I lost a very good friend few weeks ago. She was past 70 but had a lot of life still left in her. She was active and wanted to do many things when cancer claimed her. This had me wondering what more I want to do in this life than what I have done or already doing? Surprisingly, I found very little that I want to do before I die. There was however one thing that I wanted to do more often. Don’t be under the impression that I want to see more patients. That desire to see more and earn more has been dead for a long time. So what is that I wanted to do more often? Not surprisingly [at least for those who play golf], it is to play more golf. That means talking another half day off. This I began doing two weeks ago. What about my patients and their reaction? One quality I have come to appreciate in them is their stoic acceptance of my maverick ways. There was not even a grumble. May be they think by allowing me to play one more day, they expect me to improve my clinical skills and thus give them better service? Whatever may be the reason, I am now free to play on Tuesday afternoons in addition to my other two regular days.
What is it in this game that makes me go over and over again, week after week, spend four to five hours, whacking a small white ball around? Why this little white ball sitting on lemon green grass is so inviting to hit. I cannot think of any valid explanation. Of all the games golf is probably most addictive and most soul satisfying. May be it is so because in golf the real opponent is not the one who is playing against you but the course itself. As a matter of fact you are playing against your own self and the mistakes you commit, you cannot blame anyone else but yourself. Thus even when you are playing with three others you are left to yourself most of the time to think, ruminate, plan and then with all that get into a trap and curse yourself. Occasionally or more often [in case of a good player] the ball does what you want it to do and you do the hole in regulation. The joy of seeing the ball disappear into the hole or hearing the chuck sound of the well struck ball and seeing it soar high and long is something out of this world.
Playing good golf is really having a good life and now I am playing to a handicap of 15 which is not bad for a 68 years old. Today is Tuesday and in a short while I am off to my game. Cheers.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Doctors' Day
Today is doctors’ day. I was bit overwhelmed to get so many calls and SMS messages from my patients. It is in the fitness of things that I remember few doctors who really lived up the oath they took to serve the people.
The earliest was my own GP Dr Shanbhag. My memories of this doctor go back to over 60 years. I was a very sick child prone to many respiratory illnesses. It was a rural set up that Dr Shanbhag practiced in. His wife was his assistant. He handled all ailments and I remember an episode when I was unwell with whooping cough when he sat with me when I was racked with paroxysms of cough. He was overworked, was paid poorly by his patients [they could not afford], he took no precautions to remain fit and died in his fifties with a heart attack.
It is surprising that I came across none who really is worth remembering during my medical school days. But one who deserves to be remembered is Dr Sarosh Patel about whom I have written in this blog some time ago. There were a few seniors and colleagues who lived up to the Hippocratic Oath. They too died before their time. First of them was Dr Manjappa Gowda who came from a farming back ground and remained a simple farmer at heart till the end when a fatal heart attack claimed him. Unlike others Dr Manjappa served in the government health service as a genera surgeon. His skills under adverse conditions of work were legendry. He was known to act as anesthetist and also as a surgeon with help from assistants whom he had trained. This he did in places with primitive facilities in rural and semi urban setting. His personal life was full of tragedies which he bore with great equanimity. His solace was tobacco which probably contributed to his early death.
Next is Dr.M.R.R.Rao who again was unfortunate to have been born with polycystic Kidneys which ultimately took his life though he had some extension of life because of a successful renal trabsplant.He was one of the first who returned to India spurning offers of a very lucrative carrier in the US 35 years ago. He was way ahead of his times and was brilliant in whatever he did. He pioneered use of endoscopes and tried doing arterial grafts. Many of us who got our patients operated by him remember him for his skills and commitment.
The last one to go [a week ago] was Dr Malathi Rao. A specialist surgeon and a gynecologist, she too returned to India giving up a very promising carrier in the US. She too like M.R.R.Rao was a pioneer. She trained scores of doctors in the use of laparoscope. She was also the first o introduce endoscopic uterine procedures in this city. Lately she was doing excellent work in the field of infertility. Sadly she fell victim to cancer and died fighting the disease.
