A GOD SENT Messiah in Nagpur

My Mom has never been comfortable with Allopathy Medications. She has been more receptive to Homeopathy ever since I have known. After we shifted to Nagpur sometime in 1983, Dad searched for a Homeopathy Doctor for her and the family almost immediately. Almost all of us depended more on Homeopathy for common ailments like common cold, fever, flu, heatstroke (given the extreme summer conditions here) even though we were covered by dad’s privileges to medical facilities provided by the Indian Railways.

In his pursuit for a good Homeopathy Practioner, dad was reffered to a doctor in SitaBuldi near Laxmi and Anand Theatre. This is how we ended up knowing Dr. Pendharkar. Dr. Pendharkar has an Old clinic which datges back to ages, I was told that it was his dad who started this clinic, in god knows what year and he has kept it going. As kids, we were very happy whenever we got sick, as it would mean we would get those sweet pills made of powdered sugar as medicine. The only hitch was the nature of the doctor, which was completely opposite of the medicine he gave. Dr. Pendharkar is almost quiet at all times, and since the day I first met him, which would be a good 25 years ago or so, I have never seen his face express anything except anger. The only expression that he gives is that of being angry. There is always pin drop silence in the clinic even if the benches are full, or even if there are people waiting outside if there is no space inside for them to sit in the classroom type waiting benches. The benches itself would be as old as the clinic itself. 

I have never seen him talk. With precision, he looks at the patient that is supposed to be next. I wonder how he remembers the chronological order of who’s next. But he does with precision as I have observed. No one dares stand up and make haste before their turn as all know his nature well. The drill is pretty simple. On your turn you go and sit on the stool meant for those who are there for his medicine, and tell him the problem, he would just listen, and keep adding a few pills from the thousands of bottles placed in custom made boxes on his table and around. Seldom does he ask anything. He would ask only if he feels that the patient has missed some symptom and 99% of the time, his question would be precisely what the patient has missed to disclose. 

Dr. Pendharkar is a god sent messiah of sorts, especially for the poor. A single dose of his medicine used to be as less as Rs. 3, which is what he charges my Mom and Dad till date for the last 25 years. Though for me the price has shot up remarkably. I have to pay him Rs. 6 for the medicine. No wonder there has been absolutely no change in his clinic, it’s interior and all things date back to the day of the opening of this clinic. He simply cannot afford to even paint the walls. 

Unfortunately, the Doc is the last of his tribe, I don’t know much about his family or personal life, but from what I hear, none of his progeny’s are there to keep the clinic running after he is gone. I keep wondering, what would it be like when the place closes down? What about all those who take medicine from him. People like my mom, who has this psychological block, that only Dr. Pendharkar knows her ailments and only his medicine cures her of them. People for whom, he is the only affordable doctor, those rickshaw pullers, or labourers etc. For these people, the day this clinic downs its shutters forever, a messiah would be lost.