Eating gene --a family trait

I have not done a DNA test on myself . But last week indeed made me realise that i belong to the marikar family . Why ? 

Last week i was in chennai in the land of the great masala dosa and filter coffee . Almost everyday on some pretext or other i used to gorge on this delicacy of south india .  Though suggestive ,but that doesnt prove with hundred percent accuracy that i have the family trait of food first then next . Masala dosa is tasted by many foodies when you visit tamil nadu .

If the breakfasts and lunches and even evening "snack " is filled with these south indian delicacies it was at dinner time that the "eating gene " of my family raised its head .  Being a sushi lover (japanese food ) and having tasted sushi in chennai last time i wanted to eat it for dinner . If you say you are also a foodie like me , i completely disagree . Almost everyday i used to haggle with the notorious chennai autowalas goto ttk road and went to eat the "raw " but tasty sushi . It was not a five star hotel and the first days bill for only me was 2200 rs  .. Ok so some of the foodies are eliminated because most of the foodies are not "experimenters " though they love good food .

If you still think that you have this experimental familial eating gene think again . On day 2 , i felt guilty as i wanted to eat sushi again . In the pretext of shopping for  a new mobile i went again did mobile shopping , and went to eat sushi again for 1600 rs . (for one person )  which was next to the mobile shop . I dont know whether i enjoyed my new mobile or the sushi more ..

If you think i am a great splurger Im not for most things  .. period --not on fancy cars , fancy dresses etc etc (note the term splurge )  . I do buy these in moderation . But food is a big exception . And if you think i eat all this food by myself think again ... even in the short while i was in chennai me and my cousin went to two days to very nice kerala restaurant . But i was not so sure my cousin would be happy to eat the "raw food " that too for this exhorbitant price . And this cousin was from my maternal side who enjoy good food but not that experimental as we are .

In one of my blogs i had remarked that our family says the location of places by the nearest food joint always -- for eg :  where did i buy my mobile ? its from a place near Teppan, the japanese restaurant at TTK road ,chennai ..Other normal people will say "Univercell " .

And if you feel that i am the embodiment of my family and its eating gene ... its time to meet my dad ...Last time he ran away to the kitchen when home made mutton biriyani was served . Reason : without eating 2 fried eggs as a preparation the biriyani will not get digested it seems .  Now dont you agree this is a genetic trait  ...

from foodland dr haroon marikar

bachelors will ..

Bachelors thoughts once again ....

 I leave 50 000 francs to the poor. I want to be buried in their hearse.

I refuse [funeral] orations of all churches. I beg a prayer to all souls.

I believe in God

This is not my will of course  for the money is in Francs ,the French currency . This is the will of Victor Hugo the famous French novelist  of all time.  (wikipedia for details )  . Being a bachelor this moment (i have never promised anyone that i will remain one for ever :))  ,  These days it is amusing when some people tell me reasons why i should get married .  In current times most of their explanations are plain dumb while i am more amused these days because often the explanation each person gives in their "advice" to get married reveals more about their personality . One of the reasons cited by some is "What you will do with all your money  ?  "  "Whom will you give it when you die  "  ?  

For starters i have enough money to lead a very comfortable existence . But i am not Bill Gates or Victor Hugo to get tremendously worried about a massive wealth to bequeath to some highly materialistic relative/friend . I am not that rich  .  

Secondly , as illustrated in the opening quote  ,  philanthropy and bequethal is not  perview of bachelors alone . Victor Hugo was very much married  and had many kids .  So as long as there are deserving people in this world there is no cause for worry  . 

And lastly as told in previous blogs i may get married to a girl and at that moment we will have a busy time living than thinking about how to give away money after death  .. 

Oh and i forgot  .. Im not  an octagenerian to think about my will . I have other priorities in my life than creating a will now  ..

                     As i told earlier  of the many advices and reasons for marriage  this advice has come from some people who are well known in the family and friend circle for their materialism  . (money is the first and last priority for these people  )  ..So next time when you advice me please dont  say about giving my money to you or my will 

. Im already broke eating sushi every night at chennai for a week and maybe you can give me 0.01 percent in your will for me  

my friend wants to get married ...

