Behind The Festivities

Happy Navrathri to all! 

Sorry I do not have any pompous picture of  the festivities of today. I have a better celebration to show. A celebration of art. While on my way to work everyday I see these guys in a makeshift settlement near a traffic signal. The love with which they make these stuff will make us forget DaVinci, Picasso or Michelangalo. Look at the guy holding a bucket of paint and helping his brother,such an infectious smile! Although they seem content in their own world, there is a lot more we can do as fellow citizens.I see people bargain when they buy things from them, these are the same men and women who do not mind paying in hundreds for parking in a shopping mall. I will not say more. Our artists deserve a better platform, and a much better life!

-R.

Of Waters And Boats

“Good morning Ma’am, kaise ho? Breakfast kiya?”

 

He asks ritualistically while I verify reports of patients in the laboratory every morning. We call him ‘Tasleem’, a young lanky boy of seventeen from Assam who is quite the songbird. There is no tune that he is not familiar with; there is no Hindi song that is not in his playlist. When I hear him sing, I get perturbed thinking about his job as a housekeeping staff in the hospital, such raw and beautiful talent in the wrong place.

Yesterday when he wished me so, there was a subtle change in his tone. I looked at him and smiled.

“What happened Tasleem, everything fine?” I inquired. His reply was something that made me think there is more to this boy’s charm beyond his adolescent silliness. 

“Bina paani ka naav jaisa hai mera life Ma’am” he said and smirked.

I thought about it all day. There are a hundred wise sayings and quotes about boats on shore and how they need to be sailed. But what Tasleem told me was beyond all that. At times we learn from people whom we least expect to teach us. I am grateful to him for that, of course he does get a word or two from me every other day on how he needs to grow up ;-) We all need water, don’t we? Something to use our oars against. While most of us at some point cry and complain of the battles of routine, there are some who find it difficult to find even that purpose in life. What if there is no water, no battle, no purpose? Eerie feeling!

Hope you all find enough waters to sail, a merry good weather and lots of sunshine. And do take care of your boats. Have a good day :-)

-R

The Record

“You never know what you’re going to find in your house”

-Franz Kafka in ‘A Country Doctor’-

“So what are you going to do with these?” she asked” Keep them of course!” I replied. It was one of those situations when the mother wants to do away with the clutter in the house the daughter wants to keep the treasure box. It did not take me long to convince her, she gave me a smile like the family was related to Pablo Picasso somehow when I showed her what was in the box.

Around a good ten years ago in my first year of medicine when I had the pleasure of learning human anatomy with a scalpel, the Cunningham's Manual Of Human Anatomy, the nicest teachers and the best bunch of friends at the dissection table there was a GROSS ANATOMY record to be made at the end of the term. Here are a few pictures from mine:

 Anatomy is all about science and art, and the human body is nothing less than a master piece. Every muscle, bone, artery, vein or nerve is there for a reason and they work as a team. Drawing them is as meticulous as they are at work. Each picture had taken me hours back then, and when I look at them now besides making me happy it reminds me how much we take what is inside us for granted. It is only when we are ill we end up wondering what could have gone wrong where. 

The structure and function of every part of our body is nothing short of a marvel. And it is often assumed that everything under the skin is fine until there is PAIN, which is just one of the hundred signs and symptoms. How wrong are we, only if we did introspect more often! Think of the various organs we see here, how much they work day in and out for us. The innumerable cells that make them, the genes that code, the nutrients that they consume, the products they synthesize, the way they grow, sustain and die.

I am glad I did all this learning and drawing. I understand they are a little complicated, I have a hard time remembering the terms even now. But it is a nice thing to know what we are actually made of, isn't it? There are so many questions to ponder, like why is the heart beating in one particular rhythm and why is the brain thinking this way, there is no end to my list.

What are you thinking? :-)

-R.

Love Black-No Lack

“Hmmm…do you have it in black?”

All you ‘black-is-so-me’ people like me out there remember this question you ask every time in a reflex? I have lost count of the number of mumbles and stares I get when I go “Give me anything, but make sure it’s in black!” I do not intend this to be just another post on dresses and suits, shoes and belts, kajals and eyeliners, wallets and purses, cars and bikes, canines and felines. I am of the opinion that for anyone who lives with this colour it is an obvious choice for all his wants and needs, and I bet there WILL be more than five! Since the time Blogadda came up with this question I have been a little uneasy, frankly for a week I had not gone beyond thinking “Only five? Why Blogadda? Why?” :-) 

And then I get this little black bookmark inside a book from them which I had the chance to review! :-)

‘Desiring’ something in black? Well it had to be genuinely intense. I love and prefer this colour over the others not because it makes me feel classy, good, beautiful, smart or unconventional. I have seen, heard, read and learnt about the colour from people and characters who have carried it more than in their attire or accessories in their heart and soul. I relate to this colour that way, something more than ‘Black- is-my favorite’. You know somehow one cannot stop noticing certain things, how a colour which half the world considers a bad omen or sign adds to the magic something or someone can bring, that’s my only reason for wanting these awe inspiring stuffs in BLACK:

·         For BLACK brings me SMILE when it is much needed!

