Sicilian mafia ... and the godfather

                                       For starters  this post is not about  Sicily  and its mafia  nor  is it about the godfather .  Its  about  some  families  i have  witnessed  .  Dont  get  me  wrong these families  have  nothing to do with the mafia  .  But  they have  a  common feature  with  the  mafia  . 

                                                          Mafia  families  of Sicily  are  known for their  intense  bonding between their members  .  Though they are ruthless killers  and  operate in a terrifying manner  ,among themselves there is a bond so strong  that  one member  will  die for another one if there is a need  or for a common cause  .... And  there is  the  godfather  the one person who is looked  upon as the leader  and who is responsible for holding it together  ...
                                                          My  generation was  lucky (or unlucky?   )  to have  witnessed  the  disintegration of the joint family  system  and  the  formation of  the  current  nuclear family  . Many of us witnessed  the joint  family  system during  our early childhood days and  later  witnessed  nuclear family  .  This  is in sharp contrast to the  current  generation who has been born into the nuclear family   .  Nuclear family  has  many  advantages  in the  form of  the  greater  freedom there is for the  small family  from the  constraints and lack of privacy of the joint family  .  But the  price  for this freedom was  the  weaker  bonding  between these  nuclear family  units  .

 When we  were  very young  i  still remember  i used  to call  my moms  younger  sister  "Elamma "  the literal meaning  of  "younger mother "  .  Though  technically  an  "Aunt  "  the  relationship  was  truly  younger  mother  ...I  used  to be  so fond  of trainsets  that  i still  remember  she  gave  it to me  though  it was purchased  from gulf  for her  son  and in those days  people from dubai  came  only  once in two years  ....This  is  just  one of the  incidents to illustrate  the bond  ..At that  time  i was staying  in my  moms  family house  as  part of  a joint family  .  So whenever  i  think about the  nuclear vs joint  family  debate  i think of such incidents  .....

forward  to  my  late school  days  ..... im  at trivandrum  part of the  nuclear family   (my parents  and  my sister only  )  .  There is freedom  .  There  is  no one  to  disturb the  privacy  of my study time  and  play companions  are  replaced with neighbours kids  (not cousins  anymore  )  .  I  like  this  freedom  but  in my deeper  mind miss  the  deep bonding  which was  there  in the joint  family  .   So  is the  joint family  system dead  .....  for  the  most parts  yes ... it  is dead  ....But ..

                                                           But,..  this is were  i  admiringly  remember  the  modern day  godfathers  (in a positive  sense  only  )  .  Even in  this  nuclear  family  era  there  are  some  families  which  have  the  Godfather  and  the  Sicilian  bonding  .  Its not there  in all  families  but  wherever  it is  there  it  gives  great joy   because  though  nuclear  those  families belong  to the "brotherhood " of  the  network of  nuclear families  .  To  illustrate  my  grandfathers  younger  brother at trivandrum  when he  was  alive   was  a great  joining force  .  During  weekdays   we  had  the  nuclear family  with   its  privacy  and freedom  , but every weekend was a celebration  .   In the weekends he took the initiative  to  organise  family events  , family outings  in which  even the  most distant  relative  was invited  . I  used  to remember  him asking  questions  after  my exams  (not the  cursory  ones  from  an uncle  )  ,  used to encourage  me to  sing  songs  during family parties  and  encouraged me  to perform magic tricks  ... Not  only to me  he used to do similar things to  my  distant  relatives also  .   Thanks  to  him  ,  my  fathers  cousin  and  my  sister  or my  distant  second cousin  , felt the  same to me  ... There was no degrees  of separation  .... the  Sicilian mafia effect  .
He is no more  now  and  as expected  the "brotherhood  " is no more  .  No  .. we  still  love  each other  but  compared  to former  days  we are  now " relatives " ...

In  mumbai  also  while  i  was there  for  three  years  ,  there  was  another brotherhood  i witnessed  .  Another  family  with  a similar  godfather  who  used to take care  of his brothers  like  a  father takes care of his  sons  .  He  was  not my  direct family  but  one of my aunts was married into that family  .  Though they  all  were scattered  across the metropolis that is mumbai  where  time is scarcest resource  our  Godfather  here  ensured  that  at least  twice a  month  all  attend  the family  function  . The  occasion  ----nothing  ..  Just  meeting  and  having dinner  and feeling as part of the  brotherhood  .  Any  problem of  the  constituent  nuclear families  would be  taken care  of by  the Godfather  .  And  luckily  he  was  fond of me  too  and thus  though  not a blood relative  i was also part of their  " nuclear plus "  family  .

