The rantings of a confused soul!!!

Lift kara de...

2009-06-18T20:07:00.004+05:30

I’m finally getting down to writing. If you’ve followed this blog for sometime you’ll probably know that most of my posts either say ‘here’s hoping to get back’ or ‘I’m back’ but none actually getting back!

Every time I read a blog especially some of the blogs I follow regularly like here, here and here, I can’t help but be amazed at the flow and the lovely articulation.

Most of the stuff I ever write never makes it to the blog… it makes it successfully to the dustbin. I scribble away furiously for a few minutes and then realize it has no direction. It feels like playing chess without knowing how to reach a checkmate!

Oh man! You fellows are a gifted bunch I tell ya!

I don’t intend for this to be another post about me making a come back to Blogging or any such thing. Maybe all you good folk out here can give me a few pointers on how I need to write.

Ok, horn please...

What next...

2009-02-10T11:05:00.002+05:30

I had mentioned before that I’d taken a break so I could prepare for my exams. Now that the exams are done with I was suddenly feeling a void. I didn’t fare well at the exams, that’s a different issue though.

What next…

That’s the question I’ve been asking myself at all times of late.

Instead of wallowing in despair over the past… WHAT NEXT…
Instead of cringing at every mention of past failure… WHAT NEXT
Instead of crying over spilt milk… or should I say… It is fruitless to become lachrymose of precipitately departed lactile fluid… WHAT NEXT
Instead of cribbing about how well I could have done something that has now gone bad… WHAT NEXT

Yes, my friends.. that’s the question… WHAT NEXT!

Cheers

I'm back!

2009-02-08T21:05:00.001+05:30

Hello world…

All the while I was away from the blog, I thought of a hundred different things that I could write about, rant, crib, vent…. Now that I actually sit and hold a pen, all those thoughts disappear into the deep dark recesses of the mind and leave me staring at a blank paper with : ‘I’m back’ written in bold. From trumpets and fog horns it goes down to whine and whimper! Bah!

Though there is still another exam left on the 22nd, I decided not to wait until then.

That’s it…

I’m back…

See you all around…

Cheers

Adieu, dear blog...for now!

2008-07-24T19:31:00.003+05:30

For the next few months I shall not be seen or heard in Blogdom. Just when I was getting a teeny weeny more active on the blog front, I have to stop. I'm going to be on a study break for the next few months as I find my way through the jungle that is medicine and prepare for my entrance exams and manage to place myself in a Masters course of my choice!
Wish me luck my friends!
Adieu!

Omigosh!! Its a miracle!!

2008-07-21T08:51:00.003+05:30

Reading the newspapers wouldn't be half as interesting without Paris and Lohans making the headlines. The other half of the interest is from reading news about a person marrying a dog, conducting tree marriages and the like...

Of late the papers are filled with stories of mass hysteria after someone noticed a picture of Jesus Christ 'bleeding' from the heart and in no time someone else declares that Sai Baba opened one eye!

Well, don't jump the gun yet, I strongly believe in miracles. Just last night I said, "Nope, it ain't gonna rain, and if it does I'll get wet... It rained and rained till I decided it was too late to wait and got wet". Somebody up there loves playing!

Ok...fine...now the purpose of this blogpost... 'Sai Baba'.
He opened one eye... Heres my question... "why not both?"
Its like he's playing hide and seek...opens one eye to wonder if his devotees are still there waiting to ask him for that one elusive promotion or to rid their inlaws so that they can lay their little grubby hands on all the moolah!

For what its worth... I've never seen a statue of Saibaba with his eyes closed... Go figure...Have you?

Cheers

Venkat's quote for the day...

2008-07-12T19:34:00.003+05:30

There's a thin line of difference between a favour and exploitation...

-Venkatdeep, circa 2008

This is great!!

2008-07-08T15:13:00.001+05:30

No humour here... :P

This is definitely a super feature to be included in gmail. Read here.

Cheers

Reality bites...

2008-07-03T23:26:00.002+05:30

The latest fad on TV is to be a part of a reality show. Yep, getting locked in a glass cube with the world watching every move you make is as real as this gets. Remember your cue to fame is either to fall in love with your co-star and suffer rejection, or make a racist comment about them. That’s your one way ticket to fame! Indian co-stars are the best to make racist comments against…after all they’re the brown skinned %$#*^$ (insert word of choice here) who took away your jobs…no?!

Indian television takes reality shows to a new high. Since the total number of channels here is equal to the square of the total number of languages, add with that the number of dialects multiplied by ten, there’s never a dearth of an audience for anything. Hell, even the snake on a tree in Cubbon park hogged half an hour of limelight on TV!

Then there are always parents who love to say their kids were on TV… I mean in TV… I mean a television program… Here’s a typical conversation…

Proud parent: Hey, you know what; my kids got real talent…
Me: Yeah? That’s good…
PP: Yeah, a lot of talent…. A bundle of talent…
Me: Oh… okie
PP: Yeah…she’s made us real proud…
Me: (At this point slightly disinterested) Oh…
PP: Yeah, she was on TV…
Me: Oh… did it break?
PP: Arre…don’t do jokes yaar… She was in a TV program…
Me: Yeah...that’s great.
PP: She was selected in the thiry fourth elimination round of ‘voice of the underdog’ for hurling racist abuse and throwing her co-star literally out of the window. He didn’t survive the fall though.
Me: What’s voice of the underdog???
PP: You haven’t heard of it... It’s a reality show!!
Me: So is “America’s most wanted” dumbass!!

And the sheer number of reality shows are mind boggling…Here’s a sampler…
1. Voice of _________ (Insert place of choice… Bahamas, Afghanistan, Congo…You name it!)
2. Star of _________ (Again, insert place of choice.)
3. ___________ Idol (Cuban Idol….Chinese Idol….Bangla idol??)
4. Rising star of ________ (Kazakhstan?)
5. The great ___________ talent hunt! (Bermuda??)
6. Freakshow number One!

Some are just singing shows while others feature full fledged Britneys Pears… For your complete entertainment. Time for some trivia…. Did you know ‘Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’ holds the record for the longest and most expensive reality show ever?!! As Scott Adams said….Who’d predict till American Idol came along that featuring bad singers would be a huge sensation?!?

And it seems that participants these days are always given extra credit for dramatization. Crying on TV is the best act that one can deliver. A list of emotions may be portrayed by that one single act of crying….
1. Damned judge! Screwed me over 2 notes! (Not currency my friends!)
2. If only I didn’t have a sore throat today I’d have made mashed potato out of my competitors!
3. Crappy audience…Didn’t vote for me because they never understood the pain of singing a B-flat note over 6 minutes!
4. Cheapo audience didn’t vote because it costs 3 bucks a SMS!
5. My imbecile three year old brother selected this song for me to sing at the finals!

If you’ve come this far and wondering what is the purpose of this post…. Nothing!
Thanks for letting me vent! :P

Go ahead… Honk!!

My deep dark world..

