यंत्र | yantr | machine

Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH) in Daryaganj is a jewel imbedded in the heart of Old Delhi. The architecture alone makes it stand out, with an elaborate battle of flowers fighting among themselves for prominence in its courtyards. On entry you are met with guards – smart with all the uniform one expects – all day managing the ins and outs of the Daryaganj traffic. All the chaos of outside is left at the threshold of this beautiful hospital. Inside it’s quietly organised – from the guards and gardeners, to the nurses and surgeons. I notice a tick-tock in the background.

The polished floors in the corridors stand up to a continuous stream of daily Delhi footfall. They are meticulously and admirably maintained by a team of dedicated staff. I once observed a child that spilled some food on the floor, within one minute the floor was cleaned and re-polished.

The tick-tock is still there…

The gardeners are in tune with their flowers and know every one of them, so much that when I borrowed a flower pot to use as a doorstop, the gardeners enquired specifically about its absence. The manicured grass is the greenest in Delhi.

SCEH has developed training programs specifically targeted to empower the women residing in Daryaganj and Chandni Chowk by encouraging and providing the means for them to join the healthcare workforce. These very busy uniformed ladies come into the hospital like soldiers ready for battle. They have the energy of Gods, smiling all day and sounding like little birds when they speak. I hold classes with them three times a week and, to me, they are the birds of the early morning. When I often use the wrong word in Hindi, they laugh openly, but otherwise they are beyond polite. The administrative team is more like a family, every day we meet we share laughter and respect.

The hospital receives, on average, 700 patients per day. Each patient is cared for by the hospital staff members like they would care for their own mothers. I have seen it when no-one else is looking. Their patience and sensitivity are unwavering, whether transferring a patient from a hospital bed to the operating theatre, or helping a patient to navigate an uneven walkway, there is always the helping hand of an angel.

Meanwhile, the tick-tock continues.

You are reminded at every corner that this hospital is very much alive. The operating theatres are places in heaven, with all personnel in masks, surgical caps and the helping hands of the angels here adorned in white gloves, posing like Michelangelo’s sculptures. The hands move with intent, never too fast, and embody a majestic flow within the operating theatres. Covered head to toe, the eyes become the only identifying features in the room, conveying emotions and affirming decisions, crafting a language of their own.

The nurses move and handle the surgical instruments with precision. Many of the same hands have prepared their family’s meals for the day before they reach the hospital. The rhythm of their movements is like watching a musician tuning their instrument as they work alongside the surgeons’ steady hands. I notice many surgeons holding their eyes closed for a few moments, seemingly in focus, whilst their surgical gowns, gloves and instruments are prepared. Every measure is taken to ease away the patients’ worries. After checks are re-checked and the theatre doors close, the orchestra begins.

I am privileged to observe the dexterous skills of these surgeons and their teams. It’s like they have trained all their lives to work on balloons with sharp instruments, and they have practiced to do so while walking on a tightrope. Patched and ready for aftercare, the attention doesn’t stop there.

It dawns on me that the tick-tock noise in my head is an enormous metaphorical clock, with each cog as important as the next, moving in tandem with the duties performed at all levels of the hospital. If one cog fails the clock will not work.

Despite the unbelievable work that goes on in its walls, SCEH profoundly comes across as an institution devoid of egocentricity, a place that has welcomed my services and made it a pleasure for me to volunteer. The day must come where I am forced to depart, but I suspect that until then, my admiration for every member of the SCEH community will continue to be waved away and instead met with the warmest and most familiar of smiles.