Closing of a Chapter........

After a tearful farewell in Dawki , i have joined in my new hospital and finally my things were shifted and arrived home. And today i recall my first day when i had gone to Dawki.....a fresh graduate , updated with the latest in dentistry, very enthusiastic and looking forward to my job , all eager to put to practice what ever i had mastered in college.....the best part was that here i would be my own boss. No more running over to the head of the department for every small permission. I could not wait to start off. I was given a quater and so brought my stuff what ever i would need to turn that little cold whitewashed 3 roomed place into a livible one. After all this was going to be my home for the next , God knows , how many years . And i did turn it into a very cozy home. I had a constant flow of visitors......my friends would come from far and near and spent a weekend......and would enjoy like no body's business. By the end of their stay , they would all leave recharged......lol. In the hospital , i started seeing patients and i remember they could not understand my language....so i thought , if i had to reach out to them , i needed to learn their local language......and i did . My teachers were all the kids in the area. I would spent hours with them and thats how i picked up the language and by the end of 6mths i could converse well enough with the patients. It was my first stay in a rural area.....i started observing their lifestyle.....their occupation.....their habits......well no where did dentistry figure in their life. How was i going to talk to them about cosmetic dentistry when some of them have never used a toothbrush in their lives. I suddenly realized i had a big challenge in front of me ......so all the classroom talks took a back seat. I had to get to the root problem first....create an awareness among them.,introduce them to dentistry. The hospital had many programmes. I got involved in them and when ever we had a health camp i saw to it that i could speak something to crowd about teeth.This paid off in a big way. But apart from that , I learnt a lot about rural life.....saw their hardships....saw the many elections where the candidate comes and makes promises and then forgotten for the next 5 yrs.I saw the simplicity of the people , their kindness, their trust on me, their warmness....all that they have given to me in the past years. I am grateful to each one of them. Today as i stand and bid them good bye , i could only say a thankyou to them.
A chapter has closed in my life........and whenever i open this page i would always recall my days here with fond memories.

Keep Me Safe Please.......

The Candle March today brought back fresh memories of that fateful night when the nightmare started. An sms was all that was needed to rob our sleep....Terror has struck Mumbai. And with it came back more memories.......the delhi blasts ....the gauhati blasts all in the past consecutive months....... the memory of the nine year old in delhi .......the children who lost their parents in gauhati...... the father who could never get out of the driver's seat.....the last phone call of a loved one still haunts us......well the list goes on.....what is the future???......when will the blame game stop?????...... what answer can we give to this young child when he asks why do we light candles here...... who are those people???......why do they hate us ????......and so many endless questions that arises in his little mind. And will we ever we able to give him any surety when he looks up to you and says with all innocence and hope "Keep me safe please ". Lets all join hands and work for a better future.....a safer future......a brighter future for the children of tomorrow.

The Box of Chocolates.......

One day a parcel arrived out of the blue and when I opened , it was a box of chocolates sent by my best friend specially for my son and I should admit that i did have a cub's share if not a lion's. It was a beautiful packet and i din't have the heart to throw the empty packet so i decided to add to my collection.....my own museum collection which goes back to my childhood days......i have all sorts of souveniers in it. What struck me most about the box was that it contained four little boxes which looked liked the trinklet box i have to keep my stuffs but here it contained far more precious gems . As i opened each of the small boxes , with the chocolates overflowed a lot of care , love , understanding and thoughtfulness. It was a priceless gift and words simply fall short when I want to say a thankyou.....but nevertheless here is a big THANKYOU....

Diwali.....The festival of lights.

This is one of my favorite festival.....Diwali .......the festival of lights. And here i often remember a hymn we learnt in school.......It was written by Sri Rabindranath Tagore and it goes something like this........."amidst your numberless stars.....let me place my own little lamp.....In the dance of your festival of lights ......My heart will throb and my life will be one with your smile....."!
I wish we could burn more candles in our everyday life and spread the spirit of brotherhood among our selves . Lets hope the light of our lamp enlighten us in every way and we do away with all the walls that we built around us built bridges instead. Let each lamp that we place in our homes signify the smile that we want to bring on every smileless face we see around us.And lets not wait for the next diwali to light another lamp.

A Pledge of a Friend.........taken from a diary

"I met you as a stranger

took you as a friend

hope we meet in paradise

where friendship never ends......"

