iDoc

My fav patients

 Sorry for the delay in writing
One in Lahore where I graduated and started  life as a physician
 He was  more of a neurotic type but he was generous , had a big heart. When his neighboring patient died he paid from his pocket all the expenses of transporting his body and burial in his town etc.
 He spoke to me more like a film dialogue rather than usual doctor-patient talk

Please visit my Urdu blog at خیالات و احساسات

Minstrels

Newly arrived in England watching TV enthusiastically as I had not seen TV in Pakistan. So I watched all kinds of programs (1961-62) and tried to enjoy music and drama shows Because of my heavy involvement with Eastern classical and filmi (Bollywood) music it was not easy for me to familiarize myself with the Western music but some songs would appeal to me such as "living doll" or "you were made for me" and I remember liking Cliff Richard as a pop singer (before the Beatles came)
 A common popular program of Minstrels show of music etc was one I did not enjoy not only because of my poor relationship with the western music but also with the horribly distasteful appearance of white men blackening their faces. I have learned now more about what Minstrel means and am so glad the program went out  because of racial discriminatory influences (Why could they not see it before). All this has been brought to my memory because of that Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam. He was seen in the news  about why he blackened his face etc. but to me the blackening of face also carried its Urdu meaning
 However it shows the human weakness of color prejudice that has always been present in national and international dealings. Obama winning was a definite step forward and the news of all the Democratic wananbees seem to be a good discussion. This is all inspite of this being a Trump country


Please visit my Urdu blog at خیالات و احساسات

50 years on in the USA

Also see my blog of May 2nd , 2016

Yes 50 years ago today I came to US from London on Panam (some of you might remember that airline). Due to bad weather flight (TWA) to Cincinnati was cancelled and I got stranded. Now,  I did not know what to do so I called up the hospital in Cincinnati and they said I wait till I get the flight the next day and let them know so somebody will come to the airport to pick me up (and that is what happened). As I put the telephone down tun tunon tunonunon the coins I had put in came down also (did not stay to find out why the coins were returned--how did the telephone guessed I did not have too much money in my pocket but I thought it was nice of the machine).
 In the meantime, imagine four flights being cancelled on this busy JFK. There were people yelling and running around the hustle and bustle of angry people (Americans, I thought) with ques everywhere. I was scared to ask from anybody but got into a line for booking a room in a hotel and fortunately some people asked me to join them and we got a room in Holiday Inn. Me being aware of having only 35 dollars in my pocket was relieved to find the charge was only 18 dollars. Anyway I got a taxi to the Holiday Inn as I left the taxi and started to my room I realized I forgot my camera in the taxi. I hurried back to the front and found my Taxi Driver waiting for me (An African American Gentleman) I thanked him profusely like a good 'Englishman' (I had spent 7 plus years in England)
  The following day I got to Drake Memorial Hospital and they gave me a room--- settled for the job. It was Saturday so I had to join from Monday 27th Jan.
 You might be surprised but I wrote a complaint to the airlines that because of their cancelling I lost three days of pay and I should be compensated but they replied in the negative (weather was the fault and not the airlines fault).

What you see in this image from left to right;

The one-way ticket London-New York-Cincinnati. Next is the receipt of the Holiday Inn and the picture of that Holiday inn and last extreme right the disembarkation card I filled out before landing at JFK. You wonder how I remember all these things but that is my hobby and I had written in Urdu my experience (and of course many other episodes of significance in my life) I guess now I can throw away these unnecessary memorablia

