MANIKANDAN KATHAMUTHU AND PALA MAANBUMIGU KAADHALGALUM

SHE CAN MAKE FOEVER HAPPEN OR MAKE FOREVER DISAPPEAR

YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ALIVE IF U DO NOT  HAVE THOUSAND STORIES TO NARRATE , THATS MY FLEX I BOASTED

YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ALIVE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THOUSAND STORIES THAT U CAN NEVER  EVER NARRATE, SHE ROASTED BACK..

SHE MUST BE  RIGHT , THAT SMIRK , THAT GLINT IN HER EYES GAVE IT AWAY..NOT SURE IF I WAS QUANTUM TUNNELING THROUGH HER EYES N SMILE , GET ON WITH THE NARRATION SHE GLEAMED ….

FROM BEING NAIVE TO NOW , here is what changed..

KADHAIPOAM SILA PALA KAADHAL..

DISCLAIMER… all narratives are not jus from third party perspectives.

It was autumn 1996 , St John’s medical college, Bangalore. our first year MBBS ,  my head was filled with football, friends, the inter college cultural and sports meet [ SPANDAN -96 ]  at JIPMER , PONDICHERRY , OUR FOOTBALL TEAM was skilled , sharp n thugged up…wolfy team, alpha individuals and zero fuck givers….we were cruising through , won the semifinals , taking ourselves through to the first finale in a long time , we rested a while n came back to cheeraudience the other semifinal.. CMC VELLORE VS JIPMER ….JIPMER was winning , unfair or fair , we were supporting the CMC GUYS , clearly jipmer outclassed cmc, n to consolidate they had the referee siding them, and in a moment before the final whistle , a cmc striker ran to the ball that was lobbyed to him, the jipmer goalie had enough time to run forward n collect the ball  and stay safe , but instead chose to leap a fake jump in air after collecting the ball and lunged his left knee into the chest of the cmc forward even though the striker had stopped abruptly……

my blood started boiling ,  I started screaming abuses to the referee for ignoring that sportsmanship defying act…. I wanted to punch the goalkeeper, waited till the match got over , while he was almost alone, I started moving towards him, as I got closer things changed, from the stadium view he had appeared human, now he sort of appeared  MORE MALE ,,,taller, curly hair , fair  complexion fading into  a tan , cold eyes, more athletic, more intimidating, I mustered up to at least have a swing at him , before that could happen , someone whisked me away ,  sat me down in a far end of the stadium, took me a while to zone back into the reality from an angered fiery trance..he waited till I could sober up , then slowly started the conversation.

Do you know who he is ..

Glimmering silence 

He is so n so n so n so n so so n so , blah blah blah blaaaaaaaaah….

I heard nothing until he said 

Four girls are fighting to be in a relationship with him , one of them even attempted an act of self harm…I was startled , this piece of crap can get people to be desirous about him ? Damn 

Come lets go n chill  at the food stalls in the main lawns before the rock show can start ,

 I trudged behind this guy , 

On the way , spotted a girl sitting in a stall , gazing into  a far oblivion, lost in her thoughts , sipping on some drink, I was crossing her , it was like sliding by the event horizon, the gargantuan pull was evident, time slowed down , Snow White must not jus have been a fable , but she would have been insecure in front of this gazellish  free flowing soul that has a physical incarnation into a beautiful artform , 

Crosslegged she was, he whispered , look at her foot , I would fall for her foot n not be over it for a million years and so to move on beyond that would take an eternity..

Oooooh now it made sense , is this why they say forever with you…not getting enough n unable to move past beyond,..hmm sound poetic, but to me ,,, FOREVER IS PRISON,, FOREVER IS CURSE.

HE Seemed to get aware of what I was thinking and said kiddo, u aint wrong until you meet the right one …unhinged I kept walking .

And then he said something that I could not unhear until now , that Snow White girl was the one who hurt herself for the  jipmer goalkeeper.  I was super puzzled .

Hours later , I was feasting ,  butter nan at 1996 was more exotic than snow whites, he was getting ready to sip his chikkoo juice , as the ice clanked in the after empty glass, he asked my name .

Aavi , I said , I am John he replied .

I am still puzzled , such a girl, but why so distasteful

Are u jealous , John asked me 

No , I revolted , how can I be , I just can’t make any sense , that’s all

One day , you ll experience or earn such adoration or obsession he said .

Mee ,,,,I brushed it away, naive at that time , 

Why he asked 

Too average a person I am , I replied ..

He started into a roaring laugh, 

And JOHN said …..oh you think , a girl falls for a man, no they don’t , they are divine beings with high intellect , they jus fall for themselves , men jus become the mirror for them to see themselves n be in love … its never about the man. The girl makes it magical or whatever , based on how well  she orchestrates it, the experience exists.

Appo puriyala ,  ippo puriyudhu…

It did not dawn then, now I see sense in that….

There are men who have such women in their life , shall I take you to them to hear a symphony from their minds 

Where are they? 

Some are in this galaxy , some are in Andromeda , some in IC 1101 GALAXY

Some are in the past , some in the future , we can go back n forth , we jus have to hitch hike between fourth and 11 dimensions , 13 th dimension can be incomprehensible ..

Just the 13th …. Right now u sound incomprehensible too, I thought…but agreed

MK  ONE  (MAANBUMIGU KAADHAL ONE )

We were in planet gliese 541b, disorienting at first , me (AAVI ) and JOHN met this guy at a place that resembled the beach of our planet, except it was endless shallow translucent fluid that was turquoisy green with glistening goldish underlying sand.

He must me in late thirties , from our planet’s physical standard I would see him as super average , making me more pseudo confident.

