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The minute Imtiaz walked in, he could sense the murmurs in the air, a faint buzz of anticipation. A group of nurses had looked up expectantly when he’d entered, but turned away disappointed – now that was a first, Imtiaz thought dryly, clearly he wasn’t the man of the hour that morning.
As he realised the date that day, he remembered – of course he wasn’t. Someone was going to upstage young Dr. Khan today – a young woman doctor.
They had all heard of Malati Trivedi, of course. She was the first woman student in the Brahmpur Medical College. She had raised hell in the classes, filed complaints of misbehaviour against students and teachers left, right and centre; she’d rearranged an entire medical students’ hostel around her. To add salt to their wounds, she graduated with top marks, but then she left for Delhi, which Imtiaz imagined must have prompted a huge sigh of relief.
Apparently Imtiaz had met her during this time – at Pran and Savita’s wedding and later at Lata and Haresh’s – but honestly, he didn’t remember through the haze of exhaustion that marked his life outside of the hospital, not to mention the clandestine glasses of scotch at both events.
How could he forget, Imtiaz chastised himself as he walked into the staff canteen for a cup of tea. It was all everyone had talked about for the past two weeks – how Malati Trivedi had personally visited Dr. Kishen Chand Seth and requested a position at Brahmpur General Hospital. Not one to make anybody’s life easier, Dr. Seth had of course been heard shouting, something about why did she want to come to his hospital, wasn’t AIIMS good enough for her? Imtiaz had overheard Sister Vimla, the head nurse informing one of the radiologists that Malati Trivedi’s stellar record had not been enough to convince Dr. Seth, but she had managed to melt his heart by saying she wanted to be with her family and take care of them.
“She doesn’t know what she’s in for,” Pran had muttered at one of their weekly dinners together. “It’s so hard for female teachers at the university, I can’t imagine how it would be at a hospital. And that old – Dr Seth, sorry, Savita darling – is, well, going to make life very difficult for her.”
“Oh, I’m sure Malati is more than up for the challenge,” Savita had said, cutting her husband a sharp glance.
“Yes, bhabhi, she was a really… scary girl,” Maan had said, and earned disdainful sounds in his direction. “She was! Well, she scared me, at any rate.”
Savita had shook her head at them, and said to Pran, “I know she was one of your favourite students but you don’t need to worry that much.”
Pran had sheepishly looked away, while Maan and Firoz exchanged amused glances.
“Can we please change the subject now,” Imtiaz had grumbled, and Savita had rewarded him with an extra gulab jamun later.
Walking back to the main table to pick up the list of today’s rounds, Imtiaz thought he perhaps had an obligation to make life a bit easier for Malati. She was after all Lata and Savita’s friend, and Pran was fond of her – she couldn’t be that much of a monster. Maybe he could offer to help her out – or would that be too disrespectful? She was a very good doctor by all reports, and honestly, Imtiaz was happy at the fact of the intense attention and demand shifting away from him on to her. He could do without being Brahmpur's most favoured and most accomplished, England-returned doctor, he really could.
He wouldn’t give her a reason to file a complaint. Imtiaz knew he wasn’t like Maan, whose mere conversation with every female in his vicinity sounded like flirting, and who fell in love at the bell-chime of an anklet; or even like Firoz for that matter, who was skilled at flirtation but had had his heart set on one person since the beginning. Imtiaz' flirting style was subtle, and exercised with discretion, thus easily disguised; so Imtiaz hoped he could hide any momentary lapses and speak to Malati Trivedi simply as a doctor, a colleague.
“Come, we are all meeting in Dr. Seth’s office,” said Dr. Sharma, and Imtiaz trooped after him.
Imtiaz’s first impression was of a yellow sari, under the white lab coat; a white flower in the brown plait. The woman looked disappointingly normal, no sign of big-city-flash about her. Dr. Pandey was introducing her to everyone in the room, and she was acknowledging them all with a smile; but she was wary, sizing up each and everyone. Imtiaz’s resolve hardened – she would find him a decent, hardworking doctor who wasn’t going to treat her any differently just because she was a woman.
There was something about her eyes, Imtiaz noticed as she came closer -- they were some light colour, they were green. She smiled at Dr. Sharma next to him, and Imtiaz felt his breath catch -- good god, was he turning senile, how could he have forgotten what they had all said about her being a heartbreaker -- she was beautiful.
"This is Dr. Imtiaz Khan, he's a GP," said Dr. Pandey and Imtiaz shook hands with her.
"Welcome, Dr. Trivedi," Imtiaz said, and her green eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.
"Dr. Khan, you're the first person to address me like that today. Thank you," she replied, and there, the trace of outspoken spirit that had the entire hospital meanly excited. Oh, wonderful, Imtiaz thought as his pulse pounded in his head -- she was not going to make his life any easier, after all.