2008-06-24T23:36:00.003+05:30

La Vida tagged me into this…wait.. I was afraid of tags… I was tricked!! :P
The perils of blogosphere! :(

I got to make a list of 10 of my darkest secrets…hmmm… With the memory of a fish and the intelligence of a chipmunk it’s difficult! Here’s an attempt…

1. I don’t like to watch much TV. I like watching movies, I detest soaps. I’d rather not see what Mr. X’s ex-wife’s son-in-laws step father’s grand daughter does to her neighbor’s dog. I’m probably the only one to have not watched even one episode of Friends…And probably the only Indian not to have watched DDLJ!

2. I’m a silent guy…and until someone speaks to me, I’d rather revel in my own silence. Probably a reason why I get abused by friends for not calling often!

3. I really can’t understand the nuances of a conversation. I only understand partly after the conversation is long over and I have also committed a major foot in mouth type crime! Another reason why people don’t bother telling me much…

4. I can’t flirt for nuts! (Told y’all I can’t talk…so how exactly would I be a good flirt!! :P)

5. Walking the ramp in 2nd year medicine was a terrifying experience!

6. I hate to reveal much about myself. I’d rather talk about the spider that died in Mt.Vesuvius!

7. I love to cook and I make wonderful coffee…but mom won’t let me into the kitchen! :(

8. I’d love to write more, but I’m too lazy!

9. Someday I hope to direct a movie in which I’d do a cameo appearance. And also write a book.

10. Finally!! I really haven’t mastered the art of saying ‘NO’!

Ok…maybe number 5 isn’t a deep dark secret…. I’ll add a bonus…

11. I’m a big time dreamer. I dream and dream and dream…. It’s what keeps me going.
As APJ Kalam says… ‘Dreams aren’t what you have when you sleep…they are the ones that keep you awake’!!

12. Between choosing to go out on a weekend to shop or dinner… I’d rather stay at home.

So, there you have it! I dunno whom I want to pass it on now…but I’ll add that in time…

Go ahead....Honk!

Update: I decided I'd tag Kalam and Baba for this... Sukla has already tagged Kalam...so Baba...its all yours!! :)

Goddamn pre-flash!!

2008-06-21T18:07:00.004+05:30

Ok...This post would specifically be a technical rant for the photographically and technically inclined!!

Call it a photographers itch... I wanted to experiment with 'off-camera' flash so I could extend my photograpic creativity!! It so happens that the camera I own, a sony H5 is worthless for this since it does not have a hotshoe or pc port where I can hook up an external flash.
After sometime I realize there is a small solution... to use an optical trigger to flash the second flash.
For those who expect an explanation at this point...
An optical trigger is a small device that is connected to an external flash...and will trigger the external flash as soon as it detects another flash nearby.

The black figure is the subject...the grey is the photographer... The weird object between the subject and the camera is the flash with the optical trigger...

So... problem solved right! Apparently not yet!
Its just the beginning!!
It so happens that digital cameras use what is called 'ttl' i.e. through the lens. The camera fires a small flash before the actual flash.This pre-flash is not to be confused with the red eye reduction option that makes the flash go off thrice...
Its used to judge the exposure and exact flash power required.
It so happens that this 'pre-flash' doesn't get disabled even when the camera is switched to complete manual mode!
So, the optical trigger which fires the second flash actually fires on the pre-flash itself...thus rendering the image dark! And the only way to circumvent this problem and use an external flash is...
1. Buy a camera with hot shoe... which I'm hoping my dear blogger friends will gift me!! :P
2. Make a optical trigger which ignores this pre-flash by delaying the triggering...which again I shall rely on my dear readers to help me out of.... HEY!! Am a doctor...not an engineer!! :P

Now I feel much better!! :P

Cheers!

P.S. If you really dont understand what I've written, don't bother too much about it...

Long Long Ago....

2008-06-13T19:05:00.004+05:30

The last day of school brings a lot of cheer and joy to all the students….After all who wanted to slog, get pulled up for not doing homework, not polishing shoes and going late! Of course, they would later crib about how they actually liked school…but that for later!

The last day of school always had a charm to it… We would all assemble in the field and the principal would go about making announcements and we would sing a few songs and then as they said “disperse” we would just run frantically wishing each other well for the holidays and disappear.

On the last day of school, after the assembly few friends hung around talking and chatting. Two of them decided they’d go watch a movie. The first problem was they had no clue which movies were running! They caught a rick and landed up at the most posh locality in town… ‘MG Road’! As they walked around aimlessly they finally landed in front of one of Bangalore’s landmark theatres ‘Plaza’. They are just in time to make it to the next show. The name of the movie was extremely deceiving. Here were two young students looking for a good, clean, fun movie like ‘American Pie’… The guy at the ticket counter didn’t give these two kids a second look and this didn’t warn them!! They assumed they looked like adults…Yeah, at 5foot 3 inches that’s difficult to manage …so shut the hell up!!!

As they proceeded into the dingy hall that from handed-down-gyan from seniors was well known to play “adult” movies, they made their way and found their respective seats. They looked around and saw lot more kids… This time their senses tickled …they knew something was wrong!But they thought it was just a fear that someone who knew them would sight them at Oh-My-God-Plaza!! They thought they still had time to run out and either tel ticket-counter-uncle to take back the tickets or sell it to someone else....

But, that was too late! The movie started. Credits rolled, and then they realized their folly… the movie wasn’t just ‘Babe’…. It was ‘Babe-Pig in the City’.

One of them I guess forgot….the other blogged about it 10 years later!!

Honk!! My dear Bloggers!! Honk!!

Embarrassment gastronomique…

2008-05-14T22:26:00.001+05:30

There are times when some events make us feel like idiots….some small and some large!! Foot in mouth syndromes which take the fizz outta life…
And some embarrassing moments that make you quite unacceptable to society….. No not the time when a guy scratches his balls in public and is seen by his prospective love bird!
I tell you…doctors are a difficult bunch …female doctors even more so!
And I must tell you…they can be quite judgmental…..so….ahem!! Whack!! Back to topic!
One of those days when there’s a spring in my step, a twinkle in my eye and the morning I woke up and said… what a great day!! Nothing had gone wrong quite as yet!
I was sitting with a bunch of interns and PG’s in the hospital, talking my head off about how quickly internship went by!! (Of course I did skip the part of it when I actually cribbed about internship going too slowly and getting work dumped on by lazy co-workers! Hey good things did happen too ya know!!) Ah… well…back to topic… We were speaking about all topics under the sun….That fateful moment my phone rang with a rather obnoxious tune that remotely resembled “the good, the bad and the ugly”. For once it wasn’t anyone offering me a free credit card or life insurance. It was some violinist who happened to get my number from a common friend and was pestering me to build him an electric violin. I launched into a big lecture on the types of electric violins and features of an electric violin. I was explaining to him why I wouldn’t be able to make one for him… I was a beginner and he was pro… In the middle of the conversation, somewhere between steel strings and price I never realized a very important factor. I kept rattling on never realizing something was amiss. And, then the most unexplainable event happened…while I was still talking on the phone it rang…. Yes, you read right….My phone rang with the same pathetic sadly composed good, bad and ugly tune!
My heart skipped a beat…I was speechless for a moment… the room was silent… I had kept speaking on the phone never realized that my phone had quit on me and the connection was cut!! Oh… I had committed a major faux pas!
It certainly wasn’t something I could explain!
Nevertheless it did provide some blog fodder….