Do you have a name I asked ,…

No , but I do have a goddess worshipping me , he beamed 

Jeez ……

Yeah she thinks that jeez is me…

How, why …so unreasonable , what makes you think that she adores you with a high priestess passion.

Well  I ll give you a incident , you decide , he said…

Okay…

We were interlocked in a deep embrace , I was melting into her , she was so delightfully the yummiest , the most pleasant fragrance gradually yet strongly drowning my olfactory sense , all drifting from her hair, neck or skin, rather  than identifying, I was so indulging , time stood still, flavoured marshmallow she was , thumping hearts heard out faded between her breaths , so deeply intoxicating , the natural way for me to survive was to be inhaling her expired breath , that breath smelt so entwining , more entangled , encouraged , invited ,  I sipped on her tender , wet lips , lingered on that feel for moments , until she gasped very slightly, giving me a unique flavour of the tip of her tongue , nectarish of divine intensity, I started sucking on the tongue a little bit more and sooner was sucking feverishly , more deeper ,,…

Okay , enough , I am still seventeen , living on planet earth , where I believe only men can be fervent ..have not even had my first kiss , but this incident ,in what way makes you believe she is in adulation with you…

Jeez answered,  that Later after an eternity of time , in an irrelevant conversation , she confessed that she has not consumed anything that would make her be physically distasteful , kept drinking exotic drinks to keep her breath pure , sweet n lite , knowing I would be buried in her breath , and she prepped herself for about ten years for this moment…to offer herself as the highest delicacy to the man she loves …

John turned to me , now regardless whether the man is desirable or deserving…who makes the experience magical , mystical n elevated .. the woman rt ? 

I don’t know , I have to ask some one else or read some books that can shell some wisdom.

Which books n who

Three body problem and I will ask manikandan kathamuthu about it .

About mani, it would have to be  an another blog . For the oru soaru padham , I think I know him , and then I know nothing of him, whereas he splices my mind up n has answers to all . He is the most cryptic , ever evolving homo sapien. Seems to be hovering in the astral realm , takes human form when needed , must be  a lonely mind by himself , the comment on jack reacher would be appropriate on mani too….all women want him and all men want to be like him. Wondering this would make him blush ? or leave him unperturbed , least to say , life on planet earth is more alive coz of him. More about him in an exclusive blog later on 

John , are you gonna be hovering here ,I ll jus quantum jump to earth n be back..

On earth , met mani , told him so n so

Mani responded ,,,lip lock is not even needed to experience the divine feminine , jus a eye lock would be enough to take that slice of TIME and freeze the soul for an eternity , making every other magic a distraction ..

Eye lock ?????

The brown iris, white sclera , the glimmering evening sun in her eyes and then as she looks into you, and then teleports that thought/ fact that she is yours… into your soul via her eyes …

I turned to mani as he was narrating the eye lock, not so strangely I  did not see kathamuthu manikandan , instead saw an empty shell, he had teleported himself to that splice of time . To the time when he was OWNED …

Damn , that hit hard , still does….

What does the king of romance ( nanda Kumar )has to say about this .he is the MOST romantic I have seen, completely in romance with LIFE , his son and the woman he had married . Will he have such a moment of adoration , was he the conqueror or the victim..

More maanbumigu moments incoming……………


THE WOLF IN ME …

I have the widest split personality disorder, an amazing brought up by humble catholic parents to broadcast only love, joy and bliss, aptly named so too..
Undergrad Med schooling n gen surgery residency was all about being warm, precise, empathetic, I loved that part, came natural,, then the profession I wear now ( cardiothoracic surgery)demands me to bully, be ruthless, cold, and beastly, I think I can’t or am I lying to myself, this another personality is kewl coz mistakes are unforgivable here and very expensive, may cost a life, yet life tames over n over, instincts are masked … and this was a day…
I hate to let the beast open, it’s ugly n embarrassing to be in a charactorial nudity, the images of such nudity are long-lasting in the mind of victims, but sometimes it becomes the ultimate liberation… it all depends on how narcissistic we are, how narcissistic are you on a scale of one to ten?? I would be hundred !!!!
Have been mauled, bruised, and hauled, when all that patience runs out, jus when the beast in me resurrects, and jus when I plunge my sharp incissors n feel the warm flesh n squirting blood, meekly sheeps they are and not demonly beings.. I hastily recoil in shame n guilt..
I wish I can be humane n kind till I turn into dust.. ashes to ashes …
BUT deep down and very weirdly the predator in me is poaching… to have that deep bite, constant howls fill my mind and the blood rush is imminent… SHALL I … WOULD U be my PREY… if ain’t .. don’t thwart my way….

MIRIAM THERESE N THE MAGICAL HUG…

When I was younger, it was all about punching the pedal, the road whizzin past, the surge ahead was thrilling..
It was all about the ADRENALIN RUSH…

Much older, as i am now, it is all about the journey, as i let people move ahead and subliming into my own world… i realise that It is all about DOPAMINE n ENDORPHINS now …

The stuff that’s been reverberating in my car in the recent past..
flosstradamus n troiboy
To
Illayaraja’s malai koavil vaasalil
To
Tell me if u want me to.. ft sofia reyes
And the swan song (ost from the movie alita.. )
Holy fu@&, i guess when it comes to music , i get as whorish as possible..

Chasing NORTHERN LIGHTS in norway… why does it have to be in dollars n pounds .. should it not just be the compatible mind …

A classic reason why our kids should not be pursuing medical education … balya snehidan baalu .. nijamavae aurora borealis chase panna scandinavian countries ku poaga … yenaku kanavula inga adhae lights flickering in my cieling….
Machi idhellam padichitu Income Tax la irundhu raid ku vandha naa porupu illa ?

