Clinics

 

A Doctor's clinic in the Goregaon, northern suburb of Mumbai. 

Contrary to one's architectural imagination, this space is perhaps one of the simplest manifestation of the doctor's clinic. A rectangular gala approximately 12 feet x 12 feet, the clinic is divided into two halves - a private and a public. The private part screened behind a wooden partition contains an examination bed, doctors table and a tiny washroom. The remaining part, essentially the waiting area, spills over the pavement. Plastic stools kept stacked inside are released and arranged abutting the closed shop to extend hospitality! literally. In this instance, the medical shop adjoining the clinic partakes the responsibility of handing tokens to the patients. 

This time I wondered what do we do while we are still waiting in clinics for our turns to visit the doctor. And that's when my attention turned to the numerous bills stuck on all the surfaces of the waiting area. Charts and diagrams explaining the anatomy of the body, dos and donts regarding different habits and diseases, rights and duties of the ailing body, calendars and schedules with photographs of deities, sometimes random artworks, certificates and degrees legitimizing the medical practice... All such bills take you into different spaces, different times. 

In the soupy space of the clinic, these bills become a potent distraction for the grieving patients. Several ifs and buts arise as our turns arrive. Others engulfed with pain sit with their eyes closed, leaning onto their guardians or partners. Those visiting for regular checkups also pass time on their phone, and catch up on usual business transactions. In the background of such soundscape, one tries to stay afloat of personal medical anxieties.