Munni-Ben D.G.O.

Munni–Ben D.G.O.

Scene-1:

*Munnu is running for his life followed by his angry older sister, Munni, who is brandishing a big syringe and needle, ready to inject into her brother’s bum.

Munnu is calling out for their mother,

Munnu: ‘Mummy!! Mummyyyyyyy!!’

Munni: ‘Wait you good for nothing, I’ll teach you not to touch my things ever again. Just wait till I catch u.’

Munnu: ‘Mummyyyyyyyy save meeee!!’

*Mummy appears screaming: ‘Whats going on, you naughty pair. What happened?’

Munnu: ‘Mummy please save me, didi is poking me with this bigg needle. She will kill me.’

Munni: ‘No Maa, he is a liar. He has taken and lost my pencil box. I am going to be a Doctor naa, I’ll cure him of his naughtiness. Wait till I get you, you brat.’

*Munni resumes her chase as Munnu slouches behind their mum.

Mummy restrained Munni laughing and said, ‘don’t worry beta, I’ll find your box.’

Mummy slaps Munnu gently, scolding, ‘if you do not behave from now on, ill have you admitted in hostel. Go search for didi’s box.’

Munni sits morose, with her mum.

Mummy tries to cheer her up saying,

‘Beta, its such a good idea that you want to be a doctor. It’s the most noble profession. I wont have to go anywhere else, I’d be treated by my own daughter. But to achieve this goal in life you have to work very hard. Are you ready for all the struggles and hardships?’

‘Munni stands up: ‘Yes Maa, I very much am’

Scene - 2

*Munni is determined. She buries herself heart and soul into studies. Day and night, months and years didn’t matter to her any more.

Finally, the day came when her dream realized. She got her D G O

·            Song…

Scene – 3

Munni joins a big hospital as Obs Gynaec consultant. Her mother is the happiest. She sat in her own cabin, taking selfies with her mother and childhood friends. Hailing from a small town with meagre resources, this was a day of greatest pride for her family.

Munnu teases her, ‘Now you can’t bully me with injections di, you have pledged to treat only the feminine gender.’

They all laugh.

Munni starts her work in all sincerity. She had to deal with all kinds of patients.

*Entry of patient no-1:

Doctor I am very troubled, Gas goes up my head, there’s singing sensation in my lower limbs and something bounces in my stomach up-down, right-left, up-down, right-left.

Munni: Don’t worry, get the investigations and scans as I have advised then we’ll plan up your treatment protocol.

Patient 1: ‘But Doctor, I am allergic to all Allopathic medicines.’ She smiled

Munni [shocked]: ‘ok we’ll give you medicines for allergy also.’

*Entry of Patient no-2:

Saas-sasur and a lean bahu:

They place a file on her table.

Munni [after studying the file]: ‘Congratulations, your daughter in law is pregnant. How is she?’

Saas: ‘Oye keep your wishes to yourself, she already has two daughters.’

Sasur: ‘We want you to abort this child.’

Munni [again shocked expression]: ‘But she is already 16 weeks antenatal and the baby according to the reports is fine. You cant abort it.’

Sasur [standing up]: O Doctor, you do as I say or be ready for the consequences.’

Munni: ‘Sirjee, this is not possible. My apologies. I am here to save lives not take them’ She stood up with folded hands.

Sasur [stomping out throwing out the papers from the table] Huh! This hospital should be burnt down.’

Munni sighed.

Scene-4 Labour room

Munni is rushing into the LR only to find a parturient standing on the labour table screaming like someone possessed,

‘I want to go home. Let me go home. I’ll die in pain. You are all heartless demons. Don’t you dare come near me, any of you, or I’ll jump. O maa…!’

Munni stood a little away from the table and said, ‘Please calm down, no one will trouble you. You just get down carefully. We’ll do whatever you want. Please get down.’

The patient shouts, ‘Stay away you blood suckers. Don’t you dare come near me. I want to go home….’ She wails as a fresh episode of pain grips her. 

Munni requests, ‘Please try to understand, we’ll give you medicines to allay your pain. Get down or you’ll hurt your baby, your own baby, that you have been rearing inside your womb for 9 months now. Would you allow it to get harmed? Please get down.’

The woman calmed a bit and slowly tried to sit. They rushed to help her sit.

Munni again started counselling her, holding her one hand in her own and caressing her forehead with the other.

‘Have patience, the anaesthetist is on his way, you don’t have to endure this pain for long.’

