The topic of my storybook is the
Birth Stories in both the Mahabharata
and the Ramayana. I really liked this idea partially because my husband
is a Family Medicine doctor and he is always telling me about his
deliveries at the hospital. As I was reading some of the birth stories
in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, I thought that they were all so
interesting and unique. I felt that writing about these stories gave me
an opportunity to learn more about a topic that I was very intrigued by.
It is amazing how many birth
stories exist within these two epics
alone. There is the story of Bhishma and how his father Santanu agreed
to never question his mother Ganga who then proceeded to throw his
seven older brothers in a river. Only when his Santanu begs does Ganga
spare Bhishma, but then disappears herself! There is the also the story
about Gandhari, who gave birth to a huge ball of flesh that then was
cut into 101 pieces and each piece became a baby! These stories only
become more and more bizarre as one progresses further into each epic.
Stories range from summoning the Gods themselves for providing men with
sons,
women becoming pregnant by eating grains of rice, to a baby being born
from the ejaculate of a peeping tom!
The setting I wanted to use goes
along with my original attraction to
this idea, a hospital. I feel that this is a great location because
there is so much that goes on in a hospital delivery area. There are
the doctors who are delivering the babies, the mothers, and the poor
fathers and family members who have to wait in the waiting room. I plan
on drawing from all of these potential characters to discuss the
individual and unique birth stories in my storybook.
The first story, "Dr.
Bharadwaja's Love Juice" will discuss Bharadwaja,
M.D. and the reason why he was expelled from residency. He "enjoyed"
his job just a little too much. The second story, "Gandhari Bandhari
Makes the News", will tell us about the night that Gandhari gave birth
to a
flesh ball, oh what a nightmare that was! The third story ,"King"
Janaka, is about how
Janaka, the father of baby girl Sita, was thrown into the Psych ward
for trying to falsify a birth certificate. My fourth and final story
will be about Satyavati and her gynecological consult to try and get
rid of her "fish smell."
And so, let the story begin....
Caesar Aryan, M.D. walked down
the hall shaking in pure fright. He had
just started his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency and he had just
received his first page. As he inched closer and closer to the
patient's room, his brow had become full of sweat. He was so lost in
thought that he did not even realize it when he accidentally stepped on
a speculum that was laying on the floor.
"Hey! Watch it!" screamed a
voice.
Caesar looked around but no one
was in the hallway.
"Hey! Down here you idiot!" the
voice screamed again.
When Dr. Aryan gazed downward,
he stepped back in shock. The speculum
he had stepped on was alive!
"Don't be so shocked. The
name's Big Bertha. You look a little lost,
you new around here or something?"
"Yeah, I just started working
here today. I'm sorry that I stepped on
you. I just am so nervous about seeing my first patient. I don't know
what to expect or what to do. I don't know how I am going to survive. I
think I will probably get fired and I have barely even started." As
Caesar spoke his eyes began to tear up.
"Hey now. Why are you worried?
Never fear, Big Bertha's here! Let me
tell you something. You aren't the first young doctor that I have run
into. Look, why don't you sit down for a bit and just relax. I'm going
to be honest with you. I am a speculum. I know the "ins and outs" of
the way things work around here, if you catch my drift. Normally I
don't do this, but you seem like a nice guy. Let me give you a few
pointers and tell you about some of the deliveries we have had around
here. With my advice, you are going to walk into that room and look
like a champion!" boasted Big Bertha.
"Well, I don't know. I'm
already late. Still, I guess a few pointers
couldn't hurt. I am really anxious about getting kicked out," Caesar
replied.
"Trust me," Big Bertha laughed.
"There's no way you are going to get
kicked out. Let me tell you the story about this guy Bharadawaja....."
Back to the Coverpage!