The odyssey of life is full of unexpected turns, jerks, and bumps. As long as one is hale and hearty and earning well, everything seems wonderful. Never does a thought cross our minds that we are mortal beings; instead, we carry ourselves with an air of immortality. Then, the Almighty often chooses to hold up a mirror and remind us of our rightful place as fallible human beings. A recent visit to a distinguished hospital due to some personal urgency, which I wish to take up in another blog, prompted me to share some of my observations and insights about what I witnessed there. My first impulse was to flee from the entrance itself. There was such an overwhelming rush inside and outside the hospital that a surge of fear ran down my spine. I wondered, for a fleeting moment, whether the whole world was sick. At every stage—from obtaining a token and undergoing the required tests to finally reaching the doctor—everything seemed like a herculean task. The attendants accompanying their patien...