There are a few others who are still alive who are practicing true to the oath they have taken [ I am reluctant to write about them because they are still living!] but the large majority for various reasons are not and this is not the occasion to write the why and what of it. There in one thing that was common in the lives of all the doctors whom I have written above. They all placed the interests of the patient above that of other considerations and were prepared to pay a price. None of them made a lot of money though they could have and none went after recognition or status. They lived up to their own set of high standards and were worthy examples for others to follow.
The earliest was my own GP Dr Shanbhag. My memories of this doctor go back to over 60 years. I was a very sick child prone to many respiratory illnesses. It was a rural set up that Dr Shanbhag practiced in. His wife was his assistant. He handled all ailments and I remember an episode when I was unwell with whooping cough when he sat with me when I was racked with paroxysms of cough. He was overworked, was paid poorly by his patients [they could not afford], he took no precautions to remain fit and died in his fifties with a heart attack.
It is surprising that I came across none who really is worth remembering during my medical school days. But one who deserves to be remembered is Dr Sarosh Patel about whom I have written in this blog some time ago. There were a few seniors and colleagues who lived up to the Hippocratic Oath. They too died before their time. First of them was Dr Manjappa Gowda who came from a farming back ground and remained a simple farmer at heart till the end when a fatal heart attack claimed him. Unlike others Dr Manjappa served in the government health service as a genera surgeon. His skills under adverse conditions of work were legendry. He was known to act as anesthetist and also as a surgeon with help from assistants whom he had trained. This he did in places with primitive facilities in rural and semi urban setting. His personal life was full of tragedies which he bore with great equanimity. His solace was tobacco which probably contributed to his early death.
Next is Dr.M.R.R.Rao who again was unfortunate to have been born with polycystic Kidneys which ultimately took his life though he had some extension of life because of a successful renal trabsplant.He was one of the first who returned to India spurning offers of a very lucrative carrier in the US 35 years ago. He was way ahead of his times and was brilliant in whatever he did. He pioneered use of endoscopes and tried doing arterial grafts. Many of us who got our patients operated by him remember him for his skills and commitment.
The last one to go [a week ago] was Dr Malathi Rao. A specialist surgeon and a gynecologist, she too returned to India giving up a very promising carrier in the US. She too like M.R.R.Rao was a pioneer. She trained scores of doctors in the use of laparoscope. She was also the first o introduce endoscopic uterine procedures in this city. Lately she was doing excellent work in the field of infertility. Sadly she fell victim to cancer and died fighting the disease.
There are a few others who are still alive who are practicing true to the oath they have taken [ I am reluctant to write about them because they are still living!] but the large majority for various reasons are not and this is not the occasion to write the why and what of it. There in one thing that was common in the lives of all the doctors whom I have written above. They all placed the interests of the patient above that of other considerations and were prepared to pay a price. None of them made a lot of money though they could have and none went after recognition or status. They lived up to their own set of high standards and were worthy examples for others to follow.
Monday, June 22, 2009
The slam bang Jamboree
Lately the once stately game of cricket has given way to the ultra short form of the game which goes by the name of twenty- twenty cricket. Those of you who don’t know what this is that it means that the same 11 fools of each side fight it out, instead of fifty overs each side, twenty overs each side and get done with it. For an old timer watching this form of cricket it is nothing short of blasphemy. The sight of a player scooping the ball over the wicket keeper’s head, leaving the wickets exposed in an attempt sweep the ball pitched outside the off stump to square leg, trying to reverse sweep and ruefully seeing the stumps shattered, to say the least is ugly. But look at the stands. They are full and over flowing and the cricket administrators love this format and so the advertisers. Hell with the art and all for the bang and the punch.
The Indian team, not well known for physical fitness exited without a whimper from the recently concluded champions trophy event held at the hallowed fields of Lord’s at London. These players had recently finished a grueling six weeks of the same form of cricket called the Indian premier league. Many had carried niggling injuries. But that is not the cause of the debacle. The real reason was the lack of hunger to win. Fat cats will not fight. Only hungry, lean ones will. These cricketers who are multi billionaires have lost their zest and love for the game and thus were deservedly thrashed.
Adding insult to injury their old time rivals, the Pakistanis won. Here was an example of what happens when one plays for pride and national honour.The Pak team collectively put up a performance to show the world what motivation can do. They were hungry for a win and I shared the pleasure of an average Paki in seeing this talented team beat the rest of the world.
