Passion...unbridled

If life were a Bollywood movie…

Indians will know what I am talking about right away, but as for others, I am talking about the Indian film industry which churns out a large number of movies every year. While the content and presentation of movies in Bollywood has changed in keeping with the changing times, some stereotypes are so quintessentially Bollywoodian (is that even a legitimate word?) that we cannot imagine a (commercial) film without them.

What if life were as dramatic as a Bollywood movie?

We would break into a song-and-dance sequence whenever we were happy, excited or in love. And people would join us on the streets, perfectly in sync with the melody, picking up the dance moves instantaneously. Traffic would stop, and the rest of the world would have not a care in the world as they would either join us or watch us. If everyone could sing and dance so well on an impromptu basis, all music and dance schools would close!
We would turn into first class poets in times of sadness or heartbreak, and again be capable of crooning in perfect melody despite our sobs….
We would be able to drive like crazy without having an accident and reach the airport / train station in record time just as our beloved was about to board a flight/ train. In case of the latter, the train would already start moving and we would be able to run and keep pace with it.
Every family would have a special song that would help unite various members if they got separated in a fair…
We would be cavorting in the rain without getting muddy or catching a cold…
All of us of the fairer sex would be able to walk around in snow-clad mountains in flimsy chiffons, even as the men pile on their warm jackets.
Telepathy would be an everyday occurrence, and all moms of the world would know when their children were in trouble..

The list is practically endless, and these are just a few of the quirks seen in Bollywood movies. In any case, I love these stereotypes and this predictability of Bollywood movies- all they offer is pure, guilt-free entertainment!

Call of the wild

I admit I have no particular affinity for animals. I don’t even take pictures of animals. However, these life-like models of wild animals made using animal skin at the Academy of Natural sciences, Philadelphia, were too good…so I had to take pics. Hope you enjoy them!

Always an Indian at heart- Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani

Above: Holiday lights showcasing the Taj Mahal in Philadelphia

This may sound strange and duplicitous for someone who left her country to pursue greener pastures to say, but I’m going to talk about it anyway…I still consider myself deeply patriotic. Having aspired to travel the world as an ambassador from India (by joining the Indian foreign services) when I was younger, I still cannot erase the idea from my mind that I represent my parent country even while living in the US. I am going to be judged as an Indian most of the time (most people realize pretty soon that I am “fresh-off-the-boat” or a first generation immigrant, probably due to my accent, if not anything else), and I always want to put my best foot forward as an Indian.

It hurts me deeply to see everything that is wrong with my country…and its not just about the poverty and lack of infrastructure. I am saddened by the apathy of people, the plight of women, the rising reports of violence against women, the tangled web of corruption…all the ways in which we Indians fail our country. (By the way, I am still an Indian citizen, so calling myself an Indian is factually correct.) I wish the deep-rooted attitudes could change, not just at the surface, but deep within.

What irks me most is the paternalistic society that India has. Women in India are probably more repressed than in any other secular nation in the world. I am not talking about rural areas or uneducated sections of the society alone. Even amongst people of the highest class, the respect awarded to women is deplorable. I had not even realized this until I came to the US, and I had lived and studied among educated people in India all my life. What appeared to be a normal way of being treated by men in my country would actually be quite derogatory here. In the US, several women have confided that they find many Indian men lacking basic manners when it comes to dealing with women.

I usually do not feel comfortable criticizing India. I make a conscious effort to remember everything that is good about my country, like family ties, respect for elders (my professional performance reports by my mentors consistently mention my respectful attitude, which appears strange to me because that was ingrained in me right from the beginning, but it is not something people take for granted here), secularism (people are surprised that I know about other religions or that I can sing Christmas carols), and more than anything else, commitment to work that transcends comforts and pleasure because that is how we were raised (especially useful in the field of medicine).

Tall words from someone who left the borders of India. I am acutely aware of my runaway situation, and have deep respect for colleagues of mine who chose to stay behind in India, and are constantly trying to help their country by bringing new medical technology to India. This may be a lame excuse, but my choice of specialty in the field of medicine (cardiology) was one that was (and still is) underrepresented among women in India, and I could foresee many barriers to practicing that specialty in India. The challenges in the US are far less for a woman cardiologist.

When I get started on the topic of India, it is really difficult for me to stop. So I’ll end here with this poem that I love-

Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
‘This is my own, my native land!’
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d
As home his footsteps he hath turn’d
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour’d, and unsung.”
― Walter Scott

Bugs!

I do not have any affinity for creepy-crawlies in general (i.e. I am not an entophile), but the bugs shown below have been pinned in such an artistic manner that I was forced to take pictures of them. These are displayed at the Academy of Natural Sciences of The Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Weekly Photo Challenge: New

The Daily post’ s latest challenge is “new”.

I was intrigued by this glass statue of a birthing mother, so I decided to use this picture as my entry- “new” signifies birth here.