Nuclear families are  here to stay  ..... thats  for certain  . .But  i feel  just  like  an  antique gold  ornament which  has  a beauty  and value ,the  legacy  of  joint  family should  be retained in part  by  encouraging  the  Godfathers  to  continue  to be  the connecting  bond  between the  nuclear families  ...Or  is it  asking too  much  ...........in this modern age   .  Only  time will tell 

Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi ..........
Today when i opened the yahoo homepage  on the right  hand side there was a  political comparison of  Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi  ... Though there are stark political contrasts between the two men ,  there was a similarity  between them which both of them and  you  also   will agree  .  And  that similarity is shared by  Mr Tata , Lata Mangeshkar  ,  Asha Parekh  . Any guesses  ??
Ok final clue  --- it is shared  by  our  previous president APJ Abdul Kalam  ...

 Yes , they are all  unmarried  .... And  being  from the  medical field  at least i know  Mr Tata ,  Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Parekh has  non profit  hospitals  in their name doing service  to humanity  . This is in addition to  Tatas greatness in bringing  india to the world map  of  cars with Nano  ,  Lata Mangeshkar  for singing the greatest  romantic melodies and Asha Parekh  for being  a  great actor  of yesteryear   . 
                                                                        
                                     This introduction is because  time and again i  have  been asked  why  i am  unmarried  .  And after my "smile " for an answer  ---(  i  dont  discuss  my  personal  life  with  casual  acquaintances and distant relatives )  there  is  a  lecture  on  why  marriage  is  the  utmost necessity  ..  I  agree  that  marriage  is  a good thing  but  i  starkly disagree  with  some  points  given in the  lectures   .  Surprisingly   ,  the lectures  have  many common points  (  Did  they all  attend the same  school  :)  ) 
The  points are 

1 .  In  old  age  no one  will  take   care  of an unmarried  person  :    I  have  found  that  so many people  whom i know of  in their 60 s   live  alone  either  because  their spouse  is no  more  and  their children are  busy with their lives often in far away lands   .   .  And  i know  of some   old  people  who inspite  of having  children in the same district  are  hardly  visited  upon  .  And  some  of these  people  have  5  plus children  .  To  get  a fairer  view point  as  recent  as  three  days  ago  ,  myself  and  two friends  were  discussing  the relationship  of  parents  and  newage  kids  .  Both  of them  were telling  me  about  the  "I "  and " me "  culture  of recent times  which  they  have  observed and the  increasing  private  lives  kids  were  preferring  beyond  age  of  ten years  nowadays  .   .  And though  i  am not  at all  against marriage  i  think  this lecture   point  is totally  irrelevant  .Whether  you  will  be taken care  of in old age  depends  on  many  factors   .    One more  point  to  add  is  that  ,  if you  are  a nice human being  there are  greater  odds  that  you will  have a  pleasant old age  ---children or no children  .

2.  You  will  have  nothing to look  forward  to  ---life  will  be boring  ...Time  and  again  i have seen  many  people  who  are  "too  busy  "  to  have  a family  life  though  they are  married  . Again i  have  seen  some  people  who  dont  have  any  altruistic interests  .  Not only the great personalities listed above  , i  have seen  all  the  unmarried  people  i know  having  greater  interest  in social  wellbeing and uplift  . And  in doing so they  have  something  to look forward  to  .  

3.  Unmarried  people  have  major  commitment  issues  ... This  rewinds me  back  an year or two  when i used  to know  two  people  .  One  person  confided in  me  that  she  is  very unhappy  that  her  husband  is  repeatedly  getting  committed  to  colleagues  inspite  of being  "happily  " married  .   In  another case  it is  the  woman  who  is getting  "committed "  to  outside forces  .  My  point  is  ,  these are  not  isolated  siberian cranes .   

4  .   Companionship  ...........  I am  not  an  anti-marriage activist  and  this point i agree  . In  an ideal marriage  (  i have seen some  )  its  great  companionship .  But  to these lecturers  ,  i  show  them many  (yes  there  are  many  )  examples of  "happily  married  "  people who  are  actually  in it  for  to put  it bluntly  -- married because  they tied the knot .  Due  to  the stigma  of divorce  in indian society  and because  even nowadays  women put  up a lot  to preserve the marital  bond  --some  of these "marriages" survive  .. In  the  west  they  call  these  loveless  marriages  .   So  companionship  being an  ideal  goal  cannot  be included  in the  lecture  ... 

