kentucky fried chicken and tender coconut

I  am  on a dieting spree these days . Dont  get  me wrong i still love food eat all  the different food and am a registered foodie . Only  thing is  i have started  checking the calorie content  on whatever i eat and started obsessively checking my weight  .  How do you start  loosing weight by checking calorie content  and checking weight  ?   Before  you start to make fun of this calorie checker  pls consider this  . 

Recently  i  brought a  packet  of  pure ghee  made  soan papdi  from bareilly  .  Usually  we all eat  till  it gets over . This time to tell the truth  it was the most tasty soan papdi i have ever eaten (much   better than haldirams ).  But  this  time  i  checked the  cover  for any calorie information  .  It was clearly mentioned in the cover  --- 2500  calories  .  If  a single person eats it an entire days calorie is contained in it  and all the rest of the days food will go as fat  accumualation in the body  . And being a dieter  i am supposed to decrease  my calorie intake  .  So  what  did i do  ... I  didnt eat  the  soan papdi  in one go  .  I  took my share  and ate  it  over  two days  .  Best of both worlds ... i  ate the  tasty  soan papdi while my  calorie  intake from this was  2500 divided by 4  again divided by  2 .

Now coming  to the heading  Kentucky fried chicken and tender coconut  . During my younger days  (read  1 year  ago  )  me  and  my friend  used  to  finish  a  bucket  of  kentucky fried chicken  easily  .  Nowadays  i  eat  KFC  once in ten days and that  too  2  pieces  .  And  i eat  a  variety of foods ranging from soan papdi  to tender coconut to salads all in reasonable quantities  . And  paradoxically i  found out that  most of our  indian foods  taste  better and are  more healthy  calorie wise(except sweets  ) than the italiano pizzahut , americano KFC  etc  (please  check  on the  net  calorie  of  the popular fast  foods  ).  I  am not against  any of  those food  . They are all nice  but  the  point is  they are  overhyped  by  the  marketing gurus  so much  that  we indians  have started  following the  americas  in  the obesity  charts  .  The incidence  of obesity  is much greater  in america to a large extent due to  overconsumption of fast food  .  Denmark recently became the first country  to tax  food which contains excess of saturated fats  .  I  think  india  should follow suit  and also  our country should  promote  the  great  indian cuisine  (not the heavy  ghee variety  )  as  popular  "slow "  food chains  so that  more  people  start  eating  the  "slow  indian  food "  in style  .  In that  way  we  will lead  healthier  lives  .  Personally  i think  fast food is like going  fast  in a car  . An occasional  speed  is  interesting  while if  we always travel  in high speed the  result  is disastrous  healthwise , Unless one is  Michael Schumacher ...

P.S  :   I lost  4  kg  so far  by  this calorie watch and cutting  calories  .  Got to add mild exercise from this week  .  Wish  me luck  

visiting britain to see a cows remains

My  aunt  tells me  everytime  i see  her  that  i  should  visit  a foreign country  every year  . Basically she  is  very fond  of travelling  and  like many people  has  visiting  foreign countries among  the  top  to do  things  in life  .  Though  i  have  to travel  extensively  in india  due  to my nature of work  and has visited  Germany , Kuwait and Sri Lanka as foreign travel  after  much  introspection  i realised  travelling abroad is  not one of the top  things i  wish  to  do  . I enjoy my books  my  movies  and my food compared to foreign travel . Not to be  misunderstood,  its not one of my  top priority thats  all  . Frankly  i get  more thrill out  of seeing a  great  movie  compared  with  visiting  the bmw museum  for instance  .  (i have done both  however  )
                                                              Today while i was reading from an autobiography of  a famous scientist  , i read that she had visited St Georges hospital london  during her research and mentioned about the hide of a cow called Blossom  framed in their library  . Suddenly visiting  london has become in one of my priority list  . Not that i suddenly  was  highly  interested  in seeing the thames  but  i was  interested in visiting  St Georges  hospital  ,London . The cow Blossom is one of the reasons  many  of us  are  still  alive  and not afflicted  by the  terrible disease  called small pox  who  killed  countless  people till its vaccine was discovered by Dr Jenner  . And  our Blossom  the cow  was  the  one  in which  he experimented to  develop  the vaccine  .  Just like a devout  religious  go  to their place of worship  many  thousand kilometres away  i  wish to visit  london  to  visit  many  hospitals like St.Georges Hospital  established in 1733 which  carry history . This same hospital had doctors like John Hunter who  is the father of modern surgery  and  Dr Gray  who  first  published  the  greatest  book on human anatomy  called Grays Anatomy  which remains the bible of human anatomy even to this day  .And he published this great book of 750 pages while  he was  just  31  years  old  .  This book  has  to  be seen to be believed  as  it is so  exhaustive  that  even the smallest nerve or blood vessel is shown named and described  .  i  cannot  remain but in  awe  at  the  painstaking research  Dr Gray  did  for his book  or the meticulous experiments  Dr Jenner  did  in eradicating smallpox  .

