The Final Journey

The Vanity of Human Wishes that they are standing on such firm ground that there is no power in heaven or earth which will dare to touch them. But, at any moment, at any second, they may find themselves toppling right over the edge. The Vanity of Human Wishes D r. Uttam Parkash, head of the department of Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, so excelled in his field that he was awarded the coveted title of Padma Bhushan. This distinction, however, was not enough to satisfy his ambitions. On the 17th of February 1982, he was to preside over an International Congress on Surgery, the success of which would give an even greater impetus to his career. He took special pains with all of the arrangements, even managing to persuade President Sanjiva Reddy to inaugurate the function. But, at the eleventh hour, when he was congratulating himself that the arrangements were now perfect, a message came from the Rashtrapati Bhavan Secretariat saying, that the President could grace the occasion only if the Health Minister were also present. It was a matter of strict protocol. The situation now became extremely awkward, because the Health Minister had not originally been included, and his name did not appear on any of the programmes. But it now being absolutely essential to invite him, Dr. Parkash began to make Herculean efforts to make sure that he would not decline the invitation out of