The Vanity of Human Wishes
Dr. Uttam Parkash, head of the department of Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, so excelled in his field that he was awarded the coveted title of Padma Bhushan.
This distinction, however, was not enough to satisfy his ambitions. On the 17th of February 1982, he was to preside over an International Congress on Surgery, the success of which would give an even greater impetus to his career. He took special pains with all of the arrangements, even managing to persuade President Sanjiva Reddy to inaugurate the function. But, at the eleventh hour, when he was congratulating himself that the arrangements were now perfect, a message came from the Rashtrapati Bhavan Secretariat saying, that the President could grace the occasion only if the Health Minister were also present. It was a matter of strict protocol. The situation now became extremely awkward, because the Health Minister had not originally been included, and his name did not appear on any of the programmes. But it now being absolutely essential to invite him, Dr. Parkash began to make Herculean efforts to make sure that he would not decline the invitation out of pique. But it was all to no avail. The Minister did, indeed, consider it beneath his dignity to accept an invitation which had been sent to him at the very last minute, and he refused to participate in the function. This was a great shock to Dr. Parkash, and obviously more than he could bear, for three days before the inauguration, on 14th February, he succumbed to a massive heart attack. He was just 54 years of age. A Hindustan Times reporter very aptly described him as “the most worried man in town before he took the long road.” (Hindustan Times, February 1, 1982)
Today people find it beyond them to put up with even the slightest indignity. But what will their fate be in the next world when they are hungry and thirsty and there is no food to allay the pangs of hunger, and no water to slake their thirst? What will they do in the blazing heat when there is no shade to retreat to? How will they endure the terrible, engulfing wrath of God when there is no one at all who can save them? If a man is unable to bear being hurt by so much as a pebble today, will he be able to bear a mountain of suffering tomorrow?