And  like  a pilgrim  i  have decided  i would  visit  Britain  at  least  to  see St Georges Hospital  .And yes  the  Tower  of  London,  the Thames  etc i  will  definitely  see  and enjoy but  my reason will  remain  to  see  the cows  remains  : of Blossom  who  remains there  as  a relic  of  mans  fight  against  disease  and the  great  doctors  who  did  research and  enabled us to lead  healthier  lives  .

spicy food and spicy movies

                                                       The 1980-1990 period is called the golden age  of malayalam movies  .  That  period  gave great movies  with  great  storyline  ,  great acting  and  great direction .  Though  i like  many movies  of that period  i like  some  for their  strong themes  and  great acting  .  Here is a list  of some of them  .  For my non malayali  friends please get  these movies  with english subtitles  and see  them  .  (Only precondition is  that  your movie taste should be like  me  :  i  like them very  spicy  with strong themes  )  .  I  also  like comedy  movies  but  they  are  like  sweets /dessert  to  me  .  The main food  is  equally or more  important  . So  this  list is about the  main course  the  spicy  food  i.e  movies with strong  plot  .

1.  Koodevide  : (English: Where's the Nest?) is a 1983 Malayalam drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Suhasini, Mammootty and Rahman :  This  movie  tells  about  how  an unruly  son  of a  politician  who is  spoilt  who is  brought  back  into  mainstream life  by the  affection  of  his teacher  in an Ooty  boarding school  .  So realistic  Suhasinis and Rahmans  acting  is  classic  and  the film  shows how step by step  the  boy Rahmans trust is won by  the teacher  .  Mammootty  though  a big  hero  even at that time  has a  much smaller  role  as the jealous fiance  of  Suhasini .  The  film  affirms  that  through  love and affection  most people can be  made better  .  The  pictuersque  Ooty with its  misty  mountains  and the  tinge  of  romantic love  between Rahman  and  his girlfriend  all  add  flavour to this great movie  . 

2  .  Kireedam  :  (the crown )  :  One  of  Mohanlals  and  Thilakans classic movie  the story  revolves  around  a  young  man  Mohanlal  who is  selected  for police Subinspectors  post  .  His father  Thilakan is a  constable  in police  and  dreams like  any  father  of  his  son  becoming  a  police officer  . But  by  a cruel twist of fate  his son gets  involved  in  murder  and  the  movie  shows the circumstances  under which this happens  .  The  father -son and mother -son relationship  is shown  with  its  full  character  under  these trying circumstances  . 

