So doctor what water are we supposed to wash her face with???
Distilled or RO???

I have never ever heard a question like this… Ya.. she was born yesterday .. I mean the
baby not the MomIN
law but.. Still….
I so wanted to suggest Bling H 2 0 but then decided otherwise…

We do have to become salesman too… What with parents enquiring about air purifiers and
all...All you do is give a quizical stare…

India’s middle class and those now heading to the upper middle zones have derided our
shabby nation.. the open sewers….stench…without realising our own contribution to the
disposal yard that our cities have become... just being oblivious has been so easy.
However with the moolah and the mobility has come this wish to raise a giant screen all
around ourselves to keep out the foul air and the muddy waters. So you have aggressive
pitches for water purifiers and air purifiers. The folks at these companies are so smart as to
sponsor the pollution watch tickers on major networks. Conflict of interest, Targeted
intervention they snap back.
And all this while people sneer at swacchh bharat tossing that wrapper outa the window to
let it drift to join the hundreds of his peers catching the exhaust of that swanky diesel SUV as
you rest your perfumed bottom on its leather seats

Big city nights

Big City Nights

Been a while now in Dilli and its been amazing how it hasnt really been the nightmare I always braced myself for even as I left home. Leaving home was even more difficult now as my wifey’s long face told me how bad an idea it really was. Anyways I always believed it was the start of a dark period in a city that is antithetical to everything so lovely about life in the tricity.

But here I am penning a piece on why it might not be that bad after all. First the bad part, must keep my family assured I dont plan to stay on here forever. The traffic, the parking woes, the pollution its so easy to reel them out. By the way the pollution thing is real I have had an ever increasing tendency to have all sorts of dry coughs and fevers. Not to mention this strange overhang of haze that wont let you on an ordinary day see beyond your nose( exaggeration).

But there is one thing beyond the nightlife and the glitz that tugs somewhere at a chord you dint know existed. Its this ability of a big city to make you nameless, faceless lost in the hordes jostling and hustling in the fast paced madness. You build your own little world at your own bidding far away from the expectation of the unclejis whose second cousins’ son is ofcourse a neurosurgeon in Chicago, US of A. Another facet is that there are just so many more successful people out here that it kind of numbs you so you can carry on comfortable in the knowledge that the stratosphere here is crowded too just like the streets below. Till you are in the middle enjoying life and able to pay for the little indulgences the city has to offer I believe your stay will be blissful.

Doesnt all this fly in the face of common wisdom not just sense that people tend to get more ambitious and thus unhappy in large cities? I guess its all upto you and what you want. The possibilities are limitless and so are the opportunities. All I am saying is that you become the master of your life if not your destiny

Ps: Cant wait to get home man…...Its always 2-3 degrees cooler in chandigarh. ;)

History for our Times  

One of the fascinating aspects of entering a discussion with those of socialist/ leftist/ secular/ communist persuasion is that they immediately ascend to the peak of morality and forever look down upon you. For every attempt that you may make of raising facts is met with  a sledgehammer which is rammed down your throat in the name of the proletariat. They draw their strength so they say from the aspirations of the downtrodden who  must forever be kept there so that their voice( the leftists) can remain relevant. Contrary to what people may believe their secularism is actually a product of their atheism. A system whereby religion must forever be kept in the church and not the state. Dont miss the irony for everything else is of and for the collective( the mai- baap STATE) including your right to life and privacy.

But the part that is unbelievable is how splendidly history is shaped or narrated in a way so as to further their cause. Thus in popular discourse and the BIG media you would regularly hear words like Fascist, goebbels et al. In any debate these words immediately elevate the neo- leftists above those who might disagree with their point of view. It also helps them evolve a consensus against the Right whereby any effort to understand the complexities of today's India with an eye on the past  are instantly drowned out.

Those on the left however  prevent words like Gulag, Stasi or NKVD  ever entering the popular jargon. These were bywords for the hell that the socialist countries actually were for their own citizens and could be relevant to the attempts of our government to regulate what we eat, see or write much more than the words currently used.

Our own left wing has had a chequered past; be it the ambivalence on Chinese aggression in 1962 or outright support to the emergency. These have slickly been ushered out of not just BIG media TV debates but even the collective memory.

But why I am writing about this. Well my facebook feed is crammed these days with either achhe din memes or opinion pieces from sundry NGO, jholawals all ranting against our PM. Just wanted to give these neo- leftists an insight.

