Of Grass And God

When there is a festive occasion at home and my folks are busy putting things in order I have this habit of asking questions about the procedures that are being followed so fervently. They always answer them with a lot of patience, accepting or refuting their explanations thankfully is up to me. Today is Ganesha Chowthi, the fourth day of Shuklapaksha of Bhadrapada celebrated with much grandeur across the country to honour Ganesha's birthday, and like any other Indian God he has his special requirements. Twenty one seems to be his favourite number. Twenty one names, twenty one flowers, twenty one leaves and twenty one sit ups. I had returned home from the hospital this morning and the first thing Amma reminds me to do is this customary exercise, so holding my ears with crossed hands and reciting this sloka I began.

"Benaka benaka...

Ekadanta....

Pachegallu...

Panipeeta...

Muthinunde...

Honnagante

Inthopuva Sri Siddhi Vinayaka

Devara padakke namo namasthe!"

Up and down, twenty one times!

“Why ‘Garike’ hullu Amma?”

I asked looking at the fresh green grass that was offered to him and as always was thinking of something else.

“Governments rise and fall, machines rust away, great buildings crumble, but mountains still stand, rivers flow to the sea and the earth is clothed in grass and verdure. Nature gives. And takes away. And gives again...”

So writes Ruskin Bond in his book‘The Book of Nature’. And here we were offering the same grass to God. A friend of mine had opined over a conversation just yesterday ’Nature is God’ and that echoed strongly now.

There are two versions to the story behind Ganesha’s special liking towards this grass. Apparently an Apsara in heaven wanted to marry him and she disturbed his meditation, he declined her proposal and in return she cursed him. He started having some burning sensation on his forehead and this grass came to his rescue. The second story is more interesting, Ganesha devoured a demon named Analasura who was troubling Yamaloka. This demon had the power to emit fire, so when he ended up in Ganesha’s stomach he gave him hell of a time. Thousands of sages offered this grass to Ganesha which reduced his discomfort. And therefore it is concluded that if you were ever to give Ganesha one thing, it has to be this ‘Garike hullu’.

Mythical I know but this was not what Amma told me today. She looked at me with some sort of amusement, it was more than the gratification she got because I was listening to her like every year.

“Hmmm…because he has an elephant head right and elephants are herbivores…they love eating grass…what Zoology have you learnt in school Oppi! Now go eat the Kadubu I have made!” she said and continued her effort to please Ganesha.

She heard the conflict in my head, maybe.

-R.

What 'THITHI' Did To Me...

“You do not have to do it after I die”

He had told my mother during one of their late morning tête-à-tête after a round of household chores. My paternal grandfather had no second thoughts on repudiating some of the customs that did not make sense to him. This was during the period when he was diagnosed of prostate cancer in his seventies, he was being treated for the same and palliative care was all that could be given after the surgery which he had undergone. It was all seeded in his bones and lungs, the cancer cells and of all that mattered to him was his ‘THITHI’ for reasons known only to him; he did not want us to perform the ritual every year. I must say he was very opinionated. Nevertheless his children do it every year now; if he is watching us from somewhere I am sure nothing else will be making him more furious!

Why I brought this up today was because I happened to watch a Kannada movie by the same name last evening with my parents so I couldn’t help but reminisce about it. While some call the movie a dark comedy with unpretentious frivolity, there is something esoteric about it. This was beyond all the brouhaha that Kannada movies are receiving these days, and I am glad I have watched all of them in the theatre. Nothing feels better than watching our fellow Kannadigas put our cinema and our land on the world map.

 

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I am not going to let off any details here because this is not a movie review, this is about the feeling it left me with after I walked out of the theatre, the smile it brought on my face when a group of kids who were walking down the stairs started dancing in front of the theatre screen when the closing credits was on with the orchestra music. I do not know what they understood of the movie but this was a good sign. Watching good cinema is as important as playing a good game or reading a good book, I am glad that with movies like these we can do this today.

