Calls from Workplace

It was 11:30 P.M. I should have been in bed. But something had come up, and I had got delayed. But I was almost there. The phone rang. It must be from the hospital, I thought. Probably the residents wanted to perform an emergency cesarean section or something. “Hello” I said. “Sir, I am the telephone operator speaking” the fellow said. “OK” I said, “what is it?” “Sir, the Deputy Dean has asked me to inform you that tomorrow you or one of your professors has to go to Byculla office to attend a meeting at 11:30 A.M.” I was going to be at the hospital at the scheduled reporting time, 9:00 A.M. I could have been informed about the meeting then, leaving plenty of time to finish the morning’s work and go for the meeting. What was the point in calling me at almost midnight to inform me about this meeting? “What is the meeting about?” I asked. “You have to collect rejected items or something” he said. “Collect or check?” I asked. Collecting rejected items sounded like a sweeper’s job, not that of a professor. “That must be the case” he said and hung up. I could not go because half the staff members were on vacation and there was no one to run the unit as well as the department. So I deputed someone else, promising to look after that unit’s patients while that person was away. She came back after one hour. “Sir, the meeting did not take place. The concerned person said it would be held only after obtaining permission from additional commissioner. “I am sorry” I said. They need to run things better. I did not tell her about one of the past Directors ringing me up through the operator once, at 2:30 A.M., asking in a slurred speech not found between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., if the operation on the baby was over. I had politely said I was a gynecologist, and perhaps another staff member was to be contacted. The apology was also slurred. The attitude was probably ‘full time staff members can probably be contacted at any odd time, without reason, and they better respond.’