Sri Ramakrishna Sevashrama Hospital

Down on Kutta Road, not far from the Gonikoppal post office in Ponnampet, you’ll find our hospital. It’s situated in a spot that feels a bit more open than the crowded city centers. We have some trees around the grounds which provide a bit of shade for the people waiting outside. The building itself is older, and you can see that in the way the floors are worn down in the middle of the hallways where everyone walks. We have a small staff and we all know each other's habits by now. Patients come from all over the nearby villages, sometimes arriving quite early before we even open the main doors properly. The wards are simple, with rows of metal beds and small lockers for people’s belongings. We don’t have all the latest gadgets you might find in a big city, but we have what is needed to take care of the folks who come through our doors. The air is usually a bit cooler here because of the greenery around Ponnampet. Sometimes the power cuts out and we have to wait for the generator to kick in, which makes a lot of noise. We spend our time checking on patients and talking to their families about what they need to do. It’s a quiet life for the most part, focusing on the work at hand and making sure the building stays standing for another year.