                                                                       Girls are like cats . Those who have some idea about pet cat behaviour know what i mean . Cats are intelligent , know how to get their way and generally lands in four feet ... So what am i trying to say to some of these "cats "  .  And that too about a topic i know nothing about          yes : marriage ..

Sorry cats but here it goes . Recently i had a chat with a girl and during our discussion we had a discussion on her marriage aspirations .She started this topic , not me .   The cat , sorry , the girl asked me what my idea of a girl was :  i told her i will get married to the right girl meaning a girl who is of reasonable wavelength to mine (dont ask me what wavelength is  :  refer class X physics textbook :) )

Now i had to ask her what her idea of marriage was : in short what she was expecting .  She told me she wanted a handsome man (most of my friends are not ugly  ) , spiritual ( hmmm ... some are religious , some are in spirits , most are average in this department .)  .  Ok these two conditions make it a little difficult but possible . But more importantly she was stressing something " The guy should be rich  ; i dont want to live with a poor man "  .Hey  ,  i know a few guys who are rich but only a few of them are handsome, spiritual and rich .  And the last condition shocked me : The guy should love me  ... Sounds simple ... But to me if this combination of aspirations is real (she was really serious about it ) then she is aiming for the near impossible .

Theres nothing wrong in aiming for a rich and handsome man (materialistic nature varies highly between people )  but aiming for a spiritual and loving man also with this i feel is difficult .Its like climbing a hill looking down .  Generally rich men love money and handsome men love themselves more than others and spirituality and love towards others are generally not  found in the former set .  Does that mean that the men who are really capable of love are ugly and poor . Definitely no . Most of them have average looks and average money . Being the opinionated guy i am i told her all this and hopefully she is convinced  ... Have you ever tried to change a cats belief or behaviour  ?

This blog is because this pattern of thinking i have seen in some other cats (sorry girls )  too .  One is immensely rich and nice but she has told in no unclear terms that her potential husband should give  a pretty good sum everyday for shopping .  She was not a cinderalla talking about her prince charming but was talking actually what she expects from her future husband . And she was not a teenager but of marriageable age  and we were not joking at that time .

And last one is a budding professional . Shes extremely intelligent , have 6 th sense etc etc ..(persian cat with 6 th sense )  .but the only thing  i cant agree with her views is her concept of a husband is a rich man .. period . In all other avenues and discussions she comes across as a very intelligent woman but in this i cannot understand . She who can earn in 6 figures why is she focussing on a "rich man "  .  Is she looking for a business partner or one who pays the maintenance of her bmw ?

As i told earlier i have no suggestions for the cat family . They are intelligent and especially in this consumerist soceity there is nothing wrong in some of them eyeing for rich people . But seriously expecting  love also with this is something which needs a serious rethink in your priorities in life . Knowing to some extent the three of the abovementioned i have no worries about the latter two as i think their priorities are different  and they mainly told about "rich "  but  the first one "rich , spiritual , handsome and loving "  ...?? Do you know anyone like that to suggest her  ?  I dont know any  ..

Bye for now .. Got to collect my bmw from the garage  .. :)

old flame ... or the ex

It must have been love , but its over now
It must have been good , but i lost it somehow ------Roxette

                                      Sometime back i had blogged about Freddie Mercury and where his only true love was his first girlfriend whom he adored even till his death (and vice versa )  .  In the recent past i came across two strangers who within a few days become my good friends . One of them was a guide at kovalam beach . The conversation started with me asking whether it was safe to swim during this off season . Later the conversation turned into rip currents , the tourists from various countries , his family etc etc ... He was around 45-50 years old weatherbeaten and rugged from long years in the lifeguard service . I had freshly cut pineapple from the beach and in indian style (we are a hospitable bunch ) i offered him a piece . After half an hour he returned with almost 6-7 pieces of fresh banana fry which he gave us (i was with my friend ) . 
I never asked about it but soon he told about his current family (he had a wife and two kids ) and then .. his former marriage . This rugged weatherbeaten guide had married first at the age of 21 years and was married to a german girl . The marriage lasted for two years and then they divorced according to him due to drinking problem . I asked him " she ?"  . He replied "Not she , she was a very nice woman ... " . It was he who had a drinking problem then . It was not the indo-german marriage that caught my attention but the way he referred to his ex ..still with adoration ,love and trust . And then ?  He told me every year she visits with her current husband and kid and he was telling both his kid and her kid had the same birth month and day  ...
                                                                                A few months back another stranger too became my friend and he didnt have any rip current or tourist data with him because he was not a lifeguard . But he also had an old flame 15 years back . He too has a wife and kid now and loves his wife and kid . But he also spoke in glowing terms about the true love of his life which he could not marry due to his family circumstances . I promise i didnt start the topic , but when someone tells their lifestory shouldnt i say " and then ?"  . He told me after 10 years she somehow got his current number and they call each other . "Extra-marital relationship ?"  . No way . He is very clear about that . But this person also proved that there is something called old flame .

