The title is apt for life as it stands for me right now.

Life's come full circle. I wanted to end the year with a post of anger conveying my present state of mind, but some people are just not worth the anger. It's time to look at the bright side of a dark night... to see the beauty of a single glistening star in a long, dark and lonely night.


URBAN SHOTS : BRIGHT LIGHTS releases in January 2012. It can be pre-ordered at a discount price from the Flipkart link presently.

It's the second paperback book after Chicken Soup for the Indian Doctor's Soul which features a short story by me.
If you click to enlarge the picture and read the synopsis, I think you'll agree that quite a few of the stories seem chirpy, intriguing and worth a read. I can vouch that my own contribution is indeed a bright and happy feel-good story and I hope you all love it as much as I do.

I wish you all a happy end to this year and a lovely beginning to the New Year.

Naive. Dunce. Innocent. Popat. 
We'll make him do it.
It's okay, if we continue, he'll back down. 
He won't ever raise his hand or his voice. 
Even if he fights, once we fight back, he'll look for a peaceful compromise.

All of you know someone like this. I see one everyday. Me. I keep convincing myself that by compromising, I'm doing the right thing. That turning my back to a fight makes me a better man. 

But the truth is it matters only in a civilization which is 'civil'. In a land of thugs and liars, being good is equal to being weak. It's a land where the simple act of drawing a chair back for a girl to sit is considered a sign of weakness. Chivalry is considered a lack of manliness. 
It's a land where even when people get caught for rape and murder, they don't break down and confess like we've seen all our lives in movies and books ; they just speak of their contacts and wealth and how they'll get out of trouble. 
There is no shame of being guilty.. if anything, there is a pride for their invincibility. 

For long I believed in my own lie that by not harming others and compromising, I am being an example. But I'm just a relic of an era that's gone by. To survive, I need to give up who I am.  

Every year end, I look back on the year that has passed. I see a few happy memories, a few new friends... but the sad memories outweigh the good. The memories of people taking advantage and backstabbing. Of people knowing I'm the one who can be cheated easily. Again. And again.

I don't consider it a crime to believe in the good of people. It isn't a crime to believe in the 'beauty of a random kind act' like all the videos we post in Facebook tell us. It isn't a crime to be naive like me. Heaven knows I'd prefer to have friends who are naive rather than people who use brute force.

But it is a crime not to learn from the past. To believe in the good of people even as they continue to cheat you. There are no magical moments of revelation when they realise the error of their ways and look to turn over a new leaf. 


They are who they are... And it is time I stopped being who I am.
There comes a time in everyone's life when you have to stop being a goody-two-shoes and let the claws out. 
You can't let a naive person survive in this world ? So be it. 

The one thing I find amusing is that there's always someone ready to sit for arguing with you based on silly assumptions.

This was an incident that occurred when I was in medical school. Our hostel mess had a fixed menu for every meal of the week. For example, Sunday mornings were dosa day, Friday afternoons were fried-chicken-and-ghee-rice day and so forth. Tuesday morning was bun-and-jam day.

We were sitting down for breakfast one Tuesday at the mess and were served our regular plates of bun and jam by the cook. While all of us tucked into it, a friend of mine came over to us and dropped the plate with a loud clatter on the table as he sat down.

Me : Something the matter ?
Him : I hate bun and jam.
Me : ( sensing a rant coming and trying to undo my previous question and act oblivious ) Okaaay.
Him : What "okay" ? How can you all eat this ?
Me ( resigned to my fate ) : Well, it's pretty good, you know. I don't really see the problem.

Him : You NRIs are all like this only. You'll eat bread toast with butter and sausages and cornflakes for breakfast. You should be brought up entirely in India. Then only you can understand what it's like for us.
Me : Really ? What's that like ?
Him : We need our dosas and idlis man. Their taste is different, man, from all these foreign foods. That taste of appam with stew...
Friend  #2 : .. puttu and kadala curry...
Him : Exactly. That's it. That's a good breakfast. Not this bun and jam.
Me : Look. I ain't arguing with you on Indian food. I just don't see what's wrong with normal things like bread and jam or a bulls-eye egg.

