A halpless senior citizen walks into the OPD with a classical complaint of aches and pains all over.She has apparently been to the local ojha and has been told that a thief has entered her spine and needs to be chased out.How? I asked.She says it can be done in two ways-by kicking the back-side or by blowing some mantras into the spine-I thought the ojha sure had a sense of humour. In the mean-time there is a silent revolution going on through the net,signature campaigns,etc to support Dr Binayak Sen’s cause.There are two sides to every story –so I understand, from the discussions from different forums,write-ups and opinions.I fully sympathise with Dr.Sen in the matter .I don’t agree with the naxal philosophy of declaring war against the state.I find it painful that in this day and age in India- voices of reason ,of concern ,voices that support the cause of the weak can be clamped down by state machinaries.Who is Dr.Binayak Sen ?What is his case?The government of India owes it’s citize...
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The lights in Palamu have been hijacked-I literally mean that.I believe a group of MCC cadres actually walked up to the power house from where our lights are supplied and have locked it .They have demanded guns AK-47 in place of electricity.The best part is that the only places where the power is supplied from the point is, our hospital and the town of Satbarwa. So the nights are literally spent walking around like a zombie in the campus looking for a drift of stray gale -or sleeping under the stars in the stone benches chatting with Sona Devi about the mosquitoes,the heat,all in dehati-which I love the sound of. Wow!even as I write this I can hear the skies tear apart allowing a torrent of Norwesters through.Come the baisakhi,there is a rush for green mangoes all over the campus.You find them in all sizes,the mangoes and the people who run for them.They make a cool drink to beat the heat with it and it is just so delicious.The green mangoes have to be roasted over the firewood to get ...
A badly mucked up case of ruptured uterus came in from Chattarpur.The lady was in serious distress, the foetal product seemed to be in the abdominal cavity.There was no foetal heart sound.An emergency call was given for anaesthesia and the case posted.On opening the abdomen there was blood all over ,the placenta was outside the ruptured uterus and the baby,still and lifeless -half in and half out but within the gestational-sac.I extracted the baby,no breathing,no heart-beat but suddenly it coughed.The anaesthetist and the floor nurse pounced on the baby and with vigourous resuscitation the baby was soon pink and breathing on it’s own.It was a strange experience,but for the grace of God and the thin membrane which had protected the baby he would have been just another statistic .He was the first male offspring after two female children-they had apparently been to the local dai,who had done everything from a massage to injecting pitrocin to speed up the delivary and ensure the complicati...
The quintessential dawn, Tip-toeing past the dark of the night, Unvealing ,reverent, eternal moment waiting and watching the genteel of the creation enjoy the morn. Chirping,singing,hooting, Dripping,sparkling, Cleansing, Resting – Is this Eden?
I have been fascinated by the naxal movement due to the sheer drama that is enacted in and around Palaumu often-times.Initially when I started working in Palaumu,every body attributed everything to the naxals.It was ‘Dr Jee ,don’t venture out so early in the morning(walks),it’s dangerous out-side.Do not go to the villages,you never know when they will attack-don’t go for field visits…it used to go on and on….I shared it with the founder missionary and he laughed it off-there are no naxals around.He had worked in that area in the sixties and had been involved with the villages around-attending weddings,going hunting,fishing,sitting on the village porch talking to the villagers in the evenings ….When had the change come?Now when I say I work in Palumu,people think we walk around with guns. As you tend to settle down, it all becomes a part of your life and you tend to live the gap between the fear and the event. The naxal movement was started on certain principles but over the years,the ...
I sit in the out-patient on a light Wednesday afternoon and the patients attribute the thin attendance to the ‘lagan’ .Lagan is the season of wedding in the area.All the private vehicles are booked ,if not for the wedding then certainly for the elections and we also have the added excitement of the anti-establishment groups trying to make their presence felt in the area. Elections,are an occasion in the family.We have the whole clan descending on the family bastion Mangan to caste their ballot.Every member with a mind of their own,even the spouses are uninformed as to which button their partner has pressed behind the curtain.However,it is an occasion to celebrate so there are hosts of dinners in different houses everyday for the week.It’s one of the two regular occasions when the family gets together. My brother,a seismologist had a very weird answer for the candidate who came to our house to ask for vote.He told the person very seriously that he would vote for whichever party his moth...