Those ranged against right wing forces must remember that post world war 2 more people were killed in forced labour camps and famines of the socialist wolrd than anywhere else. Its not enough to not be killing in the name of religion, neither are a million deaths just a statistic.

Paisa Vasool

A lot of us medicos are totally perplexed at times by how the same people who splurge at stinky CCDs for unpalatable coffee or the multiplexes on no brainer movies find it so tough to pay a docs' consultation fee.

 I still remember this elderly gentleman once walk upto me in the emergency and asked if there was a cheaper prescription slip available with a wink visible through his CK rims .....hahaha..... I dint really know what to say.....

So what is it about the dislike or apparent discomfort of people needing to pay a doctor's fee. I have figured out its rooted in the Indian ethos of PAISA VASOOL. Simply put, 'bang for your buck'.

Its a bit underwhelming for some patient attendants to walk into the emergency with a kid they think is very ill and walk out a few moments later with a small slip carrying names of medicines that are freely available OTC( antibiotics included). I usually throw in a few minutes of cold sponging and pulse oximetry to soothen the blow(of paying a royal 350 bucks). 

What people rarely understand is that the small sheet of paper with the Richter scale trace like handwriting is a product of years of hard-work and experience. To prescribe medicine is not the trick; its about assessing the severity and foreseeing the complication. Rarely do people understand that even though a chemist might hand out the same medicine as a doctor for a condition there are errors in dosage or worse still completely unnecessary in a given situation.

A consultant once slyly remarked on rounds: he has had gajar mooli from outside( gajar= cefixime, Mooli= Azithromycin), switch to IV now. Thus something that was treatable without antibiotics now needed hospitalization. So the story goes. A lot of people complain about us writing out too many tests or starting IV too soon. Well after 3 classes of antibiotics, babaji's booti  for a 4 day fever coupled with a rash (? drug induced, viral, booti induced) what choice do you leave us with.

I am in no way trying to paint everyone with the same brush but just trying to put forth my views on a subject that is pretty intriguing. I mean in an age where you think 750 bucks per person for a movie is par for  course I just hope people spare a thought for the poor bespectacled guy up at 3 AM; hungry for sleep but still by your side.

Cool Kids

Everybody has this one person in their batch or a bunch they'd grudgingly believe are just so COOL. It happens  in every college; in every stream. In manipal and mangalore it just achieves a whole new level coz you get exposed to folks from all across the vast dimensions of India. Its a heady concoction. Those from small towns really have a steep exposure curve so to say. Stuff that back home could be bordering on blasphemous suddenly is the new normal. But more than the sights, sounds and environs its the COOL DuDes that one gets totally dazzzled by. So what are the traits....

Rockstar sounding name: It always helps if you are named jim, michael etc. We Indians are so in awe of the west, its to be expected. Even a real name that can be shortened to a cool nickname would do. Like someone said... Go away you American but take me with you. Just encapsulates how we feel about the west...paradox anyone....

The unkempt look: Hmm... I think there is some strange mysticism that comes free with a thick uncombed mop, specially if curly and accompanied by a small frenchie... I was corrected by a smartass who said in a husky accent ... stubble....

Death Metal: I tried hard but could never get myself to like the noise that ground through your ears even as the half stoned singers invoked satan or flung abuses in the name of lyrics. But i did blow close to 2 grand once in Bangalore on acquiring such music..... have it even today on an old hard disk... locked away....

With Us or....... well if you aint with them then you aint with IT. The dude always moves in a carefully selected group that was in reality a coterie meant to keep the cool factor a state secret. Youll slowly figure out that the friendship is just about; Im cooler than thou.....No real feelings bro.....its just for show.....

Dont know Dont care: This was the hallmark. The dude will make you believe he doesnt give a dime about what people say or think. He is the law, he is the final word. Fashion, technology or life. The carefree attitude is awe inspiring but over time its easy to see beyond the  facade is a deep insecurity rife with sky-high ambitions.

There was this yearning I felt gnawing at the innards to project an image howsoever false. Pretty soon the image blurs and  you suddenly realise being simple is more comfortable than being COOL.

Its not the Acid washed jacket or the 6 string but the swagger that you carry them with that matters... and thats 100% natural......

MANTRA:       Dont Walk as if you own the world, walk as if you dont care who does........