What is the first thing on our mind after a prolonged illness and stay in a hospital? Besides the furtive hiding of a one rupee coin under the bed murmuring to all possible deities never ever to bring us back to the hospital again -- meaning, never ever to fall to so ill as to warrant a stay in the hospital?

Of course, thank the doctor and tell all our friends and relatives how good he/she is and how effective his/her medicines are.

But how many among us remember to thank those silent souls in white who flitted by our bedside during the days and nights -- fixing the IV line, ensuring that our medicines are taken in time, listening to our groans of pain in the middle of the night, consulting with our doctors and keeping him updated about our health condition?

Despite Florence Nightingale’s repute and her lamp famous which not only lighted up wounded souls during the Crimean War but also the whole nursing profession, the nursing profession is a back-breaking yet thankless job. However thousands of young men and women enter the profession with the ennobling mission of healing and service to humankind. Salam ningol Thokchom ongbi Sobita is one among these sacrificing angels in white.

Sobita was born at Uripok Achom Leikai, Imphal as the only daughter among three children born to Salam Nilakanta, a storekeeper at the Manipur Public Works Department, and Salam ongbi Ibempishak. As her father got employed only after the birth of his three children, the initial years were hard. They also shifted house from one place to another compounding to the problem.

As a result of the family’s economic condition and instability, Sobita’s schooling was very much affected. She studied till Class V at Ibotonsana Girls Higher Secondary School then shifted to Shyamasakhi Girls High School where she studied till Class IX. She passed her matriculation from Tengnoupal in 1990, after which she completed her higher secondary schooling from Regional College, Lilong in 1993.

However after completing her higher secondary, Sobita was unsure of which way to go from there. It was then that her mother came to her aid. When Ibempishak, who liked the profession of caring for people very much herself, learnt that some girls she knew were studying nursing, she also made inquiries for her daughter. Accordingly, Sobita was admitted for a three year General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course at the Alipur Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital Society in Assam.

After completing the course in 1998, she worked as trainee nurse at the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC), Guwahati for six months as part of her training. After that Sobita worked as staff nurse in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the GNRC, Guwahati for two and half years.

In December 2000, she along with some friends moved to Delhi in search of a job. She spent the first year enrolling herself in computer and language (both Hindi and English) classes to break the technology and language barrier.

After that her services were hired as private nurse in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi for six months, after which she was employed as a regular staff nurse for another six months. She also worked for some time at Jeevan Nagar Hospital in South Delhi.

In 2003, she came back to Imphal and soon got a job in one of North East India’s premier private hospital, Shija Hospitals and Research Institute (SHRI) in Langol. “This (SHRI) has been the best place to work. After all this is my own land, my own people,” she says.

“It was also an experience working in Guwahati and Delhi. But the flip side is that the money you earn is used up to pay for your room rent, travel fare and food, etc. So you are somehow too dependent on the money for it pays all your bills. Then the physical and mental stress is also more,” she adds.

Sobita was adjudged the Best Nurse for the year 2007 from among nearly 120 nurses working in Shija Hospitals and Research Institute at present. The Rotary Club of Imphal has also decided to give the Best Nurse award to her this year as part of its programme of honouring members of the society in their professional capacity and whose services helps in motivating others to follow suit.

But what makes Sobita’s caring technique unique? “It is my mission schooling. When we were taught how to care and heal, the emphasis was on service and hard work. That helped me get the award,” she says and adds, “The importance of a loving touch, a prayer, and spiritualism in the healing of a person were also inculcated during my training.”

Sobita got married in January this year. Yet despite the traditional responsibilities and roles that womanhood and marriage heaps upon a Meitei woman she has been diligently ensuring that all her duties and roles are fulfilled. She loves listening to soothing music and dreams to fulfill her fondness for traveling one day.