My toe and the girl without legs.

For the last few months I have been feeling a mild pain at the joint of my second

toe with my foot. Left leg. I feel it only when I walk fast or walk for a long distance.

I am used to walking 7- 8 kms every day and sometimes I cross 10 kms. Now,

this pain is annoying. I enjoy my morning walk and am worried that I may have

to reduce my walking. This situation is bothering me a bit. I am considering

seeing an orthopaedician. 

I was in the market this morning. My wife was looking for an exact match for

her saree (It seems like god is yet to create that. He created the saree and

forgot about the matching blouse piece) and I was standing outside the shop

observing the happenings around me. In between the ever hasty and rash two

wheelers, three wheelers and cars, I saw an unusual three wheeler being ridden

by a girl. It was a tricycle. It had a basket in the front and one at the back and

two slots on the handle in which were inserted two crutches. The girl, a teenager,

was pedaling it confidently without bothering about the zooming motor vehicles

around her. 

The girl came close to where I was standing, stopped in front of a hand cart, selected

some vegetables while sitting on her tricycle, put the vegetables in the basket in front

of her and paid for them. Next, she stopped in front of the bakery close by and shouted

out her order. The bakery owner wrapped her order and requested a customer who

was in front of the counter to hand it over to the girl. The parcel was placed in the

basket behind her seat and cash was collected from the girl. The girl then rode

ahead a little more, parked her tricycle next to the footpath, took out the crutches

and hopped into the shopping center nearby. In no time she came back with a bag

hanging on her hand, placed it in the basket, got onto her bike, placed the crutches

back in their slot and rode away. 

I was impressed with the confidence and the seeming ease with which she attended

to her chores. At no time there was any indication of her being handicapped and

different from others. There never was any indication of her being at the mercy of

someone even when she was being helped by others. She took things in her stride

and it looked as if she never felt that she was different from others. I was about to go

near her and say a word of appreciation but I held myself back. By doing that, I would

be pointing out that she was different. Within my heart I wished her well, expressed

my appreciation in front of my wife and we continued with our shopping. 

Now, the pain in my toe seems trivial and inconsequential. It isn’t bothering me much !

Lesser Cuckoo

I had asked a laborer to remove the weeds and undergrowth around the house

and was checking his work the next morning. It was the day before yesterday.

I saw this bird on the ground a few feet away from the steps of my clinic.

Since it remained in place even when I went closer, I thought that it was a very

young one or an injured bird. It looked like a pigeon or a cuckoo but slightly smaller.

I could not leave the bird there as it would soon be on the breakfast menu of the

cat which keeps roaming around the house. I tried to pick it up but when I touched it,

it attempted to get away. But it could not go far. I did not want to cause much

distress to the bird and I wasn’t sure what I would do with it after picking it up.

So, I covered it up with a big cardboard box and called the animal rescue

volunteer, Madhuraj, whose number was with me. 

I knew that the group of young volunteers who respond to the calls from people

like me are sincere and caring. I had sought their help before, once to handle a

Rufous treepie which was very keen on sharing our bedroom and before that, a

Sand Boa, which had liked our car park for an evening stroll. Madhuraj said that

he would arrange to pick the bird up through one of his friends. A volunteer called

me sometime later, got the details of the animal in need of help, and said that they

are attending to another call but would reach me after that. I spent two anxious

hours and then a young fellow, who identified himself as Vishwam, arrived. He

picked the bird up with ease, placed it in a smaller box, said that he would get

it checked by a veterinarian and then decide the future course.  I felt relieved

and returned to my other activities. 

I was curious about the fate of the bird and was considering calling Vishwam,

when I received the message, which I have  posted along with the pictures of

the bird. It was from my son and he had found it on FB. I felt bad to hear that the

bird did not survive. It is not a common species and it is a migratory bird. It is

unfortunate that it could not return back to its home.  Anyway I am happy that an

effort was made to see that the bird remained in this world longer and that I did

what I could. 

The reason for writing this is to express my appreciation of the efforts of the

Animal rescue volunteers. They are occupied otherwise but find time for these

rescue activities which is not an income generating one. They may even have

to spend from their pockets. In the present case they had to take the bird to an

expert twenty kilometers away. It would easily take two hours and the fuel cost

itself would be two hundred rupees ! They don't seek any financial assistance

but gratefully accept if some help is offered. In the stifling atmosphere of this

world where indifference and greed seems to be the ruling sentiments, these

people come along as a fresh breath of air and help people like me, retain the

hope in humanity. I have named only the two with whom I came in contact but

there are many like them working silently. My sincere thanks to all of them.

I wish them well.

Borim - off roading !

If you are a person who looks at the surroundings instead of the mobile phone,

while commuting between Ponda and Margao, you would notice that a foot path

leads into the surrounding fields, after you cross the Borim bridge.

