“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?”

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Longest Day

It was a cold morning. I was woken up by a hand who picked me up from the lil place I call my home. Up in her hands I could see my siblings fast asleep over each other. But it was blurry. O wait, I can't see properly yet. You see, I was born a few weeks ago in the very same place I mentioned above. I haven't been away from Mumma either.
Where is she?? I'm darn hungry.
The girl in whose hands I was, was "aww-ing" over me. Aye...I'm the cutest of them all, she says, I don't think so. My lil sister looks so much better than me you know, she's fair, had light brown eyes and the most tender paws among us. On the other hand I'm brown, with white patches here n there...o yeah but I and mum share the white spot o'er our foreheads...or that's what I spotted with my fuzzy vision.
Damn...Where is Mum?
I smacked lips and began crying. Why couldn't this huge human with long hair and really annoying smell, understand I'm hungry! Oh and the way she's holding me, hurts my tummy. She has other friends too. They take their turns in spoiling my hairstyle which my mumma had just licked up for me.
Where is she anyway?
These girls put me down & left. I couldn't smell my siblings anywhere and hell, couldn't even see. I called out for them. Over and over again. Mom?! What if I don't find them again? I want to kick my bro while mum is feeding us...he did that to me last night. I want to hug mum and sleep nearest to her.
Mumma??
I kept crying. I followed the sound , huge, loud noise of something moving. The ground was black ahead. I didn't know what that was! I kept moving ahead & SWOOOSSHH...went something so close to me. I felt my heart beat go whooo. tic tic tic tic tic...
If only mumma saw me.
As confused and scared as I was, I saw someone really tall and grey coming towards me from the corner of of eye. And she picked me up.
I shivered because everything smelled so different. I saw a huge furry golden colored guy staring me with awe. He sniffed me & went & stood near another lady whom he considered his mom. I can hardly remember what they were talking. But finally I was served warm milk. Damn that was sweet!! I couldn't wait for my siblings to come and taste it. Yum.
After a long, warm sleep and some pee pee here & there I finally woke up to see the same hands stroking my head. I was feeling good. She played with me. I tried to step on her feet and chew her trousers that smelled yummy. There were some more feet. I couldn't see their faces. They were SO tall. The golden guy I told you about earlier...well, he was there too all the time. He rescued me from the cruel kitty aunty. Mum had warned me against her.
I wanted to tell mumma how amazing this place is that I ended up in. So much more warm! Can't we shift here??
Well, the girl who brought me picked me up again and took me somewhere. I could see the same black ground in below us. She was taking me somewhere as she called out something. She spoke with a couple of people or so. I was enjoying the warmth of her arms. She feels like Mom!
We returned back and I had some more milk. And slept again.
I had a dream, where I was running towards mom. Oh she looked so beautiful! She licked me everywhere. I couldn't speak anything to her. It was overwhelming. My entire body shivered. And I woke up. I found myself in the arms of someone new. She was looking at me with one of the best smiles I've seen. She was soft. She was that golden guy's mother if I'm not wrong. Or maybe not. She was talking to me....asked me if she could keep me.
No way...my mumma must be out there looking for me!
Some more playing and occasional chewing on something extremely tasty in her feet, the girl who brought me to this place loved talking to me. Then she picked me up and again took me outside.
She put me down. I could see someone staring me. It was far away for me to look who it was. Neither could I smell it. I walked towards it. Slowly.
It was something familiar.
A few more steps ahead and I smelled!
MOM? Is that you?, I cried out.
I ran.
Yesss!
Yes. It's her.
I felt the same choking in my throat that I felt in my dream. Oh she's beautiful.
I missed you so much. I can't explain mumma.
I ran in between her legs. I jumped to lick her face.
She pushed me away. I didn't understand. Maybe she was angry why I left without telling her. I tried licking her again. She pushed me back again. This time she showed her anger. She growled at me.
I was lost. I didn't understand anything. And ah....one sharp hit on my back. I fell down crying. Looked up to see my mum's face coming near me. O..one more sharp thing in my belly. I saw how my mumma's teeth enter my flesh and come out with my blood oozing out. Third hit in my neck. I was dizzy. I was surprised. I cried out loud. I was dizzy. I couldn't see my mom's face and ask her why is she doing this to me. Fourth hit...this time in my head. My heart was fast, faster than it was in the morning. My head was full of questions.
My own Mom was killing me?! What in the world can be worse than being killed by your own mom!? And why?
The last thing I remember seeing was that girl who left me. She was very far away, staring me, sobbing.
And the world went round......

Friday, May 28, 2010

Taliban personified



I hate Tuberculosis, really really hate it!! Not only because Mycobacterium creates a havoc in the human organism...but coz Prof. Yayushev created the same havoc in our MINDS.
We were going to be his last group this semester and so we were able to get a feedback from the previous 3 batches about what we are going to face!! ..n well, they actually Frightened us..
Yeah..they did manage to do that, very well indeed!



Its a 22 day long rotation minus 2 weekends. And in this long cycle, all he deals with is LUNGS..poor lungs... I get the idea of a Phthysiopulmonologist teaching us lungs but for 22 DAYS, isn't that too much??
And again, his class starts from 8:45 till 12:30 with 2 long breaks in between (so basically waste of time...we spoke about all the sensible and non-sensible things during those sacred TB-free mins)

I came to know his mantra- REPETITION. He constantly loved repeating the same things, the same words, the same tests...lol...MORBIDITY was his fav. answer to any kind of a general question regarding TB
For instance: Why don't we diagnose TB but instead go for Pneumonia as a primary diagnosis?
Why is TST positive in Developing countries?
Even if culture negative, and no response to Antibiotics, why do we still continue
with anti-TB Chemotherapy?
. .... and many many more questions!
Answer to the above: MORBIDITY (...lolzzz )
within a few days with him, we could answer him :) ..and get in reply, " you are absolutely right!, absolutely right!!!"

Overall his cycle could have been of maximum week..not much..coz all he did was repeat, repeat, repeat...n repeat! the more I hated that subject, the more it seemed longer and never-ending.

That's description of X-ray.. :) :) Woah...
But hey, apart from all the boring , aweful time we had, I have to mention that he taught us X-rays just too well!!...so much so that we find TB in any damn X-ray henceforth :) :)

So concluding about him..he's intelligent and systematic, repetitive and boring, monotonic and limited, encouraging and expressive..in short explains too well, just too much! :)
Now take it as a grumble or an appreciation about this teacher in my academic career!!!


Guys who know him.... "по-чи-фо-ра-ин-ри-ко-с" !!!!