It seems the Boss of the country has launched a movement for
clean India .
Perhaps people expected‘ clean’ to mean
non corrupt. But it seems it is physical cleanliness, not the other one we just
referred to. The thing percolated down, and the civic Boss ordered the same
thing in the civic body. The circular received by everyone states as follows.
Every XXXday, all officers and employees will clean the
offices and their surroundings between 5:30 P.M. and 7:30 P.M. An observer will
come from head office, and will see to it that people do this cleaning. There
was furor over it. The doctors burst out as follows.
"The National Boss started it as a voluntary service. This seems to be a compulsion!"
"Naturally. If the civic Boss makes it a success, he will reach Delhi in some time."
“Who is going to wait from 4:00 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. doing
nothing? Does he not know our duty gets over at 4:00 P.M.?”
“Who is going to do a servant’s job? Why is the big idea?”
“If doctors do servants’ job, what will the servants do? Doctors’
job?”
“If they fill up all vacancies of servants, they will not
have to ak the doctors to do the cleaning.”
“The patients and their visitors throw things about and make
the hospital dirty. We have to clean up after them or what?”
“I employ servants to clean our house. Now I have to do that
work here as doctor?”
“Will the servants’ union assault us because we take away
their jobs?”
“The premises are clean. Do we have to throw garbage around
and then clean it? Like they did in Delhi ,
and the State Boss did in State headquarters?”
“Why can they stop people from littering, instead of asking
us to clean up after them?”
‘It is not a part of my job description. I will file a writ
petition against the civic Boss who has ordered this demeaning work be done by
us.”
“We will be the first group of doctors in the world who do
sweeping, dusting and stuff in the hospital.”
“What will they do if we don’t do this stupid work? Sack us? Then who will
treat patients? Sweepers?”
“Do we actually have to do this, or do we just pose with
brooms for taking pictures? Like those politicians?”
“Sir, why are you not saying anything?” someone asked me.
“I have asked the Boss to clarify some points about this
business. I am waiting for the answers. In the meantime, I have designed a new
instrument for use by the civic doctors. It will look like this.”
“What is it?”
“It is a stethoscope and a broom combined together. I am
going to call it stethobroom. All civic doctors will buy it. If I take out a patent for it, I will make enough
money so that we can all employ private servants to do this cleaning work in
the hospital in our place. Perhaps even enough so that we can all retire and leave
the patients’ treatment to the sweepers.”
