#workplace friendship

Those were the days when I had just finished my specialization in obstetrics and gynecology and had joined a hospital as a senior resident. The resident name itself is a give- away. It means you have to do night duties as well, besides doing the ward/OPD/OT duties in the day.

The hospital was new and had just come into being. It was still recruiting new doctors. They were on the look out for resident doctors and since we all knew each other by virtue of having studied in the local medical college of that city, we suggested a few. Our consultant (the head of the department) suggested the name of one Dr. Alka. ( name not changed) She was the wife of the ex-president of our college doctors’ union. Though I knew her husband as my senior, I did not know her, as she was not from my college but had come to our city after marriage. I was not very comfortable with the thought of getting her to this hospital.
She was after all my senior’s wife and that too “the president’s wife”

What if she bosses over me?
What if she refuses to make the discharge tickets of patients which is the duty of a resident doctor?
What if we do not get along well…
and such so many thoughts cobwebbed my mind.

In a few days, Dr. Alka joined the hospital. A tall, fair and beautiful lady with a pleasing demeanor and a warm smile. She was introduced to us. We were allocated duties in a way that the  whole day was divided into 3 shifts of morning, afternoon and night.

It usually happened that the days of my night duty coincided with Dr. Alka’s afternoon duties. Moreover, as I was a little cagey  of travelling to the hospital during the night, I used to reach it well before the sun set- at a time when Dr. Alka was still on duty.

After her busy day of dealing with ward work etc., she would come to sit in the “duty room” for doctors. I would invariably reach at the same place with my pack of extra clothes , food and water as I had to stay overnight.
The duty room became our meeting place  and gradually our friendship started to bloom. Since we both were almost of the same age, we had the same quirky sense of humour. She had a lovely voice and could sing too, just as me. That took our friendship to another level.

Thus began our saga of friendship which grew deeper day by day and blossomed beautifully.
Dr. Alka already had a son of preschool age while I was still single. Very soon she announced that she was pregnant with her second child and that she would have to leave the hospital.

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This news came as a thunderbolt to me, as I wasn’t prepared to part with a lovely friend who in a little time had taken a big place in my heart.
I still remember that day vividly.
We were taking rounds in the ward with the consultant.
Dr. Alka had resigned from the hospital

I stood in the ward like a zombie and started crying with teras flowing down my cheeks like a little girl.
I was unable to concentrate and wanted to resign as well.
After my colleagues and seniors pepped me up, I felt a little better and continued though the void of her absence was unbearable.

Gradually we were able to keep in touch on phone and by visiting each other. Till today we are besties and bare our hearts. We still laugh out loud, sing together and uplift each other’s spirits.

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