One is six feet tall and the other is two inches taller than that. It's a wonder I didn't sprain my neck and they didn't break their backs as we stretched and hunched respectively to blitzkrieg our way through much of an epoch called internship. It started thirteen long months ago, when Lata Ma'am dumped the three of us together in the same unit in surgery. I was low on confidence and very nervous at that time, but it didn't take a day to discover that these two gentle giants were the best people I could have ever been lucky enough to work with.
Amit is a warm, talkative, happy-go-lucky fellow who can brighten up the rainiest of days- days when it rains thirty-five patients, testy JR's, marauding bed bugs and a squall. He will regale you with stories of drunk medical students just as you're inserting a Foley's into a foul mouthed, not so sober street fighter, give you an elaborate recipe for the world's best chicken biryani while you dash down to the microbiologist's with a sample for a hanging drop preparation on curt instructions from MG and colourfully describe his Basic Mountaineering Camp with its Survival Night as you trudge up the stairs for the sixth time in two hours armed with lab reports from the CCL. He's the kind of guy who will wrestle down a violent patient at midnight, debride his infected wounds while he's showered with expletives and then greet the fellow with a wide smile in the morning. An artist par excellence, he fills up the lives of those he meets with the brightest colours from the palette of his good nature.
Ulhas, on the other hand, is the quiet gentleman, towering over everybody but intimidating none. A man of few words but still very amiable, he was the hard working, punctual, sincere and efficient worker we relied on to help us sail through the grimmest of ED's. Just when you're staring down at a seemingly endless list of tasks, Ulhas will appear out of nowhere and silently set about getting things done. He will cover for you at your every slip, step up to the job just as you show the first sign of weariness and stand up to anyone who tries to bother you. When you're running up flights of stairs to do odd jobs, a bunch of bored guys may feast on a Temptation that you bought for someone who is just right for Amul Chocolate, but Ulhas will be right there to help you finish your work, and share the chocolate later.
Thirteen months of sweat and grime, and I wouldn't have gotten through without the two gentle giants. It sometimes fills me with wonder when I look at the way we bonded, the way we became a team, the way each of us had made a silent promise to ourselves that we would never let the other person down for the sake of our own individual interests. They have given me something to miss when I leave this place, something to keep my heart here, something to make a goodbye just as hard as it should be so that it doesn't feel empty.
Guys, thanks for everything! May life bring you the very best, because you truly deserve it.