The PRIME ( he never ceases to awe me ) . I had earlier decided to hide up all my admiration towards him and the team, but i feel so pregnant at the end of each day , puking out certain quantity of feel can ease me out i guess..

I ask myself …. why do i revere him so much..

I reason out … if in a six billion populous planet, i follow a different religion, it just feels that my GOD is real… It’s that awesome he is…

Surgical wizadry .. a million can exhibit, but where he wins is his genuine care, concern, respect and connect to all people across all levels. This is a googly that he bowls us all out with…

Peek a boo…

LVAD( left ventricular assist device – almost like an artificial heart) implantation was going on… the device costs about 78 lakhs in indian currency, the package of the surgery can exceed a crore easily.. it’s like attaching a mercedes S class sedan to your heart , so one can imagine the heat n pressure the surgeon will feel while doing this… the PRIME is a shark in this part of the ocean, the procedure had started, it was in a newer but smaller operating theatre, the door was an automatic , opening to everyone who could come close to the sensor.. and even while just assisting him , it was annoying to feel it open n close.. so in the heat of the moment the PRIME lost a bit of his temparament… and chided the tiniest plankton ,when she opened the door… she apologised n shied away..
A bit longer , we had almost finished the surgery and the coast was lookin bright n clear… at the first moment to relax, he looked up and made sure he called her back in and made peace …
That is HIM..
He is the GOD here..
And this is his kingdom..
He shall not be judged here..
Yet he gets out of his throne to embrace all..
Makes effort to protect his people from his own wrath…

Peek a Boo – During a LVAD – with prime and a stalwart

Not just him, nor just a single act ..
The team in entirety exudes extreme efficiency and acts of random kindness..

Another senior transplant surgeon (Dr. Bala), sacrificing his sleep , shared his expertise in a global outreach to a government health sector.His promptness to help and exhibition of professionalism even in the events of infrastructural inadequacies, protocol hiccoughs was an honourable Act.

The merry man, our chief anaesthetist .. i sometimes doubt if he is on a constant infusion of happiness potions. To be constantly in a state of happiness, owning up for other peoples inadequacies.. his child like narrations .. he rocks it away.
His armamentarium is a dream team , very intimiditating in their knowledge and they are the best in patient care .( pradee, sharanya, sriram, anoop, shan and hema).

Most lung transplant recipients who were interviewed in an international lung conference ( ILDCON) , said that they could not thank the team enough… and in particular .. they got emotional when they recollected the guidance by our chief pulmonologist .. ( vigilante)
after counselling the patients for a complex surgical procedure , it is a night mare to face the attendants and the patient, in the event of a complicated recovery.. it needs separate moral strength and reserve to keep them up and going.. the best trait of him—- he never abandons ship nor he claims credit to a ship he salvages…

This all seems like a paradise to me.. n i gotta thank suresh boy( pulmo) for being the portal to this dimension..

The possible successor for the PRIME seems to be another PULMO man (Apar)… quick to offer solutions , efficient decision making .. he z gonna arrive some day…

The paed cardio man (Dr.Arul)… makes it look like the party mode is on.., keepin it cool always , senior cardio man (Dr.Ravi).. his inate capability to ferment n feast on academic material is jawdropping..

The three musketeers ( shim,rijo,sijo plus mano) absolute armour they are…

The epicentre of fun is from the twin bros from namma bengaluru(Mahi n Pavan)… both easy going by nature , but very well learned in their field of expertise…

This team treads on a thin wire , guided by science , etiquette and a clear willingness to be the leaders in patient care and specifically in HEART AND LUNG TRANSPLANTATION…. last three months we have been averaging on seven to eight transplants per month, making us one of the leading team in INDIA and in rest of ASIA..

contrary to the popular statement that science lacks soul…. this science of heart and lung transplantation is immaculately intertwined with the good will of humanity and the core drive line lies on the nobility of the donor’s family decision.
When a son is declared brain dead… the mother’s decision to donate her son’s organs because he had wished so earlier when he was alive… is an act of extreme valour and a supreme display of altruism…
His liver, both lungs , both kidneys, heart were transplanted…

Tamil nadu as a state is a pioneer in organ transplantation, and has recieved a award from the central government for generating maximum number of donors. We ( tamil nadu ) are the recipent of that award for four consecutive years….

The tamil nadu government in return .. had honoured the donor families recently ,the health minister was not at all formal in the meet, he refused the honours conferred on him saying the limelight should only be the donors… i m personally not a fan of politicians or govt ministers … but on that day .. i was pleasantly surprised, he was in no hurry and was whole heartedly interacting with donor families.,
His genuine behaviour , i presume , is to ensure that the NOBILITY of ORGAN DONATION, under no circumstances should be affected by any misconstrued ill spread rumours/concepts.

Nobility of Organ Donation

Wasim.. a patient with failing lungs, was waiting in India for almost a year…. the pain of the disease must be far limiting than the despair that one develops that there might not be a salvation.. just when he was losin hope , an act of nobility rescued him, got his double lung transplantion, went back to his country.. the warm reception on his arrival( gun salute included?) at his country was overwhelming and to see that.,, rejuvenates our team.. to move ahead., to discredit skepticism surrounding organ transplant..

Celebration of New Life

NO FINESSE JUST FIREWORKS ..

Not new to shame and humiliation, i ve grown insensitive to all incidents that contributed to such feel. I ve always moved over such feel in the greatest haste. But inside i know i yearn to have a moment that will collectively stab a million knife and will make me bleed. This desire is only to evoke a response of a relieving cry of my tired soul… A cry that will liberate me , a certain grief that can wreck me down and kneel me to such a cry , can only come from my father’s demise ( he ain’t dead yet ) ..jus writing about him makes me feel tender.