The fields are next to the Zuari river, swampy in nature and a place to find many

water birds. The track goes through the fields for about 2-3 kilometers in a

semi circle and comes back to touch the highway a bit later. It has been my

intention - which hadn’t been put into action of course - to walk through the fields

sometime and I decided to do it this morning.

I parked my car on the highway and started walking just after sunrise at 6am.

It was fine in the beginning but after entering the fields I found that the path has

been covered by overgrowth of grass and weeds, making it difficult to walk

through. I was scared of stepping on or close to a snake or a similar creature,

enjoying it’s beautysleep, annoying it and facing the consequences.And the

path was wet because of the rains during the last two days. So, I tried another

path which went closer to the river but that was muddy and a bit slippery at

places. Still, I managed to walk through some distance and found about

fifteen different kinds of birds. My phone could only capture  the Cormorant

and Brahmini kite, which are considerably bigger in size and also stay put

in a place for sometime. They live in the trees next to the path. These are

the pictures taken during my walk, which was certainly enjoyable, in spite

of the quality of the path. The following are the pictures taken during the walk.

Brahmini Kite - they nest in the trees next to the river

The muddy path next to the river - water seen here is not the river. It is on the other side 

Plenty of cormorants - drying their wings

Sun rise - seen through the foliage

Cormorant on a look out !

Path that I wasn't keen on taking 

Borim bridge  - as seen through the morning mist

weaver birds habitat the trees in the area - Nests. 

Kanheri Hills Near Thane

Kanheri Hills is a part of the Sanjay Gandhi National park and it houses an

important Airforce station. The entry is restricted and hence most of the forest

is devoid of human activity. Good for the fauna and flora. It is supposed to

contain more than fifty leopards and nine thousand deers and Nilgai. I had an

opportunity recently to accompany a group of defence personnel to the top

of the hills. 

We went up the hill in the jeep and it was a wonderful experience. It was raining

throughout the day but my luck held and there was a break of a few hours in

the afternoon when we went to the hills. There was no need to take out our

umbrellas. 

A commonly found plant on the hill 

The Air force means business. No prosecution. Intruders to be shot !!

A pond formed in the path of a stream. Supposed to be home for a few crocodiles. 

Path leading to the top of the hill

A view of the mist covered hill range

Clear water rock crab. Available in large numbers on the hill. I recorded its movement and feeding too but it is a pain posting video in the blog. 

Another very common plant 

Single lane track leading to the top of the hill

The stream 

It was a nice drive up the narrow, slippery path leading to the top and I rarely

get an opportunity to traverse through an area which has no human presence

whatsoever.

But it was a pity that though the forest is said to be consisting more than fifty

leopards and nine thousand deers and nilgai, all we got to see was a lot of mist,

foliage and plenty of rock crabs. One particular crab posed nicely for my camera

and demonstrated its moving and feeding. I think that it ate a piece of decaying

leaf but am not sure. 

During our return I managed to coax one of the officers of our group to walk with

me on the road for some distance and also take a detour to visit a small seasonal

waterfall. I have posted some pictures with captions, mostly to record my visit to

the hills. 

Vile Parle - A window view

 I have just had my lunch and am sitting on the swing in front of the window of

the third floor apartment of my host in Mumbai.

The window overlooks the busy traffic junction in the middle of Vile Parle, Mumbai

and while watching the scene outside my window, I am tempted to imitate my

favourite author Ruskin Bond describing the scene outside his famous window.

I am unaffected by the traffic, the hustle and bustle and also the drizzle ! Mini

trucks and cars wait for the signal to turn green and auto rickshaws and scooters

try to manoeuvre their vehicles to the front. A street dog tries to cross the road

but turns back after almost getting run over by an autorickshaw. In the process of

reaching the front of the crowd, a scooterist brushes a car and there seems to be

an argument. The other road users put the fire out and traffic snails it’s way

past the signal. 

The mini truck of the sandwich wala is covered by blue plastic protecting him and

his customers from the continuous drizzle. I am unable to see his activities -

which according to my hosts is worth watching.

Crows sit on the high electric wires un disturbed by the happenings underneath

and look out for a bite of lunch. I am lucky to be having a full stomach, thanks to

my excellent hosts and as I write this, my eyes are tending to close and I  prefer

to stop typing and doze !

Identity Crisis !

A light hearted write up about a recent experience -   M S Raghunandan

While attempting to grind some stuff in the kitchen a few days back, my wife had

some misunderstanding with the mixer/grinder and as a result, the tip of her right

middle finger was divided into four. Or, maybe, more! I haven’t made a close

examination. We had to rush to a hospital and after both Ola and Uber took us

for a ride, I managed to get an octogenarian rickshaw driver to take us there.

He traversed gingerly through the rush hour traffic for sometime and then his

rickshaw brokedown. With some difficulty, I managed to find another rickshaw

driver willing to go in the direction of the hospital and we reached there in due

course. The emergency section attended to the wound without delay. A picture

of the finger was taken and sent to the plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon

said that he would repair the finger in his out patient room, the same morning. 