“I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. Everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large”

-Charlie Chaplin-

The happiness Chaplin has brought to this world cannot be put in words. Above is just one of my favorite scenes from his movie ‘A Dog’s Life’. Such was the man and such was the colour he chose. No bows, no ties. No trim, no grim. A jolly good fellow in the truest sense. If anyone can get me CHAPLIN’S HAT, I promise to watch his movies full day with you ;-)

·         For BLACK brings back my CHILDHOOD when I think I have grown up!

“All ducks are black Amma?” I used to ask my mother and she used to convince me by answering “No the crazy ones are Raksha!” I cannot imagine those times of watching ‘The Looney Tunes’ on Cartoon Network without this black bird. What wit, what wisdom and what timing! If anyone can get me all the DAFFY DUCK LOONEY TUNES VIDEOS compiled together I promise to watch them too ;-)

One of the daffiest moment of this bird here:

“Daffy Duck he had a farm, E... I... E... I... O.

And on this farm he had an *igloo*

Ee... ayyy... ee... ayyy... dohhh? “

·         For BLACK brings bitter for good!

“Tea is like a hug in a cup”

-Patrick Jane-

Whoever called this beverage ‘liquid wisdom’ must have been wise. I have never seen anything loose itself and spread all its colour and flavor in a cup of hot water so instantly. I have survived many days and nights gulping BLACK TEA, more than water in fact, those examinations I tell you in medical school in the last ten years of my life! This desire isn't any addiction, it has done more good than harm. Anyone willing to make a cup for me, I assure you a great deal of conversation while we have it and of course lots of love.  By the way I like it earl grey without sugar ;-)

·         For BLACK brings me FANTASY when I am done with reality!

“We've all got both light and dark inside us.What matters is the part we choose to act on.

That's who we really are.”

- Sirius Black  -

Siriusly!!! For any HP fan this spelling may seem more than right. You know characters such as these in stories teach a reader so much about loyalty and life. There were moments when I had thought “Who is this freaky man?” about Sirius Black while I read the earlier pages of the book ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. By the end of the HP series I was of the opinion that after James and Lily, his parents, Sirius Black was the next best thing that has happened to Harry. Who can forget the scene when he punches Malfoy and says “Get away from my Godson!” such selfless care and love. True to his name, ‘Sirius’- the brightest is always in the darkest. If anyone can get me his FLYING MOTORCYCLE which Hagrid used to drop little Harry at the Dudley's, we could go for a ride around the skies after our black tea ;-)

·         For BLACK brings satiety to my heart  more than my sweet tooth!

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream"

-Riley Weber-

Who wouldn’t say yes for an ice cream? The joy that it brings especially during the winters, nothing like it. ‘Kuro-Goma’ or BLACK SESAME ICE CREAM so called in Japan looks a little different. The flavour and obviously the colour interests me, we could have this for the dessert on our way back. What say? Anyone game? For black in simple pleasures of life? ;-)

PS: This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

Everyday Is My Day For I Am A Doctor Today

Image Courtesy

"No. You know what I feel right now. 

I don't feel miserable or angry. 

I don't feel good or bad. 

I feel nothing. 

Which feels great."

-Dr. Gregory House M.D.-

Although he says this in a personal context in Season 7 it makes me brood over the 'heal vs. feel' matters of medicine. With years of schooling and long working hours, respect and money is what the world thinks comes invariably but there is more to the life of a doctor. Missed trips and parties, skipped lunch and dinners and a hundred other little sacrifices made everyday are just a part of it. The many people we meet and treat their stories and the line that we as a doctor need to draw and many times cross. It isn’t easy to curb human emotions and impulses. For healing is more than empathy and less than business, it is life, yours and others. Becoming and being one is therefore a prodigious feat in today’s times especially with so much commercialization. Sometimes you feel like giving it all up and wonder what made you become one and sometimes there is nothing else that brings you more pride than your profession.

One thing I do not understand is a class of people among the family and friends, who every time you meet are up with their medical knowledge and inquiries, wherever you go 'THAT-ONE-IS-A-DOCTOR' tag follows. There is one 'diabetes' aunty, 'knee pain' grandfather, 'acidity or heart attack' uncle and one friend or cousin with all the internet knowledge who knows much better than what you have learnt and seen in your experience.  I bet there is no other job which follows a person wherever he goes. 

So hear it goes to all my fellow doctors who serve without armors and deal with the despicable. Be proud of who you are. There are not many like you, who see life and death so close, who can change the distance and time between them. Isn't that a beautiful thing? To matter so much to another being.

A happy doctor's day to you all ! Yay! :-) 

-R.

Solace

When darkness slithers sly and slow let your soul shine

Love for and faith in yourself is the only silver line

A life that you live with these is the most fine

You are your own solace O' dear friend mine.

-R-

Perspectives

-R.

Great Life

At the end of a good day when you are neither high on caffeine nor on alcohol, neither cups nor glasses around in your room to clean, all you can do is stay wide awake in the midnight and doodle such stuff. This happened last night. Hope you all like it ;-)

-R.

Let Off

Sometimes it is okay to let off, let off a plan, let off a person, let off a place without thinking much about the consequences. I let off my studies this week and made a four day trip back home to Bengalooru. It initially seemed like I would have all the guilt and regret in  this world to carry, on the contrary I am in a state of perfect contentment, just like the girl in this doodle I drew a few days ago, my midnight madness. Thank heavens for the break with enough zeal and energy I can now get back to the grind again.

-R.