Confident in ignorance

“To succeed in life you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”– Mark Twain

Replica of the famous statue of David by Michaelangelo in Florence, Italy (the original is at Accademia in Florence)- to me, this statue depicts a supremely confident man

I never realized until fairly recently how astutely Mr. Twain had nailed the secret behind success…How could being ignorant lead to success? Agreed that confidence could..

However, now I see plenty of successful people who possess both these qualities. They can pull off anything by virtue of their confidence, despite being ignorant. Basically what I’ve figured out is that most people are not really paying attention to what you say, so mumbling something hesitantly, even though you are correct, does not work as well as saying something outrageously wrong or untrue with a dash of confidence…

I must admit that I am not a very confident person. For me, confidence has to be borne out of knowledge. I lack a capability of fibbing confidently. As a result, I am usually unable to impress people when I meet them briefly (not good when you consider scenarios such as job interviews), but do much better with prolonged contact with people, where they can see my confidence emerge naturally in the wake of acquiring knowledge.

Of course, ignorance has its advantages. It makes one less inhibited and more likely to take chances, which may result in success. As a corollary, sometimes the fear that accompanies knowledge can be crippling.

At the end of this rather boring monologue, here’s another resolution for 2015- To build up confidence!

Statue of Rocky in Philadelphia- again symbolic of confidence

Dreaming of spring

Today I am thinking about spring even as I need to go back to work in the cold night…

So here are some photographs of flowers signifying spring. Enjoy!

Setting fire to water

I am literally talking about setting fire to water…not figuratively…

http://www.knikaquatics.com/Home.jsp?team=akka

I just remembered reading a book on the periodic table (table of all elements arranged according to atomic numbers and masses) as a child. While reading about sodium, I was fascinated by the fact that a lump of sodium would burn when placed in water due to a chemical reaction. I told my younger sister about it at night (I guess she was about 7 or 8 years old then), and she was horrified to think that someone would actually want to set fire to water!

Searching for this topic on Google now, there are actually websites which detail how you can set fire to ice cubes. The idea is simple, just coat the cubes with something flammable like ethanol or methanol that will burn…

I also came across articles on creating fire water..this is a party trick in areas where the controversial technique of fracking is carried out. People light matches, bring them close to a running tap and then step back as the trickle bursts into flames. This is possible because of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into the hard shale rock under high pressure to break it up and extract the natural gas trapped within. Some of this gas escapes as it rises to the surface, contaminating aquifers on the way.

In several areas of Northern Pennsylvania, methane is so abundant in tap water due to geological conditions and fracking that you could light a fire straight out the faucet…

$fracking$

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/12/tap-water-catches-fire-methane-debby-jason-kline_n_2462981.html

There are actually you tube videos for creating fire water. I have not checked them out, because the idea of setting water on fire is not quite as exciting as it was over 2 decades ago. Moreover, fracking appears to be environmentally hazardous to me, though I have not researched its impact on the environment.

There have been reports of a polluted river catching fire- the Meiyu river in China actually caught fire once due to release of black oil from a factory!

http://strangesounds.org/2014/03/water-on-fire-polluted-meiyu-river-ignites-in-whenzou-china.html

Well, if Adele can set fire to the rain, surely one can set fire to water in other forms as evident from these images!

Five Lessons learnt in 2014

Glass sculpture of the Buddha- at the Museum of Art and Design, New York City

I guess I should have compiled this list in 2014, and not on the first day of 2015, but better late than never!

Let me first talk about my specific teachers for this year:

1. My patients

I have been a physician in various stages of training for exactly half my life at this point. For the last 6 months, I have been working with some of the sickest patients, those whose hearts have given up on them. Most of my patients need either an artificial heart pump or a change of their heart, i.e. heart transplant. Some do not get to either. These patients have given me a new perspective on life.

2. My son

“Child is the father of man”. There is so much one can learn from a child!

Coming back to the lessons themselves…

1. A positive attitude in the face of adversity can work wonders.

Often heard, never fully believed it until recently. This lesson in living is a tribute to my bravest patients.

2. Being happy has nothing to do with material possessions.

Learnt from my child, who is happy as long as we spend time with him.

3. Your health is an extension of your personality and your overall approach to life.

Well, maybe illness is not, but how your illness affects your life has everything to do with who you are. No medical technology can help a person who does not want to help himself…

4. Speech may be silver and silence golden, but recognizing their place at a given moment is priceless.

Learnt this one as part of growing up in the workplace..

5. It is good to share your problems. Bringing in a fresh perspective can sometimes be the simplest solution.

With respect to this one, there is a thin line between “sharing” a problem and “whining” about it; the former can help, the latter never does..

What were some of the most important lessons that you learnt last year? Would love to hear your comments!

Happy new year again!