Century Gowda, Gadappa, Thammana, Abhi, Cauvery, the shepherds, the dealer in the Xerox shop, the kids playing tiger and sheep after school, the money lender lady in the arrack shop, the dancing old man in the death procession and a dozen other characters portrayed in the movie are all around us. And therefore people of this land connect to the story. What hit me more is the ease with which issues like patriarchy, property, religious beliefs, complex family matters, teenage sexuality, loans, bribes, support of the neighbourhood and all the rustic village life are portrayed in every scene. All one needs is an observer’s eye and a listener’s ear. See through the scenes and listen in between the dialogues, especially Gadappa’s and your movie watching of ‘THITHI’ is complete.

After the movie was over, when Appa was still on his seat hooked to the screen.

“Eli, thithi oota hakalla illi theatre alli!”

[Get up, they are not going to give you lunch now in the theatre!]

So said my Amma with her natural brevity. The lady next to me smirked [The movie by the way is a feast!]. Miffed by the force Appa decided to take his own way out of the place, as we were walking ahead I realized he is not with us. I turned back and remarked...

“Appa elli Amma?”

[Where is he?]

“Yen nin problemmmu….your Appa must be gone somewhere” she said, as cool as a cucumber.

“Like Gadappa?” I added.

Well, this is what ‘THITHI’ did to me.

-R.

For The Sweet People

“Daktre nange sugar ide!”

This is something I get to hear from every fourth person I meet. ”Doctor, I have sugar!” With India being the diabetes capital of the world, a spacious home to about 60 million people living with this disorder there is a lot more that needs to be done in this regard. As a  doctor I would like to share a few thoughts today on World Diabetes Day. 'Healthy Living And Diabetes' is the theme for the period 2014-2016.

 

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Diabetes has no longer remained a problem of the rich. A day ago one of the house keeping staff of my laboratory came to me.

“Madam! 279 Madam! Is it because of the Diwali sweets?”

I gave him some serious advice. I told him to go for a check up, for some more laboratory tests and for a dietitian consultation, but the indifference with which he responded only made me realize that this diabetes problem is a tough one to deal with in this country. It requires a multifaceted approach. Do visit the Diabetes Foundation Of India to know more on what is being done in India.

 My concern is that there are innumerable myths around this non-communicable disease. I would like to throw some light on the most popular.   

• SUGAR is synonymous with DIABETES.

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 No. Diabetes has reached such magnitude that we need to be a tad serious about it. Sugar does not mean diabetes, let us get more rational and scientific. 

• INSULIN is worse than TABLETS. 

 

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No. Treatment has to be monitored by a diabetologist. Do visit one before getting into self medications. What works for one patient may not work for the other. 

• I only have to STOP EATING SWEETS.

 

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No. Diabetics require a diet. There is nothing like no sweets. We all are born with a sweet tooth, aren’t we? And that too with so many festivals that have to be celebrated every fortnight! But yes, we need to watch what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat!  

• My PARENTS DON’T HAVE DIABETES, So I WON’T GET IT. 

No. Although there is familial predisposition there is no science behind this baseless thought. Diabetes is a lifestyle disorder, mind you it is a DISORDER and not a disease.  

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• I HAVE 'ONLY' DIABETES.  

NO. This is a major misconception among diabetics. You know that constant feeling of self assurance 'Nothing is wrong, it is only diabetes' The first step towards living with and solving a problem is accepting it followed by gaining knowledge about it. Diabetes can lead to multiple health issues, if I were to list it as a risk factor for the number of other diseases I can begin and end a major medicine textbook.

 

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 Some diabetics do good and live with it like they have no problem at all, what I see in them is the difference in attitude - diet, exercise, medicines, health updates and most importantly 'HAPPINESS'- Hakunamatata! :-)

My mother is someone who believes not in fighting with diabetes, but in living smart with it :-D

She was the one who reminded me this morning.

 “Aren’t you going to wish me today?” she asked.

“Why?” I questioned in reply looking at her adorable smile.

“Today is World Diabetes Day, it is kind of my day” she said.

And we laughed.

We had gorged on this last week. Haha! :-)

-R.