Did I take her for granted?

Ma, where is my socks? Ma, I'm hungry! Ma, why did you not iron my shirt? Ma, why can't you make some chicken today!

My theatrics on her had no end. Yet, she was always there. Every single time. And with a smile which had no reason but love. The food was there on the table morning, afternoon and night. The clothes wherever we threw, went back to their places as if they had legs. The house looked clean. Crystal clean.

We called her every time the ball hits a patient to rescue us when we played cricket in the hospital premises. Every time I felt bored or had to make a long walk, always called her to wile away time. Every time a friend came home, there was food. And friends of mine came in plenty. And she never said no!

Whenever I came home the favorite cauliflower was made; The parottas were bought. Every time I had to wake up early morning she was always the alarm clock and she never ever refused. And every time I slept till 8 clock in the morning, she always said leave him, he is tired!

May be that is why I took her for granted. Was never thankful for what she was. Was never grateful for all that she did to me.

Now, when I have to make my own dosas, make my own shelf, and go back searching for the clothes, I realize how much I had taken her for granted.

And thankful and grateful I feel today for that precious life, which just lived for us!

What did that man do?

They were all coming back to meet their alma mater. The Christian Fellowship Hospital (CFH) Oddanchathram. Everybody had gratitude in their eyes, every single one of them. That word 'CFH' was repeated thousand times. Almost all of them felt like coming home. Many said it is their 'Mothers place'. Some said they learnt their values there. Some said that place turned their career upside down. Some said their life began there.

Through out the three days of the alumni get together, my mind repeated the same question.What did that man do?

Dr.A.K Tharien came to oddanchathiram in the early 1950's to start a small hospital. That place was then very remote and had little medical help. He wanted to serve the people there. He could have chosen to be some where else. May be the US. May be Cambridge. He did not. He chose the needy and the neglected. He chose oddanchathiram. And the rest is history. HIS story!

From a small haunted house when it was started to the sprawling huge campus, from two doctors to 150 of them now. From a single nurse to a nursing college. From few patients to thousands thronging the place every day.

Not a single paisa of bribe has been paid. Not a single patient sent away for want of money. The focus on the poor has not been deviated from. The founder himself has not taken anything from it except his salaries. The cost for the health care is still affordable to the Indian poor. And the ethics of medicine have been strictly adhered to.

You can see doctors on cycles coming to work! The old man himself drove one till his death. The nurses and the doctors together joke around. The senior most teaches cooking 'sambar' to the Juniors. The ward boy also is found giving speeches. It was one family. One huge loving family!

Again the question comes haunting by! What did he do? How did he do? And more importantly, why did he do?

The answer for the 'why' question was there on everybody's lips. 'For the love of christ!' 'For the love of christ!' Yes, they have stood for the truth and the poor. 'For the love of christ!'

And the rest of the answers, well, go and find out!