6
“Lay the child on the bed, Ma,” the doctor said as he began his examination.
The child was struggling to breathe. He administered an injection.
“Don’t worry, nothing will happen,” the doctor reassured her, but even as the words left his mouth, the child’s body began to convulse violently.
The doctor froze in shock.
As the child’s skin began to turn a deathly blue, Veni looked at the doctor with a desperate, pleading gaze.
Its meaning was clear: everything was over.
“What are you saying?” Chandrasekar asked.
Dr. Ranjith Kumar replied with deep concern, “It’s the truth, sir. It is a contagious infection that specifically targets children. If one child has it, the others will surely have it too. Every child in that Balwadi (nursery) needs to be tested and treated immediately. Otherwise, their lives are at risk.”
“Doctor, we cannot create unnecessary panic among the public. Stop your imagination right here,” Chandrasekar said angrily.
“Sir, if we don’t act now, we will pay a very heavy price.”
“You may leave, Ranjith. Just stay a doctor. Caring about the public is the duty of a Health Officer. I’ll take care of that.”
“Sir, what I am trying to say is—”
Before the doctor could finish, Chandrasekar barked, “Get out!”
The Balwadi.
Children were playing. Dr. Ranjith Kumar and Veni stood nearby, both wearing face masks and gloves.
“Doctor, what you predicted…?”
“It will definitely happen, Veni. In the case of an outbreak, children will be affected in clusters. If they aren’t given proper treatment, their lives are in danger.”
“I understand, Doctor. But with the medicine we have on hand, we can’t treat everyone.”
“That’s why I’ve spoken to my friend, Dr. Prabhu, in Chennai. He said he would send the necessary medicine. It should arrive in about four days.”
“Okay, Doctor,” Veni said. But even as she spoke, a child who was playing nearby began to cough up blood.
Dr. Ranjith Kumar shouted, “Veni, quick!”
Veni laid the child on a prepared cot and administered the medicine.
“Veni, we must inform this child’s parents. The child needs to be under our observation for three days.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
As the doctor was speaking, four more children began to cough.
“Oh my God!”
“Doctor, what happened?”
“We must call the village elders and inform them. We need to move these children to a larger hospital. Our facilities aren’t enough.”
Soon, a crowd began to gather, and Dr. Ranjith Kumar addressed them all.
“Don’t be afraid. This is a contagious disease, but it can definitely be cured. We are here; please help us.”
While the doctor was speaking, a mother screamed in agony.
The doctor rushed over. A child was gasping for air, struggling to breathe. The body turned blue.
The doctor understood.
In the frantic minutes that followed, everyone worked together to move all the children from the Balwadi to a private hospital. Dr. Ranjith Kumar explained to the private doctors how to provide treatment and the nature of the disease.
Despite intensive care, only thirty out of the forty-two admitted children were saved. Twelve children died of respiratory failure. Dr. Ranjith Kumar was broken.
“Veni.”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“If that Health Officer had listened to me that day, these many children wouldn’t have died.”
“What should we do next, sir?”
“We must announce to the affected parents that this is a contagious disease and ensure they receive compensation.”
“Sir, this…”
“It must happen. It has to happen. Aren’t the people here human beings?”
“It’s not that, sir—”
Veni tried to say something, but unable to continue, she collapsed as blood trickled from her mouth.
Ranjith Kumar panicked. “Veni! What happened, Veni?”
“It’s nothing, sir,” she replied, wiping away the blood.
“Oh no, I don’t have the medicine with me now. I gave all the doses to the children!” The doctor was distraught.
“Sir… it hurts me to see you suffer like this… please…”
As she spoke, her body began to turn blue.
“Veni!” the doctor cried out, moving closer.
“Sir… please don’t touch me.”
“Sir…”
“Tell me, Ma.”
“I have no one, sir. After I’m gone… will you light just one lamp for me, sir?”
“I will definitely do it, Veni,” the doctor said.
As he spoke, Veni’s eyes became fixed. The doctor closed his own eyes in grief.
Minister Dhanabalan looked up at Chandrasekar, who stood trembling before him.
“What are you saying?”
“Total fourteen people, sir. Thirteen small children and one nurse. That doctor came and threatened me, saying we must give five lakhs each in compensation.”
“How many people know that the doctor told you everything at the very beginning?”
“No one, sir. It was just me and the doctor talking.”
“Then why are you even a Health Officer? You should have gone to your assigned area and told the people. Because of your mistake, fourteen people are dead.”
The Minister looked at Chandrasekar with contempt. Chandrasekar stood with his head bowed.
“You’re a relative, so you’re still here. Now, what are you going to do? Giving compensation to fourteen people isn’t the problem. But if it gets out that you did nothing even after a contagious disease was brought to your notice, they’ll have your head.”
Chandrasekar panicked. “Sir, you have to save me somehow.”
The Minister closed his eyes and thought for a minute.
“Call the press and tell them that none of the deceased died of a contagious disease.”
“If they ask how they died?”
“Call it a ‘Mysterious Fever,’ man. Don’t you read the papers? In so many places, so many people die of mysterious fevers. No one has the interest to even find out what that mystery fever actually is.”
As the Minister spoke with a smirk, Chandrasekar breathed a sigh of relief. But then, he remembered Dr. Ranjith Kumar.
“Sir, no matter what we say, that doctor will tell the truth to the press.”
“I know that.”
“Then what do we do, sir?”
“Why do you ask me everything? If you want to escape this, no one should know they died of a contagious disease. If anyone intends to make it known, it’s only that doctor. Do you know that every Sunday he drives from Coonoor to Coimbatore to his mother’s house with his family?”
“I know, sir.”
“Then what? So many accidents happen on the mountain roads. Why can’t this just be another accident?”
As the Minister smiled wickedly, a plan began to take shape in Chandrasekar’s mind.
