Flavours and Personalities

Ahem. Kindly note the added 'u' after the 'o' in the heading above- an added sign that I'm becoming truly re-Indianized. This, of course, means that I can no longer take comfort in 'diarrhea', but will have to switch the unwieldy 'diarrhoea'... Not that I suffer from either, at least not currently anyway. But in case I did and for some reason, needed to write about it to someone, I can no longer zip off the shorter version (of the word, not the deed) without feeling like I was somehow cheating.

Anyway, I was impelled to write this blog (that too on my phone) after visiting a patient. Have I mentioned how much I love meeting patients? There's of course the obvious attraction of sounding oh so important when you can throw around the phrase 'need to see my patient'- do doctors still retain that kick out of saying it after years and years of doing so?- but to me, a basic bench scientist for donkey's years, there's the sense of astonishment and boot licking gratitude that I actually am seeing and talking to so many different people every SINGLE day!! To think that I spent more than a decade huddled under sterile hoods and hunching over lab counters, desperate to escape and resigned to never actually escaping, this freedom to wear something other than jeans and shirts and shoes that cover every inch of foot skin, to touch something without wearing gloves at work(!!), it's indescribable. If I had to try to describe it, I'd say it's like that feeling of well-being, you know, long-lasting relief that you get when you empty out your bowels after waiting a long time to do so.

Anyway, the main point of this entry was to reflect on the various personalities one comes across. Postpartum periods are funny- women are simultaneously stressed out and happy; they have a sense of completion (or sometimes, accomplishment) that the labour part of it is over and they are now anxious about how to get this kid to feed. So it's always interesting to see how women handle this period in so many different ways.m

More about this in the next post... My phone is dying.

School in India

To be sung to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire"

Brown paper wrapping

Sello-tape, label-sticking

Uniform buying

Tie, belt and badge hunting.

Early morning prayers

We worship all Gods,

(Some Gods more than others)

Religious tolerance in action.

Waiting outside school gate

Fine for coming late

Shoes not sparkling white

Go hide out of sight.

(We didn’t start the fire)

This is school in India

There is no complaining, only early waking.

School bag packed with books

Weighing at least 10 kgs

Who says it breaks kids’ backs?

We believe in weight lifting.

Lunch in steel box

“No plastics” bandbox

Where is my steel thermos?

Is plastic basket allowed?

PT, langdi, running race, kabbadi

Annual Day, Sports Day (JFK blown away, what else do I have to say?)

This is how we celebrate!

(We didn’t start the fire)

This is school in India

There is no complaining, only early waking.