5. The Sisters

I have worked with nurses of all specialties since internship, in Canada & the U.S.  Nurses of the same training, typically R.N., develop a fraternity – a sisterhood – cultivated by the years of hardwork together.  Yet never in my 26 years of medical training and practice, have I seen such beautiful harmony as I’ve seen among the Pondicherry Aravind sisters.

Sisters and author in hallway by hospital library

Beginning at age 17 or 18, the majority of Sisters had applied to train and work at Aravind, inspired either by Aravind’s outreach to care for the blind in their rural communities, or pursuing higher education.  The applicants come from rural farming background.  Not all who applied were accepted into Aravind.  Only those with the proper combination of self-discipline, steadfastness, spiritual and family upbringing would be considered, and inducted into Aravind’s two or three-years of training.  Like white sheets of paper intended for the pages of an epic story, these Sisters were trained at multiple Aravind hospital sites, in all the departments, and posted at the end of training in the department suited to each Sister’s strength, whether it is administration, patient care, or housekeeping.  The training is rigorous and regimented.  Many a times, I would walk past the classrooms, to see groups of Sisters receiving didactic instructions, receiving hands-on training, studying for tests, or being administered examinations. 

Mostly in their early 20s, these young women live in the same building, eat the same food provided by the hospital’s kitchens everyday, and dedicate their lives to eyecare.  Over 400 of them live in the four-story residence, wearing white sarees wherever they go.  They clock-in early morning for work using fingerprint biometric devices at the hospital entrance, and clock-out the same 5pm every day, Monday to Saturday, and 1pm on Sundays.  In the residence, 4 to 8 sisters would sleep on the floor in the same room.  They share washrooms in the hallways, play simple games, or share the few TVs together.  When the month-long morning Pongal prayers began on December 15, the devout sisters would awake daily at 5am to chant Tamil prayers together, and decorate the footstep to their residence daily with fresh chalk art.

On December 25, some sisters requested the day off to pray at Christian churches 45 minutes bus-ride away in Puducherry, while the majority of them continued to work.  On New Year’s Eve, the sisters all celebrated the final hours of 2013 within the campus.  The communal spirit bonds the sisters.  When they are in the residences, they share stories, sing & laugh together, and encourage each other.  Though very few could speak English – and those that spoke English did so with heavy accents and limited diction – their pureness of heart and kindness shine forth from their young eyes and bright smiles.  These traits of love for fellow humans and dedication to their work, are chosen and further fostered for their supportive role to the Aravind ophthalmologists, whom they respectfully address as “sir” or “ma’am”.  They are the backbone for the eye care teams in administration, operating theaters, and outreach eye camps.

Back to "4. Aravind Eye Hospital, a World within Pondicherry" or
...Continue to "6. Eye Camp"