A teacher he was, fervent catholic, very god fearing and more fearing to people who serve god ( priest n nuns) and even more fearing to MIRIAM THERESE.

Miriam therese was our school headmistress( sacred hearts), absolutely strong headed and strict law enforcer. She was a rebel of sorts, encouraging a healthy growing ambience for boys and girls to grow up together. She also was so against physical abuse of students. All this was revolutionary , very progressive n futuristic administration at a very constipated time zone ( 1990’s) .

Almost everyone revered her, i was not one of them.. i did not see what they saw.. there were lot of moments when i was reprimanded and had to face her wrath,humiliating me n my father together had become her favourite down time..
what is this man doing at my office door she would sarcastically ask , he has been apologetic for his son’s behaviour would be someones answer… i still can’t figure out my worthy crime .. she hated me , my dad’s submissiveness was only adding fuel to it ..

I hated her more with each growing year, me getting more stubborn and unapologetic of whatever crimes i was accused of … one particular morning following our school assembly , as a prelude to the school elections she was asking our opinion. I blurted out something stupid .. that was enough for her to lose her cool..all classes were suspended till i apologise , obviously i did not ..was just chattin with friends .. realising that her strategy did not work , she resumed classes for all .. except me . .. no teacher came n spoke to me .. i decided to just stand in front of her office.. at every chance of me seein her, i would give a long dull face, and she would see me as a disgusting trash. I was not hurt at all , students junior to me giving me indifferent stares, most teachers scolding me for being arrogant, some advicing me to let go and apologise… nothing moved me .. until the next day morning , i see my dad in front of her office .. i briefed him, he went inside her office… a few min laters she comes blasting out of her office , sees me right outside, she stops and suddenly gives me this smile that i can never erase out of my memory.. deeply sadistic topped with sarcasm it was, then she yells to the attendant.. velu , open the door nicely , let him see his father kneel n apologise to me… she walks back to her room, velu opens the door widely .. she asks my dad .. yeah kneel again, let him see and learn….

And i saw what she said…..
Not in a million years I CAN UNSEE WHAT I SAW….

All my catholic upbringing could not heal me … the wrath just kept flaring up… years rolled by , news came in that she retired, dad n mom kept asking me to meet her , they were in regular communication.. i could not forgive her..
Even when i heard that she had a intracranial bleed, i could not gather strength to meet her. Few more years passed, i was working as assistant prof , dept of ctvs in mmc, rgggh, was planning for lunch with my balya snehidan baalu,and at the same moment a confrontation i dared never to dream happened, sr sarguna ( current sacred heart’s principal) had got miriam therese to come and see a patient and also me .. i had nowhere to hide.. expected an embarassing meet…
But , the moment she saw me , she stepped forward with an immaculately divine healing smile and gave me that MAGICAL HUG… that embrace i could not unlock for a while.. i just melted away.. what was i hatin her for…
Saethula vizhundhu azhuka irundha yen manasa, pothukitu peyara mazhaya vandhu karachitaanga..
Kanna thiraka mudiyama , joara peyara mazhaila, andha sathathila karayara feel..
kadavul kuzhandaya pirandhu varar nu padichu irukaen, anniku feel panen andha hug la … she came as my goddess in child form to salvage me , from my own self ..
A life time of sins washed away with one hug..

Retrospectively thinking.. inspite of a conservative and constipated cultural ambience…. there were hugs that mattered to me..

I am 39 yrs old , the one n only time my father hugged me , was on seeing my name on st johns mbbs admission list, it still ranks number one on my hug list… A hug that revealed his love and pride for me. , his sense of relief., the hug that made me carry their dream forward. This hug dawned the spurt of eden in an otherwise perennial dessert.

The hugs from my paternal aunt and my maternal grandmom.. unparalled love it shows.
The hugs from my son n daughter are similarly soul refreshing .
Nadu rathirila, bad dreams varum boadhu , invariably i seek out to her., appo takkunu kaikulayum nenjukulayum vandhu sikkuva… kavidhaigal koadi, nenjukula paayara feel, nimandhi niranju thookathayum avalayum thazhuvara feel…. heavenly..

ENROUTE TO BEING KING OF SUBCLAVIAN…..

M.S general surgery , initial days of residency in st john’s was like a leap into the void, a million adrenaline moments ., of them one of the easiest and gratifying way was to gain a subclavian venous access..
The surge of dark venous blood into the syringe when the needle hits the subclavian vein is chillingly exciting..

LESSON ONE..

My first subclavian access was to a patient in septic shock secondary to necrotising pancreatitis. He had a cardiac arrest and was being resuscitated by a team of surgical residents. I was asked to do a subclavian access, half hearted i started doing it with only theoretical knowledge to back me up and also with a a trivial experience of internal jugular venous access… i could not hit the vein, after few attempts i started panicking inside , blurry eyed i turned to the senior resident to salvage … he just backed off , this guy was an academic topper, favourite of all, the nice guy kind of stuff,, just asked me to keep trying … i did not know why…. after failed attempts of resuscitation the patient was declared dead . During the audit meeting of the mortality, there was a review of the chest xray with evidence of pneumothorax on the side of subclavian trial.i realised it immediately when the slide was put up, there was an intense pang of guilt, an eerie silence , broken off by the senior resident’s voice .. sir, we had a pneumothorax possibly because of the central venous access try… the head of surgery bounced back with a question.. who did that , and he promptly pointed me…. chief gave me a good stare ,and asked me … is this your first time???
With guilty and incompetency i answered .. yes sir… i expected a blast to follow … instead he said … its ok ,don’t let this happen again….
BEHOLD…. his words turned true.. , i have completed more than five hundred subclavian’s … in not one i have hit the pleura again..
also i realised why the senior resident backed off, the boat was sinking and me with it, he just wanted his hands dry and clean.
He can become a nobel laureate in future, but will never win up my respect…

I also remember the remainder of the words my chief said on that audit… the pneumothorax did not kill the patient … he did not have to say it , yet he did..