 5.  In our  religion  it  is  cumpulsory  ---hmm ...  the same religion  tells how a woman should be treated  .Is  it being followed ? .  And  the  finer  things  like  men can marry four  while  women only  one  ---  i cannot  logically  agree  . 
                                                                 On  a lighter  note  ,  all  married  people  were  in the  unmarried state  before,  so  should  not  force  bachelors  to marry by giving long lectures  with  partially  valid points .
And  regarding  myself  again :  I  am  in no  way  an anti-marriage proponent  but  against  the  hypocrisy  going  around  surrounding  many  marriages  and  the  boring  lectures  i get  . One  thing is sure  --whether  i get married or remain unmarried  i will  not   kill anyone  --- with  boring  lectures   .
please  comment  ...
regards
haroon

emperor of all maladies ......

Have  we ever paused for  a  second  and  thought about  the miracle that is our human  body  .  And another miracle that  inspite  of  millions of cell divisions going on in our body  it rarely  goes out  of control  and we are  continuing to live a healthy  life  .   And when it goes wrong  ,  that disease is dreaded and misunderstood that  the common reaction  is  not to talk about  it  .... 

Yes  that  disease  is the Emperor  of all maladies  -- cancer  .   It is  a  disease  which  has  been there from the time  of  ancient civilisation ,documented in mummies  and  in the earliest written history  . This disease doesnt discriminate  between rich and the poor ,young or old unlike  the lifestyle diseases  . Some  of the risk factors  like cigarette smoking are known  but there are  many unknown variables in the causation  .  Newer and newer therapies are being  developed some of which  are  remarkable in giving a cure for some cancers  .   And  thanks  to  a  doctor  named  Siddhartha Mukherjee  we have  a wonderful  book  now  called  "Emperor of  maladies  ---a  biography  of cancer  "   a  book  written in the style of a biography and reads like a novel  .  It  won the 2011 pulitzer  prize  and i read  it  last week   .  The writing style is brilliant  and anyone who is  interested  in science  of cancer and  the history  of cancer  and its treatments  from 5000 BC  to 2000s  AD  would like  it  . 

He starts  with  the  work  of  Sidney Farber  who  did  experiments  with chemotherapy  in the early 1950s and  the  childhood  leukemia  which had 100  percent fatality  then  .... The author   tells about  the  many  defeats and the triumphs  in the field of  chemotherapy  ,  radiotheraphy  ,  cancer surgery  . He  goes  back  in time  to    when  a  persian queen   Atossa  was diagnosed with  breast cancer  and  orders  her  slave to  excise it  .  And  he  later  in the book  describes what would have been her  fate  if she would have been there in 1900 s 2000 s  etc  taking the reader along  to show  what progress there has been in cancer therapy  over the ages  .  Though  being a doctor  myself  i  was filled with awe  reading the  book  about  the  toil  the  physician researchers  of yesteryear  undertook in discovering  each  new  thing about cancer and newer treatments  . 

                          Over  the  years  ,   i have  also seen  some  of the  people i know  succumb  to this  disease  .  But  each  time  though  the  disease  won  ultimately physically,   i saw  the  undying  human spirit  emerging each  time  it struck  someone  .  For  ,  my  grandmother  who asked  with a slight smile  why  she  was having  increasing difficulty  in swallowing  while knowing the answer herself  that  she had  stage 4  cancer  .   Still  she used  to take her  walks  everyday  at  age  of  88  albeit  taking  5 minutes  to walk  those  50  metres  . 
And  my cousins  cousin  who used to  greet  us with  a  smile  when  she  had  leukemia  at the  age  of  11  .  She  died  ultimately  in an  year  but  whenever  i  think about her  i remember  her  greeting smile  and  "she  " asking  how  we were doing  .   This disease  gave  her  a maturity at that age  which  many  of us  dont have even at  adulthood  ... 

And  then  6 months  ago  my uncles brother  in mumbai  who died of cancer  who  grabbed the  report  of his ct scan from me  and  read  the  diagnosis of  cancer spread  throughout  his  body  .  And  he  told  me 
"  So  the outlook  is bleak  " as  casually  as  you would  read  a report   .and  i was speechless but  he didnt want an answer  ....  The way  all  of these  people   battled  cancer  ,  gave  me   faith  in the  human  spirit  which  is  one of the  strongest  things in the world   .... 

