What gives

Today was unlike any other day for me. Driving through the ins and outs of the village roads I saw a lone elder ,barefeet...in his seventies with basic minimum ,building God's house brick by brick with his bare hands .Not only was he the only labourer for the day ,he had demarcated the land from the portion of his own property.All I could do was hug him .He beamed a heartwarming smile and bent down on his knees to pull out barbed acens (weeds)from my woollen skirt .It brought tears to my eyes. I saw an old lady hunched ninety degrees, washing her face in a puddle of muddy water bring out her first fruit of around half a kilo rice  and offer it .It reminded me of the widow's mite. I saw a congregation of saints barely able to discern the inheritance, in faith, pray for healing. I saw a man paralysed with most probable congenital fusion of the cervical vertebrae lying in bed,stutter his greetings in the Lord with so much of joy.One could just about discern what he was sayin...

The first few days of the demonitisation period was a swell.It felt nice to have no penny in one's pocket and yet not have to struggle with the chaos every where around.The problem slowly began to dawn on us when we had to start interacting with banks which were trying their best inefficiently to work out the clog.Every transaction became a herculean task and somewhat irritating. Today one of my colleagues commented ,'Soon the government will decide what one is going to eat in the afternoon meal'. The rumours that float around don't make things better. Another colleague of mine tells me that the RBI governer is Mukesh Ambani's brother-in-law. That does not give me much assurance because at the end of the day the brand 'Mukesh Ambani ' shouts loud ,'profit'.However after some net research I conclude this may not be true. While the common man struggles with the nitty gritties of everyday living,struggling,dying in some cases,queing,confused about...

Sitabai (name changed )has been working with us since the founder’s time.Her dedication ,sincerity and efficicency is matchless.I have watched Sitabai excel in her work and yet have been almost a silent spectator to the family struggle she flaps around with.Her husband ,a ganja addict and an alcoholic has been to all eyes a thorn on her side.He has not earned a penny to my knowledge but has been a steady siphon sucking out all her savings on imagined and actual ailments,thanks to the bad habbits. Every now and then Sitabai used to update us about her hubby’s headaches.It used to keep the entire family awake.Much to our chagrin she would take prescript ion analgesics and as would have it one fine day he started developing abdominal pain. He perforated and presented with a serum potassium of 6.5 .We reffered him to a hospital in Jabalpur where he had a laparotomy.Fourteen days into the surgery he was still pouring out pus fro m the wound. One day I took Sita Bai a...

It has been a strange few months or rather half a year for me. I can see some transitions at the door and yet strange peace prevails ,peace that passeth all understanding... Every nook and corner Romans8 vs 28 bombards me...I believe the promise because it has come to me from five or six definite places..from posters sent to me by prophets, to embroidery made on casement, mounted and brought as a gift by praying friends.It has been thrown down from the pulpits and from the inscriptions on the pages of the old books I have not opened since I passed my first professionals.Just how much assurance can I expect from a friend who has called me His kin. It strikes me how fragile our lives are .....and so are the things that we think we do . Our time and our back is in our maker's hand . Sometimes we take on too much in life ..in terms of responsibility,opinions,stands, and we play God,we judge,we crib,we come to quick conclusions......God in His mercy is teaching me to sta...

 Winter months in Lakhnadon are slow to say the least. Max and Divya ,my colleagues are away,Max for his post-graduate entrance exams and Divya to help our neighbouring hospital in Chattarpur with the obstetric load.So here I am on my own for the next one week or so trying to go juggle my work with Modiji's demonetisation drive.I am cashless for a second day in a row feeling absolutely light and nice and yet am heavily involved in the imbroiglo of making it through the system while the patients pay the bill. I am doing a bit of experiment with regional foods of India and it is fascinating to say the least.The other day Divya sent a tiffin with fluffy appams with egg roast for lunch.I loved it.I sat with her one afternoon and wrote the recipe down.She had made it with an appam mix I decided to try making it the traditional way with ground coconut.It took me close to fourteen hours to put it on my plate but it was worth it.The weather has taken a turn with the temperature around ...

         Came back from home ...everyone seems to think I was away for long but it has been just a fortnight.For me it was a fortnight of another world altogether..climbing the hills and the valleys with a cousin who has taken a sabbatical from her stint in the Down under...spending time with mom helping her with exercises to strengthen her quadriceps....catching up with siblings and just trying to get past the freshness of the farm food and fruits...and the quality of life back at home.....even watching football matches with my brother and keeping up with my mother's past times.I made pickles,learnt to make wine with guava and pessimon..ate exotic vegetables like the orchid flower,asparagus,water cress,nettles,avacado,..I took time to visit parts of South Sikkim...went fishing in the river....drove to the site on the opposite hill  where a whole chunk had fallen into the sea. I prayed with my cousin on the spot.It was an...