Teachers' Day

Nothing special....Just wanted to remember all my teachers once and thank my stars for having them. I hardly am responsible for my success. They are people who have toiled like anything to make even a small amount of what I am today.....So thank you. Especially, my school teachers, 'coz you are the people who created a me out of an uncooth young bud brought before you. So Thank You.......There is nothing that can repay what you've given me.....and I guess trying to repay would very well insult your efforts.......
I'm bugged. Got a tutorial tomorrow....Hoping it goes well.....I mean, yeah, i kinda know whatever I do, but I hope I can write it all.....Gotta study and write my article so cya!!!!

The Rainy Days

We've had tremendous rainfall every day for the past three days. There's been flooding, slum-damage, accidents, tree-falls, motor-vehicle breakdowns, traffic-jams all over the city. With the drainage the way it is in the city, the water could just stop short of getting into the first floors of buildings. Watching helpless people stuck with their broken down vehicles, old people trying to walk around on foot in the rivers on the streets, melts my heart to its last bit. I wish I could talk more about it.
On to college, we had another pricking session on Tuesday. And my earlier prick hadn't even healed. To make matters worse, I was selected as a volunteer for the session. So the Sir pricked my ring-finger one hard time and did it all, and then I had to do it all myself again. Having the cold, hard and fast and a runny nose, I was breathing through my mouth half the time. So after taking my first prick, I started sucking the blood slowly and steadily, without any air bubble coming in, before my breath began to give way. The teacher was there saying, "Good, good, very good" and then suddenly, " Don't suck with your mouth!" Had to prick myself again and did the same thing again! The teacher got tired and my cold increased. I asked her whether I could do it with somebody else. I'd had enough of pricks. The first time I was pricking myself, I pulled hard at the needle out of its cover and got it stuck in the back of my fore-finger. That hurt. Seriously hurt. And that blew my confidence to pieces. First the paining prick from the volunteering, now another one from my mistake. And then two more! Ask yourself why I wasn't ready for a fifth prick on my hand.
But had to do it finally. The teacher appreciated my cadour. She had to. And I did it all. Maybe not exactly smooth, but I managed it. She was delighted when I showed her my own Leucocyte count. " Very Good!" Those words really put some ease to my aching hand. The back of my fore-finger still pains, but the rest is fine.
We had the Staff Debate today. Topic-" Sex Education is a Must" Interesting. It was fun watching the staff fight it all out. And we were allowed to give the Dissection a miss. So anything will do. Even a boring debate would have done it for me. Luckily it wasn't.
We've got a tutorial and submission coming up. Finally have to study now!...Good Night!!

Two days of Fever

Yup, thats what its been. Courtesy a lecture I attended sitting right under a fan working at its full speed, I ended up with fever on thursday. It was horrible. My face was all red, palms all white and eyes all droopy. Didn't know what to do really. The PG student who was taking our lecture was staring at me all through and finally managed to ask whether I was ill or what!
Decided to call mom to tell her I was coming back, but the sweetest person that she is, she said she'd be there to pick me up. I' ve spent a day and a half at home. Yesterday, I went to college. It was ok. I mean, when there are ten other things to think about you automatically start feeling better. Dissection however got me down again. The formalin kills man! My eyes were watery and my ex-runny nose was runny again. by the time I came back, I had an awful headache and all that I wanted to do, was to go off to sleep. Better today, and will get even better tomorrow. My signs show that I'm improving so thats great. I hate being ill. Thats really it for now. Gonna start studying hard from tomorrow, so enjoying myself on my last day of holiday as such...
Ending with an excerpt from my diary entry on Thursday:
"Hello and welcome to Redland!!! D land where Pranjali Sharma's all red with droopy eyes, a red-hot nose, runny nose, white palms, cold soles n luvly washed, wet silky hair. Where my ears choke up n throat is sore, where my mouths half-open, body shivering; where Pranjali Sharma is sick n ill wid fever, yet looks 'khoop goad' (very sweet) in Mohini's words.

No pics n today

Its irritating man, the pics all are tilted and there's nothing in blogger that can help me get them correctly arranged. Can some one please help me out here. Some of the pics are so good, and cute, really wanted to post 'em.
Moving on to today, I actually managed to prick myself well and get the blood out in one straight line without any air bubbles in the pippette. Thanks to that Sir who was pressing my finger hard and actually made me complete my prac. Hb count's 12.4. Good enough. Imagine a girl who looks healthier than me had an Hb count of 10.6. So obviously a victory of sorts. The lectures were boring. I wasn't feeling good and the teachers just added on the torture. I've got a sore throat and a cold. Fever any time now. But I actually understood something in the Clot lecture! Thankfully, the biochem lecture was about stuff we've already done, so wasn't a guilty feeling, when I wasn't paying attention.
There was another surprise for me in store. One of my friends is in the NDA, n we haven't talked in a long time. There's no range in his cell there. He actually called today! I've been thinking about him for the past few days and wham! there's a call. I was in the dissection hall, so couldn't talk much. Hope he calls tonite. I mean, I really have to know what NDA in really about. Dissection was ok. Our batch teacher was very unfair to us. Just because we couldn't answer some of her questions, she decided to mark us all absent. Lame! I feel like a school-going kid as I write this sentence. And we had fun trying to make the Non-Maharashtrians speak Marathi. Some of them don't even have the dialect rite! God knows how they are gonna stay here for the next four and half years.....
Well thats it. Really pissed with the pics problem. Wanted to post them, but the wrong tilt destroys the entire beauty of the pic!

