He was not our friend. Nor was he a relative. Not even a neighbor, yet he was our solace during our worst of days. This is “his” story- of Mr. Rao (name changed on request).

As we walked in to the hostile looking Oncology ward in Manipal hospital for the first time, little did we know what was actually in store. Of course we had read up on the “not so nice” side effects of chemotherapy. But we still had not seen the real picture. The first bed that greeted us in the narrow ward, had a lean man, probably as old as my Dad. He seemed to be comfortable on the tapered bed, oblivious  of the thin pipe and needle that dripped chemotherapy medication into him.

The chairs in the ward placed for the respective caregivers were close to each other.  So conversations were bound to happen. Similar to…