Cooling Smokes...

The fire had a glow four years ago or more. Stepping into the podium of under graduations, I made a very good friend, with whom friendship always meant chit-chats, fun and frolic. Somebody, with whom a lot of fun was always in store, through the alleys of College street and within the campus!

Presi Physio B.Sc 2006 Batch in 2003 picnic.

(Sadashib is missing though)

Today, 27/11/10 - 28/11/10, the juncture of the day(s), I sit down  to review those wonder years of smiles, that was nothing but went miles!

The Team from Presi Physio (2006)

(l-r) Sukesh, Kanad, Myself, The Bride, Amrita, Sayantani, Sanchari.

Miss Charmi Singh becomes Mrs Charmi Abhisek Singh. Giggs/Giggles, turned Sis turned Charmz turned Chameli turned Charms turned Chulbuli Smiler, ties the ultimate knot and I roll out some of the very memorable (most) days with her and the group.

1) The friendship turned from bitter notes to sweet, when we had a major miss understanding amongst ourselves regarding playing puppets of seniors! Those were fiery days and don't remember how this took birth, but it did! But later on, during Teacher's Day celebration it was her, who came upfront and asked me and the rest of the gang on my side to participate and so did we... that day marked a handshake... that day marked something new...

Few days later, she was chosen as Class Secretary for the Physio Batch of 2003-06 and I was chosen as the Class Representative. Sadashib was the Class Editor.

2) I still remember that day. There was just two or three days left for the New Batch of 2004 to get into Presidency,. The IC (Independent Consolidation) core committee held a meet and I took her along as the second member of the physio to represent the meeting. We had our regular tuitions at BNP (Biswanath Pyne) sir, in Howrah. It was after college, and the way it seemed, we would turn late for the pre-tuition lunch session. I asked her that we sneak out and have our lunch without notifying others. She agreed and so we sneaked out of the meet and had our lunch at Putiram well in advance. That day, I had a long talk with her and discovered her to be a very pure and lovely soul to be friend with! Loved that session with you, Giggzy!

3) Why Giggs? Well, i named her that from the famous toy store at Park Street called Giggles. The way she laughed sounded like a persistent 5-6 minutes of Giggling. and I had a password to open the vault of laughter...any one who is reading this blog and know her, can try this. It will work, unless she becomes worn out with her job! The password to unlock the vault: "Charmi!!.... 1....2...3!!!" She starts laughing! Not a mental freak....just that she is too clean hearted!

4) I don't know how much will she remember this, but I remember it as a very comic episode. Again, it was going to BNP sir's tuition. We were late and we boarded a crowded bus. It was raining outside and we had no other options. There was a child, merely 5-6 years old sleeping on the ladies seat. A lady, startled at this miss of opportunity to sit shouted out, looking at us! "Yeh kiska baccha hain!" (Whose child is it!) I was standing just behind Charmi and the angle at which the shouting lady saw and exclaimed, it seemed she targetted us! I spontaenously replied, "Humara Nehi hain!" She looked stunned for two seconds. Dejected, it seemed with the answer, she looked twice at charmi and twice at me and back again at Charmi... a look that initiated Charmi's blank look when embarrased and angry (both). The reason, the lady made it emminent that WE were Couples...DENYING OUR BABY!!! That day and till date, we laugh over the incident a lot!

.... many more stories... many incidents...

Those days of youth, fun and frolic has long gone... the smoke brings back the memories.Charmi asked me stay back today, to attend the whole ceremony, but I couldnt for other commitments!!! But would have loved to stay back..after all its one of my very dear friend's marriage...

May both you remain happy ever after! Life has started...let it never end!

Charmi and Abhisek.

Circus, citrus and cats.

Central Kolkata had been beeming with life for the past few days. Everyday, since last wednesday, the Biman dadu's good stead circus is costing thousands their time, hundreds their job interviews and millions (including the sparrows), their ears! A tryst to reach the masses, executed aptly as the people are stranded mass of dolls.... you meet them, palms cusp manner, asking for something. _________________ (fill in the blanks with your comments).

Its time for the sourly lime to make their presence felt in the market. The chill is still abrupt as the Kolkata Met office, in their rarest trick, made a good prediction of delayed winter. So is it. But, to have out cuts limed with salt, especially on days when your boss come early, makes the lemon bad...unwanted!

