.....the Fresher, on the move....!!!

......the part exams in Anatomy, under the tutelage of Dr Naresh Jha....was a grim reminder of things to unfold in the following yrs ,now tht the brief honeymooning of counseling for seat & subsequent admission to the premier institute of the region Estd 1925, The Prince Of Wales Medical College, now re christened Patna Medical College, was over.....the applied aspect of Anatomy with Dissection of Cadavers amidst the pungent smell of Formalin, & subsequent wash of the hands with Lifebuoy soap, was far more engrossing thn ,assimilating the relations of the allotted part by rote' memory...I was the proud owner of the old 12th edition of Cunningham,  procured frm Cal. previous owner being one Debrata Biswas of R G Kar Med.Coll. Cal....the old edition was popular because of the plates....the newer ones which most of us had was more of an ELBS look of Spartan format....being a connosieur of finer details, it had become a habit of procuring the best always.....in tht the Rs 150 a box of a dead man's bones was finest nd the long bones were really stout & long....the Anatomy Deptt. attendants, were eerie looking ,Pan chewing, with occasional red vermillion marks on their forehead ,impeccably clean in their uniform & expert at their jobs....the location of the Medical College, beside the mighty river Ganga, ensured a steady flow of cadavers & bones, quintessential items for the Deptt.....Initially though ,I was scared, but it soon disappeared as I found one day Baba, snoring away to glory with the half cut cranium on his chest....further I was astounded to see some of the seniors utilize an old skull for an ash tray....folklore in the campus always had a spl. mention of a long bone called the Femur ,which was often used to wage a warfare, whnever situations arose....it was not long before I found myself at peace with the bones & often used a sketch pen to delineate the attachments....the brand new box of Bones was meticulously packed, powdered nd vouched for its Newness & freshness whn I recd frm one of the attendants...Rs 150/- was not a mean amt ,at tht time.....carrying the box home,during vacation, was no big deal either, with the Medical College Id at hand, for train travel....my allotted room at home was real private & Ma wud ensure one agarbatti (incense stick),beside the box every evening during Puja time.....!!!!!(....to be concluded...) 

...."...THE PROLOGUE..":......studying Medicine was no mean effort.......rather Herculean....in tht u had to be a Sage nd control the bearings of ur ever uncontrollable faculties, which was in consonance with the admission age of 17 to 20, roughly....for such a tender age already harassed by a tough Entrance system of cut throat competition...look at the amt of input one had to put in in the first two decades of life.....firstly u had to be a Gud Boy(...I believe Girls were always presumptively Gud...)with a routine approach at school level....always living upto the expectation of ur Guardians, teachers. nd frnds....the frnds circle was the ultimate benchmark of ur success....if u r succesful in the Eyes of ur peers, browbeating thm every now & thn at every nook & corner & opportunity...u were the champion of the future.....or if  U r Vanquished repetitively, still, tht honed up ur existing skill for the Future sparring act of Real Life of the Imminent Future....in tht way.....the environs were competitive & it was survival of the Fittest.....to Grope  an entry to this bedazzled spectre of Competitive Learning was not fraught with risk.....u cud be a casualty for Life if u didn't knew whr ur Heart lay.....!!!!......thn thr wud hv been a long grapple with Jargons to fall in line with the gushing stream of Learning....the youthful decade of life proved a perfect foil to rise upto at least some semblance of a mark.....had it been now in the 5th decade I wud thrown in the towel with  disdain & disregard, perched up on a boat ,sailed along the tide ,fishing merrily with the Starry Fay above....but Alas, the youthful spirit was indomitable nd was ever ready for a one on one spar with books, exams, examiners & ridicule....!!!!.....Robert Bruce & 'Failures r pillars of success' was the ever perennial thought pervading the atmosphere....tht some day we shall overcome.....!!!!....Overcome we really did....nd the training thus gained pitchforked us to Life's many a battle with Elan....!!!!...it is better to be ridiculed, mauled & tattered to smithereens by Examiners after examiners to make a mighty personality of a Caring Service Provider....tht of the Doctor....!!!.....now after such a haloed training in Life the askance rate frm the Real wrk field is wel met nd cake walk shud I say for most of us......!!!!...this the time to thank ur peers, environs, Institutions,Teachers nd for the unstinted support of  ur parents......for without their Competitive edge...one wud hv come a Cropper.....(...to be Concluded...)

....SHUBHO NABOBORSHO ...Poila Boisakh 1422

.....Bengal to me will always be the Undivided Bengal,comprising West Bengal & Bangladesh.....the Poet formulated it tht way, the great rivers, the lush green fields,the mangroves, orchards, hills ,beaches...the people of all faith, the rich tradition of customs & Culinary art...the innumerable festivity...the common haloed history....the backdrop to a great Civilization...gud ,the Poet passed away before Independence....or he wud hv been dealt a more fatal blow to his ever perennial thoughts of Celebration ....as 1422 dawns for Bengal ...being celebrated with equal fervor on both sides of the divide...Banglar Mati, Banglar Gaan & Banglar Pran is the refrain....as I cal Ma & other siblings today....we reunite to share our commonality nd Pranams to the elders & luv to the kids of the clan.....flooded today I am with msgs. frm the trusted clientele here on the occasion of "POILA BOISAKH"...with the two Bengals united here....the feeling is upbeat with people here frm my erstwhile native place of Faridpur & Barisal, not to spk of the Hilsa fish & Date palm jaggery al frm there at ur doorstep....!!!!....Frm Maldives Isles ,Wishing al frnds & fmly SHUBHO NABO BORSHO 1422.....!!!!!

