my life, my stories

Its result time once more , and the news papers are full of proud toppers and their even more proud parents. Pictures of beaming kids surrounded by their proud parents, aunties uncles and muhalla walas. Each picture comes with its own tale of tireless strife and grim determination. ‘I studied long hours’ ‘I missed out on all the movies’ ‘I didn’t see any IPL matches’ ‘I left home at 4 in the morning for coaching classes’. I went to OPD this morning and while waiting for the first patient, I glanced at the head line ‘Science topper wants to be doctor.’ I smiled. The sisters and working staff inquired why I was smiling, but I just said “nothing.” A few doctor friends asked why I was smiling, and I said ,” the topper wants to be a doctor.” We all smiled, some smirked, some grunted and some out right guffawed. It’s an inside joke. Its been exactly 10 years since I passed my twelvth standard exam, and I wonder what the ‘topper’ will feel after te

Names : funny names , weird names, down right ridiculous names. All sorts keep coming to a doctor’s opd.   So there I was with a file in my hand and the name ‘QUIXOR’ written on it. I dared not pronounce the name so I asked the patient ‘nau kay?’ (what’s your name in konkani) .He answered back ‘Kishor’. Huh??!! It turns out that that is how the people of portugese descent spell their name. with an exotic twist and a dash of mystique, to make even the most hackneyed of names seem like a character from the Arabian Nights. Recently another case paper had the name ‘YAZHINI’, I started calling out the name ‘Yaazzz…. Hmmm’ , then held myself in check and asked ‘per enn?’ (what’s your name in tamil?). she answered back “yalini”. The letter zh is actually supposedly a tamil L which sounds very much like the Marathi ‘figure of eight L’ ; the tongue rolling L which ‘ aamchi Marathi ‘ people hold so dear to their hearts it seems has a country cousin

That first whistle; it starts hesitantly, until it shatters the silence with it’s shrill sound. Puckered lips and a controlled exhalation of breath does not a whistle make, and any one who remembers their first whistle will agree that it is not all childs play. Pehli seeti, the first whistle means many things to many people; but it means a whole lot more to anyone who has cooked rice. So you’ve put the rice and water in a pressure cooker, and put it on the flame, in anticipation to a satisfying if not a sumptuous meal, only to keep waiting.  Has it been 5 minutes, or more like 15? Why has the pehli seeti not blown? Was the water less? Was it too much? Is the flame too low? Is there enough pressure in the pressure cooker?  Is there a leak, is the lid damaged? Should you open the lid and check? Should you raise that weight attached on top of the cooker, in an effort to coax the cooker to whistle? Will you have to order take out again