The patient started crying, ‘Do whatever you want but faaaast, or I’ll die.’

Scene- 5

Munni is sitting in her cabin when an intimidating old couple enters, ‘She explains, the baby is getting struck. We’ll have to operate her to save both of them.’

The Sasur shouts,

‘Whats this rubbish. We have been consulting you for the last 9 months, you never told this before. Listen Doctor, take whatever money you want but the delivery should be normal. Its only for this that we came to you or else we would have gone to the Govt Hospital. Now after looting so much money from us for months, you say she cant deliver normally?’

‘Do whatever it takes but deliver her normally, or we are not going to leave you nor this bloody hospital. Bloody money grubbers.’

Munni sits mum all this while. Then she asks the old man,

‘Sir please have a seat.’ She offers him a glass of water.

She continues, ‘Sir, I understand your perspective completely. You and I both have the same purpose in our minds, that the mother and the baby both should be fine. We did try for hours now, till the labour progressed smoothly, but now the baby is getting struck. If we wait, it might be possible that she delivers maybe after another 6-7 hours, but by then you’ll agree that there’s a grave possibility the baby might be harmed, remaining struck for that long. There is danger of her uterus getting ruptured too. We cant take such huge risks with our loved ones can we?

Years back with our grand and great grand parents, we used to be helpless.10-15 children would be born and maybe 7-8 would survive. Many a time the mother would also suffer serious complications with no way out.

Parents today want only one or two children, but healthy and thriving.

Thus we need to be sensible and handle these problems with an open mind.’

The old man sits awhile then says, disheartened, looking down, ‘Surgery will cripple her. She will be bed ridden.’

Munni says, ‘Sir these days surgeries are very safe and our patient will be walking right from the third day. Please stop worrying and wish me luck as I go to operate and bring you a healthy grandchild.’

The old man sighs, ‘alright do as you wish.’

Munni goes away and comes with a healthy baby, giving her in the man’s arms. They all smile.

Scene -6

Munni is sitting in her cabin. Attendants are sitting in front. She explains,

‘Our patient Janki here, is a case of Eclampsia. Her BP is uncontrolled, she has thrown convulsions, she is semiconscious, her whole body is oedematous, her liver, kidneys and brain functions all are progressively getting compromised. The heart beats of the baby too are just 60-70 bpm. There is no liquor inside and the baby is highly growth restricted and compromised. It can succumb anytime. We are taking her for surgery because that’s the only option to save her. During and after the surgery too, we can’t be sure of the well being of either. But to try to save her, we have to take her as soon as possible.’

The attendants kept mum for some time then said,

‘So Doctor, isme koi khatre ki baat toh nahi hai naa?’

Munni was aghast.

‘The situation is life threatening for both the mother and the child, more so if we delay in operating her.’

They say, ‘OK ma’am, do whatever you have to.’

Scene – 7

Munni comes out of the OT and informs them,

‘We could save the patient but she is still critical. The child unfortunately, could not survive.’

The attendants start screaming, ‘Doctor you are a demon, you have killed our unborn child’

Many people appear from nowhere and start ransacking the hospital. The guards try but fail to restrain.

Munni stood rooted to the place. The nurses forcibly try to pull her inside lest she gets injured.

Munni slumps into her chair in her cabin. She picks up her mother’s photo frame in her hands. She is in tears. She addresses the frame,

‘Maa we couldn’t save the baby. I do not even know whether my patient will recover fully or not. People no longer have faith in me. I can’t continue obstetrics. How can anyone hate me so much that they want to hit me, abuse me with disrespectful words? No, I can’t take it. I don’t deserve this. I would rather pursue Laparoscopy or Infertility where I don’t have to endure all this. Help me maa.’

She puts her head down on the desk and cries.

Her mother’s apparition appears,

‘Rise my darling.’

Munni lifts up her head with a jerk and looks at her mom.

Her mother continues,

‘I have never known any one as brave as my Munni, nor as sensible. You did your best for your patient. But beta, you cannot be God, can you? There are things, not in your hands. You have to have faith in God.

And darling the people who are abusing are not abusing Munni, they are abusing their ill fate. Its their despair and frustration that comes out on you. If you too disown them then what will happen to them? Who will help them in their need? My Munni is not so insensitive.

You have to believe in yourself whatever the adversities, because I believe in you.

Get up,

Follow your conscience,

Face the devil,

Fight till the end….Finish the game.’