                         Last  but  not the  least  ,  i  find  it  sad  that  this  is one  of the  diseases  which  is  the most lucrative  for  alternate  treatments  .  For  promising  instant  cure  it  is  very common  for the  victims family  to take him  to  all  the alternate  treatments  ,proven or not  ,  spending his already stretched  finances  and ultimately  not  getting  cured  .  Even worse  some  of  them  stop  the treatments  which are  already working midway  due  to  "sideeffects  "   .   My  point is  is there anything  in life  without  sideeffects  . But  in cancer  also most people  i have  come across  have  this  black  and white thinking  ---either  miracle cure   or   hopeless  to the  core   ......  while the  truth  lies  midway  just  as  like all other things in life 

Another  point  is  time  and  again  i have  heard  people  ridiculing  cancer specialists  that  "  the doctor  told  mr. X  has 6  months  to live  "  and see  this guy  is  flying  to  bali   six years later  .   The  innuendo  is  the  trained  specialist is plain stupid  .Here  too  books  like  "Emperor  of maladies  --biography of cancer  "  gives  answers  .  No  doctor can predict  or  will  say  Mr X  has  6 months  to live   .... for  no one  can predict  whether  you or   me  will  see  the  next day  or not  .  There are  no  guarantees  in life      The  "6 months   "  thing is about  prognosis  . There  are  certain cancers  like  malignant  brain tumour  and  pancreatic cancer  which  even with the  best treatment  has  the  odds  against  you  .  Doesnt mean the patient will  die  in 6 months but there is a high probability  that the treatment is unsuccessful compared  to some cancers  like  acute  lymphatic leukemia  which have almost  100 percent cure  rate  . 

Todays  blog  of mine  is a tribute  to  the  cancer   victims  i  have  seen  and  their remarkable courage  which has inspired  me  in  my life  . Meanwhile those  who  have the patience  to read  the  book  do it  and  please tell me  whether  you liked  it  ... 

film stars in real life ---Seema to Mammootty

Have  you ever  thought  why  we  ,yes,  you and me included  admire  filmstars  .  Now dont tell me  no  ...  There  are many  reasons  for  one  they  are famous  .  Even  the  most  bankrupt filmstar  is famous or had been famous  and  whether we like  it or not  human beings  like to be famous  .. and another  is  they are  rich  .. But  most  importantly  we  often identify  with  their  characters  and vicariously  we  admire them  for  living those characters through their  onscreen persona  . ...
                            An ardent  lover  of malayalam and  hollywood  movies i cherish  some moments  when  i have seen some  of  the  filmstars  in real  life   ..... For  those  malayalees who  have seen  sreenivasan  in the film  nadodikkattu  where  he  is stunned when filmstar  Seema  opens  the door  where  he tells  her  that  he has  seen her  film  10  times and then asks where is "Sasiettan"    the following  account may ring  a bell  .

  i  too  was  a  mini  sreenivasan  during  a  recent flight  were  we were  co passengers  .  Only difference   i didnt ask her  anything  but  just  looked  at her  and  remembered  the times  when  she was  the  heartthrob  of the youngsters in kerala in the 1980s  .   I still  remember  the  poster  of  "Angadi  ---the market  "  in which she was the heroine  in our  small  town  perumbavoor  in kerala  .  I was  a  schoolboy    then  . ..  My mind  raced  through  the characters  she  played  including  the  film avalude raavugal  which  i appreciated more for its  plot  and theme  and her acting  ....  Then  the  multiple films where she starred  opposite  my childhood  hero Jayan  ...who was the first action hero of  malayalam movie  ... and no action movie  is complete without the  beautiful heroine  .. hero needs  someone to save  from the  villain  ..

                                                                             Then  there  was  Jayabharathi  whom i  saw  in real  life before  i saw her  movies  ... She  happens to be  a  distant  relative  of  mine .  That  happened  when  i visited  trivandrum  in kerala when i  was  6  years old  .  One day my  aunt took  me to a  film shooting venue  not to  see the shooting  but to see her sister in law  who  was  an accomplished actress  in that  time  . At that  age  i  just gave a casual glance at her as i was more interested  in the spears , swords and the film  set  ...  She was acting  in a  movie  which  involved  kings and queens  ....  Later  i remembered  a  bewildered  me and  my sister  seeing  our family house  courtyard  flooded  with  admirers  when she visited  our  perumbavoor house  many  years later  ....She  was one  of  the  actresses  who has starred  opposite  the  evergreen malayalam  actor  prem nazir  who has the  world record  of  acting  with  maximum number of heroines  (80   lucky man  )   ..jayabharathi included