And Cats.... well like they purr, I did after my latest presentation which could have been way better.I fumbled, god knows why? the over all verdict...I am not satisfied and think so isn't others!

Will have to try better...lot better!

The dry season...

Dry to the bottom of the last bottle of Cognac... intoxicated with the contents of work and over loads, that the plate to serve my thoughts to all my valued readers became a playground for the flies. Soon, even the maggots were about to leave, when some zeal re-ignited the torch within me... May be Canonical Cacophony is about to come alive!!!

Come winter, may dues are to be met. The Pujas have been over by over a month and the last festivities of the Bengali Hindus is also on its way to be terminated, the Jagadhatri Pujas. Today is the ceremonious bye of Goddess in the River Ganges (environmentalists shall go ahead and tell...Ceremonious polluting the waters...). What ever...

Yesterday I was going through the Column by Mir, entitled Jab we Met-ro, on the present conditions of the metro. Its a late realization though that the pride of Calcutta (Kolkata) is on the verge of getting tagged as the Pain of Calcutta. Thanks to the lact of planning and failure in upgradation of the system, old by more than 25 years. Once considered as a master piece of the Third World nation, as Calcutta was the third city after London and New York to have such a transit system. But now, with advanced technologies bearing its glow in the cities like New Delhi and sooner, Mumbai, the Calcutta Metro remains within the dark alleys underground. Rusted and (almost) wasted.

Last year, when the Metro got an extended arm, upto Kavi Nazrul and very soon Kavi Subhash, in the southern corridor, the number of heads and the pressure on it started growing as it was the "fastest" route from North to South and vice versa. Now its the most unpredictable one. With Calcutta Airport at its worst, Metro will soon join its league unless the political parties forget the elections in hand and stop blaming as to who is throwing banana peels on the track to who is pulling the wrong chains deliberately!!!

A voice from a simple, daily passenger (me), who has to meet his job demands after clearing the family chores, daily... "Please for god's sake...never make the metro late- too late-, for its nice to see the Kareena-Sahid starrer Jab we Met rather than hear the pissing and hissing from the destination due to Met-rOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Uff...its late again!"

...............................................

9 Days...

Just the other day, it seemed that I encashed my Paycheck of September and when I sat today, infront of my Work station, the clock blinked: 9th October, 2010. Nine days gone, and I never realized. Especially the last week.

It started on 2nd October, 2010. The body ached under tremendous lethargy. With micturiation below par, thanks to the minimal water intake the day before, the physician recommended me with ORS (!!!) and Water. But the main stuff started on 4th October, 2010. I was just about enjoying my Sunday Trivia with my students, when the fever started paying me homage and since 12PM  that Sunday, the homage continued at regular intervals! The doc almost diagnosed me out with Dengue / Malaria, but also cautioned that since I have not shown COMPLETE symptoms, hence he would initiate a diagnose with Viral Fever in mind! (I prayed and so it was!)

But, this sickness made me renew my old habits, being behind the lens. Inspired by a few of my friends in Facebook (specially) and Orkut, I started looking into the world with a different aspect! Close-up Photography was something that I craved for, as I wasn't a master of that. Although I would not mention that I have taken some great snaps, but is better than the previous endurance!

I intermingled the picture with a story... some thought. I would be posting one of my best of the lot, with a feverish body and mind, I have a thought to be posted.

We see through the glasses. Infact, spectacles have a subtle notion of intellectualism! (Although some may differ, but again an argument is also induced by the specs!) In India, we worship the deity (as in the picture) of Devi Saraswati as the Goddess of Eductaion and Intellect. If the Specs determine the armour of intelligence, then a human has to cover a distance to be properly in touch with the spiritualism as well as materialistic/ realistic outcome!

Hope all liked my interpretation.

My Lens will be at service for the Puja Parikrama, 2010!!!

SSKM... The Institutional Hell.

( I take all the responsibility for this TRUE story. If found guilty for treason, I will be more than happy to know that my NEWs, surpassed Star Ananda, 24 Ghanta, Kolkata TV and other media news channel, who make news to get a better TRP!)

Responsibility begins from home, and I fear, there is NO RESPONSIBILITY by these Ad-Hoc Media Channels... Sometimes, they spill out too much stink!