But my grouse remains. I don’t like this form of game. I am deeply worried that in my old age I will be forced to watch more of this cricketing nonsense.
The Indian team, not well known for physical fitness exited without a whimper from the recently concluded champions trophy event held at the hallowed fields of Lord’s at London. These players had recently finished a grueling six weeks of the same form of cricket called the Indian premier league. Many had carried niggling injuries. But that is not the cause of the debacle. The real reason was the lack of hunger to win. Fat cats will not fight. Only hungry, lean ones will. These cricketers who are multi billionaires have lost their zest and love for the game and thus were deservedly thrashed.
Adding insult to injury their old time rivals, the Pakistanis won. Here was an example of what happens when one plays for pride and national honour.The Pak team collectively put up a performance to show the world what motivation can do. They were hungry for a win and I shared the pleasure of an average Paki in seeing this talented team beat the rest of the world.
But my grouse remains. I don’t like this form of game. I am deeply worried that in my old age I will be forced to watch more of this cricketing nonsense.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Music to your ears
We are surrounded by of all kinds sound. To the existing sounds of nature, life in its varieties has added many. Advent of humans and the machines has magnified the sound many fold. Human ear and the ability to appreciate sound have evolved over years and it tolerates and appreciates and enjoys certain sounds that it grew up with for many thousands of years. This includes the chirping of birds, the flow of water, the rustle of leaves, the platter of rain drops and the whisper of your lover. It also accepts and reacts to sounds of thunder, the howl of the dog, the creak of the squirrel and the cawing of the crow. But it finds some sounds difficult to accept. Man made sounds like the automobile’s growl and the screech of the horn, clanking sounds of the machinery, sound of aircraft taking of and landing, loud sounds of laughter and grief are some of the examples which can drive the owner of a sensitive ear crazy.
Some sounds are great for some and not for others. The thwack and chuck made by the golf club when it hits the ball cleanly are heavenly to the golfer’s ears but makes no sense for the nongolfer. A music lover may go to ecstasy hearing classical note of mandra which may be just a humming sound for the ignorant.
Absolute silence when there is no sound at all which you can experience in the early hours of morning can be bliss. Will it be bliss if it is so all the time? I don’t know. May be after one dies one goes into this state where there is no sensual experience at all. Could be great if one knows it. That is the unanswered question.
Our MPs
We are a poor country and 50% of our people manage to live with less than 50 rupees a day. But we love pageantry, extravagance, pomp and show. The latest figures which was sent to me by SMS, deals with remuneration of our MPs [members of parliament]. These are elected representatives who are elected to serve the people. Going by the Gandhian model which most from the present ruling party purport to follow, these figures are ugly to say the least.
Salary 42,000,Office expense14000, travel expense Rs8 per KM, daily TA/DA Rs 500,train travel free, 40 air trips free[per year],no rent at MP’S hostel at Delhi, free electricity, water and telephone.
Total Rs 32 lakhs [32, 00,000!
More to the Climatic [Jasmine?]
Some of you have enquired about this creeper. My friend Dr Subramanyam insists that it is a veriety of Jasmine [he has sent the picture of the plant he has grown in a pot], where as my wife thinks otherwise. Both are avid admirers of Jasmine! The picture is the close up of the flowers.
Some sounds are great for some and not for others. The thwack and chuck made by the golf club when it hits the ball cleanly are heavenly to the golfer’s ears but makes no sense for the nongolfer. A music lover may go to ecstasy hearing classical note of mandra which may be just a humming sound for the ignorant.
Absolute silence when there is no sound at all which you can experience in the early hours of morning can be bliss. Will it be bliss if it is so all the time? I don’t know. May be after one dies one goes into this state where there is no sensual experience at all. Could be great if one knows it. That is the unanswered question.
Our MPs
We are a poor country and 50% of our people manage to live with less than 50 rupees a day. But we love pageantry, extravagance, pomp and show. The latest figures which was sent to me by SMS, deals with remuneration of our MPs [members of parliament]. These are elected representatives who are elected to serve the people. Going by the Gandhian model which most from the present ruling party purport to follow, these figures are ugly to say the least.