                                                                   A  few  years  back  i  went  to  visit   a leading hospital  in mumbai as  part of my  official work   which caters exclusively to VIPs..   There  the whos who  of the industrialists of india  come regularly  and  no one gives any  particular  notice  ....  But  one day  on my visit  there  i  saw  many people  standing with  folded hands while  a  person was  coming  in a wheelchair  ..  I  was  thinking  who  this  VVIP was  who  got  the  respect  where big industrialists are like ordinary folk . My  eyes found the answer  in  ...  Chaahe  mujhe  janglee kahe  .....  Yahooo......... Yes the great  Shammi  Kapoor  whom  i used  to  see everytime  dad  switches on TV in doordarshan  where  the heroine used  to run around  the  tree  with our hero  doing  all the antics  and runninga round too  ....  He  was in his  70 s  to  80 s  ...... with  a beard  .... age had  taken a toll  but still  the  pleasant face  inspite  of his  illness  ...

Last  but  not the  least  Mammootty  i  met  during a  new  year  when we i was studying  for predegree  in trivandrum  .  My  friends and myself were in the  rooftop  and  towards 11 pm  people told  that  mammootty  was staying in the hotel  and  was coming in  after  some  program outside along with some actors like lalu alex  .   ... We  went down  we  seven  of us  ... and being  new year  and  pack  courage  (are we wolves  ??)   we wished  all the  film actors  happy new year  by shaking hands  ...  All  the  actors shook   hands  and we chatted with them  and  lalu alex even  told us  he  had felt bad  during  a period when he had no films  ...  Then  suddenly  mammootty arrived  ..  megastar  of malayalam  movie.  He  kept walking  with  folded hands  and we as a group  went with  open hands  to shake  his hands  ...  But  superstar  wont  give shakehand  .. he smiled   ....however  .. suddenly  one  of  our  alpha males  (remember we were  wolf pack  )  told in  a  loud  voice  ...  Oru  superstar  okke alle  ... Onnu  kai  koduthu koode   ..  ((  mallu style  ... ,meaning  ...  You are  a   superstar  why  dont  u  give us  a  shakehand  )    .   I  expected  an angry  mammootty  ..  But  he  replied  why not  and  gave  us all  a  shakehand   ....  What  if  he  became  angry  that  day  ? Would  he  have  become  one of the  characters  in the  movies  and  killed all of us  ??   Impossible,  for  no actor  can kill  a fan  ...  me  included  ...

introduction to radiological devices ultrasound

                                                                 In  the  19 th century   many women  died during childbirth  .  There were many causes for these deaths but  doctors often had no instrument to diagnose the cause .   Some of the causes like  abnormal position of the baby , abnormal position of placenta  etc  produced deadly complications during delivery.  But  ,because they were not diagnosed early often treatment was delayed and many pregnant women died  due to uterus  rupture( due to abnormal baby position  )or severe bleeding (due to abnormal placental position)      A remarkable  invention helps us nowadays  to diagnose these problems   months before the actual time  of birth thereby  preventing complications .  What is more the same device can even  predict the date of  birth with some degree of accuracy .  We often hear  pregnant women telling other people about their “due date “  . This due date is also calculated by the images produced by this great invention .

This  remarkable instrument is called an ultrasound machine  . As  the name implies it works by ultra –sound  . Using sound  frequencies above the audible range of 20000 hertz  ultrasound is produced  by the  machine .These  sound waves  travel inside the body and get reflected from  the  organs inside our body.  In  the case of pregnancy, sound waves are reflected by the  baby inside the  mothers uterus

The ultrasound probe is the part of the ultrasound machine which contains most important part of the machine .  It contains crystal made of quartz which works on the principle of pressure electricity or piezoelectric effect  . When a small current is applied on this quartz crystal it undergoes a rapid change of shape . This rapid change or vibrations produce high frequency ultrasound waves They are transmitted into the body . Different body organs reflect these waves back into the ultrasound probe.  These reflected waves produce mild electric current in the crystal . This minimal electric current is amplified and processed by the computer inside the ultrasound machine  .This processed signals are displayed as an image or   picture  in a display like a television screen   producing an ultrasound image  .

  Ultrasound image  is very useful  to  find pregnancy complications  . Not only is it used to study pregnant women it is used to study  the  inside of the abdomen  to find  diseases of liver ,gall bladder ,appendix etc  .It is also used for fast screening of abdominal injury in road traffic accident victims by emergency trauma care teams .  Nowadays we have ultrasound machines of all sizes from the pocket sized portable  ultrasound to  machines which have  different frequency probes to study different parts of the body . The advantage of ultrasound over other imaging modalities like CT scan and MRI scan is it is cheaper , easily available and portable.  3D ultrasound is relatively new where the images produced are more lifelike due to their 3 Dimensional nature They are useful to see the face of an unborn baby . Imagine the joy when a pregnant mother sees her unborn childs face on the computer screen .  .

