Ah, babu, this talk of the last pharmacy closing in the village—it pricks at me. Just yesterday, while watering my balcony pots, I saw old Mr. Ghosh from two streets over walking with his cane all the way to the bus stop, his prescription in hand. We had three chemists when I joined the Board in '82; competition kept prices fair and they knew every child's cough. Now we are left with a single van that comes on Thursdays, and if the driver is sick, you wait. I have the numbers from the district report: a market of four thousand souls cannot support even one medical shop if the bus service is cut. Rules are rules, but no rule says we must let the last thread snap.