....Raamaadan & RakshaBandhan....!!!!

......the Holy Months r underway....the air reverberating with chants invoking the Divine...the brother once again ...& the sister yet again donning the Garbs to tie that everlasting bond of RakshaBandhan...today is Doel & Arnav's Day...!!!..with us facilitating ....thick & thin were the vows exchanged...nd should & must withstand the ravages of time...!!!!....I called up Shantidi( Gablooda's sister) who had been tying the Rakhi always & Nupur & Ranju di (my own elder sisters) & sought their blessings & affection....!!.Shantidi's Rakhi was the first to arrive by Post nd on my wrist now...a reassuring symbol of Trust nd Love always & ever.....Archana was in touch with Gablooda & Babloo(both elder brothers)she being youngest in the family...today being Thursday it will be a vegetarian fare at home...we follow Tuesday(Bajrangwali Day) & Thursday(Ma Lakshmi & Brihaspati Deva Day) stead fastly as vegetarian days....the spiritual moorings in the form of rituals keep us stable & on an even keel in  foreign waters....!!!!..the Dec .Holiday trips will be to OOtacamund Nilgiris to visit & inhale the fresh air of Homeland 1...wherein we intend to visit Hebron ,Good Shepherd ,Breeks Memorial & Lawrence Schools to have a feel for the kids...who will inevitably join any of these in near future with me nurturing Bangalore as a transit base  which is currently a transit point to Maldives Islands from Gurgaon...as the clock is spinning feverishly ...we again are upbeat for the rest part of the year having successfully completed the first half with GOD's mercy & bounty......!!!!! 

........remoteness & Life.....!!

......the Thu. day-clinic burst into its seams with Ayatub reporting with a grin....Dada,Bhalo hoye gechi(..I have recovered & well..)...taka anschee..( I have brought money...) "...Bosch ..." I said motioning him to a seat,as i siffed thru loads of Work Permit Medicals finalising them with the final signature..signalling employment clearance for host many into this pristine land....haan ,how r u now?...bhalo ..pat came the reply ,meaning well..!..he had religiously & dutifully come to pay back hospital dues if any...incurred on that fateful day when his abdomen nearly gave way....! ..I followed up his case diligently and finally certified him fit...& told him that he need not pay anything....&  let him know that I appreciated his sense of responsibilty despite steep adversity...God be with U..!!...every passing day Good Lord.! subjects me to stringest test thru the likes of Ayatub's..& makes me feel humble & serve with humility...Trust & Faith r the guiding Angels for the exemplary healing touch that is most wanted here....!!!!

......hurtling down memory lane......!!!!

......when Dr Mrinal called on me last eve..cascading thoughts clouded my memory...!..I was wondering when we last met or what was the occasion,....it is possible that we chatted as before without having the slightest inkling that we would part only to  reconnect after a long gap.. St.Xavier's Sahibganj, being our Alma mater.... there was little formality & as we chatted as if  the intervening period was null & void...he was a wiry,tenacious ,Campion House member,the green shirt & curly mane ,soaked in sweat with a hockey stick in hand is the most visiting image available for churning....when we part we dont have the slightest inkling most of the time about the period of detachment....so when we reconnect the occasion is special...friends of the best seasons of our lives can't be forgotten...however & whatever...!! since Life is short & friendship is investment each one is important & unique...his invitation to us here for visiting UK was heartening ....now that Dr Anindya & Dr Neeraj khetan(Loyola House) is in UK....the land of common history beckons to us evermore....!!

......the last min.patient..

...as I was just signing off for the day..Ayatub entered the clinic writhing in pain...ki holo tor...? I inquired...Dada from last nite I have pain abdomen...his attendants on tenterhooks...looked pensively, as I examined him ...& formulated a management...quickly dispatching him to the ward where the nursing started...the attendants huddled for raising whatever money they could muster for his treatment...Dada....1500/-short..ki koran jai..?..ek kaj kor I replied : 400 taka bed charge de ar kichchu dewar naiii...taka nai bolay chiktsa hobay na...?meaning if u dont have money u wont be treated?
the initial dose of Injections brought a smile on Ayatub;s face his writhing now converted to a whine...Dada..we r grateful to you chirped the attendants all in there mid twenties..bereft of family support these youths are an example of doing for each other in a foreign land...over the years I have been subjected to humility when I see there togetherness & co operation...in adversity all the fine human qualities shine evermore to tide over the crisis.....who doesn't face crisis..? but its the dignity of conduct & fortitude which brings the best in Human behavior...!!! ..Ayatub's clan in extreme hardship shone like a beacon...!! 

....Restore Point....!!!!