We were asked to report to the plastic surgeon’s OPD on the first floor.

“You contact the reception sir, on the first floor, and they will guide you.” 

The counter on the first floor guided us to the second counter and the

second, to the third. A grim faced indifferent lady who seemed to be

disinterested in everything around her, and who seemed to have taken

a vow never to smile in her life, asked me to self register using something

like an Ipad which was on the counter top. I registered, paid the fee, was

handed a sheet of paper and  asked to handover the same to the staff in

room No 20. We were supposed to consult the plastic surgeon Dr Prasad. 

The door of room 20 was shut. We sat on a nearby seat and waited for the

door to open. It opened after about 20 minutes. I handed the sheet of paper

to the person who opened it and enquired if Dr Prasad was available. I was

told that he was in and asked to wait. The sign on the door said ‘treatment room’.

People with their limbs swathed in bandages arrived on wheelchairs at frequent

intervals and left swathed in fresh bandages. My wife sat holding her hand high

with the injured finger pointing to the sky.

I could get occasional glimpses of the interior of room 20 when the door opened

to admit and discharge wheelchairs. There were two examination tables separated

by a curtain, a gentleman in dark blue scrubs who seemed to be in charge, two

nurses and a person who looked like a helper. Other uniformed staff entered and

got out at regular intervals. I assumed that the gentleman in dark blue OT scrubs

was Dr Prasad. 

After an hour this gentleman in blue scrubs came out of the room to speak to a

patient who was waiting on a wheelchair, and I got a chance to read the name,

embroidered on his chest. It said, Dr Shivaraman, Consultant, Surgery. I was

confused. We had been waiting for more than an hour for Dr Prasad who was

expected to be in the room and the room only contained Dr Shivaraman! After

another twenty minutes one of the nurses came out on some errand. I managed

to gather her attention for a few seconds and asked her if we were going to see

Dr Prasad. She said “Yes. I told you he is busy, please wait and he will see you”

and she shut the door on my face. But, as I could see, there was no Dr Prasad in

the room, unless he was hiding under a table or behind a cupboard. My confusion

and anxiety went up by a step. 

Another half an hour later we were called inside.  Dr Shivaraman removed the

temporary bandage, washed the wound, examined it and explained to

us - the status of the injury, possible treatment and the expected outcome.

He told us that he would suture the wound under local anesthesia and it would

take about half an hour to do it. He asked us to wait till he finished his appointed

cases which was expected to take about 30 minutes. He seemed knowledgeable

and confident but he wasn’t Dr Prasad ! That got me worried. 

We were told to meet Dr Prasad, were informed that he was present in the room,

and that he would attend. But there was no sign of the elusive Dr Prasad and this

Dr Shivaraman had taken over ! Nobody seemed to have the time and patience to

offer any clarification. I knew that sometimes it so happens that when a senior

consultant is busy, his juniors would start working on a case and the senior

consultant joins later. So we just waited. 

A little later my wife was called in, Dr Shivaraman injected the local and started

working on the wound. He was keeping my wife’s attention diverted by some

light hearted conversation. I understand that while talking, my wife informed him

that I was a dentist and he called me in. He explained the procedure to me once

again, showed me what had been done, and why he had opted for the same. He

then asked us to wait in his consulting room for completion of formalities and

further instructions. 

I was impressed with his work and in general was satisfied by the way things

went. But I wasn’t happy with the switching over of the attending consultant

without information to us. I felt that it wasn’t fair and decided to make a

mention of the fact in the feedback terminal which I had seen next to the

registration counter. This matter had been bothering me all the while. But first,

we had to meet Dr Shivaraman in his chamber. 

We did not have to wait long. He was with us within a few minutes. He gave

detailed instructions regarding dos and don'ts and wrote out a prescription.

Then he asked if there was anything else that we wanted to know. I got a

chance to clear my doubt from the horse’s mouth. I thanked him for his help

and mentioned  that we were expecting Dr Prasad to attend. He looked puzzled

and said “That’s right. I am Dr Prasad !”.  I borrowed his puzzled look, put it on my

face and pointed to the embroidered name on his chest. “Oh that,” he laughed

and said “our OT scrubs get mixed up sometimes and we don't find our own scrubs. 

We don't bother about it and wear anything that fits us.” 

I explained the anxiety and apprehension experienced by me due to their casual

approach towards OT scrubs and he laughed again. “Please look at my work and

not the name on my dress. See me after three days for a change of this dressing.

I will see if I can find my OT scrubs by then!” and he walked out of the room before

I could say anything else. I wanted to tell him that thank god, only the scrubs get

mixed up in the OT and not patients. But I did not get the chance !

PS : The finger is healing satisfactorily and we are hoping that the next hospital

visit, due after three days, will be the last.