An Experience

Before I talk about today in college, or about yesterday at Lohagad Fort, or about a cute guy who happened to share my surname, I wanna talk about this conversation I had with my mom's friend's husband. This friend of hers is a teacher in Physiology( hasn't taught us yet!) in BJ. So my mom said that she'd drop her home, and ultimately, we ended up going to her place. So that's where I met her husband. He's very jolly person and a Translator by profession. He was very sweet and all, and as mom and aunty went around for a round of the home, we sat talking. The substance of our conversation was mainly about how I ever topped my school ( St. Mary's School, Pune), and then went through a very different system to get admission into the best college in Pune. Since their daughter is also in Mary's, he wanted to know more about my concept of the school. That's where he said that he took around 32 yrs of his life to know what he really wanted to do. He went through commerce, then management and was into industry( in the true sence of the word), before his career took a path that he liked. He said that, he never really felt at ease with whatever he was doing or with whomever he was interacting, because they always seemed to be totally different than he ever was. There never seemed to be much of a connection between him and his 'friends'. And so he was there, when out of the blue, by Fate, (as he put it), he met a professional translator and his path fell into place. All though the conversation, I almost felt like I was talking to myself. This is exactly what I feel at this stage. The confusion, the don't-really-like-what-i-do thing, the want to do something different, the desire to be a writer but not be allowed financially. God! For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm not going through this, being the only one to do so. There are other people like me, people who've gone through the same things I'm going through right now, people who've had the same aspirations I have now. And he maintained diaries too. So the world is really a small one and Fate has been good to me today. I know that I want to keep writing and be a writer, yet continue with medicine, because its a way of life. I feel like I've been drifting through the system, and now I kinda feel that there's a reason to it. I feel light and sorta empty-headed but in the good sense. Thank you uncle for that 10 mins of conversation, it helped me sort my life out a bit. And will help me enjoy my time in a medical college a little more...:))
Now for the trek. It was awesome. And I realised I have no stamina. India is a beautiful country and all, but the sites we encounteres at Lohagad and even at the Malvali railway station were just more than breath-taking. It was serene, pure, raw, truly NATURE. When you talk about nature, you generally talk about the trees, the mountains, the rivers, the waterfalls, the clouds and the overall beauty of the place. What made the Bhaja caves and Lohagad fort more beautiful was the history attached to it. At almost every step we took, we could feel the history surrouding us. Lohagad was beautiful and very, very cold!!!!
We took about 3 hrs to reach the fort after we had finished with the Bhaja caves. It was tough, the journey. The road was simple, but it was horrendous trying to walk up and continuously for 3 hrs without any experience. I was quite famous as 'Red Tomato', when we stopped for our first halt, and then as a lesser red one when we reached the top. It was embarrassing, especially, when Raunak kept on teasing my face colour.
The top was drizzly, because it was enveloped in the dark cloud cover. We had our lunch in a cave-like stone room, and then had an intro kinda session with seniors. Our trip was cut short by a quarrel between our management and the locals. So we started down almost an hr earlier. the road which seemed tough when we walked up, was quite easy and we carried on without any incidents of slips and broken parts. Because of the rain, the ground was quite stick-muddy and slippery but we managed fine. The bestest moment of the trip was when we all jumped into the waterfall.
We had never expected that our rope-leaders would allow us in there, but they were all for it!!!. So it was a walk on the water covered stones, and then suddenly a fall, because they was no stone!!!! It was seriously fun and God! we went crazy. I fell so many times but never stopped. We had water fights, photos, laughter, lens problems and total fun! There was none slightly dry by the time we all finished. The experience of splashing water on somebody you don't know and vice-versa, of somebody pulling you up when you've fallen down, of you doing the same, the screams, the 'BJ' shouts........it was a whole new world. And of course, our clothes got clean, our face got washed, we felt cold instead of hot for a change, and felt like this big group of FRIENDS who were having a LOT of fun.
There was a sad part to it too. My shoes which had started to give way to wear and tear, finally lost it all in the water. When I came out, I was in a pair of shoes in which one was with half the sole hanging in the air, and the other with the top of the shoe coming out of the sole!!!I managed in till the end, because of the long laces with which i tied the top and the botom of the shoes together. I was better off than another girl, Mrida, who suffered a worse fate of shoes early on in the climb to the top. She came down, on socks with all stuffing that our seniors could find. We learnt a lesson: Carry an extra pair of shoes every time you go on a trek.
We finished the journey coming back in the local from where we started, me being totally wet. In the local, the specials were in the form of our male batch-mates singing in the most unruly voices, songs that we hate and like in the typical BJite and Marathi style. It gave me headache while coming back, and encouraged stares and comments from passengers both ways. I really enjoyed it all. There was no fall, no losing-my-cell incident and total 'dhamaal' ( enjoyment+ fun+laughter). I pity those who did not come and feel bad for those who did not enter the waterfall. I'll post the pics in the next post.
Onto today, the interesting incident: We separated the leg from the cadaver; the result of super-human effort by our dear table-mates, who bother to touch the body. I didn't watch the process because of the effects it would have on me after it was over, and the video of them doing it was stuck in my head. But, I am an integral part of it all, any way!!! Today, was a little less productive than usual, bcause the formalin hurt my eyes so much that my eyes couldn't stop watering and I even got a cold!
Thats what it has been. A great weekend. The pain in my , umhh, gluteal region and the upper part of my fascia lata, doesn't count much in the experience of a lifetime..:)))