Till date , i see great surgeons , they are so coz they are iron clad and take the heat on themselves and will go all out defending their kith and kin..

LESSON TWO

I mastered it too well to be crowned as the king of subclavian, i was getting cocky.. always hittin the subclavian at first shot, be it a pickwian syndrome patient or cystic fibrosis patient in an upright position…

A senior internal medicine faculty asked to help him after his two failed attempts, change of hands after failed attempts is a medical dictum and recommendation , though i agreed i was mocking him inside .
One, two , three….. i failed too much to remember the count …. how can i not hit it, i told him that it could be an anatomical anomaly ., the chest xray was clear, i had not complicated it . Told him will take a break n try again, he asked me if he could try again.. i gave a nod and went for coffee n when i was back , to my dismay he had tried and got it in a clean shot ..

Puppy shame moment .. i realised being supremely confident is okay , getting cockey ain’t…

LESSON THREE

WORSE THAN BEING AN A$$HOLE is BEING AN ACCOMPLICE TO AN ASSHOLE

My immediate senior gen surg pg ( 2 nd year) was such a cool dude ( dr arun) by name , always guiding me what to do … during night emergency calls, he always keeps whispering in my ears… dude , admit this patient , he needs surgery,screw the advance part, just write five hundred or so , will finish the surgery and will handle.. i had always followed it … this way on our night calls we had three or four emergency laparotomies on always ..
Sleepless nights and yet gratifyin feel the next day on rounds ,,but the hospital was feeling the financial crunches, bills were always way too reasonable , yet when they could not afford, the bills had to be waived. Since we were responsible for admitting a lot of emergencies, we were advised to be a little guarded on the economic part .
But we all were on a merry run, kept admitting , kept operating … and on one extremely busy day that got busier by the night we got fatigued out, loads of emergency surgeries … all neatly done and we were taking a walk to the canteen by early dawn to have a coffee via the emergency room…as a habit i enquired the E R med officer if there were surgical references, a no from him cooled my mind.. thank god the busy day n night is done and in two hours will hand over the pager to the next surgical team’s junior post graduate..
As we were stepping out, an auto screeched at the E R door, a young male steps out , appearing distressed , he carries in his arms, an elderly lady fragile weak and in pain. I knew it was a surgical pathology, arun holds my hand and as always whispers …. dude , i think she is our’s, evaluate and push her to theatre asap.. will have a coffee n join u..

i drudged back in, the clinical diagnosis was obvious , frank peritonitis secondary to hollow viscus perforation, she needs emergency surgery, i did the maths in my mind.. another four to six hours gone in theatre, i already had an hectic twenty four sleepless hours and i have a huge day to roll out yet ,lots to be done… damn.. why do they have to come now..
Tiringly i wrote out my admission slip, at advance to be paid i wrote five hundred, they were gonna be admitted… and just then a final year post grad from my team walks by, a₹₹hole in certain perspectives, he enquires about the admission, scolds me for just writin five hundred, goes out and explains to the son, that more money will be involved coz of the complexity of the surgery, and says atleast five thousand has to be deposited as advance , when an E R Medico questioned if this was necessary he just simply put him down , askin if he would pledge his salary if they do not pay after surgery.
The son did not have that money , it was getting obvious that they will be referred out coz of financial constraints , he pulls me aside winks and says … now come lets go have some coffee…
I was feeling relieved , i can sleep for an hour atleast, met arun at canteen and the senior boasts how he managed the patient. , i could see that arun was dissapointed, he whispered again.. dude u should have just admitted her, now if she dies … it is on u….

And as we walked back to E R, the lady was referred out in an ambulance , the cries of the son still haunts me … oru 5000 roova sambadhika thuppu illama yen ammava pali kuduthruvaen poala irukae nu…. accomplice to an a₹$hole is worse than just being an asshole.

I travel forth, the gratitude of the other good deeds wiping away the guilt…

SCHOOL ZONE

Nerd bashing is easy, but it is no mean job to be an academic topper , my school batch mates had loads of people who excelled in academics …few were really good at it, smart too and also had a complete personality around their academic core… today they stand tall…

I always consider that sacred hearts always had a better upbringing at that time zone ,so all sacred hearties are kinda talented n smart enough to shine n glitter in whatsover universe they are planted in…

Before mentionin about some academic toppers… i thought i ll get few of my school mates opinion also…. so i spoke to them…. yen paer yaenda vituta , naanum eight varaikum top pannitu thaan irundhaen, unga kooda saerndhu thaan kettu poitaen nu serious ah sonnadhu thambi studio satish… poada dei nu sirichitu vachitaen..

Konjam nidhanama yoasicha correct ah thaan irukumo nu thoanudhu …
Twelve std open house la , class teacher started complainin about me to my dad…..that i am spoilin others nu .. yaaru nu kaeta, oru friend oada amma appo thaan suda suda sollitu poirukaanga , naa thaan avana daily after school hours football vilayada compel panraenam, inaiku varaikum appidi sollitu avan yenna pannan nu god only knows?

