Delhi State Cancer Institute & Palliative Care - Poetical perception of an IIT, Delhi Student

Where The Ailing Feel Heaven…

I - In the eastern part of Delhi,
The sun rises for the ailing.
I will name it, it is:
The Delhi State Cancer Institute.

What? A cancer hospital?
What’s so special about this now?
Can’t you talk about something interesting?
‘Cancer’ ain’t my interest, you see.

Cancer isn’t anybody’s liking,
But it is everybody’s suffering,
Once it catches you.
So let me talk of something interesting,
Something special, something pleasing,
About this Cancer Institute.

If you’ve been to any
Government hospital before, and
Loathed it for everything,
Welcome to an exception.

This institute aims at
Providing private hospital-like
Facilities to poor patients at zero cost,
And more interestingly,
Does it as well,
As well as one may dream.

So come with us for a tour
Of the hospital (through my eyes):

II - Polished mirrors, reflecting
The inner beauty of its soul,
The welcome, where we come to know,
That it is a government hospital,
We all are amazed and bewildered.

Meet the head, the leader,
And the body follows in harmony,
Upon instructions from the brain.
Sweet sweet, the talks around,
Let us go for a round…

A look at the corridors,
A look at the patients,
A look at the doctors,
A glide along the smooth run,
A hats-off to the maintenance.

Six beds for a nurse,
A dream sight in Indian hospitals!
Facilities, a class apart,
Cleanliness, as good as you’d dream,
Even for a good hotel.
Exceptional! A government hospital!

Walk around and see,
The interior of the hospital,
Hugging nature, astounding beauty,
My heart sets off in rhyme…

Paintings emanating out of the frame,
Stones from riverside, on your side,
Golden fishes, dancing around,
It’s nature everywhere, every round!

Sceneries over-riding the big machines,
Colourful rooms, filling lives
With the same. Cheerful walls.
Closed rooms, with an air of freshness!

Terrace garden, lovely sight!
Everywhere, focus on natural light.
Nature’s sheen, the heavenly blessing!
Where people feel close to nature,
They feel close to home,
The global home of mother Earth…

All this leads me to wonder:
A place, where mother Earth hugs the ailing,
How could they not get well?

There is a distinct charm in everything
You see around, not something attributable
To a hospital, leave aside a government hospital.
I call it a magic charm…

The best machines, the lovely scenes,
And back on feet, wondering still,
And back, and happy,
And set for work…

III - Welcome, to a different world,
Come and see the patients,
And be their relatives, the ones who care,
For patients come a long way,
Being treated, how they feel.
How you feel..?

Extending just a supportive hand,
If not financial, at least emotional,
To make them happy.
Come talk to them, their relatives,
Know their state of mind.

Allow them to flush away
All their anguish. They are diseased.
And plant in their hearts the seeds of hope,
The seeds of joy,
So they ripe well in time,
And they get well,
As soon as possible…

Welcome to palliative care,
And extend your support,
To the ones who need it.

Cancer is not always curable.
But do the so-called incurable have no right
To live their lives?
To fight out cancer?

Do the long-term bedridden patients
Have no chance of a fightback?
All this needs an emotional motivation.
All this can be done by something as simple as
A gentle caressing tap on the back.

And you are well qualified to do that,
To try to give life to a patient,
To try being a doctor, above all…

So switch the smile
You get from the world
To their side.
Tomorrow you may need it.
Build a base, a well for yourself,

And water these dying plants,
So they get well,
So their blessings give to you,
A whole ocean of smiles some day!!!

-Revant Soni,
1st Year Student,
IIT, Delhi