Lulu mall ice skating and happy new year

                                               

       Today being new years eve i took my cousins to the lulu mall for ice skating . Its the only ice skating rink in kerala and being a good calorie burner and also a good entertainment ( i had done it once in mumbai ) i was eager to do it . We went to lulu mall in kochi one of largest malls in asia . Before entering the skating rink i had vision of a place where we could skate in peace probably in a larger rink than  in mumbai . Though my cousin was an expert in ice skating i was a beginner .

What i was not expecting was the crowd around the ice skating rink . Being circular and with around 500 + people crowded around with jeering and occasional howling i suddenly felt i was in a roman collosseum . If it were gladiators whose fights were judged by the crowd here it was us who was potential gladiators . Most of the ice skating participants were beginners and many of them were falling as soon as they started walking on ice balanced on a very thin blade of ice skating shoe . To tell the truth though the stage of stage fear was gone for me this was a tricky situation were a large crowd was commenting and shouting when people fell down .Me and my cousin 2 (who was also a beginner ) was in half  mind to turn back while cousin 1 was already rushing in to show his skills . ( maybe he was a reincarnated gladiator )  .

But generally not a person who turns back (cousin 2 also of similar mindset ) we went in put on the gear and went inside the arena . Ice was more slippery today and the rink was large . Crowd was passing comments and howling when people fell but suddenly the focus changed . The focus was on the ice , the terrain for which we had come . Of course the distracting crowd with comments like "award film motion " for my slow moving cousin 2 and "chetta when is the next stop " to me were audible but still the focus changed to the ice and the skating . Especially in the latter part we even started enjoying the comments still a little self conscious to prevent a major fall .

Thinking of the new year ahead i can only think of the ice skating rink . Before any experience we have our own visions about the coming new year but even minutes away from it we do not know how it will be for us the actual experience of the coming year . But as any dedicated ice skater knows its not the falls or the crowd that matters but only the "experience" . For that we have to put our ice skating shoes and with a whistle take off into the ice ....... and enjoy both the positives and the negatives .. Happy new year 2014 ...

PS : Thank you 2013 for giving me so many beautiful and challenging experiences . Looking forward to 2014 ...

medical moments series 9 ....the stuck sigmoidoscope ...

Recently i was watching the legal drama series the practice on fox crime . As it depicts ethical dilemmas and strong arguments i am a fan of this legal drama series  . Usually the series deals with murders and high profile crimes and their legal defence . But this time it was on medical . It was thought provoling to say the least .

Basically my favourite lawyer character was called on an "acute emergency " .  The patient a big industrialist is on the table and a sigmoidoscope /colonoscope ( an instrument to view the back passage )  is inserted . And he is calling the lawyer from the table . Basically he wants to sue the doctor for medical malpractice and the doctor is in a dilemma whether to withdraw the scope or not . It was a sarcastic look at the dilemmas of a doctor practising in a litigant soceity . And the example was the apt sarcasm .  Of course after the episode and lot of arbitrations by multiple lawyers the doctor and patient agreed to get the scope out of his back passage .

That legal drama gets acted out in the hospital (somewhat like an out of court arbitration ) but the ethical points raised were very relevant in current times ... mainly in the western world but increasingly in india .
I am not going to the arguments and counterarguments of medical negligence as having read extensively and seen medicine from different aspects and speaking to a reasonable number of people both doctors and public . To make a long story short .. just like in soceity 5 percent of doctors as well as patients are very bad ..(because they too are taken from the same soceity ) . All the mistrust is because there is a lot of lack of knowledge (even among the educated )  and also there is a general expectation that most diseases can be cured and course predicted especially when technology is growing at a very fast pace .

In addition "consumerism " with all its good and bad aspects has increased tremendously over recent years . And of course many doctors have not taken the time to understand the changing expectations of the soceity or as few of them say they have given up on the overexpectations of many people in the soceity . I have blogged on Dr X who is thriving extremely well , has a good name in soceity but who is paying back to the soceity in his own way  ...But this sigmoidoscope episode is a must watch in "The practice " as it sarcastically shows where medical field is heading and though solutions are very simple like most things instead of endless arguments .

