Sports week continues...

12/7/06

Today, I was caught between self realization and forced opinions & beliefs. Won, what was most important for me momentarily but in some way lost to my own self. Life will never be the same again. I wonder if there will ever exist a day for mankind when he won't force or would be forced by greed but by self satisfaction. And if there has been a single day of your life spent in selflessness in important and critical situations I bow to thee.

It was a long awaited day. What would probably have been my last official match in this college didn't turn out to be as would have been expected. The game that united us as a team........spread us apart. All the time, energy, devotions, emotions, strategies, encouragement, perseverance everything seemed to have been washed away. But the moment, which I've grown out of now changed the course of events. I blame myself and not anyone of been so credulous. Crazy enough to keep those days, when we shed all the sweat, at stake. Now that I'm answerable to myself I feel ashamed.

But I have undergone a change of thoughts again thanks to a healthy discussion with a level headed friend. Present psychology is live for yourself, rules must be enforced, people seldom do things for others and being an exception is useless. I wonder if we had been in place of the rival team would their decision have been same as ours!? Is it as a result of our sub conscious minds which has long being witnessing the atrocities enforced!? Was it a mob decision or verdict?

Our rival team colour was green but they failed to get similar jerseys. And as the rule goes, the team gets disqualified. So there we were at the center of the court objurgating the others. And some neutral ones who were bamboozled into believing either of our cause, vocalized for us. It was literally a fight of nimble wits. While I, as the member of my team stood by it, expressed my disapproval for playing the match..... no.... no... don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I was this saint out there who was wiped to express my disapproval but I attribute it to my bullish stubbornness. Now, when I look back, think of the paltry trophy for which this took place.... I feel angered with myself.

Things had been quite cold between the two teams. They had defeated us last year. And most of them I hear, were already celebrating this year's victory, before the match. Their sarcasm & aggression were evident on their faces. We were wished by all, who wanted their pride to be shattered. And believe me, there were a countless many. No.... I'm not trying to portray the rival team as the savage beasts of the jungle ( actually they called themselves Panthers' ) but I'm just emphasizing on the fact that the match had been turned into an intense emotional war! Though, there were some of them on the other side of the net with whom I was quite friendly and who never had an hostile remark for us. They even congratulated us on our previous victory in the qualifying match.

But everything was forgotten; we stood there blinded, advocating our cause. Tempers were running high, adrenaline was at its peak. Some swore, others laughed. It wasn't even the Helen of Troy that we were fighting here for! The heated discussion continued so did the ambiguous replies. It was turning out to be a fight of egos. And finally the decision came.... the rival team was Disqualified! This decision was met by shrieks of joy & disappointment, a happy & an unhappy lot and by those who chose to be indifferent.

Few hours down the drain as I looked in retrospect, I became ambivalent about the whole thing. But now the damage had already been done! So I pray to thee if things can be changed........

Now, two days after, a re match has been decided. This has been a welcome decision for some and has been faced by hostility by the others. So, may the best team WIN!!!

NB: The thoughts and opinions expressed in the above article are my own and do not reflect the opinions of my teammates or supporters.

Sports week

7/7/06
Sports unifies us! Anyone who doesn't believe in that is in a miserable quandary, he can be in. From a barren land it was before the sports week, the campus has transformed to place full of activity, laughter, excitement, fun, noise! Everyone seems to be in such a jovial mood! We've gotten LIFE or Life's gotten us! But whatever be the case I'm loving it! And I don't want to miss even a bit of the fun!

Today was a long awaited day. Boys volleyball match 2002 vs 2003. To make things simpler for you our seniors vs us. Strategies were planned, decisions made, speculations in the air and the tension overloading on the spectators and the players of course! Was history going to repeat itself or it was time for the tables to turn? Countdown began much before D day. With so many emotions attached, this wasn't going to be just another match. It was a matter of Life and death for some, I hear.

CM tutorial! Ahaas the tension was elevating almost reaching sky level. Before the roll call even reaching 63 we were off like hooligans... bag of beans just been opened. ENT class was cancelled. What could have been more important than a match between the tigers(seniors) and lions(us)!!! Well these names aren't self assumed, but rather have been continuing since the last cricket match! Well, let me not talk about the cricket match for everyone has their own versions of it. And because I didn't get the privilege or probably the misfortune to attend it I can't comment. Here I would mention that I'm more a appreciator of the game rather than being emotional about it ( this is applicable only when I'm not playing). So the last years result was, our batch won the cricket match, but we lost the volleyball finals to our seniors. So, now maybe you can place your self in the scenario and realize how controversial things were.
BLACK! Was our colour! Players and most of us spectators stood tall in black. But the wait now was for the rival team. And Cheers heralded their entry! With the commencement of the game started the wave of hooting. Bottles were arranged. All sorts of mouth organs made way. Even the scorching sun couldn't bring our spirits down. First set went in our favour. I cursed myself for being so apprehensive about wining the game, when our guys so convincingly and effortlessly won the set. There wasn't even a single player you could call naive. Each one seemed to be better than the other. And all seemed to be getting better. There were a few hiccups but situation was in control.