"These are a few lines that often comes to my mind when i think of you my friend......we met by chance.......and the day i extended my hand of friendship to you......i had also pledged that i would try to be a good friend to you......i offer a frienship where i don't judge you .......but i try to see from your point of view......where after a fight we could still hold our hands and smile into each other......where in spite of no time we created time...... where other practicalities of life will never effect the genuinity of our friendship.....where in spite of the distance between us .........it could only take a second to reach when we were needed......where everything comes with an unconditional tag......where many a questions had no answers.......inspite of the fact that i know where i stand in your scale of friendship . I write this in my diary today and the day when i am gone, my dear friend, please know you meant a great deal to me. Thankyou for walking into my life...... I have tried to be a good friend to you and for all the times that i have failed you ....may i be forgiven."

This was a confession of a friend in his diary.........Well friendship sure is a very powerful relationship.....and i beleive in this institution very strongly because a friend is a gift from God and lucky are those who find a good friend in this fast paced world. A friend who knows you through and through and loves you all the same......unconditionally.

Freedom.....A bleak future

Just as we were recovering from the series of bomb blasts that shook the capital city and our country on the whole .....another went off and shook Tripura and the whole north eastern region .....and with it came the red alert all over the region. Suddenly the festive moods of the people fizzled off and even the coming of Goddess Durga could not lift up the spirit of the people in Shillong. Adding to it the rains were pouring non stop. People are suddenly apprehensive to hang around in crowded places......late nights were suddenly thought twice......young boys and girls were given dead lines to be home....the men in uniform were extra vigilant and in doing their duty were also constantly reminding the general public that all is not well in and around us.
I was in the capital on the 27th of sept. when another bomb blast shook the city where among the many , a young boy of 9 yrs lost his life.And I asked myself "did the young lad know that today would be the last day of his life when he got up in the morning......did he know that the hugg that he was getting from his mother was the last one.....did he know that he was having his last meal.....did he know that he was sleeping in his bed for the last time ......??????" There were no answers. what about all those people who have lost their loved ones ???? Its heart breaking when in a country like ours where Independence Day is celebrated with such pomp and show , that we are actually not free to even breathe the morning fresh air without thinking what the day has in store for us......as my friend rightfully said " when we get up in the train we don't know whether we will reach the destination?????" Sad !!!! How long will we be chained like this by our thoughts and fears?????? when will we walk with our head held high ???? When will we break free from all the narrow domestic walls that we built around us ??? When will we start judging a man for what he is ....and not by his caste, creed or relegion???? Is it fair to bring up our children in a world where we are plagued with such hipocrisy and where his life is so uncertain...????? And most important of all, will he know the true meaning of freedom which now looks so bleak.....???? Its a long road to freedom....a winding steep and high.......but when you walk in love with the wind on your wings and cover the earth with the song you sing .......the miles fly by...... (thats a little song that i learnt back in school).....and today i fully understand its meaning ......will our children.....the future of tomorrow..... get to cross all the miles and the stones that comes on their way and turn them into MILESTONES.....?????

The Un-breakable Bond......

From all the pictures i took recently this is my favorite. I have always thought that a child feeding on his mother is the most beautiful thing in this world . The mother-child bond is a bond that no law can break.....and this is one law that is universal irrespective of caste,creed,relegion.
I always love to look at the child ... to see the contentment ....the security.....the love ......the joy.....that he feels oblivious to his surroundings......Sometimes its really amazing when you think how our Creator thought and planned the laws of nature....

My Hawker Brother......

As i entered my colony , a neighbouring aunty called and told me , " hey guess who came today ?" I asked , who ? "Your long lost brother". I was baffled. My"long lost brother ?" . I asked her again to be double sure I heard right. Any way i reached home and there i was standing in front of a person whom i haven't met for some 27 odd years and if i din't get the news beforehand, i would have not recognised him ....I stood there shocked and numbed with emotions as the memories of the by gone years came rushing in front of me in flash backs...... was this the same person who years ago had taken me as his little sister and whom i adored like my big brother.....???? . I looked at him and my eyes told me time has not been kind to him.......it had taken a toll on him which was clearly visible on his face. Overcoming the shock , we got down to catch up with what has been happening in our lives. I came to know he lost both his parents as soon as they left shillong thus leaving him an orphan at a very young age. With no one really to take care of him he had to fend for himself and thus survived those initial years doing odd jobs......studies by now all forgotten. Finally with what ever little money he could save ,decided to enter the hawkery trade and then life was a little better in the sense that he now knew where his next meal would come from. As the years rolled by , he got married and had two children. Both doing well in studies . Dada as i fondly call him told me that his daughter wants to study medicine.Son was doing his last year in college before he becomes a commerse graduate. I sat there listening to his stories as he told me first hand the life of a hawker. He was doing remarkably well in his chosen field. what surprised me was that i was looking at this trade as a profession for the first time......All this while a hawker for me was someone who would be wondering in the trains calling out for their goods. and sometimes even looked upon with suspision .I failed to realise that even these people have families back home ......... have children who also have dreams to make it big.......who dreams that their daughter find a good groom....... my dada even had pension plans. I was really brought down to the harsh realities of life..... and to think of our past by gone days when his parents were there what a cushioned life he led......not a worry ........those were the peaceful days.......those days when we use to all sit around in the late afternoon sun in the bitter cold months of january and play chinese checkers......the day he got a doll for me .... which i still have till date.....was he ....could he have been the same person ????? . He stayed with us for a couple of days......and then left for kolkatta where he stays with his family. As i saw him off ,I stood there till his shadow disappeared..... wondering when will we ever meet again....... What ever his chosen profession is .... he is and will always be my brother....the bond we shared will never change........I can only say a silent prayer for him as he goes about his daily trade.....wishing him all the best always.

