Stone Bladder

 

Its really not easy for me to guess the age of that boy, specially when I can't remember my own age. Perhaps, I was not at the age, to see someone and then guess the age of a child. Maybe, its just me or maybe is just my age. I sure was in the age, which of course, was careless and carefree time of my life. Yet there was no doubt that the boy was young, perhaps about six or seven years old.

I could have been studying in about eighth or ninth grade, when the boy whose name was Narayan was admitted in Bal Mandir. See, I don't even know his full name.

Like any normal child, the boy was sweet, adorable and quiet type of child. Although, I exactly don't know why and how; but he looked better than the other children in Bal Mandir, bit different than others. He looked like from a bit well of family, compared to other children, if we go by the look only. But, he had a problem, which he faced daily for many times, that none other children faced there in Bal Mandir..

Whenever he has to urinate, it never came easily to him. He used to rub his penis with his   both small hands, which seemed like hours. It may have been painful for the boy, but as the boy was very quiet, he did not say a word about his problem. Narayan kept rubbing his penis for hours, without a word, yet he kept rubbing it with his both hands, until the urine ultimately passed through it. The problem solved only for couple of hours for the little boy. I do not remember him ever complain or see him crying for the problem he dwelt but he sure looked troubled doing that.

Sometime later everyone, well almost everyone in the Bal Mandir knew he had a stone in his bladder. The root cause of trouble passing his urine, making it so hard and painful affairs of the day or perhaps in his life.

Don't know exactly how many months later, the operation took placed to remove the stone from his bladder. Perhaps in those days, I mean in mid 80s time, the cost of operation may have been higher compared to todays. I do remember nannies talking about the operation, saying it was costly. I guess the cost may have been came to 150,000 or more than that at that time. Then again do not remember what was the total monthly cost to run Bal Mandir then. It seems that it was huge sum and maybe enough to feed about 200 children for couple of months back then. We hardly used to get money for our personal use, but then again; there was everything ready for us whatever we needed, so none of us felt the need of it. Well, of course, not everyone may agree with me for this line, but leave this here because we are not focusing on this here.

After removing the stone from his bladder, Doctors did not throw it in the dustbin, instead it was wrapped in a soft cloth and then sent with the patient. The look of stone was rough, I mean bumpy rough like the back of a frog. It was about 5 centimeter in diameter and it was big to stay in human body, especially when it happens to be the boy of about seven years old. I guess the size of the stone is big even for a adult body; maybe for that very reason, it may have been sent along with the patient, to show all the other members of the family. No wonder, the boy bad so much trouble passing his urine.

If I am not mistaken in my memory, after the successful operation; boy was abducted from his own family member, presumably one of the boy’s parents. His was not the only case, when people used Bal Mandir for medicinal purpose, as an easy way out to escape huge medical bill specially if it involved operation. Some parents used this tactic, when they see the medical bill is so high and then they left the child in Bal Mandir for sometime and then; once the child is treated, they used to pull back the child from Bal Mandir. They always had a backup story to cover up, as they had for admitting the child. One of those back up story was to resorting in easy blame game;  another parents being, “irresponsible and erratic and leaving child here in Bal mandir but, I will take care of my child alone anyway possible.”

Now, when I look back and try to understand, why there were sometimes huge bru ha ha when some child was given for adoption and then the same news made the headlines on all papers claiming, Bal Mandir indulges in child trafficking. There may be some real cases like that  but I guess this is the real reason behind the bru ha ha, when some people leave their child with fake tear jerking story in the beginning; so that Bal Mandir will accept the child. But at the same time those parents are planning to pull the child immediately after the operation, which they could not afford by themselves.

In my personal opinion, Bal Mandir or any other orphanages around the world do not keep  child without the consent of family members, therefore some scrupulous people use[d] Bal Mandir for medicinal purpose purely mocking its real intention.