This is about people with a loving and good hearts . What i cannot understand is i observe people who divorce and then try their best to destroy their ex spouse with all their might . Is it only because money is involved or is it that theirs was never "love " in the first place  ?  I dont know ...

Meanwhile i am happy that there are at least a handful of people who have experienced true love  ...which i feel is the most important thing in this world ...Or is it  ?  Read my next blog 

a day inside labour room

I never got pregnant nor am i a gynaecologist .  Then what was i doing inside a labour room(place where pregnant women give birth )  ? That was long back while i was doing my housesurgeoncy in  medical college .

Having long decided that i never wanted to be a surgeon i used to spend more time in the canteen attached to the operation theatre than in the operating room . Internal medicine and radiology was different as i loved them because it was strongly analytical in its approach . Then how come i enjoyed my labour room posting ?
It was because of many many reasons . During housesurgeoncy we were generally scattered around different units and being students we missed the company of our fellowmates. In labour room being a large teaching hospital we were posted in large groups . Not only that parallelly there were a set of seniors posted together in the form of gynaecology postgraduates . This large group with excellent camaderie and friendliness made the posting a memorable one .

The learning was supervised and we had small duties like checking the fetal heart rate , mothers heart rate , blood pressure and the rate of pitocin drip etc .  As  beginners in medical field as housesurgeons this was a great practical experience and just like you feel very secure when entering the swimming pool from the shallows with 10 lifeguards watching it was a great learning experience . And then there were the births ... the natures way of beginning of all of us , you and me included and this was the place where it was seen which showed how organised nature was . As housesurgeons we were entrusted to conduct natural deliveries under supervision . It was really a  humbling experience to realise the complicated process of labour being done with minimal intervention by us and mostly without any complications . That was natures power . This was in stark contrast to other specialities where primarily you deal with disease .

This doesnt mean that this specialty is less important . Just like policemen though its a rare event , its when things go out of the way that this careful monitoring pays its dividends . Just some decades  back 1 in 10 women used to die during childbirth and modern gynaecology and obstetrics has powerful monitoring methods and spectacular medicines to reduce this maternal and infant death drastically .

Fortunately during the entire period of housesurgeoncy i saw very few deaths . But the only one i still remember because it was so fast  was  a young lady brought with amniotic fluid embolism . On her entry she was talking fine and just in a minute or less without a wince she closed her eyes permanently . The amniotic fluid which acts as a shockabsorber for the baby had gone in minute amounts into her blood and caused her lungs to shutdown suddenly . Especially surrounded by the beginnings of life everywhere this was a stark contrast retrospectively thinking even now . Then i realised the helplessness of people in front of nature .

Now, the same labour room had other sights in store . Usually healthy women go into labour . But one of the beds had a severely breathless woman under direct care of the chief consultant . I asked my seniors what was the issue . Apparently she had severe heart disease which prohibited her from getting pregnant . But knowing fully well of the risks she became pregnant and was now fighting both the disease of heart and the fluid overload of pregnancy .  A combination of her will , medical help and fate made her survive and deliver a healthy baby . I often think of her fighting much more stronger than any fight i have seen in action movies .

Non-doctors have their own assumed thoughts about how doctors conduct their daily work , but house surgeoncy showed that at least for we housesurgeons it was some work , some camaderie , some light moments and a few moments like the above which showed the value of life and the human spirit .

