A fine young boy in his early twenties came with his grandmother. She had been toothless for a decade, and it was family lore that he would make her “battisi” from his first pay. The septuagenarian never thought she would live to see the day and grudgingly agreed.
We were caught unawares by the uphill task. She vehemently refused any cooperation.
“Ab bas ek hi baar muh kholungi,” she would say.
The worse being: “Agar battisi banne se pehle mera dehant hua toh uske paise lauta dena.”
It was the boys’ persistence that we saw through. The reward was that she couldn’t stop smiling. The earlier grumpiness vanished.
It was then that I decided that no matter what the family insists on, the patient has to be on board.