Mother disappears.

Munni sighs and wipes her tears. She kisses the frame and places it back on the table.

Munni emerges into the chaos. Enraged people are destroying the hospital furniture.

She presses on a fire alarm on the wall nearby. A shrill horn blows. Everyone stops short looking at the source.

Taking advantage of the momentary silence, Munni boldly comes forward and says loudly, ‘Bheemsingh, please bring the Husband and first relatives of Janki to my cabin. I have to talk to them.’

Saying this she goes inside.

Scene – 8 

Munni is sitting in her cabin. Bheemsingh enters with 4 more people. Munni asks them to sit. She starts playing an audio message in her mobile. It was the recorded counselling that was done with the attendants before.

She asks when the audio stops,

‘Now tell me what did I do wrong with you.

Didn’t I tell you about the grave condition of the baby beforehand?

Are the rates not clearly displayed? Were they not explained to you prior to admission?

They nod in agreement.

Was there any delay or mismanagement with your patient?’

Did someone pester you for money before admitting or treating your patient?’

They turned their heads in negative.

Munni addresses the man,

‘Bheem singh, why did you bring the patient here?

Because you believed I would do best for her.

Because I have delivered your child.

Because your wife calls me Bhabhi.

What would I think of Bheemsingh’s village now?

A village where I reach on every 9^th to see around 70 patients for free,

a village that I think as my own,

a village which comes to me in all faith and love.

And this is what this village is doing to the hospital, the hospital which they say is their temple?

And our job is not yet done. The patient is in ICU, receiving critical care management.

If you ransack the hospital, how will we treat her?

After all this, even now if you think any one else would treat her with more sincerity and care than me, then please do me a favour and take her away wherever you think right.

And what do your people want? To kill me? Do so then. If this is what I get for trying to save my patients, then so be it. I have to answer my own conscience for my deeds, if morons like you do not understand, then I care not. But how will that help you or your patient, I fail to understand.’

Bheemsingh looks at the husband annoyingly.

The husband bends down on his knees and says, ‘Sorry ma’am, we committed a grave mistake, forgive us. Please continue the treatment as you wish. We shall comply.’

Bheemsingh stands up with folded hands,

‘I am the culprit ma’am, I brought them here and they caused you so much trouble. Please forgive me.’

Munni stands up.

‘Now calm yourself and your people and tell them not a single scratch should befall this hospital.’

They leave.

She calls up the ICU and inquires about the patient.

‘Sisterji, how is our eclampsia patient Janaki? <pause>

ok, I’ll be there right away.’ She leaves with sure steps.

 Scene – 9

 Munni is a successful and eminent Gynaecologist now. She is sitting in her living room.

Ramu kaka enters, ‘Ma’am, 2 ladies have come. They want to meet you. I asked them to consult you in the hospital tomorrow but they say they are not patients.’

Munni said, ‘Bring them in.’

A woman and a young girl in uniform enters. They both come and touch Munni’s feet. They place a packet of sweets on the tea table. The older one says, ‘Ma’am you might not remember me. I was your patient years back when my in laws forced you to abort my baby, but you refused.

This is that child. She is now a Fighter Pilot. She owes her life and success to you ma’am, bless her for her future.’

The girl stands in attention.

Munni stands speechless for some time, then hugs the girl saying,

‘Conquer the skies my child. May God always be with you.’ She kissed her forehead.

They leave. Munni picks up the same photo frame from the side table wipes her eyes, smiles and says to it, ’Thank you Maa’.

At that moment Munni’s daughter barges in, screaming,

‘Maaaa…. NEET Pre PG results are out. I have attained more than 95^th percentile. I can get my choice of subject.

She rushes and jumps on Munni. They hug each other tightly.

Both laugh and dance in happiness. Munni calls out to Ramu Kaka,

‘Ramu Kaka, please get the Dairymilk from the refrigerator’.

She then faces her daughter and says,

‘Betu we should now carefully decide upon the subject for you. You can go for Radiodiagnosis, Ophthalmo, Surgery or…….’

Her daughter cut her mid way,

‘Of course not Maa, I have always dreamt of being like you, none other. Its only Ob-Gyn for me.’

Munni tried to dissuade,

‘But beta you have seen my struggles and difficulties…’

Daughter again cuts her mid way,

‘…….and I have also seen you win over them.’

She then faces the audience and says firmly,

‘I want a life which is worthwhile Maa, not easy….’

…..Curtain…..