A Medical Prayer.......

These are lines I took from a poster given to me by a medical representative friend..... I loved these wordings so much because it actually speaks what we doctors irrespective of which ever departments we belong to at some point of our lifes really feel while we treat our patients.......I qoute here......


"It is indeed a tragedy of circumstances My Lord,
that my livelihood involves meeting people with unbearable pain,
but also it is my good fortune the You have given me this excellent opportunity to
mitigate their sufferings and thus atone for whatever selfish interest I might have.
You have cast upon my shoulders this great responsibility and have given me dexterity to
do it.
Please grant me the strength , My God, to enable me to fulfil this task in all earnestness.
And yet , all the while , let me not ever forget that ultimately it is You , who is the real
great Healer and the Fountainhead of well being and that , I am merely a medium through
which your benovelence flows,
Oh, My Lord, bestow upon my patients thy healing touch........"

Sun Set .........

This is a picture of the setting sun I took a couple of days back from our balcony. The sky looked so beautiful that I simply had to capture it on my cam and share it here.The evening sky looked as if Mother Nature decided to paint it herself.....the different shades of greys and oranges ....is it possible to get such vibrant colours from the man made paints we get in the market????? Well should ask Mr. M.F.Hussian about it.

nituscorner: life is a journey

nituscorner: life is a journey

A Salute......

There are a lot of things that we take for granted in life, comfort is one of them. So when I got married to a uniform man I was spoilt to no ends right from the start so much so that I forgot that the security aids we have with us at home are the same soldiers who guard our country. As the years rolled by my husband was posted to many different places and each new place brought in new experiences. By then we were blessed with a lovely baby and my little one started travelling when he was barely 5 months.
During this time our posting was in one of the very difficult areas. I saw what life was like for a soldier when I went over in one such visits. Every morning my husband would brief his men before they left for their duties and each briefing would be like d last briefing as if there was no tomorrow. I looked into each soldier's face and wondered what each one of them must be thinking as they leave their temporary abode. All had families back home.... many had pregnant wives and lived with the hope that next time he went home he would see an additional member in the family......while some had ailing parents who had all their hopes pinned on their sons. Every one would leave the camp thinking that may be it was the last time they were seeing their friend's face or many be it was the last supper they were sharing together. Their blank faces hid the mental agony.
During my short stay , not a single evening passed when dinner could be taken peacefully. Even a tyre puncture in the distant night brought my husband and his men to take positions. Our suitcases were kept always packed. Every night I went to bed thinking whether I would be getting up in the same place in the morning . My husband escaped an ambush several times by God's grace. Not every one can get so lucky.
Security was becoming claustrophobic for me. Many a times we had to change plans in the last moment for security reasons. Even a brief visit to a friend's place had to be planned very discreetly and when i finally did manage to go I had five vehicles following me. So much so that I could not sit with her for more than half an hour thinking that while I had come for a pleasure trip , another five vehicles were on duty. We were always living on the edge.
The only person who was blissfully unaware of his surroundings was our five month old son who played when his moods allowed him and cried when he demanded attention.
Days passed off and before I knew it it was time for me to come back but i didnot know when. I was asked to be ready both mentally and with my baggage. Any time my flight tickets would come and I would be sent home.
Can't say that Iwas not happy though I felt guilty instantly. Apart from leaving behind my husband I thought of all the soldiers who were always on the fore front working towards a safe and secure India. They are the back bone of a force representing millions of people in India. The hardships that they have to go through is nothing compared to the mental tension they have to go through living away from their families and a life so unsure.
They are the brave Messiah of God whom we really need to salute for doing such a thankless and selfless job.
I came back a changed person. It taught me not to take things for granted in life.Today my husband has hung his uniform but looking back our whole tenure in the armed forces, it was an experience Iwould not forget in my life time. And I take this opportunity to salute all the men in uniform in what ever rank they are .....where ever they are because they are the actual heros of our country. Jai Hind.