What was your most embarrassing moment? (Ha! Like your gonna tell me here! )

Go ahead and HONK!

Why ain’t I writing anything?!

2008-04-07T22:46:00.002+05:30

The last time I wrote a post on the blog was sometime on Jan 19^th!
It certainly isn’t a lack of ideas that’s kept me from writing… (Just in case you wondered!)
There’s only one…one single word that explains why I haven’t written…. It’s called ‘LAZY’.
If you could read here about all the things that happen when I have an idea and there’s something that makes that article feel incomplete….this is the explanatory post….the part that’s incomplete in that post is the part that says “I’m just too lazy to write”!!
And, that’s exactly why I end up reading other blogs and wonder why on earth I didn’t finish that article before!!
Linked below is a post by a fellow blogger about a topic I had thought of writing about but never finished…I’d still write about it….hmmmm….but I’m too lazy!!

La Vida’s blog about the modern woman (Brilliant, I must say!)

How many bloggers feel the same way???

Go ahead and HONK!!

Cheers

Orkut Says!!

2008-01-19T10:40:00.000+05:30

Today's fortune: You and your wife will be happy in your life together

WTF!!!
If you've sen Russell Peters show where he talks bout being Jamaican and says, "...you know singing reggae, and having kids you don't know about..."
Well, someone please point out that we indians may be having wives we dont know about!!!

Whats your fortune on orkut today??!!!?

Bheja Fry!!

2007-12-27T12:56:00.000+05:30

Post- dinner walks are generally relaxing and help catch some fresh air before I hit the bed and slumber off till the next morning. My walks are generally till the end of the road and back, and I let my mind wander off into a lot of muses( Of course, I don’t wander off to the extent that a vehicle would leave its skid marks permanently tattooed over my forehead!). It’s during some of these walks that I meet Mr. Dingoo (Ahem…not at all related to a similar sounding Australian wild dog!) The history of the name some other time maybe. Now…Mr. Dingoo is a septuagenarian who is still as fit as a….a…a…ahem…lets say dingo.

He makes it his worldly duty to impart his hard earned, most impressive, gleaned-from-all-sources infinite wisdom to anyone who dares cross his path! And that anyone so happened to be me!! (Don’t mistake me. I’m in no way repulsed by his talk. After all, it’s given me some blog fodder, no?!)

That fateful night I was in no mood to continue talking to Mr. Dingoo and to my luck I got a call. Well, as you might have already guessed the call was not from a human, much less an alien, it was from the phone company warning me to recharge my prepaid credit. Call it co-incidence a dog started barking at the same time.

So, after I attended the “call” Mr. Dingoo looked at me and said in his most convincing voice ever, “Do you know why the dog barked?” Of course I didn’t, besides it’s none of my business, as long as the dog isn’t chasing me! I didn’t know what he meant so I looked at him, a look I had perfected through 5 years of medical school…a look to show you’re paying utmost attention and a look that meant you cared about what was being said more than a mad dog biting off your posterior! He continued, “The dogs go mad because of the cell phones.” As much as I stood bewildered I decided to listen! (I knew a blog post was brewing!). “Yes…” he continued, “the cell phone towers sends waves that drive the dogs mad.”

Yet, here I was thinking all the while that dogs were mad and furious because the towers replaced a lot of telephone poles and now they were getting the shock of their lives trying to pee on electric poles or because of a particular miscreant virus of the Rhabdoviridae family! (Call me ignorant!! Sheesh! I was in total awe of this mans infinite wisdom!!)

I ventured to say that cell phones also use microwaves. He paused to clarify if it was the same waves that heated his dinner every now and then. Knowing where this was going, in a vain effort to say something else and venturing all the physics that I had so easily forgotten after PUC I prayed to Dear Mr. Einstein and said, “...uh...well…yes it’s the same microwave and…uh…aa…a…its different, as in it doesn’t have power…and…uh..”. My voice trailed off as I realized what I had just said. I looked at him with my foot firmly in mouth. Mr. Dingoo has got the upper hand here ladies and gentlemen…he quietly said, “See, that’s what it does, it cooks the brain…now, that’s why I don’t use a mobile.”

Another incoming call on the mobile, I just quietly cut the call. After this conversation I was convinced…bheja fry!!!

Venkat's quote of the day!

2007-10-08T14:07:00.000+05:30

"Its better to be single than sorry!!" :D

Fingering the issue...

2007-09-06T17:48:00.000+05:30

Heres another SMS conversation thats worth mention.

Another almost normal day was passing by while I made a few last ditch desperate attempts at studying and trying to salvage of what ever was left of that day...
At that very moment breaking news flashed across all TV channels... (Yes, one might ask what I was doing watching TV when I trying to study...) Bomb blasts in Hyderabad. Somehow ,more than being appalled by the loss of life and the whole stupidity of whatever terrorist organization that would willingly come forward to claim responsibility for the issue....the voice at the back of my head said, "here we go again". I decided to break the news to all my friends who were all..I'm very sure busy studying...of course other than a few people on the train on their way back from Schumi's marriage. Am happy that Hutch did not decide to charge Re.1 per SMS that day saying that it was a national tragedy...Messages flowed back and forth...some expressing contempt..some anguish...some sorrow...some surprise and few echoing my own thought, "bomb blasts AGAIN??"
...In the midst of all this came an unexpectedly humorous moment with Krishnan.
For all those who are wondering who's this Krishnan dude...He is the co-founder of the famed and much acclaimed Dept. of Femurology, where I bide time as a professor, with the likes of Dr. Mujahid ...Dr. Krishnan along with Dr. Mujahid are the brains behind the phenomenal mad-ad team also called the FEMUR team.

Ok..now moving on...heres the transcript of the SMS's:

Me: Hey bomb blasts in Hyderabad...check the news NOW!

Kris: Just saw it dude...sad! We need to put an end to this terrorism!

Me: Dude, maybe we can make a mad-ad on this issue. Humor has no boundaries.

Kris: Dude...like the Lashkar-e-toiba is gonna understand language...

Me: Hmmm...yeah...but dude..thats what sign language is for... Besides, who doesn't understand the finger... They obviously cant bomb the finger as a part of their campaign against non-believing infidels!!

Kris: Yeah dude...no race, no religion, everyones got one...uh...two... Dude we have been raising the finger for all pointless reasons...Lets now join fingers and raise it for a cause...(I mean the masses...not the usual cause!)

Me: Haha...yeah maga...one small finger for man...is a giant cause OF mankind!!

My heartfelt condolences for all those who lost their lives in this tragic incident. This post here means no disrespect. Everytime we fall we need to rise...just like the Phoenix... Humour in the issue is only a way that we can look forward with hope rather than look back in sorrow.