P.S :  last but not the least one of my MBA cousins recently  told quite seriously that doctors think of women in a perverse way always and when she told this  my mind went back to the labour room and all the above scenarios . To be honest , me or my friends never used to look at any woman patient other than as a patient . But again to be honest we used to look at all the postgraduates of gynaecology posted there as they were the prettiest in our college at that time ... And one of them was a good singer and used to hum a song whenever she walked ...And i love music :)

lessons in tracking .... daytrek through chinnar wildlife

We set out at around 830 for our trek through the forest . First question to the guide even by the " animal knowledgeable" me was will we see animals during our walking trek . I realised that was a very stupid question as this is not a zoo for all animals to come before us one by one just because we have come to visit them . And seeing the gaur (wild buffalo at close quarters ) 2 days before at night has made our expectations realistic . We were there to enjoy the jungle trek and if we see animals its a bonus . 

Hardly had we moved around 20 metres our guide told us look down . City bred "knowledgeable" people we are but lesson number one in the jungle is use all your senses not just looking straight  ... We were about to set foot on a pug mark and it was the pug mark of a leopard which had walked through that place the previous day . Further walk took us to a watch tower and the guide showed us sambar deer herd which are large deer which are the favourite food of the tiger . Its wise always to bring a binocular to jungle trips ..

We walked further and elephant dung was there and our guide showed us the trees and twigs crushed by the elephant and even the direction in which the elephant had moved .  The guide was from tribal community and he was an expert in tracking .  He showed us the place with large markings were elephant had lied down to rest . Fascinating art .  We ascended a small hillock and saw deer 100 metres away . On our way we saw a large porcupine quill and guide explained that they use it with deadly accuracy on its predators . Nature has both attack and defence built in . We trekked to a forest river . Had a bath in the river it was really refreshing . They are planning to build a loghouse there so next time i will come there .

We saw peacocks and their mating calls were fantastic .. I think the peahen ??? (its wife ) will be impressed .  In the forest checkpost there were two large families each with around 25-30 members of all ages . They were monkeys of two varieties and their antiques were funny and interesting . We saw another breed of monkey with hair shaped like spiked and realised our barbers copied it for our teenage boys  . 

late birds catch the worm ... not always --but at chinnar

Germans are known for perfect punctuality . And indians are known for their easy dealing with time . Both attitude have its pluses and minuses but you decide which is better in chinnar wildlife sanctuary at least . We were a group of 7 people 3  from germany  and 4 indians me included .

Maybe because we were really enjoying each moment or were taking too many photographs or were plain lazy  to wake up early  (its not a crime ... we were on holiday :)  )  we reached chinnar  wildlife sanctuary which is 90 kms from topstation  as we went via munnar  .  We reached there at 6 pm  on day 2 . A very friendly forest warden told us very politely that we couldnot stay at tree house as its deep in the jungle around 3 km  which we had to go by foot.  Having stayed previous day inside a jungle cottage we were ok with it though a little disappointed  .. We decided that we will stay at marayoor which is the edge of the forest and then do a day trek through chinnar wildlife sanctuary .  Since we were hungry we made a night ride in the innova car through the jungle road to reach tamilnadu (it was in kerala -tamil nadu border )  .  All of us especially the germans enjoyed the egg dosa and masala dosa served hot . On our return trip through the forest to marayoor we saw the wild pig . Looks similar to the domestic pig but bigger and with large tusks which  when wounded has been known even to kill a tiger fighting back . Our lone vehicle was going through the road and suddenly bus coming from opposite direction told there is an elephant on the road .  Our driver who was scaring us by telling many times "Where is the elephant  ?.Let it come  "  suddenly was discussing out aloud "What to do  if it comes in front of the vehicle  ?".  Anyway may be german prayers mixed with indian prayers the elephant had moved out of the road when we passed .  But then there was the ultimate treat to our eyes .... two beautiful leopard cubs on the road following their mother . Even sighting a leopard is rare but two cubs of leopard was a rare and beautiful sight . We would have missed it  if we hadnt been late and had been in jungle treehouse  . So in india better be late  :) 

We stayed at marayoor for peanuts  ..500 rs (  7 euros a night ) for a room which contrasts with 20-50 euros for even the cheapest accomodation in germany . Value for money . There was no water thanks to mans impact on the ecosystem of marayoor there was no rain this year  .  (global warming ?)  . But the homestay lady was very helpful as she personally drew 12 big pots of water from the stream nearby in the night .  Our homestay was bank opposite the forest and you could see a large rock nearby and a small waterfall nearby with minimal water due to lack of rains  ..

