Happy Birthday Lil' Sis! All Hail the Awesomeness! :D (part 2)

Another pic she's not fond of.. :D

So now for the tales of silliness as promised.. Again, in fact more than before, I'm stuck with my dilemma of choices - too many tales of ridiculous behavior (and the database gets updated every other week or so :D).

The only thing that makes sense is to go with one of those childhood memories that seem to make me smile even now, almost two decades later.

And She Kicks Off!

The year is 1995 (I think). Malu had bad milk teeth as a kid ('chocolate pallu' as we called it) and so it was inevitable that a dentist was going to have his hands full when the time came to get one of them out by force. And so one day we found ourselves (the little thunder, mom and me) in a busy and flourishing dental clinic in town on an appointment which had been hard to get. We had of course underplayed the procedure with the usual crap about "it will be over in a sec" and "no you won't feel a thing").

After a lengthy wait, we were inside the actual room with the big chair and all the equipment propped around it and I could see Malu's eyes open wide - first in amazement and curiosity, and then grow narrow in rising suspicion as to the nature of this painless, practically pleasurable procedure that had a nurse and a doctor in a white coat standing around a bunch of sharp instruments with weird, plastered smiles.

The good dentist man, old and experienced in the art of selling his craft to little kiddies began his well rehearsed speech about the ice cream awaiting her once they were done and how the big chair in the middle of the completely innocent and irrelevant shiny metal equipment was the most comfortable piece of furniture this side of the Himalayas.

The speech got the round rascal in the chair eventually and I watched in growing excitement (never got to watch one before) as she lay back on the leather seat though she refused to keep her head down and watched the two professionals in now certain distrust. The old medicine man tried to explain to her how the head was vital to the procedure and the rest of the chair was just there for the patient. The moment she put her head down, the old one moved in for the kill with his smile growing wider and the nurse moved to the side to assist with the bloodshed as and when necessary.

The usual protests from the patient then followed about how maybe we should head back and give the old string to the door handle method another try. The dentist having heard a thousand of these before kept going with his soothing tone and after the introduction to a few fancy gizmos, slowly unveiled the main attraction of the day - the huge syringe casually aimed at her mouth. It was at this time that it occurred to small wonder that the eventual painlessness might involve a possible stab in the mouth. The doctor however, assumed that the silence in the room meant his salesmanship had now taken effect and leaned in.

For a few seconds, things moved in slow mo.. the doctor smiled even wider and Malu's mouth began closing tighter. Then there was a general shuffle and the doctor's pleasant expression began transforming in to what could be described as a combination of shock, surprise and the reluctance to cry. And Malu's face, for a brief second, changed in to one of triumph. The nurse stood there scanning her mind for protocols to follow at this point.

It was the first and last time I witnessed what a kick to the crotch from a healthy and desperate five year old's chubby leg could do to a weathered and wise practitioner of medicine in good standing. The dentist now took a step back and tried to stand as straight as possible without actually grabbing his groin in pain. I still salute him for managing to keep some version of a smile on his face though his eyes told a different, more heartbreaking story.

The victorious soldier decided now was the time to make a break for it and leaped out of the chair with the agility of a trained acrobat. The young nurse now had a tough decision to make - go help the doctor who was holding on to his dignity with all the strength his tired body could muster or chase the patient who had realized the room was more like a jungle gym than a clinical environment. The sharp woman came to the conclusion that her ethics and security of job lay in procuring the patient and proceeded to circle the chair. A woman in her thirties however can't match the zest of a kindergartner when it comes to a good game of "catch me if you can".

After a few minutes, the doctor, now in a more husky voice, suggested that perhaps we should go for alternate treatment, maybe a less invasive one - "After all, the child's welfare is what comes first," he added with tears in his eyes and new found benevolence on his wrinkled face.

I don't remember how exactly the tooth came out in the end but the event left its mark in my memory. We left the clinic rather hurriedly and mom tried to explain to Malu how the ice cream only came to her if the tooth had come out and was not a mandatory bonus from a visit to the dentist.

This is just one of the things I remember about the angel/devil that's my baby sister and how she responded to the various events and things in her life. Now at 23, she's perhaps the kindest, smartest, talented, most responsible and definitely the funniest person I know.

So happy birthday baby girl! And many many happy returns to you.. :D