Wedding at a Water Park

Thane city has some lovely water resorts nearby , the Suraj Water Park being the nearest . Snap above of the decorated main gate . This is a favorite spot for picnickers especially for schools in Thane . My daughter, Supriya , has visited it many times and had also got lost with her friends when the park was new and not yet fully functional . fortunately they had met a worker who guided them properly.

Last week on 23rd , 'Vasant Panchami day ', snap of the moon on this auspicious day , I had been there to attend a wedding reception. I had taken my camera to click photos at night when it would be lit up. We have passed by it many times during daytime and so I was eager to see it at night.

Here are some snaps. The cool green lawns and the stage,decorated and lovely to see.

The weather was cold and cooler still on the lawns in the open air . It was a good get together and met many families known to me . I had to rush back to work as I had kept the clinic open to avoid inconvenience to my patients.it was indeed a very good outing and for a while we tend to forget the hustle and bustle of the city. On coming out of the park it was back to driving in the heavy traffic of Ghodbunder Road .

Kachrali Lake

This lake is very near our house and is visible from our bedroom windows.The name gives the impression of something like dirt or dirty [ Kachra in Marathi is dirt ] but in reality it is the best lake in town.It's walkway around the lake is within it's compound and so safe from the traffic.It is well maintained probably being close to the main Municipal offices. It has a play area for kids.A small Ganesh temple where there is a rush on Tuesdays and Chaturthi days . On Sankashti Chaturthi , one can here melodious devotional songs [ Bhajans ] with the unique rhythm of the drums [mrudang and cymbals] accompanied by the sweet voice of the lead singer going on late in the quiet of the night . The lake has facility for boat rides but fortunately no motor boats,only rowing and pedal ones. It's walkway is surrounded by greenery and tall trees which give a feeling as though we are on some hill resort away from the city. I would love to mention here that these tall trees are actually transplanted ones from other roads which were widened 10 years ago.They were thus spared being chopped thanks to the then Mun. Commissioner Mr Chandrashekhar now in charge of MMRDA the development authority for Mumbai. On my walk today morning I decided to take a round of the lake and click from all angles possible from my new found friend , ignoring the curious and at times irritated looks of the walkers.I entered from the main gate situated on the north west and first clicked the play area.Then further was the Ganesh temple and the docking area of the boats.Going round in the clockwise direction,I managed to click the lake from north east,then southeast and last the southwest points,where the smaller gate is located. It feels great to click photos at will,upload on the computor , sort them subjectwise and put them on the blog.

Piped Gas

Mahanagar Gas is here. A month ago officials of the Mahanagar Gas Ltd [ MGL ] visited our society to survey and get the list of members ready to subscribe .I have seen the work of main pipelines of MGL being laid along the Highway a few years ago, on my morning walks around town.I had come to know of connections being given to residents across the highway that is the west side.I used to wonder when they would approach us.As a kid I had seen piped gas, of Bombay Coal Gas , in my grandmother's neighbour's house in Dadar.Now after about 40 years I have been waiting like a kid for the piped connection in our house.

Last Thursday,I saw many labourers with MGL jackets,which are flourescent at night , troop into the society. They work to a plan given by their supervising Engineers and complete a particular area even if it is late in the night. Digging is first, if the trenches get waterlogged they pump out the water.Then they lay the yellow colored pipelines probably made of PVP, cover with a sheet of some plastic material with "Danger Gas Pipeline Below " printed on it and finally they cover with mud. The trenches branch off as seen in the photos so that they reach where the kitchens of the society wings are placed. Yesterday the digging was in the parking area so that all cars had to be parked on the lane outside the compound. Today being Sunday no workers has turned up and so the cars are still out.

It takes about 6 months from registration for the Gas to be operational in the premises . Hopefully by May end it will be goodbye to cylinder refills and the anxious wait for them to be delivered.

Collage on ' THE WALL '

My sister in law Nimatai from Canada is always upto something unique.They are treasures and surprises worth preserving . This year she had made a collage for her youngest sister's Silver Anniversary. She has a good collection of photos which she scans and cuts to make these collages.Last time she had made on on my In-laws 60th wedding anniversary a few years ago.

In our living room we have a wall in what was my balcony which we altered to include it in the living room. That is a place where we display cards or drawings like in an Art Gallery. This year I put up all the cards received for our anniversary as well as Rahul's birthday.I also wanted to display the collage amongst the cards. Fortunately I got an idea of supporting the laminated collage on the opened cards and luckily for me it did not give way even after I finished clicking the photos.

' THE WALL ' looks really great in the dim light at night

JigSaw Puzzle

As a doctor ,I am always solving puzzles when I come across patients.From the time a patient walks in ,my mind starts thinking about what he is going to say as his prime symptom.Many a times I see a patient get up with difficulty and walk with some difficulty to the chamber, giving the impression of some back or joint problem that he might narrate , but it is really the cough or some unrelated symptom that he wants attended to. Sometimes the patient starts describing about giddiness from morning making me think about vertigo but just on touching him realize that he is raging with fever.