. The world of oceanography has a similar machine called sonar .The advantage  of ultrasound  is that it does not produce harmful radiation  . Also ,  ultrasound waves are used by bats to locate their prey even in total darkness.

                                                Cardiologists  or the doctors who treat  heart diseases  use a type  of ultrasound called cardiac ultrasound or  echocardiography  . Here  sound waves  are  used  like  ultrasound  but  the  frequency shift  of the  reflected  beam is used to find the  velocity  of  moving structures  like blood  moving in the heart or valve motion in the heart  .  These  frequency  shifts can  be colour coded and  valve  problems like narrowing or leaks in heart valves can be accurately seen .

The  frequency shift  or Doppler  effect  is also  used  in doppler  ultrasonography  to study  all the arteries and veins  in the body  .This helps us to know the blockages within artery  and veins .Unlike the public municipal drainage system we cannot cut open the body  whenever  a block is suspected . By using  Doppler ultrasound without cutting open we can diagnose the  blockage of artery and veins  .

In short  this remarkable machine  helps us in seeing the inside of body  and helps doctors in diagnosing a lot of diseases before they can cause harm  .  

introduction to radiological devices Xray

                                                                                                        Diseases are as old as

 mankind  .   As long as man existed there was disease , injury and  man thought  they were due to curse from the gods  .  But as  humans progressed  he realized that  disease is caused due  to various  changes occurring in the human body .  The work of  Andreas Vesalius  helped to understand the normal structure of the body  and  later  the  abnormal changes occurring in the body were described  . These changes could be seen only after the  person is dead  due to the disease or when the  person is cut open  to treat the disease .But  waiting to diagnose  whether a  person has a fracture of the skull , if we have to wait till the person is dead  what is the use of diagnosis and treatment  .  So the treatments in 19 th century  was like the  hunter who shoots  with eyes blindfolded at a charging tiger  .  Sometimes the disease gets cured but often  the disease got worse by the wrong treatment  .                                                                                In  1895  ,   a man was doing some experiments with a Crookes  tube  .He  bombarded a  tungsten target with  high voltage electrons   .  He discovered that some invisible rays were coming from that tube which  penetrates  substances  and cause a  fluorescence on photographic plate kept at a distance  .

He  kept  his  wifes  hand  with  her wedding ring  between the  tube and the photographic plate and to his amazement  saw  the  bones  inside  her hand   on the photographic plate with the wedding ring  .  This  was the first time the inside of the body was seen without cutting open with a knife  .  He called these  rays  coming from the Crookes  tube as X rays  as X stood for unknown rays  .   This  is  the  famous Xray which we are using even now in modern medicine after more than 100 years and the man was Wilhelm Rontgen a German scientist   .  Soon  it was found  that  Xrays was useful to diagnose the breaks in bones called fractures  .  It was  useful to  find lung diseases like pneumonia  . Though it was the first radiologic investigation invented  ,  it is still the most common investigation done in the world  . Xray of the  chest is the most common investigation in the world and it is possible that the  reader  might have  got a  xray for cough or  an injury after an accident  .  As  the  years  advanced Xray machines became more sophisticated . We now have  Xrays which are  mobile which can go to the bedside of the patient and take Xrays , we  have  dental Xrays for teeth  to check whether they have tooth infection  . There  are  digital Xrays nowadays where the  process is Computerized  . The  Xray  coming out of the machine  is  still similar to the Roentgen’s Xrays but the  amount  of  Xrays  can be  regulated automatically by using computer control . This results  in highest quality of the Xray pictures(called a Radiograph)  while using  the minimum amount of radiation  . 

                                                                 Still  people could not see  the inside of intestine , the bronchus , or  the kidneys  using Xrays  as only  bones could stop the Xray beam and produce a picture  . Scientists discovered that substances like barium sulfate could be used  to  see  the inside of intestines  . This  was because  when swallowed  the barium coats the  intestine and when xray pass through the body the outline of barium  shows the outline of intestine  .  This technique helped in diagnosing various diseases of stomach and intestine  like  cancer  , ulcer  etc  These studies were called barium studies ..   Similarly it was discovered  that  injection of iodine contained dye was excreted by the kidneys  and  iodine being dense  could be shown by passing xrays . This technique was called  IVP or intravenous pyelography  .  

