Prescription Phobia

A Doctor is supposed to be a person you can trust your life on. The confidence and faith on a doctor is tremendous and extreme. It is one of the most unusual and pure relations in the world. One will blindly try and follow whatever the doctor will ask them to do.

But how correct or righteous is it? Is the blind faith we keep on our doctors a tad bit overrated? If you ask me I will definitely say YES!

There was a time when the means of communication and knowledge were limited. People did not have an easy access to good books, journals etc and hence the information horizon was extremely limited. In this scenario Doctor was considered to be someone equivalent to God. His word was power and his touch was magic. I have heard my parents’ recite the stories of Doctors, who with just a look at you would tell the symptoms as well as the details of the disease being faced by you. The medicine they gave would cure you in no time at all.


After the huge globalization, the Internet and Google the scenario has changed a lot.Today everyone considers themselves to be doctors by merely putting  symptoms on net and checking the solution.One good thing about this is that people are highly aware of their conditions and the fact that what exactly needs to be told to the doctor. In addition to this people also have an easy access to check the medications provided to them, their usage and side-effects; all can be known with just a click of few buttons.I am not saying that doctors have lost their worth and don't mean anything. I am totally aware of all those magical surgeries that happen all over the world. The hard work, that extra intelligence and that power is really commendable. I also understand that to the families of such people doctors are just like God or should I say angels in disguise.

But the bone I have to pick with doctors is strictly based on my personal experience. After I shifted to Mumbai (I write this line in every other post of mine now-a-days) I frequently started getting ill. Not that I did not fall ill before but yea before these troubles were taken care by my parents and not me. However here as I am responsible for every action of mine and falling sick is not as easy as it had been before.

So my visits to the doctors here have been nothing short of a trauma and tension. The general tendency of any doctor now-a-days is to hear the symptoms, jot down a long list of tests relevant (or irrelevant) and that is all. Rest of the information will be given after the reports are obtained. I mean “hello, did I just pay Rs 500 to get all these tests done”? “Couldn’t I just do it myself and know what I am suffering from?” Not to mention the extra cost to be incurred for all these tests.

I have not been able to build any sort of a relationship with any of the numerous doctors I have visited here. I have to trust the doctor in order to respond to his medications (yes I am that weird). I strongly feel that the amount of trust I have on a doctor is directly proportional to the speed with which I recover. Also I have a habit of giving a detailed description of the symptoms and the problems that I face and I hate it when the doctors nod their head impatiently over the vivid and clear picture that I present. Now I will present1` before you a list of varied and different types of doctors that I have met in the past 1 year:

1. The Impatient one - This one lady doctor that I have visited more than twice. She has already written the prescription while I am still narrating my symptoms. In-between she will interrupt me to ask my name and age to fill in the prescription. I end up feel so incomplete and hurt. I mean isn't it really bad to interrupt someone while they are talking? And not just some random talking but conveying important information to you! So this is like something I really don't approve off and that one quality that I never expect to be in my Doctor.

2. The Come-Hither one - This is the one Doctor that I visited only once (for which I curse myself everyday). Now he had some serious doubts about this profession. I strongly feel that the animal inside him thought that he can pretend to be a doctor and take advantage of the situation which presents him to be alone with a only-lonely girl visiting him. So to check my breathing he took his own sweet time. And his hands refused to be removed from my stomach where he was apparently checking my digestion! This was one of the ugliest moments of my life and I am dead sure that this has happened with at least 90 % of the girls out there.

Girls, next time whenever a doctor tried checking your breathing by putting his stethoscope on your chest, just interrupt him and tell him to check your breathing from your back. As per the information that I have received Doctors can check our breathing perfectly from the back and are even encouraged to practice this for Girl patients.

3. The One-Medicine one - This was one strange doctor who insisted on giving his own medicines. Ok! So far so good. But then I noticed that a woman in my PG suffering from Epilepsy popping the same Green Pills he had given to be for headache and nausea. Now I know that Homeopathy medicines are the same for all but he was not a Homeopathic Doctor. He was a Physician (or so the board on his clinic said). Needless to say, his green pills freaked the hell out of me and that was the last I saw of him.