Recently it was the case of my mom which had presented as a puzzle and later got solved gradually after giving me some anxious 3 weeks.She came down from Goa mid December and was aghast seeing her. She is basically slim not overweight at any time and quite active,but this time she looked frail and tired.I was seeing her after about 7 months.I decided to get her thoroughly assessed after the 23rd function.Her weight was 40 kg,down by 5 to 7 kg,and her blood pressure was 180/90.She was never a hypertensive patient till now,readings being in the range of 130/80. She has chronic stable angina since 1992 . On Friday, 5th Jan , I took her to Dr. Kumbla , my cardiologist friend. Her weight had improved to 41 kg by then . Her ECG , Color doppler was normal , only her BP had shot up to 220/110 probably due to anxiety and exertion. Dr. Kumbla suggested to give Losar H in addition to her usual tablets and do the relevant blood tests . After 2 days rest I took her to the pathologist on 9th Jan.In the evening I got the reports and was extremely anxious.Her Haemoglobin was 8.9 only , ESR was 60 , Blood Sugar was normal , she was never a diabetic , Blood urea 60 and creatinine 2.1 , both kidney function tests and both reasonably raised to give some concern . On phoning Dr.Kumbla , he changed that new tablet to tab Torsemide and asked for abdominal ultrasound and renal color doppler studies.

Next day I rung up Dr Nitin Chaubal , the famous sonologist whose opinion is sought after, all over Mumbai. He called me at 10 am after the power supply is restored post load shedding that goes on in town.I was greatly relieved that after the tests he said there is nothing wrong in the renal vessels as well as the kidneys themselves and rest of the abdomen. Oh what a great relief from all the thoughts about chronic renal failure that were torturing my mind.In the evening I took all reports to Dr. Kumbla and here is what I said about the jigsaw puzzle getting solved started.

I could fortunately manage to locate Dr Kumbla in the overflowing crowd of patients that was spilling on the lane outside.He was returning from his ICCU and Doppler units located behind his consulting rooms.On seeing the reports again, he said to continue the treatment and do the kidney function tests again after 10 days.He also said 'I can't understand why the urine report is showing blood +++ when the sonography is normal.' Suddenly he looked up with a sparkle in his eyes and asked ' Is she taking Aspirin ? ' I said ' Yes '. ' Stop that immediately ' he said ' That is what has caused all the problems '.

Then the logical explanation follows.Long term aspirin use had created chronic gastritis which led to loss of appetite over the years and ensuing Nutritional Anaemia and deficiency of folic acid and Vitamin B12. Aspirin also led to Haematuria . Her restricted diet intake led to muscle wasting and might have contributed to raised creatinine levels. The followup reports will confirm our logical conclusions.

Clinically she is already looking better, her weight has gone up by 1 kg , her walk has improved , her stoop is much less and she is interacting more, compared to her being quiet and withdrawn when she had arrived here.

This is part of a Doctor's life solving puzzles every day and deriving the utmost pleasure on seeing happiness on the patients face. What presents initially can be very misleading to the ultimate outcome. Many a times patients give an irrelevent history skipping very important issues and the other extreme of patients helping in the diagnosis by giving valuable suggestions.In the end it is always enjoyable solving these everyday mysteries.

A Pleasant Surprise

Yes a Digital camera from dear Rahul !! My photo with the camera just out of the box !!

Rahul gave us a surprise when he gifted a Sony DSC W30 Cybershot.He was highly impressed and thrilled on my starting a blog on my own efforts and he made me a celebrity on his IIM Kozhikode campus.To make it interesting photos are a must and so the camera.

Will be clicking and adding relevant photos on my previous posts also.

Silver Wedding Anniversary

Yes indeed !! We celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary on Saturday the 23rd December.It was great to be among friends and family and be the centre of attraction all the time.It is a great feeling to see children witnessing their parent's marriage like ceremony and the incidental putting of garlands, clapping of hands going around, leg pulling, the cacophony in the hall,clicking of cameras,cutting of cakes,relatives asking the bride and groom [ that is us ] to take each others name in some poetic way [ ukhana ] It does take you back 25 years to that day.23rd December is also my son Rahul's birthday He completed 24 years.In the picture is Priya, my cousin and KD kaka,my aunts husband,both of 23rd December.In the late 80s and early 90s,we all used to be in Goa for Christmas vacation and 23rd used to be celebrated in the identical way.We did relive those memories that day.

We started planning in September after getting sufficient reminders from relatives that it was the silver year and that they wanted a party.We first booked the hall in Royal Inn Hotel.We selected this as it is conveniently located. The managers and staff know me well as our conferences and seminars are held there frequently.The biggest attraction is the quality of food and service.I really wanted the party in a open lawn, away from the city.There are many such places along the Ghodbunder Road,but it would have been difficult for relatives from downtown Mumbai to come and also traffic jams along Ghodbunder Road which is undergoing massive renovation.Next was drawing up the guest list,printing of invitation cards,fixing up the menu,deciding on the clothes to wear on that day and do the shopping for that,ordering cake and roses for the guests.Since we had done the ground work and planning so much in advance, we now appreciate how smooth the function went through and how little trouble we had.We did have a good experience of hosting a large scale function of my son, Rahul's,thread ceremony in 1994.

My parents arrived on Sunday the 17th morning from Goa. Rahul arrived same day in afternoon from Kozhikode for his term break after a week of intense term exam.We gave a final touch to tentative menu given to the hotel and confirmed it to them.That week went in shopping and then the day arrived.Afternoon was spent in a light lunch and household ceremonies.That's my mother and Nisha,my brother's wife doing the 'Aarti'.

More of the party in the next post.