3. Iniyengilum  :  With  the  frequent  world travel these  days  and globalisation this movie  may  not be  a  big  hit  if it would  have been released  now  .  But  when it was released  in 1983  it was a big hit  because  it  showed  the  stark  contrast  between  the  life  in japan  and life  in kerala . What  the  movie  showed  was a group of  young  men and women travelling to japan  and  finding  the  civic  sense  and  hardworking  nature  of  japanese  people  influencing  how  they  attained  developed country status  inspite  of the  severe loss  after  world war 2  .  At the same time in that period  kerala was  having  lot  of  strikes  and  politics  was  severely  hampering progress  .   The  movie  had megastars  like mammootty  and mohanlal  but the beauty  of the plot and direction  was  such that  they  were  just  stars  in that movie 

4 Desatanakkili Karayarilla (English: The Migratory Bird Never Cries) is a 1986 Malayalam film written and directed by Padmarajan. It stars Karthika, Shaari, Mohanlal and Urvasi in pivotal roles.  This was one of the first  indian movies which  showed strong girl-girl relationship  in mainstream cinema  .  The story  revolves around two schoolgirls who elope  during a schooltrip  as revenge against  their  teacher  .  Karthikas and Shaaris  acting is  superb  .  It  is  not the beauty  but the acting skill  which is more  important  for  a  film actress . Both these actresses with average looks  have  given life  to so many  strong characters in malayalam movies 

5. Nakhakshathangal  (the wounds with the nails )  :   is a 1986 Malayalam film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Monisha, Vineeth and Saleena. The lead actress, Monisha, won the distinguished National Film Award for Best Actress for her role, that made her the first actress to get a National Award for her debut film and the youngest actress to achieve the feat  .  The story is about triangular love which is a  theme in many movies but  here  the innocence of the characters  and the subtle human characters like respect towards mentor , gratitude etc and their interplay with this romance adds a different dimension to this movie  .  And one of the characters being deaf and dumb adds further  spice to the movie  .  The  music scores were and still are a great hit after all these years  . 

to be continued..........
a word of caution once again : many  of these movies are tragedies  so  please do not watch  if you dont  like  tragedies . I dont  like tragedies much  but  the plot and acting make up  for  it  and end is as natural as the plot  .  And just as in life , running around trees do not make a good movie  (personal opinion  )  .

lady with the lamp

Which is the most noble profession in the world  ?  Is it a doctors job ?  Or is it a teachers  job ?    Though these  will come  to mind  when we think about the  noble professions,  one of the  most noble professions in the world is nursing  .  Not  only  it  is  a job  where  you do good  to the  sick and suffering  it is more noble  than a doctors or  teachers  job  because  nurses  work under  more stressful conditions .
                                                           Think about the following  scenario . A patient  is admitted with  severe   burns  in the body  .  The  doctor  sees  it  ,  prescribes  the  medication  and  then comes  into the scene again when the patient complains  of further pain or during the  next "rounds  "  .  But  the nurse  who is given the  instructions  is with the  patient  in the same ward seeing the  suffering  and  applying medication or consoling  him/her  .  And at least  in many parts  of india they  are  grossly underpaid considering the  important work they do . 
                                      In addition to all  this  a relatively  new phenomenon i  have observed  is  some  patients  who  misbehave  with them by  verbally  abusing  them .  Also  though  they  do  a great job  the  public  and  many ( not all)  doctors  consider  them  as  supporting  actors  in the  medical team  .  This is unfortunate as unlike in the movies  these supporting actors have a critical role  in the recovery of the  patient  .  Just think what would happen if the nurse  doesnt give  the  lifesaving injections at the  correct interval or dont monitor the bloodpressure after a heart attack  ? 

Modern medicine and nursing has progressed so much since the days of Florence nightingale who  tended to the wounded during the Crimean war .  Nowadays there are  specialities like critical care nursing etc where their  role  is  of great importance  .  But are we  giving the importance  which they deserve  ? 

Today  i was very saddened to know the demise  of a nurse in her twenties who  apparently  committed suicide due to  work pressure  in mumbai . Allegedly   the  authorities  had  kept  her  certificates  and was pressurising her  .  In addition to her stressful job this was too much for her and at  the  tender  age of 22 she  apparently took her  life  .  As of the time of this writing many of nurses in mumbai are on strike and some of their  demands are  so basic  like  the authorities should not  hold their certificates , give them experience certificate  for work done etc  . Apparently  the ladies with the lamp  are denied certificates of experience if  they dont complete minimum 2 years of work  .and their basic  qualification certificates are kept  with the administration (like bail  )