Cheers

Of free speech..

2007-09-05T16:23:00.000+05:30

I got a SMS recently that said:

"In a country of free speech...why are there phone bills?!!" (Gizmo thanx maga!)

Out of impulse and knowing that it wasn't free....I forwarded the same to friends in my phone list...I dint expect people to reply...amazingly they did...here are a few pearls of wisdom from replies to this forward:

Sadass said: Phone companies are not Indian bob!

Shilpz said: To keep you and me apart!

BP said: To make sure I talk less...

Here's d best one from them all....

The Rogue said: ...because there is an entity called phone sex...and in our country we have entertainment tax!!

You're right bob...whoever said "no country ever taxed itself to prosperity" would surely be squirming in his grave!!

What would you say????

Cheers

P.S. more SMS conversation coming up soon...stay tuned!!

Random nonsense!

2007-09-02T18:17:00.000+05:30

A Scottish old timer in Scotland, in a bar, talking to a young man.

The Old Man says, "Lad, look out there to the field. Do ya see that fence? Look how well it's built. I built that fence stone by stone with me own two hands. I piled it for months."

"But do they call me McGreggor-the-Fence-Builder? Nooo..."

Then the old man gestured at the bar. "Look here at the bar. Do ya see how smooth and just it is? I planed that surface down by me own achin' back. I carved that wood with me own hard labour, for eight days."

"But do they call me McGreggor-the-Bar-builder? Nooo..."

Then the old man points out the window. "Eh, Laddy, look out to sea...Do ya see that pier that stretches out as far as the eye can see? I built that pier with the sweat off me back. I nailed it board by board."

"But do they call me McGreggor-the-Pier-Builder? Nooo..."

Then the old man looks around nervously, trying to make sure no one is paying attention.

"But ya screw one goat.........."

Venkat's quote of the day!

2007-08-14T12:04:00.000+05:30

Too old to believe in fairies,
Too young to believe in god!!

Sony DSC H5 V/S Yashica Electro 35 GTN

2007-07-31T16:35:00.000+05:30

Warning: Post is long and geek content ahead!

Film cameras have more or less given up their share of the camera market for their new cousin – the digital camera. Be it the ultra compact, compact, high zoom prosumer compacts or the digital SLR’s the digital revolution has taken the camera market by storm and got down photography to common man...With digital cameras you are not forced to restrict the number of photos and having to spend enormous amount of money on processing it before you even have a look at it.

Before I got the digital camera I used 2 film cameras...

The first was a small Olympus PhD (Press here dummy) camera...no frills camera...just point and shoot.

The second camera I used was the Yashica Electro 35 GTN. It’s quite a marvel for a camera manufactured in 1976. Its exposure settings and focusing options were (are) regarded superior to many SLR’s which were produced much later in the 80’s. The Electro 35 is a rangefinder camera.

Have a look at my previous post: http://confusedrantings.blogspot.com/2007/01/yashica-electro35.html

More info on rangefinder cameras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangefinder_camera

Of course, it is needless to say, the features of this camera were vastly under utilized by yours truly...and the photos which came from this camera made everyone’s jaw droooop!

I never got to use this camera much and I never learnt much about photography eventually. Of course the enormous costs of developing and printing were another considerable constraint.

I finally graduated to a digital camera recently. The DSC H5 is among Sony’s Prosumer range of cameras. It has more features than a compact but lesser than a SLR. But, essentially it remains a point and shoot camera.

Read my previous post on this camera: http://confusedrantings.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-camerayipeeee.html

I’ve compared both cameras below...read on...

Of course this comparison means nothing, as each camera is from a different league altogether. This is only out of interest.

	Yashica Electro 35 GTN	Sony DSC H5
Format	35mm full frame rangefinder	Prosumer Compact SLR like
Type	Film 24x36mm	Digital 7.2MP
ISO rating	ISO 25 (DIN 15) to ISO 1000 (DIN 31)	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Lens	Color-Yashinon DX 45mm f/1,7 (6 elements, 4 groups)	36mm – 432mm (6-72mm) Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar f/2.8-3.7
Focusing range	0.8 m to infinity	Normal focus range: 50cm Macro focus range: 2cm
Aperture	1.7 to 16	F2.8 - 8.0 (wide), F3.7 - 8.0 (tele)
Shutter	30s ~ 1/500 sec., B*	1/4 - 1/2000 sec. (Auto), 1 - 1/2000 sec. (Program Auto), 46-step 30 sec – 1/1000 sec. (Shutter Priority, Manual) Shutter speeds of 1/2000th are only available at apertures of F5.6 and higher.
Exposure meter	Single CdS cell, programs shutter selection	Multi-pattern (49 zone), Center weighted, Spot metering
Exposure compensation	EV -3.4 (f/1.7 @ 30 sec.) to EV 17 (f/16 @ 1/500 sec.)	+/-2EV, 1/3 EV steps
Viewfinder	Bright frame line, Overexposure and underexposure warning arrows	Electronic with same display as the back LCD
Focusing System	Superimposed rangefinder type focusing with automatic parallax compensation	Manual (with focus aids and magnification), Single, Monitor, Continuous. AF area modes: 3 Area Multi-Point AF, Center AF (selectable), Flexible spot AF, Contrast detect
Flash	Built-in "X" synchronization Hot Shoe	Pop up flash- Auto, On, Off, Slow synch, Red-eye reduction • Range (ISO Auto): 1’ to 29’ 3" (0.3-9.0m) (Wide) • Range (ISO Auto): 35.5 ’ to 22 ’ 4 " (0.9-6.8m) (Tele) • Range (ISO 1000): 2’ 11" to 52’ (0.9 -16m) (Wide)
Storage Media	Film easy loading- Single-stroke, Built-in double exposure prevention	Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo compatible, 32MB internal memory
Self Timer	~ 8sec	2sec, 10sec
Battery	One 6 volts battery PX32, with Battery check**	2 AA NiMH batteries
Adaptors	55mm ring, Hot shoe flash with sync, macro lens, tele and wide angle converters available, separate viewfinder for converter lens	Filter Diameter: 58mm (with supplied Adapter Ring) Optional Slave Flash units, wide tele and macro converter lenses, filters
Dimensions	180 x 84x 73,5 mm	113.2 x 83 x 94 mm
Weight	750g	554g
Continuous Shooting	No	Yes: 7 Shots at 1.1fps (7.2MP JPEG fine), 100 Shots at 1.4 fps (640x480 JPEG std)

*In B mode shutter remains open as long as the shutter released button is pressed. Ideal for long exposure time shots and needs a cable shutter release (separate accessory).
**The original 6V PX32 battery is no more available because it’s a mercury battery and is banned to prevent pollution. However the Yashica camera’s electronics are capable of working well between 4-6volts.This allows us to use an alkaline battery which can be easily adapted by using a small spring.

There you have it. The Yashica takes wonderful pictures. Once I make my way up the photography learning curve I’ll surely have another go at the Yashica. Till then....shoot!

Adios Amigos

IDEA!!!

