On a warm summer day morning, a number of patients were waiting at the OPD Hall of the government Eye Hospital. The attendant standing at the doorsteps of the doctor's room called the patients by name.
When she called “Virma ……. Virma Bhairon Singh” a girl around five years, who was sitting on the bench there, steered her head around. Her parents, sitting close to her, got up from their seat. They escorted their daughter to the doctor's room and helped her sit on the stool kept near the doctor's chair. The doctor glanced at the girl, put his hand on her head and asked “ how is your doll, babyIJ”.
The girl responded with a swift smile and kept her fingers moving on the face of the doll lying on her lap. “Bhairon Singhji, we shall have to wait for some more time”, the doctor then said.
“But Sir….” interrupted Bhairon Singh, the father of the girl. “You had asked me to come today and get my daughter admitted in the hospital for operation”, he said.
“Yes, I told you so. After prolonged wait; we could get the eye-donation material from Mahanagar Eye-Bank. We thought of its use for your daughter. But when we rechecked the material, we found that it is not worth grafting. Now, we have only one set of material that has to be used for this Jawan”, said the doctor , pointing towards the couple sitting on the side bench.
“You must have heard about him. He had staked his life to save fifty school kids and two teachers trapped in the terrorist attack. The bomb that was blasted then, has robbed his eye-sight”.
Bhairon Singh looked at the Jawan. His face had deep scars of burns. His eyes were covered with the dark glasses.
“But Sir, we have been running around for nearly two years now. It was you only Sahab, who has given us the hope that our daughter will be able to see again”, said Bhairon Singh.
“Yes. I still assure you that your daughter will regain her eye-sight,..” said the doctor. “But the fact is that we hardly get the material of the donated eyes. We also have the problems of timely transport and safe storage of the precious material”, the Doctor said, more to console himself than to convince Bhairon Singh.
“let us not loose the hope. I assure you that the next time when we will get the material it will definitely be used for your daughter”, he said.
“We come from a far away place sir… it is difficult for us to come here often,” … said Bhairon Singh.
Suddenly Bhairon Singh’s wife got up from her seat and helped her daughter step down the stool, she was sitting. She conveyed her regards to doctor with folded hands and asked her husband, “come on. let us go. Our daughter is destined to the life long darkness”. Holding the hand of her daughter she then stepped ahead towards the door of the room.
“Please wait…. Bahenji”, the Jawan, appealed to the mother of the girl. He then, addressing the doctor, said, “sir, if the donated material that you have kept for me, can be used for this girl, then please use it for her. We will think of my eyes later”.
“But sir, we have instructions from higher authorities for your corneal grafting. The donor material was procured through their special efforts”, the doctor said.
“It's ok. That can be done in future…” asserted the young man.
“But the authorities have also arranged for the function to felicitate you during the eye-donation fortnight”, the doctor said.
“That too can be postponed or even cancelled. I will be more happy if this tiny little led regains her eye-sight as early as possible”., The young man forcefully expressed his will.
“Come on Radha, we should go now”, the young man told his wife and got up from his seat. The couple saluted the doctor and proceeded towards the exit door of the room.