4. The Over-Smart one - This one doctor I visited for severe shoulder pain. So the prescription consisted of all the tests I had ever heard (and unheard) off. Ultrasound, ESR, X-Rays, Blood Test, Urine Test and what not! Apart from that a few medicines. When I tried to probe him with some information about the medicines all I got in reply was "Painkillers". Okay, painkillers, fine. After going home I randomly checked the medicines on Google and my-oh-my! Mr Smarty Pants together with painkillers was feeding me Anti Depressants and Tranquiller. I mean hello? Not where did that come from? Still I did not lose faith in him, I immediately consulted my family doctor, who by the way freaked out the moment I mentioned the names of the medicine. That was the last time I saw Mr Smarty Pants and his anti depressants.

These different varieties of doctors have shaken by belief so hard that it is really hard to fall sick now. What I have decided to do is, accumulate my diseases, go home to Jammu and consult my family doctor and be relieved of this tension and trauma.

The Big Fat Indian Wedding

It had been months since I had wanted to go to a wedding. Enjoy the bright colors, the grandeur, food and the mere excitement involved in figuring out what to wear. I had been dying out to experience all these emotions involved in attending a wedding and not forget the free food! It is such an astonishing fact that we make such a big thing out of weddings, even if they are of a random acquaintance or even an old neighbor. Ladies will start planning for it weeks and months before. Frequent visits to beauty parlors days before the wedding are no strange scenario. Isn’t it amazing that we spend so much time, money, energy and thought over someone else’s wedding, when we know that we are not going to be the centre of attraction there. But I guess the whole ideology in India is such that everyone expects you to be dressed in nines when attending a wedding. Otherwise it would just be a scandal and a hot topic of gossip-y-discussion on the wedding.

There was a time I hated going to the weddings. Wearing that false forced smile plastered on your face. Random people hugging, kissing you and swearing to be your aunties and uncles. And finally when you brace yourself to get the food, the video camera guy suddenly decides to pop up and focus on your plate. All these reasons mounted together and I and my sister refused to attend any random weddings. So life was fun attending just close weddings.

After I left my home and shifted to Mumbai, I began craving the strangest things. I longed to eat the food I hated when I stayed at home and since the last few months I have badly wanted to go to a wedding. I actually missed the loud and over the top fun. So you can imagine it very well how I must have felt when I came to know that I am supposed to attend a wedding that too here in Mumbai and wait for the best part…. My relatives would be joining me for the wedding here in Mumbai. WoW … Right?

So I attended the wedding and it was like soooo relieving and such a nice break from my well, boring life! A farmhouse was booked in the outskirts of Goregoan Mumbai where are the wedding guests stayed and had lots and lots of fun. The days were filled with lots of gossips, fun and Kashmiri food. The nights were filled with some more fun and loud foot tapping Kashmiri music. Exactly what I needed. The wedding was awesome and the food was great. The opportunity to dust off my vanity was also a very welcome change. By now I am sure you guys are dying to see what I wore for the wedding, so here’s a glimpse.  

I kept my make-up , outfit and accessories all very subtle and simple. It was a day wedding and anyhow I don't really like the loud outfits!

Do let me know your views on weddings and stuff

Love:

SEPO

The North, South and the West of it

Deny it as much as you want but it exists. The divide between the North and the South. North Indians feel they are the best, South Indians feel they are the best and the fight goes on. Over the years being a North Indian I too had developed a few misconceptions about the South side of the country. Some are them turned out to be really true, some funny, some lame and others just plain dumb! I am writing a few of them below, they are really good for laughs:

1. Telugu, Tamil, kanada, Malayalam... I always thought it is all the same.
2. South Indians are sincere and hardworking people.
3. South Indians are pure vegetarians and eat food cooked in coconut oil only.
4. South Indian girls always dress modestly.
5. South Indians are generally more studious.
6. They hate North Indians.
7. All south Indians have curly hair.
8. Crime rate in south is almost nil.

I know I am not alone amongst the North Indians in thinking so. There will be many others who feel just the same. In fact the south Indians would have a similar kind of a list for us North Indians as well!This post sprouted in my mind because of a recent development in the PG I lived in. We are a mix of cultures here, with people from J&K, Orissa, Bhopal, Lucknow, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Quite a mix isn’t it? The difference in states and culture was never an issue between us (though it still isn’t, to some extend). After a new girl came from Andhra we suddenly noticed a great change that took place in the PG. All of a sudden we were unknowingly divided into two groups. Yes you guessed it right ~ North & South!

