India and the Olympics !!

What a lovely sight to see the Olympic opening ceremony last evening . We were simply glued to the TV and made me go late to my clinic. In the afternoon I was on the link of Olympics on the Yahoo taskbar and had gone through the teams participating . The photos are from that link.I browsed through a few , out of curiosity ,and was ' impressed ', as usual , to see only 52 from India --as against over 600 from USA and China --and the figures go on .
The events had not yet started , the account of the medal tally of all countries was yet to open and what do you find in the 'Breaking News of a News Channel ??? Can India host an Olympic !!!!

If I am not mistaken , at all Olympics and after that there are debates going on only about this topic and no one is serious about what should be done in future to improve the sports in India . India is good at organizing , as lot of money is at stake and to be made by a few ---how successful were we at corrupting the world of cricket.
Everyone knows where we lack but we are so much steeped in murky politics based on caste wars , religion , regionalism , saving governments by the 'number games ' , corruption , sting operations , ' secularisms ' a term used by parties for themselves and not the people , burning trains and buses , bandhs , and many more --lost out on the count--- that we are not allowing the country to move forward .

If our team is analyzed , we find most of them qualify on their own efforts and not due to some long term Government policy as is prevalent in many countries . I am reminded of the schools taking credit for meritorious results --- it is the private tuition classes and sheer effort of the students that take the students to the top and not the insignificant contribution of most schools and their mediocre teachers .

See the efforts of R Rathod to win the silver medal last time --was it because of some long term investment of the Government ? The sports bodies have to be reorganised and made answerable .Politicians should move out and professional business house should run the show using Government funds .They should be made answerable to the people of India of their plans and selection criteria .

Today afternoon the Olympic telecast was interrupted to show an interview with Mr. Kalmadi .I switched off the channel , just on seeing the disgusting ' pan stained ' face of Mr.S Kalmadi who ,I presume , runs the Olympic and other sport show in India. It is the sincere wish of any proud Indian to see a larger contingent from here and a few medals in the kitty instead of the news of ' failure to qualify for further rounds ' on day one of the event.

Does someone have suggestions that will drive a political will to formulate a long term plan for at least the 2016 Olympics . My suggestion is to let the Chinese come here and run the show on a Build--Operate--Transfer terms . God save us !!!

Bullet proof Poo--see

A photo from the Indian Express dated 31st July . A Hindi translation of our North East Frontier Railway . Must be meaning in Hindi 'Poorva [ Poo ] Seema [ See ]

The Chef

Do you smell the heavenly aroma of Besan being roasted for Besan ladoos ? It is there right now in my house and the chef is Shami's mother . She is seen here perched on the kitchen platform roasting the besan --a long and tedious process . She doesn't know that I have clicked her -- I used my mobile and not my camera as it would have given me away . Who would believe that she is 83 years old , just out from a cataract operation and undergoing dental treatment . She has undergone hip replacement twice in the last 10 years and a few years back an angioplasty . She does gives us a lot of inspiration . We have decided to show her the photo later on when it is published .

Please Retire Gracefully

Oh !! What a cricket match at Sri Lanka .After the pathetic display in the first test I had hoped for some great display by the oldie goldies who are still holding on to better someones record and in that process destroy some young talent . Just checked on the live score on rediff and what a misery to read the scorecard 201 not out by Sehwag from a score of 329 all out . Thank goodness the most unpredictable man clicked today !!

Oh !! come on now !! Rahul , Sachin , Saurav ,Laxman , Anil do consider quitting seriously . We have enjoyed your games and basked in your glorious successes over the past decade or more . I am lost for words now .

I don't know how to end this post !! Misery !!!