Next day  we set out early  and this time we were the first customers for the day trek through the jungle of chinnar .
to be continued .. click on next link on right side

top station --munnar .. its indeed Gods own country

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip ... there were no two thoughts about it . We stayed at the forest lodge inside the jungle at topstation munnar on day one . Situated inside the jungle and separated from wild animals just by a trench it was a great experience . One of the first animals or rather insect we saw there was a large moth which was cream colored and shaped like a fairy . There was no airconditioning /electricity in the room but we didnt complain because there was no need for AC in this natural airconditioned environment many thousand metres above sealevel. There was a bathroom with water coming through pipes but it was coming from a mountain stream . The cost of all this setup was just around 1500 rupees for a cottage . (contrast it with a houseboat charge of 10000 rs )  . In the morning a herd of gaur was seen in the valley below led by the alpha male or female ? Heard it is a female dominated soceity so must be alpha female .  :)

The cottage was surrounded by wild flowers which were more beautiful than all the flowers in my garden . And many varieties of birds including the woodpecker .  (i hardly see them  in my city  these days  ). Hot tea was served by our guides and since this was forest we didnt expect a buffet breakfast . We saw their mudhouse which was also beautiful jungle style .

By around 11 am (we are always late but who cares ?)  we started our trek into the jungle .  Good that i am a reasonable visitor to gym , for it was almost a kilometre 45 degree climb through dense forest . We saw different varieties of trees and teak which is used in costly furniture was right beside us in all its glory . Being rainy season there were leeches around  ...Though they are designed to drink blood they do so after putting anesthesia and anticoagulant .(nature is too good... sorry bad )  .

After the 45 degree climb we reached the track between two jungles . Our guide showed us the giant squirrel which was more than a foot long and which was really showing off jumping from tree branches close to us . If you ask me the glamour quotient of this beautiful animal i will give it a 10/10.  Loud sounds made us froze but it was monkeys huge ones which were not the ones which u see commonly . These monkeys were unique to this ecosystem . On the way we saw elephant and gaur dung which the guide explained to us how to estimate when they passed that area . Our guide suddenly disappeared and then emerged with a bottle of mineral water . It was from a mountain stream and tasted much better than all the bisleri .

to be continued ... click on next blog link on right side ..

on wild buffaloes , underwater currents and sunburns

Let me make a confession  and its nothing to be ashamed of .  I am not "extremely" adventurous .Note  the term "extreme "  .  I am reasonably adventurous enough to go swimming in the sea everyweek at kovalam , go trekking in the ponmudi hills and even an occasional fast driving .(thats also adventure ) .

But this vacation last week was really adventurous to the true sense of the word . Me and a group of my friends had a vacation to chinnar wildlife sanctuary and top station munnar  and after that me and a friend of mine had a trip to kovalam beach .  Both trips were great and in the next few blogs i would be writing more about it  .  Have you ever trekked into the forest for 4-5 kms . And that too with forests which has abundant wildlife in the form of elephants , an occasional leopard and numerous gaur (indian version of wild buffalo ).
Thats called adventure . And that was our daytime trek with guide . 

But this particular blog is about the small half a km trek or walk which was carried out during night due to unforeseen reasons . Anyway that made our trip extreme . The initial 100 metres was uneventful . It was dense forest with track through which we walked . Suddenly there were two glowing eyes around 15 metres in front of us . We froze .  I was relieved for i was not wanting to meet a lone elephant at night . These glowing eyes had two horns directly above it . It was a gaur or indian wild buffalo . Weighing around 1000 kilograms in a bad mood it is easily capable of killing anyone in its path by goring or trampling . It stared at us for sometime and slowly retreated into the forest .  We walked again as going back was not an option considering our peculiar circumstances . I was not expecting to meet another one again that night . But hardly had we moved around 100 metres there was another pair of shiny eyes again around 10-20 metres in front of us . Great ...We were in the middle of a wild buffalo herd . It was thrilling to think it back now but considering the danger wouldnt do it at night again ....Though i will do it in daytime considering my level of adventurousness . 

