What Makes Medical Systems Indian?: A Consideration of Doctor, Family, and Gender in India

Abstract

In a short story entitled “Second Opinion,” R. K. Narayan, one of India's foremost writers in English, introduces us to Sambu, a young man who spends his days and nights at the “Boardless” coffee shop with friends, avoiding work, marriage, and his widowed mother. One day a local doctor, Dr. Kishen, informs Sambu that his mother is suffering from fainting spells, possibly a heart condition, and is in a “leave-taking” (dying) mood. Dr. Kishen, who knows the family, suggests to Sambu that he marry, thereby easing his mother's anxieties and ill health, and making her last days happy. However, he also gives his usual advice to get a “second opinion.” Sambu does, taking his mother to Dr. Natwar, a foreign-trained doctor, who has a spotless clinic with many rooms housing the latest medical equipment, a contrast to Dr. Kishen's ill-equipped, disorderly clinic. After his mother has undergone tests, Sambu meets with Dr. Natwar. The doctor gives him various documents and states that they show there is nothing wrong with his mother. Thus, armed with irrefutable proof provided by technology, Sambu avoids marriage and responsibility; his mother, afraid of losing her son altogether, acquiesces to his wishes, telling him to do whatever he wants (5).