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What are you thinking so deeply about, asked
my husband who had probably just then returned from office (I
was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice him
entering the house).
Oh my, I never realised that it was almost
evening, I said cursing myself for my preoccupation with what
the maid had said in the morning.
You know, I am still pondering over our
domestic help’s observation which reminded me of a doctor’s
statement made sometime ago, I said.
What an unequal comparison, quipped my
husband.
No, for once I feel the maid, though an
illiterate, was more sensible than the educated doctor, I said.
Well, what did she say that makes you think
she is wiser of the two, he asked.
Do you remember my mentioning what the doctor
at the Casualty had said when I last fractured my toe, I asked.
Yes, I do. He made the wrong diagnosis, if I
am right, said my husband.
That’s not all. I thought he made a very
sweeping statement when he said the “well to do” live long
unlike the “working class” because we eat rich food whereas the
latter can’t afford to do so.
I remember you had argued with him saying he
was wrong because once we reach middle age, we tend to become
more health-conscious and, therefore, cut down on all the
goodies, said he.
Yes, but the doctor was not prepared to buy
my argument, I said.
What has that got to do with what the maid
had said, asked my husband.
Well, everything. When she wanted more sugar
in her coffee and extra salt in food, I said it was not good for
her because it might make her a diabetic and create hypertension
later in life.
That’s true, isn’t it, he observed.
She didn’t think so. “I work so hard the
whole day, eat a ‘simple’ meal when I am hungry and at the end
of it have a good night’s sleep which are all important for a
long and healthy life,” she had asserted.
Who is more health-conscious, I wondered.
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