Sources of Entertainment in Villages

The time frame is mid forties and villages of Kotla - Kakrali and other villages in that area.
I had moved from central India city and first experience without street lights  cinema houses etc. Village life simplicity.
 There were available the followings ways of ordinary entertainments for common folks:
1. Song/Singers -  Other than your own singing or of friends the professional singers were , for want of better words, I'll call them, Wandering Singers .  Well actually the whole idea came to write this blog from my old memories -while surfing the INet the name of Alam Lohar came up. I had heard him standing close to him in a small group of listeners (may be 10-15 including children like me about 11-12 yr old) He was known as Äachh-Gochhia Lohar' and was famous in the villages for singing Jugni as one of the folk songs His accompaniments were the çhimta'and jorri' which was customary. Chimta giving the (portable) rhythm and Jorri (two flutes producing a continuous sound/tune like that of bagpipe but without a bag)
 The other well-known singer with similar accompaniments Chimta used by the singer himself and Jorri by another specialist player He was called Inayat and the name I remember because his well-known verse was
    Timtim-timtim chimta kerda Jorri ghumber paya
    Bahr nikal k wekkho yaro (I)nait Kotiya aya
 and yes these wandering singers made their own verses also and after pleasing the crowd they may collect some coins and off they go to other villages
Other  performers of song/dance were 'kanjri' sort of Kotthay wali accompanied by Tabla harmonium and this was evening/night program with adults attending ( more than 30-50) and getting more than 'coins' .
  Still other were daytime singers of Na't usually in the beginning of a wa'z or some such occasion
2. Mela  festival one I attended (all day during summer) near our village another village called Pindi (two with such name one was therefore Pindi Awan and other was Pindi something else In addition to shops eatables and other things there would be an afternoon Kabaddi match or just Kushti all voluntary or planned Some experienced Pehelwan/wrestler may come out and throw an open challenge for a bout in a large gathering I remember the name of a 'Rangoo' pehelwan who was sort of unbeatable in the area and such personalities were mostly Muslim or Sikkh. There would be dhole wala to play there for these gatherings Dhole tune/rhythm was kind of  'manly' for use as a victory dance called PhangRa and that is real bhangRa not what you may have heard elsewhere



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Birthdays on Facebook

    I always celebrated my birthday on
11th of October
  Now for some reason (I suspect FB) this year having had my usual birthday greetings in October (11th).  I was pleasantly surprised with some of my FB youngsters my nephews etc, have done it again today 11th of December
 It happens
 I am happy to have twice in one year what a beautiful mistake
 At first I thought of just saying thanks for the wishes but I did make corrections in the end worried that the angel of death might not get confused and may also miscalculate by mistakenly decreasing my age. Well I know what you are thinking but these angels may have kept up with all the media changes who knows


Please visit my Urdu blog at خیالات و احساسات

Marriage/Nikah and aadat(Habituation)

     No matter how nikah/marriage has been performed in one day it results in a life-long companionship of two essentially strangers man and a woman (restricting my comments) and whether they live happily or not so happily makes no difference as long as they do not separate or get divorced.
 So if we  talk about longer lasting companionships say for example 15  or 20 or more years these two individuals get used to living with each others habits of all kinds. How one sleeps, how one eats how one reacts with happiness and how with sorrow, how one develops reading attotudes and all those mundane acts of every day life. Each one makes adjustments to create space for the other with mutual understanding with or without argumentation (Does anybody remember an old Hollywood movie  -- Period of adjustment -- ?)
  Recently I found that question of somewhat longer wedding conditions in which the two frequently argued or showed dislike etc and yet on suggestion of separation the fellow says
 now I am with her aadat (not leaving) --See Mystic
 I frequently dubbed it as "addiction"
 When you are addicted to your wife/husband you just cannot think of separation or divorce

Please visit my Urdu blog at خیالات و احساسات

C.D. Aring MD

My teacher/mentor of neurology was also an accomplished writer. One Christmas he invited us (residents) at his home and placed a lot of books on a table asked us to shoose one. I did and he gifted that to me with his (beautiful) writing. He was a migraneur and always wanted to be perfect (and taught us the same) The published book for example I have has three 'typos' which have been appropriately corrected in his hand.
 I shall quote some thing from the book I still have which is a collection of his writings (essays/advice) 
 Today,s quote (Talking about use of language in teaching a medical student for both the teacher and student)
 "The appreciation of value of language leads to the acknowledgement of three rules for good expression:
 The first and possibly the most important is 'to have a point'
 The second is make it out and
The third is that it should be made out in eighteen-carat (in my language it would be 24 carat) impeccable idiomatic English.


Please visit my Urdu blog at خیالات و احساسات