We cannot get admitted on Thursday; Mataji no divas chhe," Mrs Desai said, vociferously objecting on behalf of her husband, who had agreed to a surgery to alleviate the accumulation of fluid in his brain, a condition we call normal pressure hydrocephalus. In his case, the fluid-containing cavities or ventricles were enlarging in size, causing progressive imbalance while walking, urinary incontinence, and some degree of dementia.

The operation involved placing a thin silicone shunt tube into the ventricle of the brain, tunnelling it behind the ear and under the skin of the chest, and then inserting it into the abdomen to drain excess fluid.