27th September, 2010:

I came back home from my Lab, to find my mom shaking her head in disgust, gazing over a very intriguing debate conducted by Suman, Star Ananda. Its on the present situation of health care, where the SSKM junior doctors are on strike since Saturday, 25/09/10. Today, the situation became grim, with the Junior doctors taking aid of sticks to beat up the patient party.

Great Cook Up!

I paged my friend (to be refered as representative of Junior Doctors' Forum), who is at SSKM, junior doctor. This representative is a year younger than me and as I am, is also very irritant when things are not legal and just! I wanted to have the news from the Horse's mouth.

The first word mentioned was " Fuck Media ". Being a sensible third party I was pretty taken back, but then, being educated I wanted to listen to the actual story. The Media, as I always know play with the news...edit them, to make them look gullible. I know this from my Presidency College Union Days...

My friend narrates me the truth. Although it started from a relatively older one, an incident occuring two weeks back, I listened... at last I was induced by my senses to advise my friend to join the protest with FORCE!

Diagnosis can always have success as well as failure, but that doesn't mean to take to violence. (I have protested this long time back, in my blog, where I mentioned that failure of treatment doesn't make a doctor killer! And that doesn't mean to hit the doctors like Hooligans!) Two weeks back, the same happened with my friend, who in the dead of the night, 3:30AM was dragged with colleagues to the Bawanipur P.S. The "treason", they couldn't make a 75% dead body alive! The media, fueled in, by advising the insensible patient party, to take the names of the Junior Docs and make an FIR. My friend said that instead of being neutral, they loved to spread the fumes of anger amongst the patient party and take good images. My friend was slapped many a times, but it was shown on TV that the patient was murdered and that beating the doctors was justified!

Coming back to 25.09.10.

Demanding on Junior Doc's security, the same docs staged a day long protest. The security was tightened but for a fortnight. The problem that was risked was entry of too many patient's relative (refered to as patient party). If any mishap happened, that resulted an agitation and a fight! Fortnight later, the security was breached by bribery. The same happened on 25.09.10. Too many patient's relatives as well as some X-factors (I will also reveal these X-Factors later on), beat up a MCH doctor, a doctor of high quality. It was night time. A commotion followed, opening the wounds, just two weeks old! The junior physicians, PGT, MBBS, House physicians sat on strike. The demand: Lack of Commitment in the name of Security. 

The strike was decided to be called off officially on 27th Sept, 2010 and the Juniors would join the work force. Sunday night, a make up incident took place that would shatter the noble decision, taken on Sunday.

The Paediatric department had a patient, at around 11PM. The on duty Junior Doc checked the child and diagnosed with min or incident and after advising medicines, asked the family of the patient to take him back, as he would be just fine! Suddenly, the patient's family members got agitated interpreting it as refusal to admit. Some more men joined the commotion (X-Factors included). The outsiders came with sticks to beat the Doc on Duty. The Doctor ran to the second floor rest room and locking himself from inside, called upon the hostel boarders. He shouted over the phone: "Come as soon as possible or you will not see my corpse as well". When the boarders (~ 50 junior docs) came down, with axed down branches, for self defense (Something provided as a Right in the Indian Constitution), found no one at the gates. The agitated party fled. Still the Doctors didn't give up!

There is a rule at SSKM. For night stay, in  critical conditions, the doctors issue RED CARD to restricted number of patient family members. This rule was implemented keeping the safety of Docs in mind.

The Junior Docs now charged into the rest room, where the family members can stay for the night, in critical emergency situation. They asked for the RED CARD. One silhouette was noticed at the corner window. The on duty doc recognized the man to be one of the leaders of the commotion. As indicated, the junior doctors rushed the man out of the campus, along with several NON RED Card Holders!

They also used some force which the STAR ANANDA and 24 Ghanta portrayed as HOOLIGAN Docs. Surprising was to learn that police came in 2 hours later and randomly caught hold of 5 Docs. As per my sister, all are brilliant students!

The question:

What is taking place? No Media is true as they use camera with out sensibility.

X - Factors: 

The State Opposition is trying to show the dilapidated state of the health affairs in West Bengal.

Then what is the ruling body doing? Commanding to join work, and accusing all bad was from the Docs' side! The reason? VOTE 2011. They want to have the votes!