Forensic blues

I have always loved reading Robin cook novels, specially the ones which revolve around forensic investigation...CSI, Bones,Dexter..you be blind to not see the pattern! I was totally in awe of Forensic medicine. So my excitement was obvious when i started my 2nd year of med school, because FM is one of our subjects for the year! YEAAAAA!!!


1st day orientation to FM, that's when i realized i was grossly mistaken about the subject! I felt like i had been smothered in cow dung...It was way too remote form what i had read or seen or dreamed of!!!  We had 3 professors. The HOD who comfortably invisible, Mr.Y who was "this" close to kicking the bucket and Mr.A. Mr.A our savior!


This Mr.A was cool for many reasons.He was patient, sincere, and seriously worried about our lack of interest towards the subject. He did his masters abroad, hence came along the accent,the only thing that ever caught my attention. The classes were usually in the afternoon, immediate postprandial, the time when i suffer from serious attention deficit disorder...Not just me but our batch of 120!! That never Deterred Mr.A from screaming on top of his voice through a broken microphone form the podium about plant poisoning, alcohol abuse, road accidents...blah...blah..WAIT did he just talk about sodomy???? Clever man, he knew how to get the class to listen!


The biggest mistake he probably made, was returning back to India to teach forensic...Forensic of all the subjects. We never considered it a subject...it was the hour to catch up with gossip, upcoming culturals, finishing OTHER subject records and assignments...im sure he must have felt more at ease with a a room full of cows chewing cud!!


A year passed and it was time for our university exams..and then we knew..NOTHING about FM!
we had to get through the exam! We tried to go through our class notes, sadly we never took any! The text book was brand new and i was the most boring book ever with least informative pictures and texts that said the same stuff over, the font dint help either!


We were desperate for help, and thats when we saw the big, bright, gleaming halo over Mr.A's head. He worked harder than any of us to drill the subject through our thick skulls .Im sure he had many mild attacks reading our answers and listening to pure ignorance that we shamelessly committed!! But he was a strong man!


The day of the practical exam, and we got the first look of our externals form other states..Im sparing you the horrific details!..But somehow, we went through the hell hole and it was not as bad as expected. The most anxious face in the practical hall was Mr.A's. His face was red, spectacles constantly slipping off from his nose thanks to the sweat!..it was a sight! 


With the exams over, the results out( yeah i cleared!) the chocolate distribution in progress, Mr.A  stood with an expression that made us rot with guilt...He was beaming! Mindless of all that insult we bestowed on him and his queer accent, of all the troubles we gave him, the records for which he literally had to beg....Did he have some memory issues??


He congratulated every one of us,  gave us a lengthy advise about how to tackle the 3rd yr subjects, and a lot of other personal issues....we dint deserve any of that. 


 I dont see him in the college anymore; Rumors fly around..some say he is suffering from alcohol withdrawal, a bitter divorce, cancer???


I have no clue. But he will always be remembered as our savior, the man who earned respect from 120 immature, arrogant, and indifferent students.


And for the record, Mr.Y is still going strong. His Bucket is that old fashioned type..the cast iron one...guess he will stay put....for many more years.