.....the Exodus....

.....relentlessly opposing the Nuclear arms was a gud option over the yrs ,but proliferation of the conventional armory was not,....as most Govts. of the world....after the devastation of the two WWs ,the lessons not learnt nd  whr, thr  shud hv been severe cuts, on arms production & its proliferation....but for sheer greed the arms factories proliferated nd now uncontrolled access is granted to all sundry.....thts the reason now for the "Exodus": of fmlys devastated by wars.....the children r worst affected.....their basic rt to education is denied as they r homeless in refugee camps through out the war zones....living in squalor & abject poverty.....this is not the world the United Nations envisages.....this a sad story of how poor the world leadership is,& how Helpless we hv been....The conventional arms industry had to be reined in, after the Great Wars & Holocaust.....an anti Nuclear stance & Conventional weaponry moratorium ,applicable to all countries shud hv been effected side by side....whereas, the Anti Nuclear stance is reasonably successful...the conventional weaponry out of control nd to devastating levels now.....whereas, this sheer wastage of resources, for satiating the greed of few hv made us poorer in terms of the Quality human life index,in this beautiful Planet of our's.....an urgent adhoc corrective measure be for the refugee camps, salvaging the children ,providing Proper Nutrition,Education
& Safety....& Blanket ban of further production of conventional weaponry of mass destruction, discouraging its proliferation.....the UN have to have a bigger role now, as it checks Nuclear Non Proliferation....it has to keep a tab on Conventional weaponry......to make the World safer.....in our school days, we were witness to wars but never to such perennial levels of our kids times....."Doctors without Borders" r doing a yeomen service to mankind in these difficult times.....its time for all to unite nd not to turn a blind eye....

.....The Piggies(Pigeons) r back on the Window Sill....

.....After relentless effort of the trio at home ....the piggies(pigeons r back on the Window sill of abode nd r no longer hungry....needless to say the kids nd their Ma r happy, nd feeding the birds at home is far comfortable nd satisfying....the gait of both Nanu & Doel r now tip toed as the birds feed without any flutter of a disturbance....a strange request for a kg of parboiled rice at the end of late eve.clinic frm home , last eve alerted me...I was happy to see the resurrection nd upholding of Innocence.. ....God Bless the birds nd their innocent frnds....I thought, cascading down the street back home at breakneck speed.....in June ,now its confirmed travel plans...the children nd Archana r upbeat.....this time it wil be, to begin with Kolkata, Madhupur, Kamakhya,Gauhati, Kaziranga, Haflong, Silchar, Gurgaon, Delhi nd back to Maldives Isles via Colombo....Bangalore gets bypassed aft a long time...as the mid June trip to Assam : lush green,lots of flora nd fauna for the kids to explore....this annual leave is pre planned wel in advance to accomodate visits to frnds nd fmlys like.....the thought of the Grand Reunion of fmly @ MDP....whr we grew up...followed by trips to Kolkata nd Assam nd NF Rly with newer sections hv stirred a spirit of silent jubilation nd compilation.....!!!!

.....forlorn terrace....

.....Doel & Nanu r upset in no uncertain terms....the "Piggies":Pigeons left hungry today, as the adjoining terrace across the balcony, is out of bounds now, as the land owner decides for a construction....hence the handful  of parboiled rice will not reach the Birds, first time in 3 mnths....as, both Archana & I watched helplessly the children's despair & restlessness.....children r innocent ,they communicate with their tender hearts.....a promise to take thm to the Park near the Jetty for a Friday Holiday Rendezvous, with the Birds saved the evening.....to rise up to the expectation of Innocence is the benchmark of performance for the leader of the house...nd al other priorities fall wayside.....the cardinal dogmas of a Gud Heart has to be hoisted ,foisted nd upheld umpteenth time come wht may.....Long Live the Birds, their frnds nd Innocence......!!!!!

....The Colorful Fest..."Holi'

Across the Laccadive sea......Wishing fmly ,Frnds nd their fmly a V Happy Holi....!!!!....visiting a local Island with the kids nd their frnds, sumptuous lunch a la  "Bhojon Rosik Bangali" ......followed by Holi Milan at Frnds res.@ Eve is all set for the  heavy agenda for to morn....luckily its Friday tomorrow nd a Holiday....!!!...this Holi Holiday we will cherish further as our community here has grown & so r the kids circle...." Holi " or the color fest is a vibrant festivity thru out India & abroad cuts across all lines......un inhibited nd unplugged...June again we fly back to Homeland , a slight postponement frm March to accomodate re union with Neil Das  frm US who will fly to India end of May....thr will be a grand re union of sorts @ Gurgaon : Sanjeev & Shweta ,Kids, parents, nephew Rahul , Rimmi nd Rup who has grown up, further, onward to MFP@ United States of Bihar where "Bhatija Happy" will train in frm Chennai on vacation, Big Boss elder bro ,bhabhi, bhatijee Arundhuti nd Grand old lady Ma,& Didibhai.....for further onward with thm to MDP : the pearl in the Heart's Ocean....whr we all spent our childhood, : Ranjudi & Jijaji.....nd extended fmly.....re discovering  every sq inch nd every nook nd corner of memory lanes.....Carmel Convent School...whr we learnt our ABC & 123.......!!!!!!!!