Salary 42,000,Office expense14000, travel expense Rs8 per KM, daily TA/DA Rs 500,train travel free, 40 air trips free[per year],no rent at MP’S hostel at Delhi, free electricity, water and telephone.
Total Rs 32 lakhs [32, 00,000!
More to the Climatic [Jasmine?]
Some of you have enquired about this creeper. My friend Dr Subramanyam insists that it is a veriety of Jasmine [he has sent the picture of the plant he has grown in a pot], where as my wife thinks otherwise. Both are avid admirers of Jasmine! The picture is the close up of the flowers.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Singh is King
Some time ago I wrote about our low profile economist prime minister Manmohan Singh and about the Great Indian thamasha. Time has now come when I must write a post script.
The great Indian thamasha was concluded and the election results were announced within 12 hours! Despite the electronic voting this was an extra ordinary feat. The results were astounding. After nearly twenty years of repeated fractured mandate, the electorate this time gave Manmohan Singh and his UPA a decisive majority. What is nice about this victory is that voting took place across the dividing lines of caste and religion. Money and muscle power did play their part but it was true of both the groups.
That the UPA has a large number of MPS who are in the age group of 25 to 35 is a very welcome change and augers well to future of the Indian nation. The chief Satraps of the UPA, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and her heir apparent Rahul Gandhi seem to be genuinely interested in the welfare of the poor Indian, has struck a chord in the voter.
Demise of the regional parties means the hold of caste and language based politics will hopefully take a back seat and the country’s interest will now take a priority. Economic and social reforms can now be accelerated without the hindrances of these parties and their chieftains.
So, it looks as though, tie country is in for a period of stability and progress.
So our Singh has indeed become a King!
The great Indian thamasha was concluded and the election results were announced within 12 hours! Despite the electronic voting this was an extra ordinary feat. The results were astounding. After nearly twenty years of repeated fractured mandate, the electorate this time gave Manmohan Singh and his UPA a decisive majority. What is nice about this victory is that voting took place across the dividing lines of caste and religion. Money and muscle power did play their part but it was true of both the groups.
That the UPA has a large number of MPS who are in the age group of 25 to 35 is a very welcome change and augers well to future of the Indian nation. The chief Satraps of the UPA, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and her heir apparent Rahul Gandhi seem to be genuinely interested in the welfare of the poor Indian, has struck a chord in the voter.
Demise of the regional parties means the hold of caste and language based politics will hopefully take a back seat and the country’s interest will now take a priority. Economic and social reforms can now be accelerated without the hindrances of these parties and their chieftains.
So, it looks as though, tie country is in for a period of stability and progress.
So our Singh has indeed become a King!
Song and dance of the Bulbul
Bulbuls [F.Pycnonotus], especially the one called the red vented bulbul are present all over the country, both in urban and rural setting. But I rarely have seen this bird in the developed localities of the city. Therefore when I heard the fruity whistle repeated over and over with ten second intervals, I was thrilled. I rushed outside to see where the song came from. I was rewarded in the sense the bird [did she know?] flew in from a tree branch and sat on a TV antenna, 15 ft from where I stood. She proceeded to preen herself and did two to three turns so that I can have a good look at her physical attributes. This done she proceeded to sing a few notes, stood still for a few seconds and flew away. This morning too I heard her notes and saw her at a distance alighting on a nearby coconut tree.
Why was I so happy? I am happy at the sight of any bird even the common place crow. But the arrival of the bulbul was special. I had not seen a bulbul in my backyard in the many years I have been here and neither have I heard her song. The sighting on two successive days in the breeding season meant there in nesting activity and this bird has chosen this area and thus a new life has arrived in my locality. From an environmentalist’s point of view we have not done too badly.
My warbler friends arrived a bit late this year but what a relief it was to see them and listen to them. So my dear readers, all is not lost as yet!
Boom bloom of the Climatic
There is a plant nursery a few kms away from my home, managed by the physically handicapped, where I occasionally go. When I went there 6 months ago I saw for sale, a creeper plant [name Climatic] with a few white flowers that I liked. I bought three of them and planted them in the plantar box which borders my rear balcony. They grew slowly in the beginning and rapidly two months back and showed signs of budding a month ago. When they flowered they shook me with their extravagance. The before and after pictures are of two of them.