He looked at me with contempt. "You guys won't understand. For you, all this British and American stuff is normal."

I'd had enough by now. "Look. It isn't about US or UK or anything. I'm just saying you should be open to enjoying others food too. Infact, this is pretty normal stuff. I know a place where people actually eat Chinese food for breakfast.


He : No way. That's rubbish. I've never heard of any such place.
Me: Seriously.
He : What ? Chicken Manchurian, fried rice and all ?
Me : Manchurian, Schezwan.. you know, Chinese stuff.
He : I don't believe you.
Me : Bet ?
He : Bet.
Me : What do I get if I win ?
He : I'll draw the diagrams for your anatomy record books for a week. Otherwise, you should draw mine.
Me : Done.
He : Done.
Me : Neatly ?
He : Neatly.
Me : Okay.
He : Okay.

I continued munching on my bun. I looked up. He and the others at the table were watching me expectantly.
Me : What ?
Him : Hah ! I knew it. Simply you were bluffing. Haha. These 5 guys are witnesses. You can't back out now. You have to draw my record book.
Me : Wait.. what was the question again ?
Him : Haha. You can't escape.
Me : I just wanted to know what the question was.
He stressed out each word slowly as he spoke, obviously enjoying the sweet taste of success. "Where do people eat Chinese food for breakfast ?"
I smiled back at him. "Well... China, I'm guessing."
Him : ...

I didn't have to draw any diagrams that week. He tried to back out, of course, but ..well, I had 5 witnesses too, you see.



This is my entry for the KFC "Sets you on Fire" contest. Hope you liked it.

My friend and I were returning back to the operation theatre after lunch when we saw an unusual sight.

 We all have favourites... be it food, actors, drinks, people or even Gods. This is a rare photo for me : combining two of my biggest favourites in a single shot.

Which two favourites ?



A) Ruby, the wonder dog. 

Born in our very own house more than 12 years ago, she's been there as a caring companion throughout our lives and is a constant reminder that when it comes to loyalty, dogs are better than humans everyday. Age has diminished her eyesight and reflexes, but not her loving heart.
Oh ya, and she blogs too. What ? You don't believe me ? Check this out then.


B) Prawns.

What is your first memory in life ?
Mine is of me stealing a bowl of fried prawns meant for the entire family, going to my room and eating it all by myself.

Three decades later, it's still not safe to keep a bowl of prawns around me.
Judging by the look in her eyes, I think that dictum applies to Ruby too !!

P.S. For those who're worried/wondering, naaa..relax. We don't give her spicy food.She's just performing her ritual of being the official 'food sniffer' of my plate.
Some airports hire dogs to sniff out drugs. Ruby's too posh to work at an airport so she just sniffs out hazardous stuff which she can consume to save time for me : stuff like bones between chicken, meat between rice, peanuts between closed palms and the ever deadly - ice cream out of the fridge.


Quick question : Name the first 2 'favourites' that come in your mind.

I was always a gadget freak.
So it was probably kind of weird that in this day and age of IPHONES and ANDROIDS, I was still stuck with Symbian. That too, a Nokia E72 that, true to form, waited exactly for the 365 days warranty to end before it's software started acting like a drunk frog chasing after fireflies.
The fact that it went for an 'unanticipated' swim in a bucket full of water a month later just seemed to confirm it's suicidal tendencies, as far as I was concerned.

Thus began the search for a new phone and a shift finally, after 10 year, away from Nokia. For over two months, I was irritating everyone I knew - from interns, post graduates and professors in the hospital to friends on Facebook - and even those I didn't know on Twitter, as I tried to reach a decision.

After ruling out the Iphone ( I find their rules a bit too restrictive ), I was pretty much going back and forth between sticking to my budget and going for the best. Samsung Galaxy S2 was definitely on a lot of people's mind as the best option, but frankly it was beyond my budget. In the end, I went with a decision that surprised even me.

I got the HTC INCREDIBLE S , after reading possibly every review of it there was online and asking quite a few people who had it across the world.