2007-07-28T12:43:00.000+05:30

The best ideas come when you can’t do anything about it.

-Venkatdeep,Circa 2007

Am sure many of us have gone through a situation where we’ve had ideas popping off our head like pop corn bursting in a microwave. There sure have been times when you’ve said “damn! Why dint I think of that before?!”

When ideas pop off at those ‘moments of inspiration’ one of the following happens....

> Someone has already thought of that idea!

> There is no paper!

> Ahhh! Here is the paper....damn! The pen ain’t working!

> I’ll record a voice clip...oops! BESCOM has graced our lives...there’s no power!

> If there is power the recording software ain’t working!

> If it is, and you finish recording, you will have to format your hard disk before you can backup the information for reasons mankind cannot perceive or justify! (Maybe the guys at Microsoft know!!)

> Now that the computer ain’t working how bout the mp3 player? ...oops again! Forgot to replace batteries!

P.S. If you were wondering if I never thought of the cassette recorder...I did. That ain’t working either!

> I’ll call my girlfriend....

You: Hey sweetie......

She: Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.....baby I missed you sooooooo muchhh...I was out shopping the whole day with Div, Akshu..... I saw this cuutttee pinkish yellowish greenish blue black stuffed elephant...you’ll get it for my birthday na...and guess what we saw your friends brothers ex-girlfriends third boyfriend today...my god! What a jerk! Heeeeyyy and you remember that pink top you got me last week...I showed it to my friends today and they were..wow! You should have seen them...And guess what there was this cute guy at the chocolate store...he was trying to so badly hit on divs...and.... (After sooooommmeee mooorrree time!) ...baby...why you sooo quiet?? What happened?? Are you ok?? Everything ok? Are you sure?

You: uh...nothing...glad you had a great day..

She: Thanx soo much...acchha now I’ll go and try on a new dress I got today..byeeee...muuuahh! CLICK!

You: ??

> I’ll call a friend...THE HUTCH SUBSCRIBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CALL IS NOT REACHABLE AT THE MOMENT!!!

> If it is.... You: Hey man...I just had a great idea!

Other side: huh?? Hello? Who’s this?

WRONG NUMBER!!

> You finally get the right number and he says... “Uh! Dude...am with my girl here...I’ll catchya later...”CLICK!

> Ditch it...what are moms for....

You: Mom...

Mom: You know what, in that soap the heroines, third sisters, fourth boyfriends, dog’s new owners, sons girlfriends ex-boyfriends, fathers, mother-in-laws, sisters, ex-husbands, third wife’s, son tries to........

You: huh??????????!?!?!!!!!?

> Well dads and sons always share a special relation...

You: Heeyy Dad.....guess what...

(Before anything else is said) Dad: NO YOU’RE NOT TAKING THE CAR TODAY!

>Grandpa.....yeeeahhh!

You: (Starts and finishes saying the idea...pauses for a breath...feels happy!!!).....ajja super idea right!!

Grandpa: aahhhhh??? What?? I forgot my hearing aid....

Gets up disoriented...feigns a fainting attack, picks himself off the ground and heads out of the door!

Gets a call on the mobile: hello? “Do u wanna partner...o partner.... (Song playing)...this caller tune for you just at rs.30 per month!”

So, what’s your story?

Boob tube......

2007-07-24T20:40:00.000+05:30

EDIT: I did receive a few comments asking why on earth I even chose this topic to blog on. Add a bit of slandering to that...A very pissed off Bip's fan I presume. A small clarification...I was just wondering how page 3 columnists can make a fuss about nothing and this post was just a 'vain' attempt at writing like a page 3 person..nothing more and nothing less!

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING POST FEATURES ADULT CONTENT. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. HATE MAIL NOT ENTERTAINED!

Caught you...didn’t it...it sure did catch my attention in the editorial column of a newspaper. I mean any article in the editorial titled like that ought to have much more right?

The article was about one of our tinsel town damsel going under the knife for an augmentation of her assets and not paying for it...

Hold your horses before you call me a MCP for pointing this out. The article wasn’t only about poor Bipasha being more bustier...it was also about the doctor who decided to leak the news to the ‘celeb friendly’ paparazzi because he wasn’t too pleased about not receiving the bill. Of course who’d be happy, after all its always about bigger assets isn’t it?!! And did a magazine do any better by splashing before and after pictures of Bipasha??(Haha!! Yeah right...don’t even think about it...the pics were with the clothes on!)Before she went under the knife and after she acted in Jism (After all Jism was a big assets movie!)

Besides the article struck me more, being a part of the medical fraternity! Where was the doctors’ integrity?

It reminded me of a dialogue from the movie ‘Scent of a woman’ where Al Pacino hollers out, “...he wont sell himself and he wont sell out others... and that is integrity!”

So is the doctor’s integrity heading for differentiation?

This nation need no more scandals, the celebrities are already doing enough!

Besides, the doctor is supposedly well known among celebrities by changing their name in medical records to protect their identity.

Also the staffs of the hospital were also more than happy to reveal that poor Bipasha also got a ear job done too...guess that’s called waxing eh?! Or should we say de-waxing?!!

Considering that the doctor changes the name of his patients I just wonder if it isn’t Bipasha at all!! Its actually Rakhi Sawant and the ear job is for the actress who got her ears chewed off by Emran Hashmi in the excuse of what was supposed to be steamy on-screen chemistry?!

So a shot of ‘censor’-caine for a shot of fame???

What say you??

The A to Z of MSRMC!!!

2007-06-26T18:29:00.000+05:30

Another post to reminisce the days at MSRMC... (if ur thinking what other post...its the one before this called 'mixed emotions')...call it an old fools rubbish or call it the ranting of a poor soul...hell yeah I’m way too stuck up to all the things that have happened over the past few years that I’m not too sure if I’d want to move on...but as they say 'the show must go on..'...the same way 'life goes on'. Nevertheless read thru for an A to Z of life in the past 6 years. Many things I’ve mentioned here may be quite specific to us medicos but what the hell...read on...

A: anatomical snuff box...the eternal ragging question and something that many still have difficulty finding!

B:Bailey and love eh??! Nooonsense I say....B for bombat...chindi...Also for BABA..the one and only Correct Baba!!

C...coffee day where life exists for many couples

D...demolition brigade....digital divide?

E...exams and more...

F...the one and only FEMUR and the one and only department of FEMUROLOGY...founded by Dr. Mujahid and Dr. Krishnan..

G...ghanta...dedicated to one and only shaan patti!! Also for Ganga....

H...for Hari Sadu?? Nope...here H for Hitler!!

I....kuchikoo at the indology centre...

J...for Jaadoo of krish fame(in our class??!!)

K...for KRISHHHHHHHHHHHH (Baby Krishhh....call for friums and badam milk)

L...Lambesh...dedicated to the tall chaps Sada and Krishnan..

M...Mahadeva tea stall...tea stall for some...hang out for some....kuchikoo(!!!?!?!) for yet some others!! Either way most of us cudnt hav gone thru a day of coll wid out mahadevas tea, coffee and lime juice!!

