Down Memory Lane

 

Memory is a funny fair weather friend

It’s mysterious ways we are still unable to fully comprehend

Old and forgotten relics from the past

Are etched in our soul hard and fast.

Yet yesterday’s meal or the morning news

The ever vigilant brain comes up with a sheepish excuse.

A childhood relic, a sweet memory of a bygone  age,

Our clever little brain seems to open up just the right page.

The answer lies in those powerful thoughts,

The emotions that connect the dots,

The feelings that make us remember every single detail,

Are the reason we reminisce every nostalgic tale.

In Another World

 

Maybe in another world we will meet,

Pick up on so many conversations left incomplete,

Together, our favourite Pizza and Garlic Bread we will relish in silence and eat,

I wish I could get you your favourite dessert,

without the fear of calories to avert,

Maybe we will work on new artworks together 

Maybe we will go on another long drive in pleasant weather,

Just maybe I could listen to your voice just once again

Because now, memories are all that remain.

Rediscovering, restarting, re-emerging.

 It's been so long since I did this, I'm not even sure if I know how to do this anymore. But maybe I can give it a try, for old times' sake.

So I somehow finished my postgraduation in Pediatrics. I say somehow, because I feel PG is just one step in the direction of Pediatrics. There's so much more to be learnt, along the way. It's a constant effort and one needs to keep at it to be updated as well as to keep recollect what we have read. There's also some difference between how things are done in different setups. Govt Vs Corporate Vs semi-private/community hospitals. Not that the essentials change, but the finer details probably. I'm reminded of how my professors at MMC would say how we would learn how things work once we go "out there".

It’s also been a learning experience for so many other reasons. Learning to live in a different town, trying to understand two different languages (whilst questioning yourself why your Kannada is not sufficient), learning to co-habit with another individual, understanding their way of life while also retaining the way you do things usually, and of course learning to share responsibilities, preparing healthy, wholesome meals (when possible), learning to live away from “home” and trying to build your own home in a different land and of course, learning to try and be there for your family despite the distance. I think the last bit is the hardest. But I’m trying.

Thankfully, the work environment is positive and encouraging, my senior colleagues are accommodative and supportive. I also enjoy being involved in the day to day Pediatric care and watching kids get better and go home. :)

Apart from the usual activities of cooking up interesting meals and taking walks in and around campus, I also dabble in art. It’s quite therapeutic to indulge in something that comes so naturally to me and I enjoy it for the process; if not for the outcome. 

On the reading front, I haven’t been reading a lot to be honest. I’ve got a nice shelf with a couple of books lined up but I think I’m mostly exhausted at the end of the day so I drift off to sleep before I make much progress. I’ve now started “Before the coffee gets cold” and let’s see how that goes.

Leaving you with a few images from in and around where I live. 

A Breath, At Last.

A baby girl was born in a tiny hamlet;

Tiny and blue, she began her first innings in the ICU.

A frequent visitor; the nebulizer was her healing amulet,

To her, the IV Lines and oxygen masks were nothing new.

Bubbly and bright, she greeted everyone in her sight,

The apple of her mother’s eye;

There wasn’t a treatment they didn’t try,

Yet the little one was always cheerfully high.

A constant worry about the future,

A test was done to reveal the disease nature,

It was a faulty gene they said,

Going on, it would be a rocky road ahead.

Yet another episode came and went,

Each time making a slow but steady dent,

Until her poor lungs could no longer pay this oxygen rent,

Every cell in her body was thoroughly spent.

In delirium she spoke of a happier place,

Perhaps there would be a garden at this unknown place,

She hoped she could breathe at a slower pace then,

And thus retired the brave girl to a heavenly embrace.

Written in memory of Darshini a 15 year old girl, a regular at Cheluvamba Hospital who was a case of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. 

Darshini fought bravely until her untimely death. Will always remember her for walking into the PG doctors room and making conversation with us, asking us random questions, with a wide toothy smile. 

