Taking my old friend to Doctor – Eye care for Sai devotees

Sairam friends,

My parents have gone out of town and I have be on my own this week end.  After many days I remembered how I used to make Coffee on my own every morning when my Parents had gone U.S to take care of my Sister’s daughter. The best part is keeping the little Cooker on stove to cook rice and getting scared when it makes sound. Then I will give coffee to Dhottappa who used to come to our house for the past 18 years. He helps us by sweeping the house and even out of the house. He has been very sincere and there’s no one to care for him. So I take care of him as my own granpa and a good old friend.

One thing I have learnt from Dhottapa is that he is hardworking and sincere. Even when no one of us are home, he will come to sweep out side our house and go. Its hard to find people like him anymore who work for us just because they care for us.

Taking my old friend to Doctor – Eye care for Sai devotees

In 2011, Dhottapa kept asking me to get him a new eye glasses as he could not see well. I took him to the one near by our house – a Eye hospital popularly advertized on T.V’s and other Media. The Eye glass they provided were pathetic though we spent a lot. He started complaining that glasses are not good and he still can’t see well.

On December 17th 2011, I took Dhottapa to another  Eye hospital and spend half a day with him. They offered better glasses which I ordered and got him in a weeks time. The past 2 years Dhottapa has been wearing the eye glasses and managing to walk in the road and do any work.

The past 3 month, Dhottapa again started bugging me to take him to Eye hospital as he thinks the eye glasses had gone bad. He doesn’t understand that as he gets old his vision has been deteriorated. He also had a fear that his glasses might fall down and he may not be able to see properly if he doesn’t have a substitute eye glass.

Since my parents are not there, I also felt free this weekend and decided to take him to Hospital. We went in a taxi with a driver friend of mine.

Two years back, I registered my old friend’s name in Eye Hospital as Dhottapa. When the Opthamologist checked his eye, she asked his name. He said “Rayappar”. I was embarrassed and told him “All these years I call you as Dhottapa and I thought that’s your name”

During this visit to Eye hospital too, I asked the receptionist to look for the old registration number and asked my old friend to tell his name as Dhottapa. He laughed at me and said “Enn peru Rayapar…Dhottapane soleetia”. ( My name is Rayapar..you told as Dhottapa now also)

I took him to test his eyes for the best glasses to wear. The staff there showed a LCD screen with numers

3 5 7 9

and asked him to say.

He said

2 ..I don’t know…2….4….

I was holding his walking stick ( Natural stick he must have taken from some plant) in hand while all this was going on. When Dhottapa kept telling wrongly and also with some eagerness to see, I felt like laughing. I also felt how hard it is if Vision is not good.

She changed the glass eye piece

Now he can read a bit better

He told the first number wrongly as 2 but the next numbers 5,7 was clearly visible to him.

She hided his right eye and showed him one finger and asked “How much is this”. He said Two….I don’t know.

Then she again tested his eye and we went to see the Eye Specialist.

Its good many hospitals in India has digitized the Patient reports so that they can review previous visit’s report in the monitor and start treatment. She checked his eyes asked us to wait outside with eye drops and come again.

I was busy writing an article with my Mobile phone and sat near Dhottapa. He is supposed to close his eyes after the nurse poured eye drops but he won’t listen. He will again open his eyes wide and look around the people in Hospital. I felt like laughing but kept calm. He was using his palm and clearing the water coming out of his eyes. I told him not to do it and be calm.

We were called by the nurse to meet the Doctor again.  The doctor examined his eyes and said “Before 2 years the nerves in left eye were damaged but now even the nerves in right eye is gradually getting damaged.”.

I told her, he just want a better eye glass so that he can walk and do little work.  When we started back, Dhottapa asked the doctor, what happened to my eyes. She said “Like the nerves in the body get weak over years, the nerves in eyes also becomes weak”

I was holding Dhottapa’s natural walking stick all this time and gave it back to him.

We went to the Optical shop inside the eye hospital itself. I told them to give good Eye glasses and also make sure the frame doesn’t fall down when he bends. The glass was a bit expensive. He told the staff in the shop”What will poor people like me do? Can’t you reduce the price?”

I already paid the money and they said, the glasses can be got next week. As I took Dhottapa outside the hospital, he asked me “Din’t they reduce even a bit Vengadeshu?” ( That’s how he calls me). I din’t say anything as I want a memory of my old friend. So I took a photo with my mobile camera.

I walked behind him as I wanted to take photo of his Super Natural walking stick and I admire the way Dhottpa walks. He never knows his exact age. He will tell us stories of how our area was before 25- 30 years. He will tell about the days when train used to stop in our locality and also stories about local temple festivals. I remember few years back, Dhottapa goes to the local theater to watch Cinema.

Today, the way he walks with the walking stick makes me realize how several years of experiences gradually fades out as one gets old and his vision also becomes poor.

As Dhottapa walked ahead, I called my driver friend to canteen to have some snacks and coffee.  He neither has wife nor children. Dhottapa has lived a live of celibacy all these years. Every ordinary person has a lesson to teach us. Dhottapa has taught me how one should be dedicated to his/her work. He is so sincere in keeping our house clean.

I wish Shirdi Saibaba whom he prays from the little temple infront of our house blesses him with good eye sight as long as he lives.

So why did I write this experience?

1. There are millions of people who need someone to care for them and take them to near by Doctor or do something to get healed.

2. You might be busy with your life and work. Its impossible to think about some stranger but at least when you know someone who needs medical help, kindly do little you can.

3. Take care of your eyes.

As technology advances, we are giving more and more stress to our eyes. It seems the eye will try to focus several thousand times when one looks at computer monitor. There was a pamphlet in the eye hospital which read  “Computer Vision Syndrome”

I read about it and realized there’s more to come. Right from school our children are using smart phones to play games and then imagine what if they keep straining their eyes?

Its important to spread the message of “Eye Care” as prevention is better than cure.

I have seen some of my friends at office, keep looking into the monitor. I worry what will happen to these guys and girls after few years if they doesn’t keep their eye relaxed once every few minutes?

Anyway, So what do I mean by Eye Care for Sai devotees?

Everyone’s eyes are worth it and its not that I wanted to focus only on welfare of Sai devotees. I just wrote that way as many Sai devotees who are worried about their eye problem will feel the blessing of Shirdi Saibaba when they read this experience.

I wanted to create an exclusive website for Eye Care and to spread the message of Eye donation . As of now, I did little I can for my old friend to have better Vision.

Take care of your eyes.

Relax on regular basis.

Make use of the gift of Vision as its the most precious gift of all.

Love,

Venkat

Little Servant of Shirdi Saibaba