I have this thing about hospitals. I mean the moment I step into one, I feel like turning back on my heels and heading right out again. But I had a reason to go to one this week. Nothing serious - just a mild ear irritation and I could not find any standalone ENT specialist. I waited for 2-3 days for the problem to correct itself. It didn't. So I had no choice but to go to this multi-speciality hospital that my family has a membership into.

I had the membership card so I didn't have to fill up any form at the reception. Thank God for that! Filling up a form on an ordinary day is trial enough. Imagine doing it when you have throbbing pain in one of your ears. :-( I paid up and headed for the doctor's room.

They have 4 wings on each floor and a sort of general seating area in the middle. When I reached the floor that the ENT specialist was on, this central area was full of people. I stepped into one of the wings and handed over my receipt to one of the guys. I was told I will have to wait for 10 minutes. A door separated the wing from the seating area. But from time to time people would walk in or out and I would catch a glimpse of people waiting there - some with a worried look on their faces, other looking at their watches. Some talking on phones, others staring into space. I was counting minutes - literally.

Just then a woman walked by - her mouth covered by a protective mask - the kind that had come into vogue when the country was gripped by H1N1. I wasn't sure whether it was for protecting herself from the germs in the atmosphere or for protecting others because she was sick. But either way, it added to my uneasiness.

Fortunately, I was called by the doctor just then. Minutes later, I walked out, greatly relieved that, today at least, I would be walking out of the belly of the beast within minutes. As I headed out, an ambulance, its siren wailing loudly, turned right in.

Honestly, I don't know how the doctors and staff manage this - day in, day out. Hats off to them!