N....nim ajji loafer!! Bloody Gibbs :)

O....oro-anal fistula among other things....mayb u cud add OBG too!!??

P....parking lot...park...pavan...??

Q....queen of mischievous ladies....Our one and only Vidya Narayan

R....rooftops at Ramaiah...an eternal porthole into the unending mystery that is ramaiah architecture....R also for RED...(Yes Sada...thats just for u!!) R also for Ramaiah anthem and Ramaiah Salute!!

S....sacromandibular joint...another anatomical milestone in the history of femurology...S also for Sambamurthy the big man of ENT!

T...tambakasura

U...ups and downs...Ramaiah Roads!

V: Vicky’s canteen

W...Whitfield’s ointment which was fun preparing...among other things we had fun preparing were purgatives and turpentine liniment.

X...X rays r harmful...learn and let the technician kno...

Y...yaaaro bhupathi

Z...nothing...its the last letter...ZZZZ ZZ ZZ Z Z Z ZZZZ

Discharge Summary!!!!!

2007-05-02T20:43:00.000+05:30

Hey ppl...
many ppl were wonderin wat the hell i meant by my orkut profile name "venkat-discharge summary released!"...
with no more cribbin... i'll get down to the point here...discharge summary is the name we have given to our yearbook!!
And I thot i'll put up an image of the coverpage v designed and my profile in the yearbook to giv u an idea of wat our discharge summary looks like!!!!
heres the coverpage......

and the megalomaniac that i am and that dirty habit i hav of blowin my own trumpet too much heres my profile in the yearbook.... ;)

Its bin a topsy turvy ride to get ppl to pay for it...to get sponsors to cover our total budget...to get ppl to fill in a questionaire...to get them to submit a pediatric age photo...to finalise a design...page layout....blah...blah and then to go into print and bring it out within 3 months!!
Am happy that v made this souvenir that we will cherish as a part of our stay in MSRMC and more over we'll reminsce the times v spent here...
Vishwas has been the graphics designer for our yearbook....he has done an AMAZIN job!!!!!
cheeers to the batch of 2001-02!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mixed Emotions

2007-04-17T22:30:00.000+05:30

It only seems like yesterday that i stepped into the portals of Ramaiah. Time flies by so soon...the past 6 years have gone by in a blur.
The days spent singing, playing antakshari and chinese whispers in front of the cadaver....
the awful days we tried pricking our hands to squeeze out an eeny-weeny drop of blood....
the days we stood in a queue to collect piss in beakers to perform some god forsaken experiment of it...
the days spent in Padmanabhan's classes throwing things around even footwear at times!!
the times in Vicky's canteen..
the times spent imitating Dr.Shivaramu-dev anand as if he were teaching sexual offences....
the times spent in the food court pulling each others legs like there were no tomorrow....
lunch breaks in the canopies...
performing some more god forsaken experiments which by now must have made the rabbits blind....
getting bitten by rats trying to catch them and inject them...
focusing shit under microscopes ever in search of elusive cysts and parasites...
solving lakshmipuras eternal water problem...
imitating all the commed staff and getting a cheap thrill out of it like....
getting nauseated watching butchery in the name of autopsies....
getting jacked for coming late and wearing sneakers...
getting blasted for not having a torch and tape...
trying to figure out what part of the eye was a cataract on a TV....
searching for tonsillitis and whatever-itis with an ill focused bulls eye lamp...
going to BK and MK nagar searching for a co operative slum family and having to ask for a detailed account of how many kgs of vegetables they consumed every week....
walking around in the hot sun immunizing kids with polio drops....
in between all this taking time to mail the one of a kind mailing group and flooding the then 'just 6mb' inbox....
waiting for the ever elusive lakshmikanth to take ortho classes...
coming to know we hav ortho for 50 marks and not knowing anything...
sleeping through classes...
drawing caricatures in classes...
figuring out what the 'chi square test' actually was....
walking around in the hospital finding new short cuts...
discover ramaiah....
once every now and then go for a treat with friends...
party often...
bunk clinics and classes and catch a movie....
giving proxies in class....try the proxy challenge....
sitting outside the class in the shade of the trees and yakking to glory...
be one anothers comforting shoulder...
have long long telephone conversations over nothing....have longer telephone conversations over nothing at all again...
catch a coffee with friends....
playing an intra class cricket tournament and winning it as the underdogs...
playing the only badminton tounament in history to have involved the entire class...
organising thanksgiving days for the staff....
participating in intro...
cheering the participants till voices went hoarse....
dancing till wee hours of morning on the last day of intro....
come internship....chikungunya ahoy!! work in an epidemic emergency camp....
inject...inject....inject...inject....diclo 2cc....pct 4...rantac 6....
trek trek and trek...pig out on dosas,chats, nannari and mosaru boondhi after a tiring trek..
cooking bondas and pakodas on a lazy sunday afternoon in kaiwara...
cooking for 20 people on the last day in kaiwara for the party....
getting drenched in water balloon fights...
playing uno and card games till unearthly hours of morning....
listening to kaiwarada hosa thathaiah gopinath's classes....
waking up thru the night during night postings in ICU's....
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
learning the fine art of communication to deal with patients....declare deaths...and what not...
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
lazing around in ent opds when we finally learnt to use the bulls eye lamp...
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
doing corridor postings in a few other postings...
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
pushing stretchers...wheel chairs...
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
shifting patients to the new hospital for a CT scan...
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
writing investigation requisitions...references...
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
progress notes....progress notes...progress notes.....
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
geting elusive consultants to see references....
running around for free signatures and 50% concession signatures...
having a hot coffee outside the casualty at the dead of night...
walking along the quite calm roads of ramaiah at the dead of night...
Being a part of the revival of the newsletter after a 'brief hiatus' of 20years...
Being a part of the yearbook...
Being a part of the editorial committee....
Being a part of the organising committee of introspection...
In between all this trying to learn to use the computer and learning to build electric violins...
still trying to get back to sketching...
and they still ask why i dint study???
Learning a very important lesson i.e........
u can sleep in class...
u can bunk classes...
u can flunk in internals...
u need not study for exams...
u need not be tensed....
BUT U CAN DEFINITELY PASS IN EXAMS.....
Soon internship is going to end and i cant help but look back at all the things i've done and not done so far...all the good and bad times i've shared with so many...all the ups and downs i've been through...and still there is always so much to wish for...how i wish i had been a better friend to a few people....how i wish i had said so many things i have not said to some poeple.....how i wish i get a second chance to say it...how i wish i could go back to 14th february 2003 the day of the kodai trip...how i wish i had.............
But thats just wishful thinking and nothing more....I'm happy to have been here and have had all this as a part of my life....given a chance i'd surely relive these 6 years again...

New camera....yipeeee!!!!