I considered this fight between North and South like that of Girls Vs Boys, which is sweet, adorable and entertaining! Little did I know that what I thought to be superficial was something so deep and serious. I have a habit of generally googling about the topics I intend to write. So while surfing I came across this very awesome blog (http://www.the-nri.com/index.php/2010/12/the-indian-north-south-divide/). The blog post was somewhat similar in lines to what I was planning to write. So far so good. But what caught my attention was the comments on this particular post. If you go through this post of the blog, you will see the hatred and revulsion reflected by people for each other. Reading this spoilt my mood big time. Even in this age people in India are not one. The caste, culture and creed still come inbetween the country’s progress.


Does it really exist or am I blowing things out of proportion?

The Cooking Escapades

Recently I have been hooked onto the food blogs. You should try searching for them some time. They are informative, provide you a sufficient amount of visual pleasure and are a great source of time-pass. Exactly a year back I knew nothing about cooking, all I could cook was Maggie Noodles. However today I can proudly say that I can cook anything (not sure about the results, but I ain't afraid to try). This confidence does count for something right?

I get really happy feeding people and receiving compliments for my cooking! So coming to the post, all the food blogs inspired me so much so that I decided to try something of a similar nature on my blog. Now as I am an amateur and can't really do a proper post on food. So for starters I ll just let the pictures do all the talking :-)

Don't expect grandeur in the pics, the utensils are limited and the time is always tight! So there is no garnishing and no fancy china..! But decent comments are still expected.:P

                  1. The first three pictures are of matar-paneer in various stages of cooking

2. I am no more a lazy bum. I get up and make myself some salad :)

3. My two favorites - matar aaloo and desi french fries!

4. My fifth attempt at making zeera-rice, which came out very well by the way!

5. Maharashtrain style aaloo curry

6. Spicy black channas

7. My (not so good) attempt at making Tom yum soup

8. Amid all those dishes, good old maggie shouldn't be left out right?

9. That was an incredible fruit salad!

Things to Love About Summers

I am writing this post more for myself, just to tell myself that summers can be good. They are fun if you have the right attitude and spirit. This time I seem to have no patience for summers. I terribly miss my bedroom at home (more importantly the Air Conditioner in it). The room I currently stay in is equipped with a fan with has been designed to produce more noise than air. Well, Bombay nights are cooler but the moment you dare to open the windows, a swarming army of mosquitoes will be ready to attack. I can’t begin to explain how I hate that buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz noise the mosquitoes make in your ear when you are dead asleep.

 So this whole summery thing has made me so very cranky that I decided that it’s the right time to sit back and make a list of all the bright things.  It will really help me cope up with summers for the next 3-4 months. So please feel free to add-on to the list below:

• One can enjoy all the cool fancy icy drinks like mojito's, ice tea's and frappe's. Agreed you can do it in other seasons as well but in summers it something else.

• 
  
•   Longer days mean you get to roam more. Yay for that.
•  Summers mean time to get out those strappy’s and with them your floaters, thongs and tie-ups!  Time for Mangos, Cherries and juicy watermelons. Now what can beat that?
•  Summer time means shorts, sleeveless tees, skirts and scarfs. I must say a really good time to flaunt your style!

•  I may never actually see them but summer mornings are kinda beautiful.
•            Time to flaunt those big framed colored glares.
•       Clothes dry in a jiffy! Now don’t go on to say that this point is stupid. Come to Mumbai in monsoons and you will know. I don’t want to go into the story of how last rainy season I got fungus on my clothes!

•  Summer time is a good excuse to eat more ice-cream.
• Summer time means tied up hair and tied up hair means colourful bands, clips and sexy headgears!

•   Coming to think of it, the bright sunshine is not necessarily bad to look at!
•   Also time to take vacations and chill!

Wow, 12 things to enjoy and look forward to! Not at all bad, wish you all  happy summers. Now I am gonna go grab an ice-cream.

The Transformation.

Whenever I go back in time, I always see myself as the girl who was the thinest of all. It was a usual thing for me to be an audience to the long lectures accompanied by tch tch of Auntyji's at any social gathering that I happpened to be a part of. Everyone related to me (and not related to me) was concerned about my weight. Not to mention I was also a butt of many a jokes amongst cousins and friends.

