Sikh Doctors

Sikh Doctors
Originally uploaded by gaikokujinkyofusho.

This guy is totally not what I think of when I think of Indian doctors (really, to me an Indian doctor is just a doctor that happens to be Indian [has MD, white coat, etc]) but this is what many Afghans think of when they think of Indian doctors.

Actually this guy is Sikh (yes, still Indian/Pakistani but I think considered a different ethnic group) these guys fit in well enough since their lifestyle dictates they should have beards but they also wear turbans in a certain way that makes it pretty easy to pick them out in a crowd (Afghans wear turbans of sorts but a much different style). There was a string of Indian doctor “shops” in the main bazaar but apparently these guys specialize in herbal type remedies.

I am not sure if these guys are able to stay in business because they are truly effective, or because Indians generally have a reputation for being good doctors (compared to Afghan doctors), or because Afghans still believe in herbal remedies (which is not too far fetched since it seems like much of Asia still has significant faith in the powers of herbal type remedies).