As you can make out, I am just learning how to post pictures and also to how to take them!
Why was I so happy? I am happy at the sight of any bird even the common place crow. But the arrival of the bulbul was special. I had not seen a bulbul in my backyard in the many years I have been here and neither have I heard her song. The sighting on two successive days in the breeding season meant there in nesting activity and this bird has chosen this area and thus a new life has arrived in my locality. From an environmentalist’s point of view we have not done too badly.
My warbler friends arrived a bit late this year but what a relief it was to see them and listen to them. So my dear readers, all is not lost as yet!
Boom bloom of the Climatic
There is a plant nursery a few kms away from my home, managed by the physically handicapped, where I occasionally go. When I went there 6 months ago I saw for sale, a creeper plant [name Climatic] with a few white flowers that I liked. I bought three of them and planted them in the plantar box which borders my rear balcony. They grew slowly in the beginning and rapidly two months back and showed signs of budding a month ago. When they flowered they shook me with their extravagance. The before and after pictures are of two of them.
As you can make out, I am just learning how to post pictures and also to how to take them!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Majority and minority
We often hear about majority community and minority community. I can understand when it is said in the US that black [African] Americans are minority and the white Americans are in the majority. In India too if someone had said blacks are in majority I would agree though we are really different shades of brown but blackish brown is majority when compared to whitish brown. But the practice of calling Hindus as majority community and Muslims as minority community, I fail to understand. Let me explain. In reality there is no one community called Hindus.
The term Hindu was coined to name the large conglomerate of different sects/castes/communities/ tribes that had existed to the east of the river Indus, by the Arab traders/Invaders around the tenth century. It is good to know a bit about these people who came to be known as Hindus. Historical [epigraphic, archeological] evidence exists of immigration of humans in successive waves over the last ten thousand years. The Harappan civilization was probably peopled by the ancestors of the present day Dravidians. Before them were the aborigines the remnant of them can be found in our hill regions [mundas of MP/Jharkhand]. The so called Aryans came with their cattle and caste system some time four thousand years ago and settled along the major rivers of north India. So we the people of India who are called as Hindus are the descendents of all these migrants and even today we don’t have any uniformity of language, food, religion and culture. We are hundreds of castes, communities divided by many customs, etiquettes, Gods and Goddesses, many and different holy books and teachings and worse, feelings of being superior and inferior. We do not have one religion in the true sense.
The followers of Islam came around the 9th century and made this country their homeland and they prospered like many others who did before them. Many locals got converted to Islam by choice, force or other inducements. They now form 15 to 20 % of our population. They follow one religion and the teachings one prophet. No other group in this country has this percentage of the total population. So Muslims are the de facto majority community in this country.
So when we speak of majority, in true sense, it the Muslims and not the so called Hindus who really don’t exist!
The term Hindu was coined to name the large conglomerate of different sects/castes/communities/ tribes that had existed to the east of the river Indus, by the Arab traders/Invaders around the tenth century. It is good to know a bit about these people who came to be known as Hindus. Historical [epigraphic, archeological] evidence exists of immigration of humans in successive waves over the last ten thousand years. The Harappan civilization was probably peopled by the ancestors of the present day Dravidians. Before them were the aborigines the remnant of them can be found in our hill regions [mundas of MP/Jharkhand]. The so called Aryans came with their cattle and caste system some time four thousand years ago and settled along the major rivers of north India. So we the people of India who are called as Hindus are the descendents of all these migrants and even today we don’t have any uniformity of language, food, religion and culture. We are hundreds of castes, communities divided by many customs, etiquettes, Gods and Goddesses, many and different holy books and teachings and worse, feelings of being superior and inferior. We do not have one religion in the true sense.
The followers of Islam came around the 9th century and made this country their homeland and they prospered like many others who did before them. Many locals got converted to Islam by choice, force or other inducements. They now form 15 to 20 % of our population. They follow one religion and the teachings one prophet. No other group in this country has this percentage of the total population. So Muslims are the de facto majority community in this country.
So when we speak of majority, in true sense, it the Muslims and not the so called Hindus who really don’t exist!
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