                                                                 It  is high  time  that  we take  care  of  this section of the  medical profession , for when anyone is admitted  in a hospital it is  their smile ,kindness and treatment  which  gives the patient  hope and ultimately recovery .  Or at the very least  let  us not mistreat them so bad that  some  of them end their  lives prematurely

Dr Haroon H Marikar

encounter with mans best friend

There are  more people who die of dog bites in the united states than killed by sharks  . If  in doubt  refer  http://www.google.com/. Yes  dogs can be  dangerous  in certain circumstances  and of course large dog breeds like rottweiler and mastiffs can kill  .  But wait a minute , i titled my blog encounters with  mans "best friend " .  Yes ,  i did it deliberately because  among animals dog is indeed mans best friend .  Even cat lovers would agree that there are few animals which reciprocate and demonstrate their affection unconditionally like a dog .

When i was in mumbai  i  visited an old friend of mine .  A  visit including  delicious lunch ,  meeting few of their friends , reminiscing the past etc etc which were enjoyable  . Then after all the guests had left and only  they were  in the house they asked me whether i liked dogs . Though most of my family hated dogs  i liked dogs  .  I told them so  and asked them  why  . It seems they had three dogs in their large duplex flat and the dogs  were in a room  as the guests were there for lunch  .  They wanted to let  out the dogs if i was ok with it . Actually by this time i too was curious to see their dogs  .  Watching animal planet and having seen dog behaviour with good masters (my cousins had dogs )  i was not afraid . When the door was opened ,  i  learned the meaning of "trust "  .  Out  came  three  very "cute "  dogs  -- a  large mastiff  (one of the largest breeds of dogs used for  boar hunting in the past ) , rottweiler ( responsible for  the maximum dog fatality of humans ) and good old boxer.  I didnt get scared for  the owners had told me "they had been brought up like their children "  .  Still  .. i was a stranger to the dogs  .  Before my heart could skip a beat another  cuter  thing happened.  The dogs one by one came upto me and sniffed me  .  Typical dog behaviour . But  they sniffed at my  neck   . yes  neck  .  I was a little scared at this moment . Then they just  lay down on the floor  .  So  i am  introduced to their  dogs  .  Next was my turn . I asked them whether it was safe to touch the dogs . They told no problem .  I  stroked the rottweiler and the mastiff  and  they both  had no problems with  it .And the mastiff even rolled on its back  .Those  who  know animal behaviour  will tell that when a dog rolls on its back and allow  you stroke its belly  its the sign of submission and trust . I couldnt believe it this large mastiff was  allowing me to stroke its belly  . The boxer  by its body language and looks  showed that  it didnt trust me so i didnt stroke it  . 

That  day  again affirmed my opinion  that  dog is indeed  mans best friend  .  What about  the  killer  rottweilers  in USA .  Most  of them  had been abused by their owners and  naturally  their  killer instinct  had been  promoted . So its not the dog  which is responsible but their owners . 

jhumka gira re... bareilly ki bazaar mein

This  line sung   by Asha Bhosle in the famous hindi film Mera Saaya is beautiful  ...  Its  more beautiful  for the last  one week because  i am in bareilly ,uttar  pradesh .  Around 250  kms  from delhi , bareilly  region has a long history  and  was  the  capital  of uttara panchala  . And panchala clan  was  mentioned  in the Mahabharatha and puranas  . 

Present day bareilly is  a buzzling town  yes  buzzling  because  it  reminds me  of  some busy areas of mumbai  in the sheer  density of people , cyclerickshaw,auto,buses on the road .   And  today walking  down the civil lines area where the street food is famous i realized  why  1 $  a day  poverty line  may not mean  poverty  here   .  Let me explain  .

After  my days work i  went  to my hotel gym .  Usually people go to the gym to burn excess calories  but  here  i  went  to the gym as  i  was planning to try bareilly street food without guilt of excess calories  .After  the gym i wanted  to  go  at  a leisurely  mood to civil lines area  so i took a  cycle rickshaw  .  In delhi  for a distance where u paid 30 rs , in bareilly  you pay  rs 10  for cyclerickshaw  .  very cheap indeed  .

