Story of a farmer and doctor

A farmer named Atmaram comes to Dr. Bhave along with his son Suresh. Suresh is suffering from a skin disease. Dr. Bhave does a routine checkup and gives him medicines. The medicine contains one bottle for external application to apply onto his skin and other to consume it orally.

After two days Atmaram comes to doctor again complaining that there is no visible results with the treatment. He told doctor that there are problems with the medicines. When he applies the liquid to skin, it attracts the ants and the other liquid is bitter in taste that his son refused to swallow it.

After checking the bottles and asking which one he used for what, doctor came to know that Atmaram used the bottles in reverse order. The one which needed to apply externally, he gave it to consume and the other for external application.

Then doctor gave him a tube to apply externally and tablets to consume. The problem is solved! (Sakal, Sunday, 4th April 2010)

There was no problem with the treatment. But surely there was a problem with the interpretation of the farmer. He could not remember which one to use for what due to similarity of shape, form, liquid state of the medicine etc.

Then Doctor gave him a tube for external application and tablets for consumption where the farmer could identify and differentiate the form, shape, color of each and give it to son without any problem. It reduced the memory load for the farmer.