Second set, seniors were advancing. They finally became unstoppable when the score reached 20-15 in their favour! Slogans were being chanted. “East or west Tigers/ Lions are the best!” “Jeetega bhai jeetega lions/ tigers jeetega” . “Gali gali mein saap hai, tiger lion ka baap hai.” One of my friend rightly describes it as an arena of the award winning movie Gladiator, where the emotionally blinded mob is cheering the gladiators to go for the kill. Both our gladiators and mob had something to say for the other. It was beginning to be a fight of words now but everything became standstill when the seniors took us in the second set. Last set was the decisive one now.

Everyone was geared up. Tension among the players was building up. You could see it on their faces. Silence took over & was only broken when either of the team scored. We shouted, screamed, bucked them up not worrying about the laryngeal oedema we could have had as a consequence. Not a single pair of vocal cord was spared. Cross words were exchanged between the players but the situation was well controlled. Our poor referee from Roudrigue was at bay.

Finally, in the third set we advanced 20-11 but it wasn't that easy for our players, it took many dives, falls, kicks, jumps, smashes, serves and tremendous amount of cheering from us-- spectators to perform such a herculean task and that too against the Tigers.... whose captain was a state level player. And believe me he was just too good.

A superb serve ended the game and with that everyone flooded the court. Congratulating,applauding, celebrating, embracing! Photos were clicked, slogans were shouted but above all, the Batch was unified!!

But I guess the winners of the game were the supporters of both the team who brought the game ALIVE! Thanks guys ,for all the good times....this is also one time of the year that I wait for! Hope your winning spree continues....

ENT Posting!

28/07/06

The last day of ENT posting! Time flew by so fast I didn't even realize that the posting has come to an end. But whatever be the case I really enjoyed the posting. Had real fun :-) be it the chit chats in the conference room, wards, long discussions about the perforation in the tympanic membrane or teaching Brinda the meaning of BC! Manas's claim to be a Bharmachari & Madeven's disbelief in it!!Nrupen's nonsensical but funny jokes. Nirvana's rock solid attitude. Shruti's understanding nature of a Saviour.....on those countless occasions when no one wanted to bell the cat...the cat being Dr ****!..... and taking those histories and examinations. Sahil for giving everyone but himself the opportunity of presenting the history! Ackmez pushing everyone aside....except the doc, of course, for his go at the otoscope. Asha's silent claim to fame. And finally not to forget me for my insuppressible laughter!
Well, it was sure fun all the way but I did learn quite many things too. The doctors were so motivated to teach us and so were we to learn. We saw numerous cases of otitis exerna, sialadenitis,epistaxis. Otoscopy is sure fun if one learns how to do it and thanks to the endless opportunities we got to use the otoscope we did make sense out of it. Ok can you believe..... I saw a perforation in the tympanic membrane....now thats something right. Oh boy! I felt elated and excited.

Amongst the first few cases that we saw was post op patient of Modified Radical Mastoidectomy, the posterior meatal wall had been removed and meatoplasty had been done so we could thus see the tympanic membrane with the naked eye! The way Dr R******* explained the three types was just amazing. The CT was quite helpful for us in understanding the extent of damage caused by the malignant Otitis externa. The patient who was Brinda's primary school teacher, also had facial nerve palsy! Then there was a case of mastoiditis with meningitis but thank god the signs of meningeal irritation were not elicit able.

We saw many cases of sinusitis and also a case of frontal mucocele. Scalloping of frontal sinus was absent in that case. Amongst the operative procedures we just saw incision and drainage of post auricular abscess. Nasopharyngoscopy was also amongst a few things we saw.

But at the end of the day, what was most awaited was our rush to the ouchi vendor! Oh! That was bliss, for our hungry stomachs and heavy overloaded heads. We used to guttle those ouchi. But near about the end of the posting this rush was now there to get hold of a completed practical file! Asha, hands down, I guess wins the prize for it..

Oh! I so much wished to explore Vacoas during this posting! And finally the day came & we played hookey. Shruti, Nirvana & I set out. What began as a sultry day turned out to be the wettest one of the month! It was pouring like hell but nothing could get our spirits down. So after, say about a few minutes of cribbing, grumbling, kicking we finally reached. Though we didn't have much time on our hands never the less made proper use of it. Scanned through the array of books at what can be called the largest bookstore in Maurice. And not forgetting to mention the pizza we had. The way back was also eventful with rain drenching us. And were welcomed by a surprised lot, devoured not by jealousy but by horror!