A Rare Occasion

I was siting and reading my Cunnigham as usual during dissection. I mean, its kind of a universal fact- 'Pranjali Sharma does not touch the cadaver'. So, being true to myself, I was siting and reading the book while Prajakta ( the gal who does the cutting work. I'll never say it to her but Thank you!!!! I dunno what I'd do without you, my dear!) was doing the dissection. I'd read a bit of the chapter from BDC yesterday, so I could actually understand what Cunnigham was trying to say. Really engrossed as I was, I was oblivious to my surroundings. Suddenly there was a voice apart from mine ringing in my mind: "Have you ever participated in the dissection?" I looked up and to my horror saw a teacher standing above my head. I stammered, " Yes, Sir. I did the dissection on the first-" . He cut me, " When you talk to a teacher, you should stand up and talk." Crap!! " Yes Sir. I cut the skin on the first day. Now she does the dissection and I read and then we figure out all the contents." " And what about the other two girls? Don't they read?" "I don't know sir." And then he asked me where the Sciatic Nerve and the Gluteus Maximus was, what the origin of the sciatic nerve and what the function of Gluteus Maximus was. Thankfully, I actally knew all that stuff! So he was impressed. In fact, most of us answered right, so he was happy with our table. When he went off, I just sat down in relief wiping beads of sweat from my forehead ( exaggerating!!!).
And then I realised, the 'he' was none other than the Head Of Department Of Anatomy, Dr. Savgoankar!!

Thinking Time!

Today was about 'No Dissection'. We had LCD, thankfully in the classroom, unlike yesterday, and then Histology Practicals. So, I didn't get dirty or sick of the smell, and my head's clear about writing today.
First of all, wanna remember Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh for their efforts to get the medals. It was one of my proudest moments as an Indian, to hear the news. Especially when its games like Boxing and Wrestling. I, especially, feel that Sushil Kumar deserves more of the credit, because he did what no one had ever expected of him. Goddamit! People didn't even know his name before yesterday. But today, you stand proud and tall, and that is what matters the most. They showed his home on TV. And looking at all of that we realise how much he might have suffered during the years he's spent being unknown. Its not easy, and thats why he deserves more adulation than a Sania Mirza or an Ajali Bhagwat. Sania is nowadays more style than substance. Its almost as if she's lost her appetite in tennis. When you see greats like Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin, trying harder even after they've achieved their goals, trying to show support for some one like Sania Mirza feels like an insult to them and to you yourself.
Moving on from sports, coz I can really go on and on and on, I'm gonna talk about myself and BJ. I've been wondering whether mine has been a right decision. Mom enjoyed college, every day was a special day for her. For me, its more about a treasure game. Search for the treasure of a fun day. I thought that learning what we are would be interesting, I'd look forward to studying ( something I'd forgotten in the 12th). But its not happening. I keep wondering if this was the picture I saw of myself. And evry time the answer is NO. I did not. And I wonder whether, I'm forcing myself to do something I just don't have enough liking for. May be its the study load catching up with me. Dunno. Well, I need to sort myself a bit. But before that a serious need to do the Gluteal Region and Popliteal Fossa. Besta luck to me!!!