3 Generations at Grant Medical

Congratulations to Ketki , my cousin Dr Dilip's daughter to have got admission in my college ,Grant Medical College [ GMC ], or rather I should put is as ' our ' college as my dad's father Dr Bhaskar Gaitonde or ' Anna ' , as we would affectionately call him , was also a student of this college in the mid 1920s --- thats it -- 3 generations.I remember at the time of my admission there was an interview with the deans of all 4 colleges . When I accepted the offer of GMC as per merit list , our dean at that time , Dr. Karandikar , got up , shook hands with me and said 'Congrats and welcome to this college , but may I ask you what made you think of accepting this college '. I had proudly replied ' My grandfather was a graduate from this great GMC and so I am pleased to take admission here '. It was late past 9 at night as the interviews had started late in the afternoon .I had rushed to the college office near the Dean's chamber as my friend called out that the cashier window was still open to accept fees . Oh ! what a relief to have that piece of paper -the receipt - in my hand . Yes I have got my admission !!In my internship we had a rural posting for 6 months at Kasara PHC . We always used to see the rather lonely life of the medical officers posted there , cut off from the cities and the modern world . Later on I had a Government job in the Health services , but fortunately stationed at the headquarters in Thane city . I had a touring job of the whole district and had to visit far off PHCenters . I always used to thank my stars for not being posted there as there was just no social life for the hapless Medical Officers --at least we now have better communication and also computers and the net to get occupied .

My grand father , Anna ,though a graduate from Mumbai and from a prestigious college like GMC in those times , chose to practice in the rural setup of southern Ratnagiri --now Sindhudurg district --in a town called Kankavli . I had often wondered why he had taken that decision and had asked my aunt -- dad's eldest sister as to why did he prefer a rural place to a big city like Mumbai . She had replied that his mother could not tolerate the polluted climate of Mumbai as well as the city life and would rather go back to the village area from where she hailed , and it is for his mother that he went back to the village to practice --Oh ! what a compromise --made me feel proud . Also recollected the novel ' Citadel '.

I was too young ---10 or 11 years old -- when he died in Mumbai after an attempted cardiac surgery , during which time he was staying with us at Worli . I wish I could have asked him this nagging question of his choosing a rural setup . I have heard stories , from my relatives and also from some of my patients , whose relatives he had treated , praising his work ----attending patients coming from far away villages , going for home visits on cycle as well as on horseback in all sorts of weather , conducting difficult deliveries and was a God to the people in a true sense. People worshiped him and his goodwill has made people treat the next generations respectfully whenever anyone visits those villages , which have become cities now .

Had he gone to practice there out of CHOICE or out of COMPULSION ???, this troublesome question will always remain unanswered for me and so I have built up my own analysis which may be right or wrong . Given a choice he would have remained in Mumbai and become renowned on a larger scale -- just imagine an MBBS graduate of those times !!!! He would have been more affluent and the next generations may have had a totally different outlook and upbringing . Though everyone in the family is talented , being on the top in a rural area on one side and grow amongst equals and in a severe competition ,on the other , is a totally unimaginable proposition . His adulations and stories about his achievements are narrated at all times and we do feel proud but my question is , in his heart of hearts did he savor those hard times or was he made to be a hero though within himself he had regretted leaving the city .

Here I am reminded of the Hindi movie 'Guide ' ,where Dev Anand in the end sacrificed his life being made to be a God man by the people . He was a simple tourist guide and he took the fast to death obviously against his inner wishes . The stress of Anna 's practice may have been the cause of his cardiac problems at an early age . He had to shift to Kolhapur to be in a place where better medical facilities were available .

I remember and miss Kolhapur very much, as we used to spend the whole summer vacation as kids , I don't have any idea of Kankavli as they had moved out before I was born in Mumbai . Thats my Dad on the left , the view of the backyard and veranda of the Kolhapur bungalow , my grandmother with her ' rungolee ' , myself in a villager's attire , my cousin sister Nandutai with me in the tonga and Anna ready to leave to the clinic .

Many students nowadays do not want Medicine as a career . One has to clear the CET and getting admission to good colleges is difficult due to reservation policies . Many private colleges have come up and charge huge development fees way beyond reach of a commoner . Compulsory rural posting after this for a period and hefty penalties for waivers . For post graduation there is another CET and the seat may be alloted in a place ,not of one's choice . After PG another dose of rural posting , if not accepted , a dose of penalties .

Congrats again for Ketki for having done so well and welcome to being a ' GMCite '

The Trek Continues

This is in continuation of the earlier post of 17th July .

In the evening we went towards the northwest direction to the very familiar sajja kothi area . This time we went by car as we had trekked enough in the morning. First we went to see the Dutondi Buruz area , the name suggests that it has 2 ways to go up and down .

Probably it was a watch tower to sight the enemy approaching and signal to the Baji Prabhu Buruz in the north and also signal to the south in the direction of Teen Darwaza and Ambar Khana . The area further to the south is called the Rajdindi and has many bungalows of the ' Rich and Famous ' , and due to vacation time were full of guests , with kids playing on the lawns. The famous Valley View Hotel belonging to Kiran Shantaram , as we were informed , is seen from here in the north direction .