Confessions of a Procrastinator

No points for guessing that I am a procrastinator…

I am writing this blog post right now as a way of procrastinating…

So I need to finish a task that is not really pleasant. This is the mental dialogue I have..

Let me get this out of the way..it will take half an hour at the most.

Wait, I’m kind of hungry. Hunger makes me impatient. I’ll not be able to concentrate…let me have dinner first. I’ll do it after dinner when everything is quiet.

Post-dinner: Ok, now I am ready to sit down and finish it..

Wait, let me select my outfit for work tomorrow, otherwise I’ll be late again.

Let me just check facebook once…my cousin must have posted pictures from her fabulous sounding trip by now, am curious to check them out..

(There is much more to see on facebook. People are posting new year wishes today..)

Half an hour later: Gosh, I did not check my blog today. My blog is new, I need to respond to comments promptly..

Ten minutes later: Forgot to take my vitamin supplements, let me get them before I forget..

Five minutes later: Need to check my work e-mail, there may be something important there.

Five minutes later: Ok, I am starting earnestly now..this should be short, I need to type only a page………….

(Check my e-mail in between, there is a 70% off sale at my favorite online store….items run out fast, so I should check it out right now.)

Half an hour later: First 2 lines written. Cannot go further because:

a) It’s going to take about 2 hours.

b) It’s close to midnight, I need to sleep if I want to be functional tomorrow morning.

c) The assignment is not due until 2 weeks from now. I always start too early…I have plenty of time…

(Just so you know, I do start as early as possible, and finish with a reasonable margin before the deadline..)

I need to change this habit of procrastination, that will be my new year resolution!

Saint Kabir (an Indian sage and poet from the 17th century) once said:

What you can do tomorrow, do today;

What you can do today, do right now.

The world can transform completely in a second,

There may be no time to repent.

Happy New Year

Time to sing Auld Lang Syne!

Another year has flown by, and I am wistful as usual. I hate that the new year signals the end of the holiday season, with nothing to anticipate but cold and snow (at least in the Northern hemisphere).

To chase the blues away and to embrace the promise of a new year, I look back at the best and the brightest moments of the year that has gone by. So here I am sharing some of the most sparkling photographs from last year…

Have a happy, healthy and brilliant new year!

Why I love facebook

FB gets plenty of bad press…how people are living in the virtual world, how FB encourages unfair competition, how people are more concerned with their appearances on FB, how they waste their time etc….

I love facebook. I think it is the best thing since sliced bread (forgive the cliched expression)..

I post pictures on FB regularly. I wish everyone on their birthdays and anniversaries. And I keep track of my extended family on FB.

I love facebook because it is my:

1. News channel

This is embarrassing, but I get my news from facebook. Especially news from India, which I may not see on CNN/ BBC.

2. Photo album

I lose all the photographs that I do not post on FB, so this is my online album. (I edit privacy for posts so that sometimes only my immediate family, or rarely, I alone, can see the pics…

3. Fashion magazine

I watch other people’s pics and learn about the latest fashions, and how they look on real people…better than checking out fashion magazines with 6 ft tall size 0 models!

4. Travel channel

I spend hours watching other people’s travel pics, and checking out posts about their experiences. Thanks to facebook, I can recognize pictures from Singapore (all my Indian friends have been there, some call it home), Ladakh (India), Paris, Greece, Peru, and many other places I have never been to..

5. Notice board

I get reminders about deadlines for applications, exam results, weather predictions and so on, on FB.

6. Classroom for study of human behavior

You get a lot of insight in to people by reading their posts regularly. Some people use FB to fuel their narcissism, some use it for complaints and rants, some indulge in PDA, some need to display their love for their kids/pets/cars, some are lavish in their praises, liking every post; while others are perpetually critical…I find almost all facets of human behavior reflected in my FB friendships.

7. Free consultation portal

Well I mean my friends and relatives often ask for my professional opinion over FB. (That is usually the starting point, rest of the consultation is completed by e-mail or phone interaction.)

8. Repository of jokes

Seriously, the funniest jokes are now on FB. And you know how funny they are judging by the number of likes and comments..

9. Inspiration for self-improvement

No, I am not joking. Guys, since I have to put up my pictures on FB, I need to look presentable! Which means I am more careful about my outfits, my hair, and even my expression, since I never know when a photo of mine may end up being tagged by someone else…

On the same note, FB has encouraged me to improve my photography skills. After all, I don’t want my photos from Hawaii to look less gorgeous than those of my friends!

10. Maintaining family ties

Repeat after me: A family that facebooks together stays together!

Important when you have family scattered on more than 2 continents…who has the time to call cousins up? You just keep track of each other’s weddings, childbirths, professional milestones etc. on FB, like each other’s posts vigorously, and share information (and gossip) with older relatives who are not facebook-savvy.

That’s all, now don’t get me talking about requests for candy crush, even as FB is trying to relive my moments from last year!

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