A First Holiday

I can't believe, that I'm being the person I hate most- Hater of college. I don't really hate it, but seriously, there nothing like a lovely long holiday over the weekend. Its been a quiet and nice weekend, and still one more day to go......I'm just lovin' it........
My grandparents and Mama, Mami, and cousins were over to celebrate Rakshabandhan. We had a lot of fun, plus good food at the restuarant we visited, so I slept a content sleep. I'm planning to study a bit today, hopefully I'll be able to live up to my expectations.........
And another aspect of my "Journey Of Success" began yesterday, with the new season in sports. EPL's started and Liverpool started with a relieving victory 1-0 over Sunderland. So, I've got evrything, really....I"m so content!!!!

Two Weeks and Still Counting

Yeah, can't believe its two weeks.....feels like its been ages since I joined college. Its a tough day, every day, with the lectures from 9 till 11, pracs from 11 to 1 and then Anat dissection and LCD from 2 to 5. At the end of it all, you are just tired and out of breath. Add to that, having to walk a bit, to get a rickshaw to go home.....whew!!! God, its tough!!!!
Apart from the usual stuff, going on, my Haematology pracs were a little different. After a first half-hearted prick, I picked up will out of the deepest depths of me, to prick myself again, and deep. And this time it was actually easy. The first moment when the needle-tip touches your finger, stings, but after that you can appreciate the journey of the needle through the epidermis, to the capillaries in your finger. I did it, and thats just made me even more confident about myself in here. After having drawn as much blood as you can, you have to suck it in, using a pippette. Now thats where I went wrong. Its just like me. To be wrong the first time. And then I got it wrong almost five times. Every time, an air bubble inside the pippette. Seriously, it was maddening. Then, my mom's friend who teaches there came to me, and she asked me," How many times have you pricked yourself?" " Three times, ma'am." " Thats it then. Don't prick any more. Do one thing, practise with water before you move on to blood." And then she moves on to her Head and introduces me as 'Pradeep chi mulgi, geetanjali chi mulgi. Majhya barobarach hoti. 84 chi batch' ( Pradeep's daughter, Geetanjali's daughter. She was with me in BJ. Batch '84). Yeah, right ma'am, thats what I needed. Just when I couldn't do the prac, an introduciton which would insult my parents if they saw me there. I know she was trying to help, and I'm glad she did, 'coz I'd never have done the prac without her......... Thank you ma'am.
Yesterday, we had 'Preceptor Counselling', a session of couselling of a batch of 25 students, with Dr. N G Kulkarni. It was fun. I'm the only person who's into blogging, in the group. So he was impressed. Add to that, he taught both mom and dad, and now he's teaching me!!!! " So you are a literary person?", he summed me up. It was the best time I've had in BJ, including all those moments with my group of friends.
Dissection has just gone from bad to worse. I don't touch the body, but the smell is killing. I just can't bear it at all. In fact, the period from 2 to 5 is the one period I dread the most in the day. And the smell gets worse day by day, as the cadavers decay in logarithmic progression. And if we have LCD before that, I have to first spend an hour in the room next to the dissection hall, where formalin makes my nose lose sensation and eyes water. Only yesterday, I thought I was going to vomit in there as our batch teacher taught us. Wish there was an option....... I knew I'd signed for this, but I didn't think about the INCREASING smell when I did.......Hope the year gets over fast.
And I gave my name for Solo-Singing in the Vedant, and then sang to myself only to realise that I've lost my voice. So now, I'm planning to start training again and then go for it. Thats all there is. Happy 61st Independence Day........

My First Time

And it was horrible. I still can't believe that I did what I did. I just cannot look at my hands in the same way again. Yesterday, we were supposed to feel the cadaver, as our batch teacher showed us, the anterior-superior iliac crest and spine and the pubic symphysis. I did it without really wanting to do it. Not the symphysis, though, and you'd understand why.
But today was probably the worst experience ever. I have felt puky in an environment of hospitals only twice. The first, about 3 yrs back, when I accompanied my mom to see a patient who had leprosy. So one of his wounds, on the leg, had become gangrenous and when my mom asked the relatives to remove the bandages, the entire room was filled with a yucky smell for an hour. I sat with a handky over my mouth all throughout, till my mom was done. The second time was today.
No handkerchiefs, no napkins. All you have is the gloves in your hand, the instruments in a box next to you, and the body in front of you. It took a lot of will power to start off, considering that I had decided not to touch the body at all. But you don't want to be left out of things, do you?? SO I actually did the dissection of the lower limb, till I couldn't bear the smell at all. Yeah, our dissection was great, everybody wondered and cursed their luck for having got fat cadavers to cut, and we had all the students on the tables around us coming and saying, "Wonderful...lucky you!", but the experience of smelling it all is too much. I had a frown on my face all throughout the dissection and then the lecture after that, because I kept feeling the smell around me. I even came and had a bath at home, because I couldn't bear it all....
Well, one things decided: I hate dissection and I never want to take up surgery as my branch of choice, however good I may be in it. Period.