Yettu subject la yaezhu la fail aana oru friend , yen kooda paesaratha niruthitu nalla pasanga kooda saerndhu yella subject um pass panna … appo konjam ketta payyan thaano naaa.. Yay super nu semma sandoasham thaan appo…

Fourth std la irundhu nineth varaikum thick friends, illa machi unkooda saera koodadhunu amma sollitanga nu two years ah pesama irundha KVG.. light ah thaan valichidhu… college days la thirumbha snegika arambichitaan..

Innoru nalla namban, veetuku laam vara vaendam nu sollitan, st john’s la house surgeon ah irukum boadhu, he surprised me with a visit, oru maasama unna meet panna try pannitu irundhaen nu sonnan…

Three sections in each class, not much of swappin happened, so therez a good possibility that i could be completely unaware of other section’s brilliant academic toppers.. the converge of students happened only at class eleven..

V.balaji.., V.sheela…,V.abirami .. (siblings ah nu kudharkama kaeka koodadhu ) these three would constantly occupy the top three ranks until seventh standard..
Balaji n sheela went on to become the school pupil leaders… headboy n headgirl.. a josephite n marian… abirami is also gifted with a vocal that most of us are fans of… another florian girl peaked late n her academics , has a similar vocals and is enthrallin netizens currently…guess who?

On a different league were….. S .NAGASAI and R.MADHUSUDHANAN.. their display of character around academics will stand long in our memories… absolutely focussed and driven by ambition, their far sightedness can’t be rivalled.. both are currently medical practioners.

A special mention would be NARAYANAN, the only guy who would not palpitate when our english teacher would call our marks out.. he topped it constantly.. we would frantically check his answer sheets to see if it was any different.. i guess the teacher just had a crush on him.. just kidding nari.. he currently resides in USA, heading the division of anthroplogic linguistics and also as a counsellor for accent accentuation to TRUMP,, kiddin again nari… ??

Another genius intoto is PRAKASH RAJA…. little headstrong and brutally honest , he sure is know all guy… a mind that can absorb academics easily, in a similar genre is KV GANESH NARAYANAN..he sure is like the lead character in THE BEAUTIFUL MIND.

LAVANYA…. i guess she cracked herself into BITS, pilani, even if i know that wrong , i would be dead right in sayin she belongs in the league of academic toppers.

On a late note , with absolutely enchanting attitude towards life and acing academics with ease.. if we all
Are stars, she shines like the RED GIANT…
Took me a while to figure her attitude out,
She is a cardiologist in usa., getting to do residency in cardio in western world is extremely tough.. i guess she let her result speak to us…

Though they left us early, two very honourable mentions … L GAYATHRI , graduated from tanjore medical college… absolute go getter and an extremely multitalented person..,the other person was pramila… good in studies , disappeared beyond seventh i guess… dreams crushed or dreamz re implanted ? Who knows?

CHITHRA, unaku heavy recommendation , to add your name on the elite category…. rendu moonu paer solitanga ,.. kvg um sonna correct ah thaanae irukum? i honestly am unaware of her academic shrewdness, but from whatever brief interactions we had in the recent past, i can’t disagree either… she gotta be good..

This was in school, more school mates have peaked at their own pace and almost all are doing good , in their own perspectives..

BEAUTIFUL CONVERSATIONS…

The perils of the world is sickening to deal with, weaving a narcissistic shield around ourselves seems to be the only way.. but acts of random kindness, hugs, kisses, smiles , certain conversations always seems to tear that shield n touches us in our deepest pleasure sensitive zones.

My Kids..

My Kids (twin children, boy n girl )have completed their sixth grade, we were summoned for the parent teacher meet, though i was thankin the court of law guidance for the no fail/ detention policy… i was a little apprehensive, apparently there has been a reversal in the policy.. but i just had to man the fuck up n face the drama.. as expected, the teacher informed that they have been promoted to seventh grade, with a recommendation that i need to take extra care in future to augment their academics.., and this they wanted me to give it in writing to the principal… i am a victim of school dramas, so this did not flinch me a bit, and i refused, before the class teacher could get persuasive, i vented out my anger about the system, i was offensive, did not feel bad though, my kids started giggling , probably they did not expect me to back them up, but i know and i decided even before they were born, that i will not kill their childhood with the sheer burden of academics, instead will get them a good schooling experience.. they could not let us go unscathed, teacher hesistantly said that my daughter had some bad company and if i was aware of an incident.. i was obviously clueless, but the class teacher would not say what it was.. the more i wanted to know the more she became constipated, she just kept mumbling … go ask the english teacher… i did not wanna do that … instead i thought i ll just ask my kids straight away…

So got them out of the school, got them snacks , and gently chided them to disclose.. the best parental trick of… dont be afraid , say anything u want and just when they disclose we get mad… works all the time, she confessed that she told her friends that she had a crush on a boy at fourth standard… a boy overheard that and went n complained to the english teacher, for a moment i was zapped , then laughed it out..

In a gesture of reassurin my girl, i scolded ( gently) my son for not punching the boy in face ,,
And i also told her that this world is filled with retards (boys ) like that, she gotta learn to not just to neglect them , also to tackle them as n when required…
i did more n more to make sure that my baby girl was gonna feel alright ,, but the more i did … she started sobbing and went on to an incessant cry.. in all her eleven years of life , i had not seen her cry like that,.. in between her sobs she kept murmuring that she really did not have a crush , but for the sake of the conversation, she had just blurted out a name… ,she kept apologising over n over, my son was speechless,, she probably was so stoked with guilt…. this was a whirlwind of emotions for me…i kept saying its ok baby and lot of other stuff …

I almost had to kneel to get to her level , looked her in the eyes and said …. idhellam onnumae illada, even i had a crush at sixth grade…
this had the desired effect ., to hear this coming from their dad.. they soon started blushing n giggling , smiles erupting to laughters…

And then for the rest of the ride .. it became an immaculate world of beautiful conversation…
I have told my story to many .. but unravelling it to my kids … unbelievable experience.. it was beautiful reliving my crush memories….