Amitabh Bhachan , Kishore Kumar and Juhu beach

First a self confession , though my job involves  travelling all over india  and  i make it a point to  visit  at least some place of historical interest  in the last four years  i was shocked to find  that  i  hadnt  visited the famous JUHU  beach of  mumbai  in this filmi  capital  of india  .  This  i realised when my cousin landed up in mumbai and i  wanted to take him some place in mumbai  ...And Juhu beach was paradoxically closest to the place i stayed during my recent visit .

Juhu beach  is  in the western suburb of mumbai  and the word suburb  is an understatement . Its one of the poshest areas of mumbai  and the per square feet rate  is approximately 30000 per square feet  for  land  while kochi  gods own country  financial capital  is  just  5000 per square feet  .Many  film actors  stay  in Juhu   including Amitabh bhachan , Ajay devgan  ,Deols  ... And for  me   walking  along this beach takes me back in time  when  one of my favourite singers Kishore  Kumar stayed  near  this beach .  And  this  same beach must have  been the backdrop  of  so many offscreen romances  of  my favourite  film stars  of yesteryear  whether  they stayed  near  this beach  or not  ....

So  there  i  was  getting  out  of an autorickshaw  on the juhu beach with my cousins  .  The beach  is  crowded but  considering the  population of mumbai  it was really  as i  put it " pleasantly crowded " with enough people to give  the  atmosphere of  a lively beach while not too crowded  to suffocate  you  .  My mumbaikker  cousin  a  foodie himself  wanted  me  to try  the chaats and  golas available  in Juhu beach  ....
I was of the impression that  beach chaats will  be  unhygenic  to  the core  but  to my surprise  i found  around 50 neatly arranged shops  quite clean  selling  chaats ,  different varieties of golas  etc .  By the way  this gola  is a sort  of ice stick made of crushed ice and  has a dipping of  various flavours . The  one we tried involved condensed milk  ...yummy .  (having  beach food  however  is  of course under  anyones personal  risk taking  appetite  .. only  this place is cleaner  .. the risk  remains  ...  )  Chaats looked very  inviting but since we had  a dinner  appointment  skipped the chaat part  ...  The  area  has  bollywood  music  coming  from  speakers and songs  from BODYGUARD film was  on it  ..  Is  Salman Khan  around  ??  Possible  as it is  mumbai  ..Service is excellent  .. Have  you ever got  refill  of  a  thing like condensed milk  when  your  initial dippings are over  . Even  five star  hotels will charge you  but  this is  Mumbai  service  at  the best  ...........

We  started walking  along the beach  and we passed along  interesting  sights  including  stuntmen  practising  somersaults on the beach  . For in mumbai  , film  is  a  vocation .  And  of course  ,  the  people  from different parts of india  speaking  in all the different languages  .  The beach  especially the  northern part  stretches  behind  five star hotels like  JW Marriot  and  Juhu Centaur  . Juhu  Centaur  is  a beautiful hotel which is shaped like a ship  . Then  there is  the  arabian sea  and  you can see the  ships  lights  as  mumbai  port is  nearby  .  The  sky  shows  the  india  shining  story  with  every  2 minutes showing jetairways  , kingfisher  ,indigo   flights  clearly  as  the  airport  is near  the beach   ...

We  walked  for  around  one hour  on the beach  ,  me  again going  back  in time  when  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi   yes  Mahatma Gandhi  was  staying  near  Juhu Beach  when he was practising as  a lawyer  in  Bombay  High Court  .

And  back  again  to Kishore  Kumar  .......Tande  hava  yeh  chandni  suhaani  .............yeh mere dil  ..............and  i  walk  on  .... promising to come again  .............Juhu  is addictive.........  

japanese food in chennai

                                                      Have you ever thought why  the japanese have the longest lifespans and have a cancer rate less than most other people .  At  least according to the sushi chef  from Japan  its because  they eat sushi  ......

I saw  a  program in TV on japanese cooking and from then on i  wanted to taste  it  .In kerala we have  no japanese restaurants  so  the next closest places other than Japan is  Chennai and Bangalore  .  Since we had a  meeting  at chennai  yesterday  ,  i  could  visit  the Japanese Restaurant Teppanyaki at  TTK  road  in chennai  .  Btw  : (鉄板焼き, teppan-yaki^?) is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food )