Regarding Kovalam trip as told earlier when we were kids almost every weekend we were at the beach of kovalam but generally we avoided the off season with its large waves and "undercurrents" . Yes kovalam is a fantastic beach , very famous among tourists , but especially during off season there are undercurrents which can pull you away from the beach .  Because my friend wanted very much to swim in kovalam even though it was off season i went on condition that we will ask the lifeguards and if it was "relatively safe " we would get in the water else no . Since the day we went was not raining the lifeguards allowed to swim . But told to stay off the ends especially near the rocks as there were undercurrents . We humans only have yes/no phenomenon . Nobody has guaranteed no undercurrents and since we both were reasonably good swimmers and knew how to be careful and since lifeguards said ok we had a great time swimming  in the water  from 11 am to 5 pm . But we carefully followed the instructions of the lifeguard and stayed away from the undercurrent areas . Still sometimes i could feel the ocean sucking at the feet . Thats the first time i felt the undercurrents . We stayed in relative shallows and away from the really undercurrent areas . I would say it was another extreme adventure .

The last was a minor adventure but purely accidental .Since my friend was from germany i tried to experiment for a few minutes "suntanning " . Being an indian i was not expecting much of suntanning however . In the bathroom mirror i got the shock of my life when i saw a "red indian " on the mirror . Except for the area where i wore shorts the entire skin was reddish in colour and hot  .  I had a sunburn though mild . And what about my german friend . She also had sunburn mild .  We had not protected us with the sunblocking creams . 

After these three adventures i have no regrets .. i have only thrills left . But i would trek again in the jungle , swim again in kovalam and even try to get a tan . BUT ... i will not  trek again at night , swim in off season or try to tan without suncream .  Now judge my adventurousness level :)

P.S  :  Like everything in life first judge yourself before doing any adventure sports as each person is very different in adventurousness level . I am responsible for my life and others are strongly discouraged from doing any adventurous activity even day trekking in jungle . And anyone who undertakes it should understand fully well the risks of the activity  . 

click on next blog link on right side

lessons learned from china---Olympics

As of today the medal tally in Olympics is 61 for China and 3 for india . Ordinarily not glued to the sports channel as i prefer playing to watching games Olympics is an exception . For it is where the ultimate perfomances are measured . I am happy for india that it has at least garnered 3 medals thanks to our talented stars who have worked hard like Saina Nehwal . But considering that for so many things india is considered the glowing star next to china in sports it is nowhere near China .

The reasons are many but at least i could find a few small snippets during my china visit . I visited shanghai a few months back and though i didnt meet any "snake dumpling " during my foodie adventures i noted a few things regarding their sports focus . In the evening when i took a stroll most of the people were out not sitting lazily or even walking like me . Maybe the realisation that sitting or even walking is not  an olympic sport the general public were playing badminton and similar sports in the numerous private and public playgrounds . It was as if i was visiting an olympic village but this was just the public in shanghai . The take home message for me was the importance the people of china had given for sports in their lives . 

On the last day as well as the first day i too visited the nearby attraction " a department store " . It was huge and was walking distance from my hotel . Only difference was this huge department store was filled with every conceivable sports equipment ..be it trekking , archery or table tennis equipment ... it was there . And the people who came to buy it were not Boris Becker or Saina Nehwal type sportstars but ordinary public in large numbers . I was amused at the way they were filling their shopping carts not only with sports shoes (that we also do ) but with table tennis bats etc . 

And one last thought ---if we spend as much time in any sport instead of watching the longest game "cricket " on tv will our medal count increase ?  I think yes ...

happy raksha bandhan...

Raksha bandhan day is celebrated fervently in most parts of india .  The festivities primarily involve tying of a band on the wrist asserting the protection of the girl by the guy .  And it also implies she is to be considered as his sister as brothers are expected to protect sisters .  Im not too sure about whether latter is correct because that is what I think because these days I am finding many guys literally running away from girls on raksha bandhan day  .  On asking some of them told we are sworn to protect women but “brother “ is too much .We are happy enough with our existing sisters and do not want all the pretty girls as our “sisters “

One of my friends in Chennai even updated his facebook profile asking women he knows that there is no vacancy of “sister “ in his life . And though I have never consciously run away from any girl on Raksha bandhan day I still remember the day when I was studying in college when the prettiest girl of my class sneakily came up from behind me (no exaggeration ) and tied rakhi on my wrist . I don’t know whether she wanted my protection or wanted to be protected from me J 

So guys enjoy the day  and girls best wishes … happy raksha bandhan …