2007-03-30T21:40:00.000+05:30

I was always dreaming of a nice lil digital camera...I did get it now...not a small one though!! ;)
Just bit the bullet and bought the Sony DSC H5....an SLR-like semi professional high end compact camera!!
For some tech babble.....
The specs of this li'l beast....yeah yeah i kno u'll be sayin who the hell cares...... ;)

Its a 7.2 Mp with a CCD chip with 12x optical zoom and a carl zeiss vario tessar lens...
I'll post a few pics after experimentin wid this new li'l gadget....
cheers

Motorcycle Diaries 7

2007-01-13T23:02:00.000+05:30

Well call me a novice at blogging!! I tried publishing the posts in reverse order thinkin it wud reverse the order...and yet it seems part 7 is published first!!! :(
Nevertheless i dont kno how to change this order( and i'm not inclined to learn that either...so..) so enjoy it the way it is....cheers!

Motorcycle Diaries 6

2007-01-13T23:00:00.000+05:30

Motorcycle Diaries 4

2007-01-13T22:59:00.000+05:30

Motorcycle Diaries 5

2007-01-13T22:55:00.000+05:30

Motorcycle Diaries 3

2007-01-13T22:53:00.000+05:30

Motorcycle Diaries 2

2007-01-13T22:51:00.000+05:30

Continued from the last post.....

to be continued....

Motorcycle Diaries 1

2007-01-13T22:40:00.000+05:30

Well..Che Guevara makes a big impression if one happens to read about him.
Personally, the fact that he is (was) a doctor mattered a lot to me....(obviously duh!!)
I thot i'd put up a picture essay wid screenshots of the movie taken at significant turns in the movie...there r a lot of pics so guess the page will load slowly...
Heres to Che.....cheers!

The Yashica Electro35...

2007-01-06T21:54:00.000+05:30

Well I've mostly shot with a PHD camera (Press Here Dummy)...Most of my photography was limited to taking snaps of an outing or a party or the like...
The graduation to an SLR happened on one of those occasions when i finally decided to empty out my wardrobe and put things into order when i chanced upon this yashica camera lying unused from the early 80s... I always knew the camera was there but i never had the inclination to use it...
This time around i tried fiddling around with the camera...of course it was just an excuse to stop cleaning the wardrobe for some more time!!
I got hooked...it was fascinating to use it...and i decided to take it along for a trip to sringeri...most of the photos came out decently...i got bolder and decided to take it along on a class trip to kodaikanal and ooty (uh!! the results were...err..ahem! dissappointing....i had a lot to figure out in tht camera b4 i cud do better!!!) but on the other hand when ppl saw me lugging around such a big pro lookin camera they were of the impression tht photographer = Venkat!! (oh boy...the look on their faces when they saw the photos was just priceless!!! lol)
Anyways i thot i'll add up a few interesting things about this wonderful camera....

Barber Shop?!!??

2006-05-19T19:19:00.000+05:30

Waking up early in the morning and looking in the mirror the first thing serves more than one purpose. One is that you would have no one else to blame for your having a bad day and two is that it’s the best reminder of when you last got a hair cut.

“Your MANE is MAIN” is the mantra of the day with more and more people spending more and more on their hair than anything else. Be it Dhoni with that mangle of hair (don’t forget the color!!) or be it Uppi’s latest visit to the stylist….

No more does the term “barber shop” hold any meaning…it is now “hair saloon”… aarrgghhh….Whatever happened to the friendly neighborhood hajaam!!??!

A hajaam is one who has a knife in his hand and you’re still willing to let him put it to your throat.

A small reminder of my friends experience with the barber…uh…no hair stylist!! When he went there for hair straightening!! (Refer brain dung)

What was that Bollywood movie about a mind reading barber…uhh…the name skips me…I think everybody says I’m fine….well...of course I’m fine!!!

Tracing the history of barbers…

Initially they were nomadic bunch who went around trimming people’s mane in exchange for food. Of course they were more tan willing to exchange… (The barber had a knife at his throat!!)

Then came the small shops with a loud blaring sound system and mirrors on all the walls with shabbily dressed(but with a well trimmed mane and neatly oiled mustachios!!) barbers. The shop would soon overflow with people and all sorts of theories, conspiracies, gossip and what not…and not to forget their hair clippings which would be pushed aside by the barber with amazing footwork displaying such knack and precision that it would give ManU a run for their….uh…ball??!!?

Then came a new breed of barbers….oh! Sorry…”hair stylists” with swanky saloons and bomb shell prices (why... even Sony Cybershot ads are based in saloons!!) This breed of stylists are those whom the celebrities swear by as not only hair style gurus but as their agony aunts, agony uncles, trusted advisors, counselors, human punching bags and what not!! On second thoughts maybe that’s why the bomber prices??! Well so much for the metrosexual male and the sexy female. Long live their clan!!

As for me, the neighborhood barber is all it takes…

Walk in and he asks “yeen saar...yair cutta?? Banni…..oye Saar ge ondu bisi chai haakle...”

Hot chai and a cool cut…

Cheers!

Following a tornado...

2006-05-05T00:02:00.000+05:30

When I saw him, he was a towering giant,

Immense in strength and nothing to stop him,

He brought drastic change in lives of all people around him,

Just as a tornado changes a whole city,

Little did I know it would change my life in the same drastic way,

I followed unquestioningly, for years, not knowing where he led me,

Venturing wherever he went,

Ever uncomfortable to step into unknown territory,

Not knowing what to expect, or what lies ahead,

There was no place for thought, only space for action.

He then disappeared into the vast emptiness of space,

Just as night disappears when the sun dawns,

I saw my whole world crumbling,

Not knowing where to go, I stood amidst the ruins,

Confused and lost, I was a dethroned king

Standing amidst the ashes of my palace

Agonizingly trying to bring it back to life

I stared in disbelief at the ruins and what had led me to it,

A single choice it had been….

Realization dawned, I had been mislead,

All those years of ignorance proved to be expensive,

More expensive than years of education!!!!

The call of duty...

2006-05-03T21:17:00.000+05:30

The excruciating wait for close to 5 years finally culminating with the presence of a little prefix to the name “doctor”____

I won’t go into what and how of medicine now….

Finally the results came out and clearing would indicate that I became a doctor… (Everyone would be a doctor…….eventually!). The most exciting moment where we would don our new white aprons and dangle a steth proudly around our neck and say hi...Doc! The postings schedule came out and I was posted to the department of community medicine…for 3 whole months. The postings were 45 days of urban postings and 45 days of rural postings in Kaiwara. The three ORC (out reach centers) where we were to be posted were MK Nagar, BK Nagar and Anjanappa gardens. After some higgle haggle with who would attend the rural and urban postings first, we set off to our destinations. I was posted to MK Nagar ORC with a fellow doctor Dr. Varsha.

We were on our own now. We had to find our way to the centre. Though I did have a vague idea of where it was located I knew I couldn’t navigate right on dot. (Pardon me for I’m slightly directionally challenged!). Swallowing that so called male ego of not wanting to ask for directions and inspite of being in a white coat(and that steth hanging around my neck) asked the locals for directions to the decrepit clinic (well, I would love to see the reaction on their faces when they come for treatment!). A short climb on the staircase (with 1 foot high steps and 1 foot wide) we came to a small door….I took a deep breath and entered…..