From here we visited the routine of Sajja Kothi and further to see if our 'TREE' was waiting for us to visit and click its photo with the kids . Here is also the Baji Prabhu Buruz from where we can see the Vishalgad Fort in the far off northwest distance .

After spending some time there getting the strong , fresh and cool breeze into the system , we proceeded back to the Rajdindi area to see the sunset as this area gives an unobstructed view of the sunset . The sun was setting behind a plateau in the western direction and were informed that there are 3 such plateaus in a row , Panhala being in the centre . That was the last item of our trek . We returned back after a light dinner as we had planned to checkout early next day for the long drive back home .

Trekking on Panhala Fort

Our visits to Kolhapur were never complete without a flying visit to Panhala. We used to leave for Panhala at about 5.00 pm , reach there in 45 min and drive directly to Sajja Kothi . Below at the entrance to Panhala , is seen the memorial for Shiva Kashid , who had sacrificed his life to help Shivaji escape when Panhalgad was under siege . After parking the car we used to walk towards the end of the cliff , see the picturesque terrain below , recharge the lungs with deep breaths of the fresh breeze and take snaps near a tree which has stood there strong over all these years and has witnessed Rahul and Supriya grow . As we near this place our eyes are always on a look out for this tree. This time we could not ask Rahul and Supriya to climb on top though they did make an attempt .Then we would walk back towards the sajja kothi , go up the stairs take snaps and come down and to the parked car. On the way back we used to wait at the stalls to snack on onion bhajjiyas , roasted corn and cups of ginger flavored tea . We used to reach back at Kolhapur by 8 pm . This was the routine followed almost every May end. We always used to plan to stay at Panhala and explore the fort on foot , but never materialized.

This year we planned it that way .We got the bookings for MTDC resort for the 16th and 17th May. As the check in time was 9.00 am I decided to reach and stay a day earlier at Kolhapur in 'our Opal Hotel '.We checked in at Panhala at 9.45 .After refreshing we decided to start our ' exploration ' On our way and near Tarabai Rajwada we saw the map of Panhala .Rahul and me clicked it and this became our reference map to route our way . When in doubt we used to zoom in ,study the map and proceed . We followed the road going towards the bus stand . On the way we saw a large lake where people were washing clothes and bathing . This scene is quite common anywhere in India -the hell with pollution and preserving beauty and history . As it was hot and dry in the afternoon sun we decided to return to the room and continue exploring in the evening. We decided to cover the south west part first . We walked to the Baji Prabhu Deshpande Circle first as that seemed to be the center reference point for us. From here we went towards the Hotel Hill Top area that covers places like Andhaar Bav ,Teen Darvaza and Ambarkhana . This place was crowded with tourists and had a lot of eating outlets as well as stalls . After snacking on 'onion bhajias 'and ginger flavoured tea we strolled on to a lovely garden dedicated to the memory of Shri Bhalchandra Pendharkar a renowned Marathi and screen personality of yesteryears,Teen Darvaza and walked back to the room .We then drove for dinner at Hotel Hill Top .

Next day we decided to explore the south east part. On the way we saw Dharma Kothi where history says that the poor were taken care of , then onto Kalavantin sajja ,below a view of sajja kothi as seen from the Kalavantin sajja area .It is said that Sambhaji , when imprisoned in the sajja kothi , could see the 'Kalavantins 'perform in the Kalavantin Sajja ,the ruins of which are seen below. We went down the road to the Shiva Kashid memorial and onto the plateau in the southeast . On the way we passed Parashar Guha ,a cave from the show but leading to a secret tunnel for a getaway to a nearby fort for soldiers in trouble . Next was Lata Mangeshkar's bungalow--originally belonging to Bhalchandra Pendharkar. Next onto the plateau from where we could see the ruins of the kalavantin sajja and sajja kothadi beyond . The view on the southern side was beautiful , a wide expanse of fields interspersed with villages. There was also some activities of construction -- like some star hotel coming up ---to destroy the natural beauty seen below from top . In the evening we decided to go to the north west part to see the sunset ,Sajja kothadi and 'Our tree ' . This will be in the next post