It has been a fairly satisfying month professionally....with steady flow & a deeply moving one in having reconnected with peers..some very close to the heart encounters...!..with inputs from home & abroad it is an overflowing cup of joy...! having met friends after 2 decades....! Old habits seldom die hard...& this friendship all at the peak of our careers seem to strengthen  our flagging souls...!
I spent a youthful chunk in Patna from 1980 to 2000 & the city lanes & bye lanes  are connected to the strings of my heart..! I love the city more than any city .....! for the sheer reason of relating to it. Having a common denominator in the form of  Prince of Wales medical College, Patna ( PMCH) where we learnt our basics ,all my friends are in a way connected...our common teachers & common exams..& environment....! no wonder it feels real good to reconnect...!
My family knows full well that my mind is in a flux of  happiness....and the true reason behind it....!

........the Ides of March passed peacefully & all the hullaballoo is over & its back to normal trade &business..with the weather turning warmer to the discomfort zone : the appointment registers are full...meaning hands are full...! Dengue & Typhoid hogged the limelight in my clinic with regular admissions ,Hepatitis & salmonellosis giving a tough fight.....! the referal cases frm the Islands were needing urgent attention..as they were the neglected ones. Its a great pleasure working in Maldives Islands with a plethora of communicable & NCD cases .Throughout the year Fever cases would pour in more so in Capital Male' where the living conditions are congested....! Doel had lived in a remote Tsunami affected Island but Nanu is lucky...the fresh water fish : Koiee, Tangra & Pangash imported frm Bangladesh by enterprising Bangla youth keep us in good stead and I am happy that our roots of origin in Bangladesh(Faridpur & Barisal) have been honored...the age old practice of helping others ,bondage with family at home & concern for their sick brethren is what impresses me most about them...the old world niceties & plenty of time for others' cause  with many dialects of Chittagong,Sylhet,Mymensingh ,Comilla to name a few doing the rounds...!! with as little pay as 120USD per month for a majority, the dignity of their movements are seen to be believed....with the local Maldivians hiring them for peanuts and changing their skyline...!!!..so having a 70% of their clientele & with absolute monopoly ...I learnt how easy it is to formulate management in ur mother tongue.....!

Democracy Juggernaut......!!!!!

As the unfolding of modernity & its modern tools of governance continues unabated in the backdrop of its  past steeped in Isolation......the sleepy archipelago has catapulted itself to the limelight for right & wrong reasons in the last fortnite.The evolution of Democracy with its ugly skirmishes of difference in opinion is all but expected with battle lines clearly drawn.Observing,apathetically, I feel part & witness to the aspirations of this hitherto sleepy society in isolation both geographically and socially in being a tiny populace of Asia.Analogies are accordingly the same as British India having being ruled with draconian measures until the light of Democracy in 1947.In Maldives the remoteness of the Southern Atolls and its constant neglect on the part of the North led to far reaching consequences.After the WWII between 1953 to 1959 the Southern Atoll of ADDU,FUVAMULAH & HUVADHU tacitly supported by the British broke free from the Sultan's MALE' & established SUVADEEV under the leadership of Afeefu & traded freely with Srilanka & India easily as sailing into the laccadive sea directly from their end was easier than treading the treacherous reefs enroute to MALE'.However,the British were reluctant to support further & sided with then PM Ibrahim Naseer(current airport is named after him) who unleashed terror with Srilankan Gunboats and stiffled the fledgling democracy there.And ,the bloodshed was immense to dispense with the Suvadeev flag & testimonials.Afeefu was banished to Seychelles.Till date the southern atolls are wary of their Northern counterpart.Maldives have a history of violence & highhandedness and the populace had to bear the brunt....! Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ruled for 30 yrs and in 2003 the uprising led to reforms and the sowing of current political establishment.Maumoon brought in modernity,but the youth languished &  a Drug addiction sowing affected a fraction of the society.Remoteness impeded development and dependence on foreigners due to lack of infrastructure.Hence,its a feeling of being witness to the ushering in of Multiparty Democracy in 2008 and its gradual evolution is but natural & analogies again are here with its giant neighbour the World's largest Democracy.We also tasted the wrath of Govt .of India during the infamous Emergency period when in 1974 in  one predawn swoop my late father & his colleagues were picked up and booked under the Draconian Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) & Defence of India Rules(DIR) for opposing the Establishment & spearheading the Railway Strike of 8th May 1974.It was highhandedness at its Nadir & that too India a free country already from the British yoke....! The result was devastation in a huge country like India & the fall of the undeclared dictatorship...!  It was a taste of Democracy so bitter yet unshackled finally & India is what its today having learnt from its experience...! 1975  is the watershed year when truly our hard earned democracy was challenged by an Authoritarian ,Totalitarian Govt.Hence,Maldives have no reason to be disillusioned since its a churning phase & evolution for the good.....!!!!! It is at the Poll hustings matters will be decided year after year and its far from being over towards a modern thriving economy...!!!