Travels, books and music

God and the sky He paints, and his repertoire of colors, the size of his paintbrush, and the color combinations on his palette are infinite. He paints by drawing the sun across the horizon; he paints by sprinkling the sky with a handful of clouds; afternoon, as usual, is an orphan; it belongs to no one; so he also has a siesta, rising up to paint the evening sky with wonderful hues. and the scene, the hue, everything changes by the seconds—if you have blinked your eye, you are going to miss the symphony. I like the evening sky more than the morning sky—huge molten pots of gold, from yellow to brilliant red—he brings out his whole paintbox. The morning sky is more benign—meditative, still rubbing its eyes as the gentle morning breeze plays with the clouds, arranging and rearranging them like a jigsaw puzzle. While the evening sun before settling down to sleep always sheds a tear at the follies of humans with the promise of a better tomorrow, Clouds come floating into my life, no l...

Literally brewing a storm in a tea cup Make everything simple. I still weed out the condensed milk that settles on top of the freshly brewed hot tea, as I did during my childhood. had a health problem—could not tolerate milk—it was filter coffee for me or nothing—no sugar, no chicory, no milk—pure filter coffee made in South Indian style—the aroma was heavenly—it wafted around every corner of the house—the taste was male, brutal—the effect—all senses fired on all cylinders. The taste and the aftereffects were so addictive that I was sometimes ready to sacrifice my night's sleep after a nice post dinner cuppa . My health got back to normal, and I tried to venture nimbly into the substances I had omitted during my illness—tea and milk. My journey with tea began with the herbal, green, and infusion teas; it required an acquired taste; it was horrible; if you do not want a guest to come back again, it is the best tea to serve; and I have doubts about the healthy benefits that the...

I always felt a distance creep in between me and my patients when I put on my formal dress of a shirt and tie with the doctor's coat on top. The court would put a guard between me and them if they had difficulty coming forth with their anguish and complaints. Changing to scrubs helped—with no mark of identification on you, the interchange became fluid and cordial—more like between friends—and that's when the true history came out—about their disease, their suffering, and how it was affecting them both physically and mentally. It was easy to treat them physically but tough to mend their scarred psyche. It altered my ego also—it just vanished—and it became a pleasure listening to them and helping them out. Although I had a hidden agenda, I believed in karma—the good you do to others comes back to you in a different way, albeit. And it does—the book of debit and credit in life gets balanced in this lifetime. The ease of working with scrubs was heavenly; it was during the COVID ...

I am an introvert, and I am not antisocial. We are different. We speak through silence—we listen rapturously to it and try to memorise it. Silence speaks to us without words. Silence is the best manure to grow. Generally, only my better half realises my nature; society does not. I turn into an ambivert in a social gathering—I make small talks, I mingle—but two hours of social interaction require four hours of isolation to recharge. I am a hardcore introvert—my profession as a doctor demands otherwise—so I have to turn ambivert sometimes, especially when I am communicating with my patients. It cannot be a one way affair with them. I did not miss the social life during COVID isolation. In fact, the isolation came as a breath of fresh air. After a tense day at the hospital, you wanted to be left alone to collect your thoughts and get back your sanity. Give me a good book, some good podcasts on Spotify, and a few movies on Netflix, and I am good to go. In fact, my better half someti...

You get afraid of facing challenges of life and it brings out the worst in you -never let you know your full potential--let alone develop it. Cocooned in the zone -you defy the poem of Robert Frost -- of taking the road less travelled. You always travel the road on which everyone travels-- as you are sure of the destinations and hardships on your way to achieving your goal. You travel on the same road again and again-- thinking your life is under control--refusing to come out of the false security cocoon. as a result at the end of the day -- you are at the same place where you started. No new skills, no new personality development, static income. My story-- I was in a government job for almost 3 decades-- where horses and donkeys are all the same-- there is no respect for your inefficiency or efficiency- at the end of the month -- you are happy with your guaranteed fixed income. The month passes balancing your budget of credits and debits- waiting for next month's assured p...

Happiness lies, first of all, in health Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well. Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, The best six doctors anywhere And no one can deny it Are sunshine, water, rest, and air Exercise and diet. These six will gladly you attend If only you are willing Your mind they'll ease Your will they'll mend And charge you not a shilling. Introduction--why you should switch to eating nuts. When you are sauntering around the newly opened glitzy malls of the metros or the new spawning eating joints you are sometimes taken aback by the amount of children and adults showing signs of obesity, sometimes morbid, tagged along with their fawning mothers who believe that your waist circumference is directly proportional to your affluence. Unbridled capitalism and nihilistic consumerism have drawn developed countries like America into a vortex of an obesity epidemic which have produced a massive drain on their health care system and it is time to learn from thei...

Carpe diem: I did not realize the value and meaning of the word when I read it, but I did when I gained it. Procrastrination From my college days to my late 40s, I always had the idea that people who wake up early in the morning are real goons. They cannot enjoy life like a human being — no late night Netflix or thriller story books — like the birds and the animals — they go to bed as the sun sets — to rise early with its first rays — little did I realise that this routine was an elixir of life. It puts life into a different perspective and fills the day with abundant energy. Initial struggle — my routine was to delay getting up from my bed — as long as I could — but make sure I was on my desk on time — bleary-eyed and still recuperating from the previous night’s dreams and heavy meal. I needed a cupful of caffeine to kickstart the day. The motivation came from Twitter, self help books, and watching people age gracefully without suffering from lifestyle diseases. Then you realise...