TESTING

TESTING

Testing what? Anything can be tested.  Sometimes  testing is done by ‘Tasting’  At times some of our shopkeepers [from Hindi heartland] ask us to wait saying that the electric bulb will be given after ‘tasting’ though he implies ‘testing’. In this case, while he claims to b ‘tasting’ the bulb, actually he is testing our patience by throwing up a bizarre claim of tasting the bulb.

Another tasting of bitter feeling arises when the amplifier in the public address system is set for some political meeting, when the ‘all in one’ person comes through air in a language purported to be ‘English’. He would   always ‘shout’ into the receiver ‘ALO, ALO ,ONE TU, THIRY MYKKU TESTING and would repeat ALO, ALO, ALO, ONE , KOYNGGGGG;  again after a minute ALO, ALO, ONE, TU, THIRY , MYKKU TESTING. Of course you would have deciphered, ALO= Hello, TU= 2, THIRY =3 and that KOYNGGGGG = SHRIEK sound from the amplifier circuit which reveals ‘impatience’ while testing.

Physician advises you ‘go for a blood test‘ from a specified clinical laboratory and insists that you undergo the prescribed test only from that lab as it is the most reliable testing lab. But there you find girls in the age bracket of 12-15 , moving around in Apron- clad attire and drawing samples from everyone sitting in stoic silence from a lurking fear as to ‘what they would spell out after a few hours ‘about blood status . After the time a long report is given and the Physician proclaims everything is fine except that you cut down your salt intake. “No sir, I don’t eat salt”. The angered Doctor repeats ‘Tell your people to prepare low salt recipes and forget outright the pickle in your lunch. Can I take pickle for supper”? No salt – day or night. Now, who tested whom by getting on the nerves of the other man? Both tested the patience of each other. In handling a patient, Doctors need patience if they expect Patients to call on them. A patient ought to be patient though it tests your patience . If the patient is impatient with the hospital protocols, [s]he, may become IN-PATIENT from being one of ‘out patients’.

Another Testing area,  where one needs monumental patience is ‘OPHTHALMOLOGY’ [ Eye clinic]. Real testing of patience happens here with the addition of a liquid to your eyes as ‘Pupil Dilator’. You are asked to keep your eyes shut [also your mouth]. The pupil dilator is a liberal irritant though for a few seconds. With eyes closed, the patient murmurs in pain to the white clad person visible as haze’ sister it irritates’. The sister [the white attire] reacts,” I am brother, not sister” [ he is a clergy awaiting his turn for test]. After 10 minutes or so, the assistant shines a torch into your eye and again adds dilator to the eyes, as the dilation achieved is inadequate. This time it is less irritating. One needs to go through a stream of testing stages to pinpoint the type and scale of defect in vision and the therapy needed for restoring normal vision. In eye test, everything is a testing time and testing the patient’s patience. Actually, the time spent on surgery table is rather brief if we recount for how long we had to undergo varied tests to ascertain the best course of action.

Another nightmare of test is the Entrance test for eligibility to join Profession studies. We find whole families under tree shelters [perhaps without the domestic pets] keeping their fingers crossed as to the prospect of the son/ grandson into Medicine/ Engineering or for some overseas University.  

Real testing of PATIENCE happens during Job selection Interviews.

A volley of questions is thrown to the candidates; they [the job seekers] triumphantly visit the chamber, as if the management cannot ignore his/ her  ‘candidature’.  Once the session begins the candidate slips into coma-like silence, with no firm answer to any question from Subject or GK / Current affairs or International diplomacy etc., Many are mortally afraid to open their mouth , as the fear of poor communication lays a siege on the faculty called ‘speech’. Actually, the interviewers feel cruelly fatigued by job-seekers’ silence. Life moves on /on by tests, trials and tribulations.  

 Prof. K. Raman