My  cousins  who  had  already tasted japanese  food on their abroad trips and the rookie thats me  went to  this  restaurant  in Chennai.  I had  read in the internet  that  though  this style of japanese food involves some cooking  they  also serve  the "SUSHI"  and "SASHIMI "  which is essentially  Raw food .  Vegeterians dont read further  .... Sashimi is essentially  raw  fish or meat  which is procured and  handled in such a way that  it is  fresh  .  And paradoxically  fresh  fish  especially salmon ,tuna , squid  etc  are  tasty and even a delicacy  .  Of  course  you can totally  disagree with me  ..... but  the entire  country  of japan is behind  me with their samurai swords .   And  believe it or not  , Sushi and Japanese food  is  one of the popular cuisines in the world   .  If  you  are planning to try japanese food , for  a moment you should  not  go with the preconveived notion that fresh fish stinks or its not tasty  etc etc  .....  The restaurant  Teppanyaki  in Chennai  was at TTK  road  (dont ask  me  where it is  .... my  cousins drove me there....i  too  google  it  ) .

It  had an upmarket feel  ,  nice parking spaces and  a  cute  restaurant  in two floors  the  bottom serves  thai cuisine  and the upper floor serves japanese cuisine  . We were escorted  by  a  man in a black  dress (?  Ninja  )   to a  table where two  japanese people were having food  .  The tables centre was occupied by  a  large  frying pan  about  4  feet  x  3 feet  with a  japanese chef  on one side .  I examined the weapons at my disposal  the chopsticks  neatly laid in a small  marble piece .Soon  they started ordering  ,  no  complications there  as  i  wanted the famous SUSHI  .  And assorted sushi  means there is no confusion  .  An assorted SASHIMI was also ordered . As i explained earlier Sashimi is raw fish  delicately cut  in small pieces which is served with tender ginger  , wasabi  and soy sauce  .  Sushi is raw  fish but here it contains vinegared rice and tenderly packed .  The  dishes arrived in around  twenty minutes  .  It  was beautifully garnished  as i was wondering  whether some of the sashimi  (? salmon sashimi )  was part of the garnishing as it was presented beautifully  . It seems they have  a  special set of knives for preparing sashimi  .....

I wanted  to  enter carefully just like a  non swimmer  enter  the water through shallow side . My shallow water was prawn sashimi  as i knew prawn will never taste  bad  with my cooking experience  earlier (fresh prawns  i used to eat while preparing  prawns nariyalwala in the guise of tasting  the dish  a few months ago )  .But  to my  shock i found  its already finished  by  my experienced cousin who was adept  in the art of using chopsticks  .  Ok  so  what to do  Sushi  is  waiting and  except prawn all sashimi is there  and  i  started with sushi  ... I thought the vinegared rice will save me if fish didnt taste good . But it was fantastic  .... Who told  chopsticks should be  used with one hand ...., Its  survival of the fittest and  once i tasted  the  tasty sushi  .. I had one piece each of  salmon ,tuna and red snapper sashimi  .... Excellent    .....No taste  of "  Raw  fish  "   .  Its  raw  but  not slimy,  no smell  .....  and the combination  of  wasabi ,soya  is  killing  ....(killing means excellent)  .  Anyways with chopsticks used  as i like it  (kerala style  )  there was no problem in eating  sashimi  ....

I  forgot  to tell about Mr. June  (not the  month  ,but  our  great  japanese  chef  who was  making japanese  omlette,  fried rice japanese style etc  for us  ).  He  started with  some throwing  tricks  in which he threw each egg and it exactly landed on his cap and another one in the edge of his  spoon etc  ...It was fun watching  him make the fried rice  and  tender  loin  ....a  steak  which he  sliced  and  fried it  in Teppenyaki style  . Added a few sauces  and it was  very delicious  .  Fried rice was not spicy  compared to the typical indian chinese  ...Mr.June  further entertained us with his card tricks  and according to him he can calculate how much  ones wife  loves  you   ...

Last  but  not the  least   .....the  price  .....  Japanese food  in india  is expensive  .  The  total bill  for   four people   came to rs 4600  .  And still  our stomachs were only  half full  .....  No  wonder  the japanese live long  ......

P.S :  Japanese food  is generally  more expensive  than other  cuisine  but more so in india  ...But  i  feel  its a different experience  from the  usual  spiced  up , overcooked food  we  have usually  .....Anybody wants company  to eat japanese  food  in chennai , mumbai or bangalore  ....  im  game .....In mumbai  its  at Shiro  , near  hardrock cafe  ,  Worli ,Mumbai  and  Bangalore  at  Edo  .....

Disclaimer  :  There  is  a  risk of fish  parasites  in improperly  prepared  sushi  as well  as  mercury poisoning  in some  sashimi  ....  so consumption is  at own risk  ....