Every family had its own doctor - there were no 5* hospitals vying with 5* hotels for ambience. The doctor's room measured 10 ft x 10 ft. He had a thermometer, stethescope, a wooden hammer and occasionaly the BP instrument. He used to keep one thumb on the abdomen and strike over it with the other thumb. That was the acoustic penetration test to see if the intestine, liver and kidneys were in tact. He used to strike the knee with the wooden hammer and sense the reaction of the patient.
The dispensation was always packets of some powder and a mixture (yellowish brown or rose in color). My most favorite treatment at the doctor's was the "throat touch". When you had sore throat, the throat was painted with a pinkish liquid - the liquid tasted sour and soothing. Alas the liquid has disappeared - was it called the Mandel solution or something sounding similar.