First Fatal Crush at my 6th Grade
YEH DIL MANGAE MORE… As she bloomed
Femme Fatale.. Crush to infatuation to Oru Thalai Kadhal

Coming up Next …………………………
DARYL.. AAVI… ABARNA (Friends for life)
The Discovery of Katha Muthu, EZHILAN

Kanavuku pinnum karayadha nee..

It is a demanding, unforgiving and ruthless career,
Little or no social life,strained relationships,
The perks are little,
The ambience can get cold n tasteless,
But the revival of hearts is priceless,
And thats why we feel alive and on top,
This is being me
This is being a cardiac surgeon..

I have learnt now to dream, to dream more carefully, as my dreams have a tendency to spring to life, as my dreams are intertwined with the people i love , with the people i judge …
I know now that my destiny carves the trippiest path to paradise and not to nothingness…
A god who is willing and extremely resourceful, how do i know that…
Irukaadha pinna, naa vacha pullikellam
Koalam poadrarae,
Appidi avar 39 yrs ah poata koalam, konjam visthaarama, ATACAMA desert la poata patterns madiri bramandama irukum poala, birds eye view la paatha , yen vazhkaila naa sandicha manidargaloada eeramum good will um thaan teriyudhu…

 

I confess .. i am an uncouth vagabond..
The people i have been with have shown me only goodness and extreme kindness, which has mellowed , civilised , and humbled me down..

Illayaraja oada BGM la karanju,
Baalya snehidham nenjula nirayara nostalgic tharunathula,
Uravugalin idhamana ninaivugal sanjarikara piniravil,
Manasum kangalum pannika,

Yen vaazhvil , naan nandrikoorum ninaivugalai padhiya….
CARDIO COSMO KADHAL ( CCK ) ….
——————————————————
LAST TEN DAYS..

CANNIS MAJORA VA appidiyae swallow panna feel ?…

At the culmination of the last ten days, how am i feeling??

Just like an astronaut, who in his maiden voyage bursts into a black hole, sees the back of his own head before crossin event horizon..
may be a little more adventurous than that……..

OR may be i feel like a fresh IPS graduate, pumping hot smokin bullets into a live man’s chest…
May be a little more dominant than that….

OR may be like a formula one driver, anxious n wrapped in fear before the drive thats either gonna kill or make him…
May be more insane that..

OR may be like a particle physicist working in a LARGE HADRON COLLIDER, stumbling upon the GOD’s particle …
May be a little more humbled than that…

OR may a collage of all that feel…

More PRELUDE..,

Four months into the country’s best HEART N LUNG TRANSPLANT team, that has a fairy taleish MENTOR,
A team that slavedrives to professional discipline and excellence, urges and helps everyone to build themselves to the highest standards.
SCIENCE IS THEIR RELIGION.
The democracy that exists in the team, the spirit , attitude and most importantly the surgical discipline exhibited by the PRIME is beyond the beauty of IC 1101..

Fuck me … how am i agreein to parallel IC 1101 to my mentor and the PRIME.

Fuck me not …will justify how… later

In a conv of ten min, with the PRIME,if one is not mesmerised, they aint human..regardless of the gender..

Frailty of genius… needs an audience,
He is an exception
No audience
No drama
Surgical excellence at its best is executed,
A mentorship like never before is displayed,
His charm, efficiency , skills percolates through all levels like water does to soil..

I was luxuriously hiding in the comfort of the most skilled team, a well oiled system, churning out good results from heart and double lung transplants.
Ultimate protection comes from the PRIME, he can repair, re do , undo whatever we can complicate.
He can stoop low to appreciate even the most trivial of good work, who at the end of the surgery leaves me completely awed, n makes me feel that there is nothing that he cannot do..
and if there is nothing that he cannot do—god save the patient n us…

And then suddenly he throws me in deep waters, clearly stating that i ain’t gonna drown but gonna learn swimmin… only i know .. i can’t even float…
———————————————————-

MAIDEN HEART DOUBLE LUNG RETRIEVAL

The nightmare unveiled… call from the transplant co ordinator at twelve midnight to go n harvest heart n double lung as suggested by my chief., no escape from that .. the vehicle was to pick me up in forty min. I was panickin inside , kaadhalan pabhudeva feel panra madiri vayitrukum thondaikum uruvamilla urunda urulra feel thaan,
Predawn flight to trichy, then by road to madurai, ukkandhitae thoongiruvaen, to my own surprise i became insomniac..
but as we reached the hosp i was calmin down, only because the prime had unleashed his generals to wage my war…

The pulmonologist and the anesthetist showed why they are the best, their professional support was so huge , no adjectives can do justice to describe.
Kambhan veetu thariyum kavi paadum,with such an efficient team backin me up, no reason for no one to err….

Inside the theatre before retrieving the organs , met other cardiothoracic consultants from apollo and fortis, they were there to harvest the organs in case if we decline using it for our recipients.. the interaction with them killed the CORPORATE MYTH. Corporate ANIMOSITY aint existing at that level.

At five pm, the liver team had opened the abdomen to prep the liver retrieval, subsequently we opened the chest … dhak dhak moment…. the heart n lungs were lookin good, the green signal given, the recipent was wheeled to the operating room, the machinery had begun..

