. He said, ‘Yes, Doctor, wha