What gives

Making an informed choice during growing up years is a huge upward struggle.Most of the decisions one makes is almost in a state of panic ,atleast mine was.Till I was in my school,decisions were made for me.My idea of what was good and bad were very heavily coloured by our teacher's lenses.There was no questioning the order. when one graduates from school to college,unless one comes across great souls that mentor you the peers take you along in a different journey.I thankfully escaped this phase I think because I studied in good old Bengal. Our medical college days were spent in a haze of ghugnis,rickshaws,formalin,our straight-jacket teachers,and poetries,it was almost surreal,the entire period. During my post-graduate days in Oddanchattram I learnt to think for myself.My teacher's advice just stop and think,reflect, took me in good stead and it is perhaps one of the many precious legacies I have carried with me and still blesses me.I have learnt just how precious and valu...

My friend Primula put up a message in our whatssapp group.It was a one liner.'My father just passed away.' This was the ex-chief minister of Sikkim she was talking about.Felt very sad. Primula was my friend from my school days.We all studied in Tashi Namgyal Academy ,the only public school in Sikkim which was originally meant for the royal children and later went on to become an autonomous body. We were borders away from home in the capital ,Gangtok. Primula was the chief minister's daughter but was the most humble of the lot.She was very caring and concerned about all her friends especially the hostellers.Every now and then huge packet of tucks would come our way and she never forgot our birthdays.I still have a small saving safe marked with orange pen ,a gift from her.Every year on her birthday we were invited to the chief minister's residence to celebrate it with her family.It was a happy affair with the CM himself making it a point to meet us and her mother ,the...

Last sunday when I was at the Dominion theatre attending a hillsong London church they mentioned the Just one conference at Arsenal.There was an invite to join the one thousand choir as part of the hillsong team.I booked myself in for the conference because I was off work on saturday besides Matt Reddmann whose worship songs have been such a blessing was supposed to be leading the worship.It was organised and compered by John J and his family.I for one had never heard of John J but the week before the conference I sat and listened to a lot of his messages on the youtube. It was a joy to see so many people heading towards the stadium.Arsenal stadium was a grand affair,immediately thought of my brother who is very keen on watching a live match in the stadium when he comes over.I believe there was a crowd of twenty three thousand people.It was a happy saturday with people of every kind everywhere around. The worship was led by Matt Reddman,hillsong,London community gospel choir,Noel Rob...

I was surprised other day with brokenness in one of my patients which crossed the lines of my belief and faith.My first instinctive response was immediate slamming of the door silently in my mind,and then suddenly a flood of compassion came over me ,such compassion ..that broke my heart.I understood little the heart of God..and the heart of Jesus...thank God for the Lord's grace on judgemental smugs like me. Every day the outpatient is a treasure box ..refugees come for a better life..sick in a foreign land,mothers with disabled children-carers,overworked, bankrupt emotionally ,wives of husbands working abroad,frightened to be alone to face the struggles,divorced women from conservative backgrounds making do somehow,homosexuals frightened of what tomorrow might bring..the list is endless. The compassion that God gifts us is perhaps the most precious gift God can give us ,a heart that breaks and weeps with the broken world around. If I don't have that I might as well be dead....

I have had an absolutely sleepy saturday today.I was drowsy throughout,I literally had to pick myself up and walk down to TESCOs the long way to buy some food but mostly to give myself some exercise.I am waiting for my laundry so I thought I would let some thoughts at the back of my mind just seep out.There is chill in the air outside and I have hayfever.I can go the whole year round with it in this country and my patients tell me this is common. Today early in the morning my cousin sent me a single line message ,'S is nomore'.I felt sad.Now how do I know S?One day out of the blue I got a desperate phone call from my cousin.A friend of hers from school who had been instrumental in supporting her baby steps into Australia had suddenly out of the blue been diagnosed to have GB ca.She was young ,may be in her late thirties,looked younger,sensible ,hard working .She wanted to know the prognosis.Looking at the staging and the extent of the disease it did not look good.SO the parent...

Decided to walk into the baptist church today.A beautiful time of worship and the reading and the preaching was from the book of Daniel.These are confusing times indeed.It was a poignant service.The pastor ended the sermon with a statement which touched my heart .He said,'As a nation ,we are entering into exile.' In the old testament it was the unfaithfulness of God's people that led them into slavery and exile.As they sat by the rivers of Babylon ,they wept when they remembered Zion.God raised up Nehemiahs and Ezras along the way and there were people like Daniel and his friends who were not sold out to the ways of power.They lived lives seperated for God even when under subjugation.Such was the power of God amidst them that even through the fire God was amidst them ,lions mouth were shut before them. The Lord will raise up Daniels ,Ezras and Nehemiahs even as we see a trend of Babylon taking precedence in the way the world as a whole seems to be moving. The call of the...

So far it has been a good induction.Much more systematic than the earlier one.Though I am on the ward rota ,they have been kind enough to let me get used to the system but from the second day onwards I am slowly getting the hang of the software which looked formidable the first day. While I was seeing a patient in ambulatory care the first day a few students entered the unit.I was too engrossed in getting to know the system so did not bother with them.On the second day I got talking to one of them who had an Indian face.She told me her ancestors were from Maharastra.Both her parents were doctors in London and she was studying medicine in Kings college. She was from a Hindu background but had accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior and was the only believer in the family. She told me very assertively it is the only true thing isn't it?Then she told me ,'I pray everyday and read the bible ,do you?I was taken aback by her directness but my eyes were moist .What an amazing e...