Surgical precision is surgical precision…
during the whole procedure, i think i was havin a million heart attacks , as if earth is constantly being bombarded by hundreds of meteors…
We arrested the heart at 1937 hrs, got the heart n lung out by 2005 hrs…. got it into the container, changed from surgical scrubs and we lunged out of the theatre…

As we ran out of the theatre with the organs , the crowd in the hospital moved away just like moses departed the red sea, it was overwhelmin, my eyes blurred n heart was melting.

GREEN CORRIDOR TO MADURAI AIRPORT

At madurai airport, the flight was speculated to be delayed by fifteen min, but surprisingly arrives on time. I was flabbergasted.
behind the story was intriguing, the pilot was informed about a possible heart and lung transfer and unbelievable —- for the time lost from mumbai to chennai , he compensates it up on air between chennai and madurai to reach on time… how do we thank for such acts of kindness…

Reached chennai ,
Again GREEN CORRIDOR..

I was swayin inside the ambulance , fear and excitement and anxiety and a pinch of gastritis too, the ambulance driver puts not just his foot, also his / our lives n heart on the accelerator… an insane drive to save a few precious moments ..we whizzed past the lazy traffic to reach the hospital in twenty min..

Heart and lungs implanted, and in some days later , another heart and lung retrieval , another lung retrieval and another call that did not materialise …. five transplants in ten days … emotions were running high …. it just felt beautiful to be a part of something that can be paralled to the best teams in the world….

Resurrection of hearts n lungs is truly a miraculous science and glad to be a witness in it …

Heart n lung after transimplantation
Donors family , people who moved away for the ambulance, cops for creatin green corridors, paramedics, canteen guys who are up with a smile through the night… good will everywhere, and they are more blessed coz they know not what they are part of ,still vibrate kindness.

The team has completed more than hundred transplants in a little more than a year.. my association is twenty five transplants with them, millions of good things to learn… foremost is , no place for mediocrisy here, coz complacency n mediocrisy aint just gonna hurt me.. its gonna hurt the team , eventually the patients…

———————————————————
NADUVULA KONJAM PAKKATHA KANOAM… kaamama poana idam BLUE CAVE STUDIOS…

Ivlo transplant calls ku naduvula, one eve i had the moment to chill with my bil,
He knows how to light it up
Maams 96 paathiteengala,
Hmmm okayish yesh…
Ippadi soliteengalae nu oru reaction,

Then after a BLUNT

He plays out this cover music of kadhalae song from 96, somethin happened, cant distinctly say,
Keys n fiddle did the damage … it was as if someone was fingerin my heart,the orgasm was mammoth, extendin to the next day ,topping up with karai vandha piragae pidikudhu kadalai song…
All this unleashed a variety of nostalgia, moments from school days, football , sunny , avanti autogear days, bsa slr red, tuition classes with RSV master, sports days, sacred heart church masses…

Balyamum balu vum
CCK Jananam ivan ubayam
Niraya paesalam ivana pathi… laters though…

CLASS OF TWELVE A
SACRED HEART CONVENT , batch of 96
Vpm

Ten boys ku one girl ratio nu irukara sila schools ae co ed nu sollipaanga….
Our twelve A class had 25 boys and 38 girls…. u can guess how green it would have been, the memories that would have been imparted..

Ninaivil nindra mugam

Sacred heart school dress code for girls insist , a type of grey pinafore skirt that has to be at knee length or shorter… some did not heed to it , coz they were probably too shy or probably their parents were…
two things killed the aesthetics
A longer pinafore
A different shade of grey
Bombay lead actress saayal , this girl wore longer pinafore, faded grey . .. but still retained the charm n grace, yet had a mystical melancholy adorning her…
A newcomer to our school, i guess she did not fit in…
our own monalisa.. unable to read what she emotes..
Many guys were behind her, she did not seem to be even excited by that fact,
She lived in the same street as mine and came to my father for maths tutions…
A self claimed boy friend of hers thought i was troubling her( the fact .. i was not troubling her, my associate was) and came with about forty boys from his class ( kamaraj boys high school … ) to allegedly threaten me …
They were all waitin for me outside our school,
Gaaali aagi iruka vaendiyadhu … luckily the chief of the chota ganster gang was another podi payyal who lived opposite my home and also is my father’s student.. we called him viji…. bowling poadum boadhu , over um kidayadhu , battingum kuduka maatreenga nu avan pulambina sambavam nyabagam vandhu sirichu vaera vachitaen,, he was magnanimous to send the gang off…. he had later formed his own political outfit , opposed a major party.. but was murdered….. news kaetu nenju kanadhuchu..

Back to the self addressed boy friend.. he used to pick our girl up from school, cycle thaan… paaka aacharya ma irukum…
Roja poo ponnu she .. rogue madiri avan …idikudhae ninachu irukoam, her unwillingness was so evident.., we prodded and the confession was that her aunt was sendin him to pick her up n drop at home …
Few months later.. that guy was mothered and his family was forced to move to another state ….reason will remain guarded..?

Dodabetta la pani vilagi , thideernu oru brahmipa oru view kidaikum, likewise i saw her at noon time with a smile that showed she is free and at peace ..
Its been twenty two yrs now, she is like the aroma of first rains hittin the soil..
not heard of her … hope all is well with her..

Manasil nindra mariyadhai

Nalladhoru veenai seydhu , adhan nallan keda puzhudhiyil yeriya vidamal, how to resurrect thyself nu book poata… she ll be the core..

She is a tom boyish girl, intimidates me with the intellect and attitude .. then and now …
my respect and regards a for her will always grow….

More to document ……laterrrrrrs….
Aavi