Now, it was that time of the posting that we had to get our (completed & incompleted) files signed. Thus, there we were running after each other & the docs to win the race against time. And I'm so happy, glad and proud to tell ya that most of us managed to!
Then there was an excursion to the audiology room. Here I want you to note that I'm calling it an excursion because in true sense it was one. You had to be present there to appreciate the usage of this term. Though along with the fun we also got to see BERA, which was quite fascinating. We were all ears to the doc when he explained the pure tone audiometry. What had seemed like Greek got meaning into it.

Thanks! to my batch mates, had it not been for you guys....the posting would never have been all that fun...

So it was a roller coaster ride. Had lots to learns and lots more to laugh away...... :-D

Nosophobia

Just three weeks away from the 1st professional exams…There was hardly any sleep for us.Getting up earlyin the morning before even the sun could rise, and then throughout the study ,strain our eyes and rattle our brains over those never ending chapters of anatomy, physiology & Biochemistry.One used to struggle to keep awake in the night with the mosquitoes hovering around, and thus making the situation even more difficult. An even TOUGHER one.The week before the profs is no time to consider trivial matters like food or friendships.There is minutia to cram and slides to study. Sleep? Sleep is for law students, We’ve got work to do. With hundreds of pages of physiology notes piling up around me I struggled to keep it all straight.
Finally our hard work paid off. We stepped into a whole new world which was long waited for. There was excitement about simply everything-clinical,hospitals , operation theaters , coloured clothes(this coming 1st on the list for most of us),journey to the hospital, flinging the stethoscope around the neck…It was a world of COLOURED fantasies.I was definitely in my second year freedom. It was awesome to see just how far I have come since last year. I remember going through all of the rooms in awe of the vast knowledge of the second years and envious of their status.
We had come out of the cocoon of Normalcy & with thestart of pathology started the pathological changes.In our clinical we had to stand for hours at stretch which made me feel so weak at the end of the day. Myfears were worsened when at the surgery OPD I chancedto see a case of varicose veins. I emulated the similar symptoms. Oh! How much I freaked. My fearsabout Varicose Veins were overcome by a change of focus towards the acute abdominal pain I was having. Now I had more things to worry about,…acute appendicitis, acute regional ileitis, mesenteric lymphadenitis, ulcerative colitis(not relating to my age and predisposing factors), amoebic liver abscess, acute pancreatitis, etc. I shrieked this time. Our repeated visits to the OT made me more apprehensive about the whole situation, what if I required any surgical intervention for any of the above diseases I harbored. Those were the dreadful days of the surgery posting.
The medicine posting brought some respite. At least ththe SOB (shortness of breath), I felt I was having,did not by first choice require any surgery. On auscultation of my breath sounds for a few days I only heard ronchi & crepitations. My blood pressure was shooting & pulse was collapsing. Oh! how much I was missing those physio days when everythingwas NORMAL.
Even the appearance of one minor symptom seemed to be a part of this major SYNDROME what made me more paranoid was the fact that the no. of syndromes listedin my medical dictionary went far beyond myimagination.The regular routine of cutting my nails became a nightmare when i started checking for clubbing. Knowing that i didn'thave the following-Lung abscess,bronchiectasis,cynotic congenital heartdisease, ulcerative colitis,infective endocarditis,crohns disease,bronchiogenic carcinoma etc.It still didn't deter me from inspecting mynails and discovering this rare discovery.
But i didn't restrict this to myself only,recently when I was in the Ophthal posting I remember inspecting weary eyes of people aound me, for any signs of conjunctival congestion,Ptosis,stabismus,cataract,pterygium...
I don't remember the number of times I have embarrassed myself and others by a not so simple inference of a hypo pigmented area of skin to be a probable fungal infection.My extreme sorry to those in whom it didn't turn out to beso.
I now relate to the fact that " A little knowledge is DANGEROUS".I realised i had wat is known as NOSOPHOBIA.On searching the net I found that It has been reported that medical students frequently develop groundless fears and symptoms of illness. This has been termed "medical student's disease," "hypochondriasis of medical students," "nosophobia," and "medical studentitis." The reactions are often comparatively shortlived, although repeated, and associated with a disease being studied at the time .Hypochondriasis is common in primary care and general hospital settings. Transient hypochondriasis has been reported in 70% of medical students. The definition of hypochondriasis is a persistent, unrealistic preoccupation with the possibility of having a serious disease. Common, normal sensations and appearances are often misinterpreted as abnormal and signs of disease.The many famous sufferers include Immanuel Kant, Beethoven, and Samuel Johnson. Charles Darwin began a lifetime of suffering as a medical student.