Needless to say I was never proud of my thin status. It made me painfully self conscious and extremely shy. During my growing years I tried everything I could to stay away from any kind of limelight. Which basically means that I did nothing of which I can tell my kids about. As I grew up and entered my teens, I got a lot of attention from the well, ahem opposite sex. I must say it had a little bit of good impact on me. It managed to increase my self confidence a teeny weeny bit. But it also brought about new troubles. The more I got attracted towards vanity, the madder I became selecting jeans that wouldn't sit on my waist. Tops that looked like hanging on a hanger. 

Over the years however I become very confident of the way I looked. In fact I liked how I looked a lot. The credit for that goes to my absolutely fabulous parents and friends, who never once made me feel like an alien. As I became sensible with time I realized that if people who matter expect and love me the way I am then I am fine the way I am. All through my growing years in school to college, I followed this range of weight which varied from 38 Kg to 42 Kgs. 

Soon after college I shifted to Mumbai and everyone including me thought that I would soon become invisible. First time away from home, new city, new atmosphere, no cooking experience, hectic lifestyle and busy schedule, all factors taken together would definitely take a toll on my slight 40 Kg frame. But surprise surprise, all these factors did something totally unexpected. I started putting on weight at an alarming speed. It's now almost a year that I am in Mumbai and I have put on a staggering, well, hold your breath 10 Kilos of Weight!!!!! Initially I was OK with it but not any more. Firstly, it is the unhealthy fat gained from my initial days food - Pizzas, Burgers, Maggies, Tandoori Rotis, Butter Naans and Lots of Chicken. Secondly, because it is at all the wrong places. 

Now I know that it's not good (neither to look at and nor for my health). But I fail to do anything about it, that motivation (to get up early in the morning or for any thing productive) is missing. I will not stop eating, that I know for sure. I have always been a big foodie, even when I was skinny. Somehow that time miraculously I did not put on any weight but now sigh, the story is quite different. So what I need is just a set up of routine, because I know that when that routine is set up, no one can break it! But sadly I am unable to create that routine. 

Till then I would have to hear exclamatory sentences like "Oh my God,You have put on weight". I mean, Hello, what's your problem? You did not like me thin, you don't let me be fat. What the hell is wrong with people? They can't be satisfied, I am telling you!

Sense and Sensibility

Sometimes what we fail to understand as adults, little children grasp that concept, feeling or gratitude with such an ease that it is really astonishing. Children are honest, true and pure in every respect. Hence you can expect an honest feedback from them; it can be a heartfelt compliment or an outright criticism. But sometimes their little things and deeds make such an impact on us adults that we are left wondering that even though we are the ones with experience and knowledge, it’s sometimes the children who are better judges when it comes to making decisions or saying the right things. I have had the pleasure of meeting such a little child full of sense, sensibility and tremendous amount of self respect.

I was on a major shopping spree with my friends in Bandra (Mumbai). And because I love flowers my friend surprised me by bringing a pretty bunch of colourful roses with her. Now after a heavy indulgence in shopping and food, we were heading towards the Bandra Station to catch a train back home. We were waiting at a signal, when a little boy same to our side selling roses. There was something really special about him; he was not like those annoying little children who keep poking you even when you have your face turned against them. So this little boy kept saying “Didi, le lo na fool” (Please buy these flowers). I showed him my own bunch of flowers and told him that I don’t need more. That far from disappointing him made him very excited. He got animated and started giving me tips on how to keep the flowers fresh for a long time (by trimming the stems and all).

 I and my friend found this little guy way too cute, we decided to give him some money just like that. I took out a Rs 10 note from my purse and gave it to the boy. He took it a little sadly, and said that he sells the flowers at Rs 30. We clarified that the money was not for the flowers but just for him. As soon as I uttered these words, he ran away with the money but not before he threw the bouquet of flowers inside the auto. We craned our necks out of the auto and saw him standing on the divider. He refused to take back the flowers and also our free favour money. Soon the signal cleared out and as the auto started to move ahead, he smiled and waved in our direction.

I have never been able to forget that incident or that boy. He was merely 6 or 7 years old but his self respect and principles were already so strong that they put us to shame. He refused to take any free favours from us. Hats off to the little boy.  I always end of comparing him with the beggars who instead of doing or even trying to find any work simply take the easy way out! I just wish him all the good luck and happiness, wherever he is!