PS : A note about me .. for last many years i am in medical teaching and since my students of all ages do not represent "the ignorant arrogant " category and dont have overexpectations i am very happy in my role . And as a patient ( i too need my repairs once in a while ) i choose my doctors carefully and i ask them relevant questions , never throw my "attitude"  at them  and on my part read up especially the limitations of each disease condition .

After all i dont want a sigmoidoscope stuck in my back passage . I love my doctors and though i dont say they are Gods (thats outdated ) i respect them and trust them and forgive them for their humanness . And regarding the "black sheep " i strongly believe both the soceity as well as the medical community identify the real black sheep and isolate them ... Its possible , believe me ..

Also till we find a 100 percent cure for all diseases lets keep our attitude at home as no amount of money or attitude helps to fight most diseases except a trusting partnership between a doctor and patient ..That will prevent diseases from making the last laugh . Comments , arguments , welcome ..

on diplomacy , sex and divorce

                                                                      Just one week of no blogging and the news is filled with articles each one deserving discussion . Where to start  ...
Ok first the arrest of the indian senior diplomat in USA by US authorities and the diplomatic row it created .

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-12-13/india/45161331_1_young-diplomat-shanti-gurung-senior-indian-diplomat

From ancient times even in barbaric nations there was one category which was exempted from mistreatment . They were the messengers or messenger equivalents sent from one country to another . In modern times there are civilised agreements between nations called "diplomatic immunity " . The case in question is not waiving of the criminal proceedings against the accused but proper conduct is followed when arresting diplomats . The same country where our cultural ambassador Shahrukh khan was humiliated at the border sometime back no more further comments on this issue . USA should not lead by example as it wants to be but at least let it not flaunt laws as per its convenience .

Next about recent supreme court judgement on gay rights .
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/FHDQ9yB2jRJMsOlNCQrkgL/Supreme-Court-to-rule-on-legality-of-gay-sex-today.html

Though its a controversial "moral" issue  as some  people find the concept of gay sex repulsive many of the recent verdicts (excepting this one ) and public opinions even in social forums and in the news are more logical . Most of the issues moral or not belongs to one category ... whether the individuals freedom is allowed . Soceity and most of the laws are there to prevent infringement of individual rights by another person .. Stealing , rape , murder being examples ..  But recently it is good that the concept of fundamental rights are discussed on a large scale on social forums and even in a conservative country like india amendments or at least amendments of the older laws are in the pipeline ( Many of our laws were made by the british )  . Culturally and socially the number of social leaders like Raja Ram Mohan Roy or Swami Vivekananda we had no dearth and i am sure the country will amend some of the laws soon ..There was even a recent judgement on live -in relationships by supreme court . (again a question of individual freedom of choice .. the judgement was positive )  .

Lastly on divorce .. Hrithik Roshan and his wife of more than 17 years are heading towards divorce according to the news . The usual suspects of divorce but whats charming is the statements given by Hrithik in the press . Dignified way of dealing with it ..The same was observed when John Abraham and Bipasha split some time back .  I only heard his interview but still very dignified way of dealing with the split . Splitting is always painful and the "blame game " is human . But dealing with your loved one (if ever you loved ) even in times of split tells a lot about you rather than the loved one ...Anyways i hope it ends well whatever decision they take ..

Any more news ?  No more news  .. Times up :)  Comments please

movie review before sunrise

                                                                How much time it takes to fall in love with a girl and give the first kiss ?  2 hours ....If you dont believe me see the movie Before sunrise .  Its a movie set in the beautiful backdrop of vienna . The male and female protagonists travel in a train as complete strangers and they see an older couple quarrel and they break into a conversation starting with that topic . Soon the guy has to disembark at Vienna train station to catch his flight the next day . And the charming and dreamy guy convinces the girl to also disembark with him and since the whole night is there they walk and talk the entire night .

