The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 113
113 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN my doctor had warned me that I was running into diabetes, that the sugar was rising in the blood. Another friend of mine, who was also a doctor, and was at that time Director of Public Health in the Punjab, had come up for some meeting in the Punjab Government at Simla. He used always to stay with me. I told him this, and he said, "Look, do not depend only upon your regular doctor. I know he is a very able man, but this is the kind of thing that requires the attention of a specialist. " He gave me the name of a diabetic specialist in Lahore, Dr. Vishwanath, a very able man, and perhaps the best in the whole of northern India, and insisted that I should go down immediately to Lahore and have a check-up by him. I went down to Lahore. Dr. Vishwanath was extremely good to me. He devoted three whole days to a thorough check-up. On the third day, when he had completed it, we sat down and discussed everything in detail. He educated me, as it were, in what diabetes is, how it can be controlled, what I had to do and what I had to avoid. At the end of it, the following dialogue took place between us: "Finally, I must tell you: Go slow. " "What exactly do you mean by 'go slow?'" "Cut down on your work. " "I cannot do that. We are in the middle of the war, and I carry very heavy responsibilities, I cannot cut down on the work. If you think this constitutes a serious menace to my expectation of life, I can resign. I can revert to my practice and then, of course, I can choose how much work I should take on. He said, "No, no. It is not as serious as all that. But, if you cannot cut down on your hours of work, then take life philosophically. " "What do mean by that?" "Well, do not worry over much. " "I am doing work which needs constant attention and it carries some elements of anxiety and worry; I cannot help being anxious over things sometimes. But I am not one of those people who lose their sleep over problems which they take with them to bed. " "Do you sleep well?" "Yes, I generally sleep well. " "How much sleep do you have?" "I need seven hours, but if I can get a little more I feel more comfortable. " "How long does it take you to get to sleep?" "Not long. Once I am in bed, and I say the last prayer, 'Lord, I commit my soul to thee. . . ,' which takes about three minutes, I am off to sleep. Sometimes I fall asleep in the middle of the prayer. " "So you never lie awake bothering over your problems?" "I cannot say I never lie awake bothering. Sometimes, but very rarely, I discover myself doing that, and then I check myself and get rid of it. " "How to you manage that?" "If I discover that I am mulling over