Rendez-WHO?

The year was 1998. I was in my 10th standard. I was staring at the bright board which held the bold name of the orthopaedist. It was a new addition to our neighbourhood but wasn't just another run-of-the-mill private clinic. It had well-carpeted floors, an air-conditioned lounge with luxurious sofa sets,a music system playing peppy songs in the background, and a rather stylish receptionist.

I slowly limped into this clinic, eager to know what else was different with this modern avatar of our country's ageing private clinics.After a loooong wait, the doctor finally arrived, with a fully clad designer suit! When my turn arrived, I went in to show him my bloated ankle which was the result of a basketball match.

The doctor went about his duty just like any other would do. But at times, he would curiously stare at some parts of the ankle, giving an dumb expression. After the regular x-ray, he proclaimed that it was indeed a hairline fracture. And then, all of a sudden, he turned towards his PC, opened a document in MS Word and took a printout of all the pre-defined medicines! Voila! There they were, all stored conveniently in Word documents, thereby reducing the doc's burden of remembering them!

A few days and a few crepe bandages later, it was time for another appointment. The doctor,after closely examining my foot suddenly shouted out in triumph "BEAUTIFUL...BEAUTIFUL...IT WORKED! IT WORKED!" over and over again! I was flabbergasted!! Was the doctor so unsure of his own treatment?? Had he taken a chance with my ankle? Was i an experimental guinea pig in the hands of a Dr.Jekyll??

A few years down the lane I heard that a particular doctor had been caught in a sex-tape scandal filming young people in the 'act', lured through the internet. When I heard the name of this doc, the nameboard outside my orthopaedist's clinic flashed across my mind. And then suddenly, there was clarity! Both the names were that of the very same doctor...DOCTOR PRAKASH!!!

It had been a few years since I had seen him. In the meanwhile he had shifted base to a different area of Chennai and had started with his operations! From what I had seen as a neighbour, he had a good wife(who also was a doctor) and a cute kid and belonged to a very good family. And at the end of it all, I'm happy that I never got a taste of being a porn-star!! :D