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| Sunday, 25 July 2004 |
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Chip off the old block Sunday parable by Sunanda Mahendra There lived a certain physician, in a village. He was the only
physician who looked after the health of the villagers. As such he In order to teach his process of curing the sick, the physician had the habit of taking his son along with him when visiting them. One day the physician set out, accompanied by his son to attend one of his patients. He felt the man's pulse and asked: "Did the patient eat pomegranates?" While the patient kept silent, the relatives who surrounded him said "Yes that's true we were all eating pomegranates. He ate a lot if we remember right". The physician nodded his head gravely and asked. "That's it, did he not eat curd?" "Yes, he ate some curd", the relatives answered. "Alright, I will give him some medicine," said the physician, while his son listened to his father's style of talking to his patients. On the way home the son had a question to ask his father. "Father, how did you come to know that the patient had eaten pomegranates and curd?" "Oh that's simple,' answered the father who stood still for a moment as if to teach his son. "Look my son it was a simple diagnosis:" "Simple you say." "Yes indeed:" "Tell me father!" "I saw a few pomegranate peels in a corner of the room." "Oh did you? So what about the curd?" "I noticed traces of curd in that patient's moustache! Look my son, I know that a good physician has to look around to know things that go into the diagnosis. I know that when there is a sick person in the house, and when the others eat they usually give some of the food to that person as well." "But that does not happen all the time?" "Why not! Go and observe for yourself next time!" "Alright father, will you then give me a chance to treat a patient?" "Yes, why not?" Next day the physician's son went to visit the sick. Closely following the style of his father, the podi vedamahattaya or the young physician felt the pulse of a patient and said. "Did this patient eat donkey meat?" "No never," replied the relatives. "Alright for the time being I will give you a medicine', and prescribed the same herbal medicine his father prescribed the day before. The younger physician went home. He told what happened at the patient's house. The physician asked his son, "What made you ask the patient about donkey meat?" The son answered in the manner he learned from his father: 'Oh it's simple, When I entered that house and looked around, I saw a donkey saddle lying on the floor without the donkey. So I was positive that the people in the house had eaten the donkey meat and given some of it to the patient". The elderly physician was dumbfounded at the diagnosis method expounded by his son. So he just murmured. "You are a chip off the old block." |
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was
honoured by all the villagers. This physician had a son who was being
groomed by the physician as his successor.