If there is a movie where the infatuation or puppy love is shown in full glory this is it .  Having seen romances develop over time and over shared joys and sorrows it was a different experience to watch a true infatuation developing on screen . Its nowhere near the love of movie " frida" http://drharoonhmarikar.blogspot.in/2013/06/frida-movie-review.html or the love in "casablanca"  which is about true love the ideal which is selfless though started initially by boy meets girl  . But this movie focusses on the boy meets girl part and you can see the physical attraction carrying them through the puppy love process .
Dont assume this appaappan is against the puppy love but seeing this movie makes me realise how much the chemistry and the hormones shuts off the mind from reality and how easy it is to fall in love .

Ok ,,, movie review again .. Usually my personal ratings of movies have a fairly good correlation with the movie ratings in movie review sites like imdb.com but here though the review sites have given a high rating i personally found this movie just average .  The hero and heroine were beautiful people and it was nice to see the flirtiness developing into puppy love ( i love and also hate that term dont ask me why)  and the backdrop of Vienna (a city i have visited )  was the most beautiful part of the movie  .  Story and screenplay i found just average ..

So to sum up .... see the movie and enjoy it . Unlike me u may like it so much because i am not a romantic anymore and never had been :)   But seriously this movie is puppy love in real time ...See freida and casablanca and this movie and tell me why i tell this movie is average .. 

Mumbai meri jaan

After almost an year visited mumbai for a few days . Being a hater of big cities (i dont like big cities impersonal nature for starters nor the endless traffic ) i was not expecting much in this visit . But as usual going after an year brought out the contrasts between many other cities , the state i am in (kerala ) and mumbai  .

Lets start with the autowala . Those who have worked or visited mumbai knows that its so busy that it is a wonder that the autowalas there are not dying early due to stress related illnesses . Maybe they do . But as a visitor or commuter most of them are so chilled out and friendly that you look again if you are in a busy metropolis . And to top it all they never overcharge and even their metres smart so that night charges come automatically .  At 12 midnight for a charge of 71 rs when you get a 1 rs balance back after giving 72 rs there is no other word than "impressive "  .

Contrast my lovely state where yesterday i paid prepaid charges to an autowala (to prevent fleecing ) and the look on his face was as if i had trespassed on his property or to put it more bluntly like a beggar who has hitched a ride . Not an isolated incident has happened numerous times .

Ok , cars also tell a story in mumbai . All high end models like jaguar , audi and bmw are there along with the poormans cars like alto but on the road they are all equal . Having driven in mumbai i know this for sure . Long back my car had broken down in the middle of the western express highway in mumbai and this city where seconds are precious except for one random person who glared at me all others patiently diverted their cars and drove . If it was in kerala i would surely have been reminded even of my grandfathers and fathers names by fellow drivers ( not all but our states people  has great road manners and they take things personally )  .

I had lunch at french restaurant , dinner at japanese restaurant , next day in punjabi restaurant and mumbai is truly cosmopolitan . Being a foodie i appreciate it that there are 1000 s of good restaurants in mumbai with all the cuisines in the world . You may tell me its a "cosmopolitan" city and dont compare kerala with mumbai . I know but considering the well travelled keralite is there a proportionate number of restaurants which serve the great cuisines in the world in kerala . Agree there are a few (even a sushi place in kochi ) but quality and standards ...no comments . We could do a lot better .

 Mumbai is a very busy city and many people spend hours on the road in heavy traffic (not a great thing whatever the reason ) . But inspite of this the man on the street is more helpful and unassuming than many other places . Mumbai had its share of major crisis like terrorist attacks , severe floods and at all these times the mumbaikar has helped each other in ways which are an example to many other places including my state .
Still i love to be in kerala mainly because this is were i am born and the "place " is so much beautiful and i have my share of friends and relatives here . But still the "man on the street " its mumbai winning hands down anyday .

PS : I havent touched on the marathi spirit instilled by the politicians there for their own gain . But the vibrance of mumbai is its cosmopolitan culture , its history and the native marathis who by and large are very nice people (except a few who are brainwashed by their politicians )  . Would like to have your comments and thanks for reading