A PG was sitting there dispensing medicines to a few patients. A strange look crossed the faces of all those patients…for their fate was now to be handled by a newbie Yankee doctor who cared a donkey’s ass about studying for exams. Talk about luck!!!

Maybe I was expecting too much if I hoped that the PG would be there for sometime as a hand holding session or us newbies. Contrary to that she packed and left saying vaguely that the referral forms were here, tabs are here and pointed out to 2 huge gallon sized cans of syrup to dispense at our whims and fancy and gave us a register in which to enter the names of patients.

Now that two of us fresh and crisp right out of the oven docs were stuck in MK Nagar we smiled at our fate and settled down for duty.

I looked around the room; the state of the room is best left to the imagination.

Its about 6 feet wide and 8 feet in length (ahhh...I see jaws dropping!)

Our first patient, a 2 month old infant with some skin eruptions and a respiratory infection. We were basically lost trying to analyze the case. We gingerly prescribed an antibiotic after referring IDR a hundred times (all the time hoping we were right!).

Our second patient was a 35 yr old trader feigning a fever cough and asthma. A bit of prodding and he came up with a list of complaints that left us in a tizzy. I gave him some CPM tablet and he said can I have a few more(brings me to the question of who’s the doctor huh!!?!?)

Managed to get rid of him with some medicine.

Overall it was an experience of how inadequate our knowledge was and how much we were spoon fed that we could not handle a simple case independently. Well my guess is that its just a passing cloud and in a few days we will be baked deep and be confident enough to prescribe any medicine (all morphine and heroin mongers keep away!!).

Life of a candle....

2006-05-02T22:01:00.000+05:30

Here's another piece...I wrote this a long time ago....fortunately had a soft copy so saved the trouble of typing this out...

To most maybe all of us a candle is only an object which can be burnt to provide light. Here I have written this article portraying myself as a candle and have only written the thoughts that a candle would have if it ever had a mind and could think as any human being would.

Being a candle is not as easy as it appears to be. My maker poured molten wax into a mould and cooled it along with a thick wick running through the length of my body and this was how I was born. Basically, unlike human beings I am made up of waxes which are a form of fat made up of very long chains of natural acids. The sheer length of these chains disables me from answering chemical reactions for organic acids unlike my smaller cousins (you know acetic acid don’t you???).What pains me is that candles are made to be immobile and we have no freedom to take the shape that we want either by will or by liking.

The candle maker makes us and here we are lying on the shelf of a fancy store. Some candles are even perfumed (so, they smell).People like candles which are perfumed (so, they think) but to us it smells your equivalent of dirty socks and rotten eggs. All of us just hope that somebody buys us because we don’t intend spending a lifetime on some shelf accumulating dust.

Ah, I see a new person entering the store and asking for candles. Each of us has our eyes fixed on the prospective buyer and our hearts pounding (exactly what humans would call an adrenaline surge). Each of us are vying for the buyers attention and try to put on a better show in terms of color ,size ,smell and what not(just like a beauty pageant only that the best one is burnt first Ha, Ha…….).

It sometimes strikes me why any person has not brought me while other candles who arrived at the store more or less the same time as me have already been bought and probably been used already. I began attributing it to my rather plain design and white color and no perfume. Ah, here come more people to buy candles. Oh, my god, I’m so happy that the lady who just entered the store asked the store manager for me, me and only me. Wow!!! I’m exhilarated, I’m being bought and to hell with all those thoughts of not being beautiful. YIPEE!!!!!

We candles as all of you know are rather fragile and may develop a crack even for a minor fall. The store manager is packing me in straw along with a few other candles (my brothers, if I can say so, because they were created by the person who made me).At last I could relax at the thought that somebody has brought me and I will surely be able to give light. I learned quite a lot sitting on the shelf at the store for such a long time. I realized that no matter what happens it is necessary not to lose hope, after all hope is the elixir of life. Also, everyday and every moment is new and things must not take us by surprise. Of course I was happy when the lady brought me but on the other hand I was very anxious that nobody might buy me. However I can now confidently say ‘I dint lose hope’.

On arriving at my new house the lady put me into a cupboard. Now that one hurdle is crossed here comes another………When are we going to be lit????? Anybody reading this might feel why on the world would anybody want their life to end and might say by staying in the cupboard I might retain my youth but I’m sure that life isn’t about sitting around and being cozy, its about taking control of it and my intention in life is to shed light and only on doing so do I have control over my life and I’m sure there is no point sitting in a corner trying to procrastinate the inevitable. All I get by being in a cupboard is dust and dirt and I’m sure I don’t want that in my life. Ah, somebody opened the door; I just hope it’s for us. YES!! It is for us. Being so fragile gives me an opportunity to be ‘pampered’……… My mistress took me and fixed me in a beautiful intricately carved silver candle stand right on top. It made me feel like a king looking at all his subjects. I feel like I’m on top of the world. This is what I was looking forward to and it happened only by keeping the intentions right and this is what has helped me in achieving me what I wanted and I realized that the only thing that matters is the intention.

I suppose I am going to be lit in the evening. I guess the only thing which I want to notice is the strike of a matchstick to light the candle and the noise of the match striking against the box is all that I want to hear. Ah!! I just heard something. Is it the matchstick?????? No!!! It was the noise of the latch on the door. What a disappointment. The problem with having expectations is that it disappoints you when it does not go the way you want it.

The designated hour has come. I’m so excited and I guess so are my companions. My mistress struck the match and protecting the flame in the cup of her hand she slowly approached me and put the flame to the wick. Ah!!! Feels like I’m in heaven. I stood there tall and strong on the highest candle stand and was the first to get lit. What else could I ask for??????

The flame slowly melted the wax and a slight excess poured over the side and solidified forming a design (wow!! a designer dress – even Calvin Klein would be jealous of) the flame is bright and lending light to the place around it. Slowly the flame burns inch by inch of my whole body. The steady flame is sometimes disrupted by a sudden gush of wind through the open window – that hurts; it feels like somebody just kicked you in the head and sends you reeling. GASP!! I almost suffocated with the previous one. The gushes of wind taught me how to fight. Life has many troubles in store and when we struggle out of these and living give more joy and strength than
what is achieved by a life without facing any trouble at all.

I’m nearing the end of my life and I’m happy to have lived it the way I wanted to –
- a way I saw appropriate
- a way I could brighten the lives of all others around me
- a way which brought joy to me and all others around me.
This is my life and I have control over it and this is when I BEGAN LIVING AND STOPPED WISHING………………

Desperation!!

2006-05-01T11:35:00.000+05:30

They say what you have to do,
Dominating, thinking they know better than you,
They know more of your life than theirs,
They live in desperation and they regret it on their pyres.

Others say, lead your own life,
Easy to say, but least do they realize that they are leading others lives,
They live their parent’s dreams,
To realize on their deathbeds that it wasn’t their dream.

The mass of people lead lives of quiet desperation,
One among them came over this desperation and came to live his dream,
Others call him a messiah,
I call him HUMAN………