Major plus points for me :
1. Comes bundled with the latest Android software ( Gingerbread )
2. An excellent rugged feel unlike the plasticky feel I got with some Samsungs.
3. Wonderfully large and bright 4 inch screen.
4. 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video chatting ( if that day ever comes !! )
5. Sense UI for a wonderfully smooth 'touch' experience.
6. Quite simple syncing between all my accounts ( mobile, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo ) now.
7. Android market. 'nuff said.


Sure it has it's minus points too -
1. It ain't dual core which means someday in the future, the new android games may not work on it.
2. It ain't got as good servicing options as, say, a Samsung
3. Battery life, with me around, was always gonna be an issue. But I'm getting better at battery management now as I've learned to keep the battery guzzling Wi-Fi off, unless needed, besides getting a few battery saving apps. Incidentally, I met a few guys with other Androids as well, including the Samsung Galaxy S2, and all have the same complaint regarding battery life.

Overall, I'm loving my new mobile. For a kid who grew up watching Star Trek and the awesome technologies they dreamt of in the 60's before man had even landed on the moon, today it feels amazing to actually live in a world where all these gadgets are now a reality.
Everyday, I find new applications for the mobile : medical textbooks and drug encyclopedias, finding restaurants,hotels and even gas stations near me, chatting with friends all over the world for free ( WhatsApp ), online booking and what not, this mobile has everything.

Heck, who knows, someday I might even use it for making a phone call.

A friend asked me a question a couple of years back : "Who cares what you write ? You think many people read what you write ? Or that it affects them in any way ?"



I got a call yesterday while I was in the operation theatre in Mangalore. I was, assisted by three students, managing 3 cases simultaneously, and was pretty worn out. The call was from my former Head of Department in Pune... from the college where I learned to be an anaesthesiologist.

I had planned a surprise for her a few weeks back. Aided by a trustworthy post graduate there in Pune, I got a copy of "Chicken Soup for the Indian Doctor's Soul" with my story in it hand-delivered to her in the hospital, with a personal note from me. She called me almost immediately after reading it and the happiness at this unexpected gift was evident in her words. She was so overjoyed with 'the pleasant surprise' that she planned a 'pleasant surprise' of her own.

It turns out the senior students were due to have their semester exams the next day. Madam sent the message to all the seniors in the operation theatre that after lunch, they had to meet in our 'seminar room' for a surprise class. Apparently, all the students had their hearts in their mouths because they all figured the 'surprise class' was just a ruse and thought their semester exam was being preponed by a day. So you had half a dozen scared students scurrying all over for books to read the topics at the last moment. I'm sure it was an uneasy lunch for them too that afternoon.

However, when all the students assembled, they found all the staff gathered there as well and understood this was no exam. Madam then revealed to them the true reason she had called them all - to show them my book. She happily read them the letter I'd sent with the book and had my story read out to all of them.
I wasn't there which is just as well... some people don't take criticism well. Me ? I get really embarrassed when praised and prefer to stay in the background while working for my successes.

The students called almost immediately after ( by which time I'd finished my cases for the day and was relaxing in the ICU, imagining the late lunch I was gonna devour ) and I could just hear the smiles on their faces as they talked. They were 'obviously' overjoyed there was no exam but they also liked the story ( some of them knew the case personally ) and it was a welcome distraction from the tensions and worries of everyday work in an operation theatre. They'd had some sad news earlier in the morning and this brought a smile back on their faces.

Of course, knowing that my story had been read aloud in a department where I had studied - where I had worked day in and day out for 3 years, where I had presented so many powerpoint presentations to my staff and peers, written exams and yes, eaten many a celebratory cake-piece as well - it was an honour and a joy for me which I can't explain.

I wanted to bring a smile to a person I remembered fondly with a surprise. She brought a smile to a lot of students today with her surprise. Everyone's happiness made me smile and brightened my day right back.


A friend asked me a question a couple of years back : "Who cares what you write ? You think many people read what you write ? Or that it affects them in any way ?"

Today I got my answer : Yes. It does affect people. I know it for a fact. If it brings a smile on even a single face a day, I think I've done my job. And that matters to me.