 In bareilly  each of the food stalls is known by the owners name  .  No "pizza"hut  , no "Kentucky "fried chicken  . Here  you have  Tyagi restaurant ,  Deenanath ki lassi , chaman chaat  , chote lal ki chaat  etc  .  I had  Deenanath ki lassi  --for rs 25  you get a  large  earthenware glass  full of thick sweet lassi  decorated with  nuts .  Like a  neurosurgeon or cardiac surgeon he  is specialised in lassi  . Service is prompt  and good  .  Similarly  Tyagi restaurant has nice channa batoora  cost  rs 30  .And  it  is  just next to  deenanath  so that you  can eat batooras and wash it down with lassi .

Next    there were many pani puri places  (pani puri can be tricky as it is filled with cold  tamarind water so  probability of stomach upset is there  depending on your  resistance)  . I choose one which  had the handler with  gloves  .  Risky still  but i took it  .  I gave  rs 20  for  6 pani puris  .  The man  after  i ate  the yummy pani pooris  called me  and told something in fast hindi  .  Oh my god ,  did i mistook  the price and paid only rs 20 when price is rs  30  ?? Will  he  think that  this  chor  has  come from malluland  and ate  his pani puris without paying up  fully  ??                 No , the  old man  gave me back  10  rs  . Cost price for 6  lovely pani puris filled with boiled potataoes ,  paani and meeta chutney  was only  rs 10  .  You tell me  with food inflation nearing all time high  do we  get  anything at  this price  ? 
Total  cost  of  outing was  rs 25 +30+10 = rs 65  .  That  is  almost one  EURO  .  Can you  get  your stomach  full  in Europe  with one Euro  eating  food which  is natural  like lassi , channa etc  .No way  . 

                                                        So what else to do in bareilly  other than eating street  food  .  Take a  cab  and go to Nainital  (3  hrs  drive ) or go to Jim Corbetts  house  (on foothills of Nainital at Kaladungi  )  or  if you have proper 2 days  go to Jim Corbett National Park  .  And  thinking about  Jim Corbett itself  makes  me  want to visit  his house  .  He  is no more  in this  world  but  he was a courageous  hunter  who used  to hunt  maneating  tigers and leopards of kumaon region around  50  years  back  .  And  i  say  he was  extremely brave  because some  of this  hunts  he  used  to  do  "on foot  "  .  Imagine  that  .

Till  my nainital and kaladungi trip  .... i will  be checking  whose  jhumka has fallen in bareilly  bazaar  ..

black gold and venice of the east

Once upon a time alleppey my hometown on mothers side was not there in the tourist map . But this town was known for many centuries as an important trade link between the arab , the western world and india . It had one old port and the whole town is crisscrossed by canals which are found even now giving it the name Venice of the east . The town was a tradepoint which mainly focussed on coir and spices including pepper . And in those times pepper was known as black gold .


My grandfather on my mothers side was known as the pepper king in those days . It was said that the leading newspapers in kerala used to call him to know the market rate of pepper and he used to decide the pricing just by rolling the pepper with his fingers . In addition to all this recently i read the biography of one of the founders of malayala manorama newspaper and in it on page 21 there is mention of our pepper kings family which originally belongs to one of the noble families from telicherry who settled down in alleppey .Like most people i am also happy of my family heritage . But as always this blog is not to bask on the family glory . For i feel more than family heritage it is the persons attributes that are more important . But , what i am really proud about this pepper king grandfather of mine was his hardworking nature and humbleness . Whenever i used to visit my ancestral home I saw my grandfather always dressed in a traditional white mundu and a white shirt . It was simple dress and he was always calm and helping towards whoever came to his house . There was never a pomp or show in that house . Food was plenty but though he could afford all the luxuries in life (Waterman and Parker pens , imported cars were available then also ) there was always enough but no wastage on unwanted luxuries . I was very close to him and whenever i visited there we used to spend time in each others company . And now i realize it was “quality time “ for during other times his schedule of work was from morning 8 am to night 11 pm at least  . His hardwork and trade acumen made him who he was . And in those days those who had money generally didn’t work this hard. Instead they used to sit at home and spend that hardearned money of the forefathers .