A waif

Though I don't even rate my poetry skill as average.But when I did try out my hand at it. I guess the result wasn't too bad also(keeping my own parameters in mind)...


Eyes overflowing with tears,
head throbbing with pain,
lungs gasping for air,
Wounded heart bleeding.

Unwary of future,
wry smile, dismay,
such mental turmoil,
extricating from the mortal coil.

Withered,wandering,waiting......
For those outstretched hands.
For that gentle loving touch.
For noon naps in mama's lap.
Love,care,security,home thats
what she asks for.

Ludicrous!! Tender age of six.
Failing little jaunty steps.
Searching what lay below her,
for anything but blood.

Lump throat,hands trembling,
Legs failing,heart pounding
Eyes blinding with tears,
'Mama,mama! Its Kristie! Me!'
Jolting the lifeless pale body
which lay,lacking its warmth

Perfect sky was torn apart,
Intense ball of heat stared,
Clouds glared,
The silence was deafening,
Loneliness was killing.

Warring states had nothing to win.
But everything to lose,
Dilapidated houses,bloody lakes,
orphans,hunger struck,limping sapiens,
Doomsday!! That was it........

My article

This is the article I wrote for my college magazine-

SEARCH ENGINE...

After much procrastination and thinking of the point of it all, I finally got down to writing an article on the eve of the last day of submission. I had an exhaustive list of ideas but somehow it never worked out. Blame it on the prevailing atmosphere of indolent tranquility after exams or my own laziness.

My ideas ranged from hostel-life to clinical posting; I thought it was too used an idea and too conflicting. But it seemed to be a tried and tested topic, a lot had been already written on it and still loads left to be written but I was sure that I wasn't going to be the one bringing the missing pieces together. In desperation I even thought of writing medical jargon!AIDS, malaria, TB were on the top of my list. Probably some evil soul had got into me for my thoughts to approach such extremes! But in true terms I thought of some serious writing. Going on the same lines, smoking seemed to be a good thought provoking idea because it was as burning a issue as a cigarette in a smoker's hand. Hoping the conceptualization of the whole thing would deter at least some if not all. Debating the whole thing I finally realized it was only self motivation or in extreme(desperate cases) the agony faced that could be the only deterrence.

On the personal front, amongst a few ideas were experience of my first injection,when I was obviously not on the receiving end ; transition from black and white to a colored life which I'm certain that the IV semester students will be able to appreciate the most, at present;days of slogging, those endless, testing, tyrannizing times; being at the receiving end of a viva, living in a foreign land that is “heaven on earth”; learning Creole, facing the mockery all way long but then finally getting the lingo right ; journey back home(including the whole rush about the air tickets,discounts, cancellations, postponements) .... the sweat & tears shed in that; long awaited holidays, the countdown beginning from anywhere between 100-60 days before & cheers heralding the d-day's arrival!

There was help, motivation, more ideas offered from friends but in vain. To mention a few, synopsis of some book, Mauritian hospitality,some world event, the reservation issue in India(this I thought was quite a relevant and apt topic),medical discoveries(here I would like to mention that I wanted to be original so as long as I hadn't made the discoveries, I didn't want to write about them), medical interventions,tourist spots in Mauritius( well, a tourist booklet would be a better guide than my article, I thought) and some suggested me to write a fictitious one act play if writing a short story required too much thought but writing fiction was never my cup of tea & neither was i ever good at it. For the kind of gastronome I am, I thought of writing about my relentless quest for the perfect recipe. As far as Spiritual awakening,karma,reincarnation are concerned they went way over my head. How about writing about the world wide web, social networking,Wi-Fi !! Well, i guess one of the most in- things,but requiring some technical knowledge which i had still to acquire.

Thus, you can imagine how much of thought, time, energy and but obvious procrastination to the extreme it had taken for me to finally sit and mull over the entire thing.
It took French scientists Calmette and Guerin 260 subcultures of virulent strain of myobacterium bovis over a period of 13 years to evolve the strain bacille Calmette Guerin or BCG(source: Park's textbook of preventive and social medicine)! So i guess my odds aren't that bad also.

Scanning though the entire list of ideas & topics I had in mind I assume nothing could have been better for me than to write about what to write!! And my search for the topic finally ending with it.
'Rise,awake &shine' and so it was to be that I'm typing this article. My race against the time and the submission date,of course!!

My First BLOG!

This is my first blog!Sure is fun.Now i realize how easy it is to read blogs. And how tough a task it is to write one.And not havin the clue what to write about.But it sure is an art to make something out of nothing.So i really hope that i live upto it... In my future blogs!