Monday, January 10, 2011

I DON'T have BUBONIC PLAGUE coupled with RINGWORM and EBOLA!!!!

    I've been suffering from a viral fever for the past week and if this experience is anything to go by, then I sure as hell never want to fall sick in this country again! 


    The fever started off with a mild, allergic sort of dry cough that was charming at first because people were concerned about ME. Later, when it started increasing in strength, they started saying that I should take care of it ... meaning, I should go see a doctor. As days slipped by, my cough not only got worse, I also had the added burden of a runny nose. Things got a little worse from thereon. People were always busy, they saw me and remembered they had errands to run, they had urgent phone calls to attend and if I recollect well, someone's cat died! 


    They were all treating me like I had the BUBONIC PLAGUE coupled with RINGWORM and EBOLA!! This despite the fact that I always cough into my shirt or hands (Whichever is available sooner), sneeze into a  tissue, always wash my hands, try to keep physical contact with people to the minimum and never touch my eyes, nose or mouth when I have a cold. Yet, people looked at me suspiciously, classmates refused to shake hands, friends refrained from giving a casual hug and professors asked me to "go home and rest" lest I should lovingly share my germs with everyone around! Worse still, the doctors never give you any medicines for viral fevers saying that it takes a week to go anyways...Live with it!! They definitely sound concerned about your health, say "God bless you" and probably want you to get better soon but .... WAIT! Don't fall into that honey-trap just yet ... it's only a farce to stay miles away from you! Believe me, you'll never feel so lonely ever again ...you only want to curl up and die alone! 


    This never was the case in India! If you ever fell sick there, you'd know you were one among 2 million other mucus-sneezing, gut-coughing, germ-spreading citizens--those citizens who don't care about coughing into your face or sneezing into your hot plate of bhajiyas as if garnishing it with spices and herbs! You feel at home because you know, 'All ijj well' after all. Nothing can bring your strong immune system down!! We were born tough, born to resist any mutations, any germs, any bacteria, any virus, any spit-i-licious streets, any grimy gutters, any poop-filled sidewalks or other such contaminations! 


   People are always there to give you a hug, hold your hand, eat the bhajiyas you sneezed into or breathe the same air you exhaled .... after all, "We be of one blood ... Ye and I"!!!