He is no more now . He passed away when i was 9 years of age . So what was the legacy that he left behind for me . I would say his humbleness and hardwork  . And an inward happiness when i put salt and pepper on the morning breakfast egg .

from sweeper to rocket scientist

I  had  a  teacher  in medical  college  who  used  to inspire  all  of  us  the  lucky  group  who  were posted  in his unit  .  Himself a  gold medalist in medical college  he used  to tell us  everyday that 
" Even if  you  are  a  sweeper  you should sweep the floor  like  Michael Angelo does  a  painting  or as Beethoven  composes a song  "  Inspiring he was Dr Joy  Philip  ,  his  words flashes in my mind  whenever  i see  anyone  who  does  justice to his  profession  ....

                                                                            Fast forward 2011  ... One of my  cousin  is doing  BDS (dental surgery  )  .  The  problem  is  he  has taken  this quotation to  the other extreme  .  No  one including myself can smile at him  .  No sooner than  the smile exposes the teeth within seconds my cousin will  diagnose  the  problem with  the  persons teeth or gums  .  And unfortunately  the diagnosis is perfectly correct and he will give a ten minute lecture  on what  is to be done  .  From nightime  teeth grinding  to  tooth malalignment  his diagnosis  and explanation are perfect  and interesting  .  I  dont  know what the future holds for him  .. but one thing is sure  ... he  is  following  the  quotation in the first paragraph  and  watching  him in action is a pleasure  ....

Another Michael Angelo is my cousin in mumbai  .  He is a  fourth year architectural student  .... When i was in mumbai  i have watched  him  burning the  midnight  oil  and  continuing to burn the  midnight oil  till  break of dawn.  Yes  at least  on two days i have  watched him drawing and making models  without having  food or sleep  .... Ok , you may say  whats great about  it  ... The thing  is  even for one  moment  i didnt see  boredom or  frustration inspite  of this gruelling work  ...  Passion kept  him going   ...

                                                            Career  choices  in our  soceity  is dictated  by many  factors   ....  many people  get  carried  away  by  the  perceived  glamour  of  a  career  ,  its earning potential   ,  etc  .  The  demand (job prospects ) and earning potential are  important factors i agree  but equally  important  is ones passions  ..  My  batch  of  MBBS from medical college  trivandrum  had  many  good students  who are  now  doing  very well as  famous doctors  in india , US and UK  ...But  i am also reminded of two  of them  whose passion was  different  ....  But  recently  i came  to know that  one  of them is  the  Vice  President  of TCS  after doing  MBA  from  Cambridge  .  And  another  who has done a Ph  D in computer science  from UK and working there in the UK  ...At  least  in the latter  case  we  all knew  his passion was  in computer science  even while in  medical college  ..

                                                                                Today  my uncle was  discussing  with  me  about  vacancy  of storekeeper  in his godown  .  And  i couldnt  beleive  my ears  when  he  told me  there  were many B.Techs who applied  for that vacancy  last time it was announced  .  It  was  not  the issue  that  graduate engineers are applying for  a storekeeper  job  .   But  the  very purpose  of their  career  choice was defeated  .  With  the mushrooming of engineering colleges in kerala  anyone  with no regard to aptitude  pursued  it  dreaming  of  the  dream job  .  But  what they failed to realize  was that  any  job  requires  a  reasonable amount of passion  to be  successful   .  Had  some of these people followed their  respective passions  at least  they would  not  be in their current plight  ....

And  last but not  the  least ......what  about  this blogger  ...  yes  myself  ...i  am  passionate  about  what  i  do   ...  for  though  not  a michael  angelo .... i am involved  in my twin passions  of science  and teaching  ... my  job involves bit  of  medicine ,bit  of physics  and  lots of teaching ( word  doctor  means to teach  by  the way ... ) . 

dr haroon  h marikar