DND - Do Not Disturb!

It was about 11am this morning and I was sitting in a chair at an elite corporate hospital waiting my turn to see the doctor. I was surrounded by all kinds of people...sorry, patients! Some old, some young, some really young. Some had broken bones (me included), some were waiting for a 'Radiation' treatment, some for the neurologist and some for the urologist. Some were on wheel chairs and some on stretchers. I can only describe what I saw, the scene, the mad buzz, the loud wails of a child or some one waiting to be treated BUT I cannot describe the anxiety, anguish or pain one would have gone through. Surprisingly from a practical view it looked like, it's 'Business As Usual'. For the nurses, the ward boys, the doctors and the administrative staff it was just another day at work.

In the midst of such morose (in my opinion) settings, such pain and the added pain of waiting for the doctor, I was wondering about all the suffering and sorrow such small kids, such old people...age no bar...experience!! I suddenly realise (No, I didn't have a halo around my head) that Pain, Hunger, Thirst, Sorrow, Grief, Happiness that all of us experience do not have any bias. These are just like the sunlight/moonlight or the starlit sky or the Earth we walk which do not differentiate between the poor or rich, old or young, black or white (Iam tempted to mention the castes too...but I only know better) etc. It's simple, the SUN shines equally on everyone!! So what's my point now?? Wait, we have just reached the best part!

I must have spent about 2minutes in this scenario, with myriad thoughts, (I actually wrote about it in 2 paragraphs??!! Phew!) when my mobile phone rings. I pick up the call in 1 ring so as not to disturb my fellow-patients and the voice on the other side says 'Hello? (it was not a greeting, so the question mark) May I speak with Mr. Pavan Kumar?' and I said yes. The voice (a female) said, 'Good Morning sir! Iam calling from a real estate company. Could I explain our scheme to buy some open plots?'. I responded in the negative and didn't wait a second before I hung up (I was pleasant, I generally am). As soon as I hung up, my thoughts shifted to the phone calls all of us (atleast most of us) receive on a daily basis... selling insurance, investment plans, credit cards, offering loans, plots, what not!! Some of us are rude and some of us are pleasant in dealing with the callers.

I visualized the scene when many of my friends who have been hounded (they claim so) by these calls have asked many questions in anger...what kinda calls are these guys making? Don't they know when to call? Can't they understand Iam busy? They don't even know how to talk? How could they disturb me at any time they wish to? so on and so forth.

How much do we make of this innocuous call?! What a big fuss!

I sat quietly awaiting my turn with the doctor thinking about, how different are the people who are calling us? What parallels could I draw between what I see at the hospital at that moment and the calls that I receive everyday? This is not for the first time that I got into this mode of thinking, I clearly remember the occasions when I have told my friends who have taken offence to such callers (not calls) 'Boss what do you get by being rude with them. In the 30 seconds had you actually told them, thanks for your call, but Iam not interested in the offer', this could actually mean that we don't carry the bad taste forward (rather it leaves a good taste), we get on with our work and most importantly we help the caller get on with his/her work...which is, the next call!

In reality, they are actually doing their work, just like you and me, just like the hospital staff! It takes just one moment to realise the simple truth that 'Do Not Disturb' does not hold good only for us...it is common to all! I also want to share the experiences/learning I have had while training such tele-callers (I must have trained about 3000 tele-callers in my career) when I was working with the Banking and Telecom sectors. This probably would address some of the questions we ask (mentioned in the previous paragraphs).

Yes the telecallers are not greatly educated and don't have great language skills. They don't know who they are calling and they do not know that they are disturbing (how are they to know what you are doing at that time?). They just do what is being asked of them professionally and they are willing to learn. Think about it, if they were great and had good skills they would rather be sitting in your seat than calling you for some tele-sales. They actually need the money (a paltry sum) they earn, they have a family to support (most of them) and their confidence levels are not too great (they are not unlike you and me), yet they are professionals. What would it take for us to understand that we are being judgmental?! We call ourselves busy and we know the reality :)!!

Do Not Disturb!!

It's not just for you and me! Nobody likes to be disturbed in LIVING their LIFE!

Finally I did get to meet the doctor after 30minutes of waiting!!

Say Cheers mate!! Cheers to life!