t is a morning like any other at the primary health centre at Futala. A large number of patients have turned up. They occupy steel chairs in the waiting area. A flat-screen TV on the wall keeps them entertained. Nurses in uniform are on duty. A peon, lean and distinctive in his crisp white topi, flits around on constant vigil. A laboratory attendant collects blood samples. Stocktaking is underway in the pharmacy. Machines that are part of a cold chain for vaccines are being checked out.

In her room, Dr Renuka Yawalkar, medical mask in place, comforts an elderly patient. Babybai Wasantrao Chalwankar is 70 and has been coming to Dr Yawalkar for four years. Her complaints are invariably minor ones — cough and cold, fever, headache, joint pains. Medicines help, but what really works is the companionable conversation with the doctor.