She was a 78-years-old, frail lady, breathless and febrile. Her
old sari and tattered blouse and total lack of jewellery showed
that she was not the most sought-after ‘prime’ family member
anymore. I examined her.  ‘She has early signs of pneumonia; she
needs a chest X-ray, some blood tests and probably a couple of
days of hospital admission. But first let us see her test
reports’, I paused.  Her son, a chubby middle-aged man, with a
gold ring on alternate fingers, gave me a cold look.  “Doctor,
she is old and we have no time. Both my wife and me are working;
my daughter has her school exams. For her satisfaction, just
write some medicines, we will take her home.”  “She never
listens to anyone, and goes on spitting all around the room,”
chipped in the visibly irritated daughter-in-law. “Just make
sure it is not TB. Our daughter always wants to go close to her
and that worries me,” she added.  I wrote some antibiotics and
sent the woman home. They never asked me when they should come
back for follow-up. They n