Rest in Peace. ❤️🙏🏼

The Bride Ride

Just a young girl on her solo trip,

Not so long ago, I thought I would give marriage the slip,

Happy I was in my own little world 

Little did I know how life unfurled.

Always been my dad’s lil girl,

To my own tunes, I would twist and twirl,

Mom’s dearest pet I was, a long time ago,

Never realised I would one day find my beau.

A new lilt in every tune, a spring in every step I take,

A reason to smile every morning as I wake,

A new journey with a partner, equal and beyond,

A companion to cherish a precious bond. 

Sheltering Memories.

Over two decades ago on a Saturday morning,

We were off, just as the Sun began shining,
Two friends and I with my mother in charge
To explore the greens of Lalbagh by and large.

A short climb up the stone hill,
Rushing downwards was a playful thrill,
Walking along the lotus pond,
And waiting for touch me not plants to respond.

A gigantic tree towering over us with shade,
With words etched upon its bark that refused to fade.
We climbed its trunk and scaled the boughs
A tree which had seen many an unfulfilled vows.


A lot has changed since that Saturday morning in the park
Some friends remained, some relatives stayed
Yet the only entity that made its mark
Is an old tree that watched as history was being made.

Children of Gurez

 Far away in the midst of the snow clad mountains,

Exists a piece of land descended from the heavens
Nestled in the valleys in tiny hamlets,
Amidst flowing streams and rivulets

A meadow of green in the warm summers
Myriad hues during the monsoon showers
A carpet of snow beside the melted glacier,
Each day was a new chapter for nature.

Little ones who grew up in these lands,
With no gadgets but snow and flowers in their hands,
Away from the chaos of distant sands,
With only basic needs and no lavish demands.

A shepherding life for the summers,
A dormant life for the cold harsh winters,
Little ones living in a far away land
Where life has a different story planned.

In the midst of man-made borders and beliefs,
That only give rise to dispute and grief,
Children with their pure innocent soul,
Perhaps bear the heaviest toll.

My Strength

 

From a toddler to a teenager,

From trivial things to everything major,

Every milestone with you by my side,

You have always been that unwavering guide. 

From the simplest maths homework,

Finding patterns in numbers has been your quirk,

Making sarcastic puns with a smirk,

Just to add the best lines for a school debate as a perk. 

From helping me navigate through my career

And occasionally giving me a cheer,

To accepting my choice of companion happily,

And welcoming a new member to our family. 

For looking into the tiniest detail,

And motivating me without fail,

No matter how life will unfurl,

I'll always be daddy's little girl!

Nights that turned to days.

 3 summers ago was the first of PG duties.

With a fair and reasonable senior to put me at ease.

The night was long and tiring,

And slowly my sleep schedule began its rewiring. 

Since then, innumerable duties have come to pass,

Each with stark contrasts,

Some with adorable kids to play with,

Some with Covid patients and sleep being a myth, 

Some being busy with continuous emergencies

Often while dealing with mortal uncertainties. 

The continual beeping of the monitors soon faded to a distant hum,

To the hard wooden bench, we were comfortably numb.

To the patient's who came from distant villages for care,

We tried our best to treat and be there. 

Often the hunger pangs would begin,

Much to the delivery agent's chagrin.

Snacking on midnight meals,

As we recounted the day's ordeals. 

The early morning coffee to brighten our day

Another day to work and learn on the way,

Crying, grumbling, laughing and smiling through our duties,

We realized there is none better than the patients to teach..

A distant star.

A day to celebrate her unwavering love

But my mother unlike others is watching from above,
I'd like to think she is one among the stars
Wherever she is, she will always remain ours.

To think of all the things I wished for her
Knowing now they will be unfulfilled dreams,
To think of the past is like a painful blur,
We didn't realize the good times, or so it seems.

To find her love in all the things she cherished,
To find solace in the plants and birds she nourished,
To remember her through the art school she flourished
And try to recreate her meals which we relished.

My mother cared above and beyond
No harm could occur, with her protective bond,
If only she knew how much I sorely miss her presence,
All I have is now memories of her existence..