The Bookoholics: Ketaki Nirkhi Debuts With "Those Enchanted Four & Half Years"

The Bookoholics: Ketaki Nirkhi Debuts With "Those Enchanted Four & Half Years"

Review of “Those enchanted four and half years” by Dr.Vijay Bang, Senior Cardiologist, Leelavati Hospital, Mumbai.

“Those enchanted four and half years” is a beautifully penned and intelligently portrayed representation of the life of a young college student, with dreams of becoming a doctor one day. What makes the book more interesting is that it gives us the ‘girl’s’version of the story. It is a look at the young generation through a feminist eye. The language is lucid, with a wonderful interplay of characters. The anxiety the protagonist feels on the first day of college, the tension of getting ragged, the mixed feelings during freshers party, her romantic interludes with the handsome and dashing Amey, the pressure of studies and exams, the exciting first college trip, the fun filled lab practicals & the memorable clinic sessions, the sweet and bitter experiences while dealing with patients have all been described in such a way that we feel as if we are actually experiencing them. Miss Wierdo’s antics, Pavan Sharma’s dance, Valentine day story, the cute old hearing impaired lady, the incident from the restaurant, the patient confusion fiasco, all make us laugh, while Reshma, Ajoba, Vinu, bring tears to our eyes. The dilemmas of thoughts that crowd the protagonist’s mind when it comes to choosing her Mr.Right have been wonderfully depicted. The repeated mysterious dreams make the track even more interesting, keep us guessing as to what happens next and the twist in the tale makes us stay in a long hangover. This is a must read for everyone who has been to college and anyone who has fallen in love. A terrific page turner..

Those Enchanted four & half years..

Ruta, a young vibrant girl, is a medical student who nurtures the dream of becoming a renowned doctor. With Sufee, Nayana and Arun as her best pals and the handsome Amey as her crush, Ruta sails through the fun and frolic filled campus of Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College. Since she was a small child, Ruta gets suggestive dreams – dreams that seem to guide her future. Now Ruta is having a mysterious dream repeatedly. Will she be able to interpret it before it is too late?

Coming soon....

When was the last time

             I chitchatted with a friend, lost track of time,

And later went home and called her

            Just to ask if she was fine…

When was the last time

            I was angry with my best friend,

And we spent entire day together

           After swearing never to speak to each other again…

When was the last time

           I went for a night out at a friend’s place

And got up in the morning to find,

           A moustache painted on my face…

When was the last time

          We all got drenched in the rain

Soaked ourselves dry, changed clothes

          And went out in the rain again…

When was the last time

          We laughed till tears flowed

Walked hand in hand

           Played colours on the road…

When was the last time

          We went cycling into the horizon

Watched stars in the moonlitsky

          For no special reason…

When was the last time

         We thought we could reach the sky

We played toys in backseat of car

         And waved at passers by…

When was the last time

        We plucked flowers from the roadside

Ventured deep into the sea

        Tried to jump into every tide…

To relive these moments

        I could pay money in tonnes

But hell, God knows

        Childhood comes only once…!

I recently read a column in 'The Bombay Times' titled 'The truth about', wherein a "Naturotherapist" answers people's queries about their health problems. One reader had asked her what to do for asthama, for which she advised consultation of a "Hypnotherapist" as asthama is related to"past life". Reading this I felt ashamed of our country and the ignorance of people. Inspite of the recent advances in the field of medicine, we still have such people who have absolutely no knowledge and yet without any hesitation advice people about 'treatment', that too through a leading newspaper! Following is the copy of the feedback that I have sent to the Bombay Times. I guess this is the reason why we are still a developing country!!

I am a MBBS and have post graduated with an MD in Anaesthesiology from Grant Medical college and Sir.J.J.Group of Hospitals in Mumbai. I am writing this in response to the column ‘The truth about’ in Bombay times dated 2^nd jan 2012. An asthamatic has been advised by tha naturotherapist to consult a “hypnotherapist” for the treatment of asthama. Reading this article in your dignified paper, and myself being a well qualified health care practitioner in this field since 12 years, I felt the need to write this, not just as a feed back, but because being under the Hippocratus oath, it is my duty to remove such myths and false facts from minds of unaware people.

Asthama is basically a disease of airways in which the airways are ‘hyper reactive’. As a result there is a chronic inflammation of the muscles of airways, known as the bronchial muscles. This chronic inflammation is associated with airway hyperresponsiveness that leads to recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing particularly at night or in the early morning. Bronchial tubes that are chronically inflamed may become overly sensitive to allergens (specific triggers) or irritants (nonspecific triggers). The airways may become "twitchy" and remain in a state of heightened sensitivity. This is called "bronchial hyperreactivity" (BHR). It is likely that there is a spectrum of bronchial hyperreactivity in all individuals. However, it is clear that asthmatics and allergic individuals (without apparent asthma) have a greater degree of bronchial hyperreactivity than nonasthmatic and nonallergic people. In sensitive individuals, the bronchial tubes are more likely to swell and constrict when exposed to triggers such as allergens, tobacco smoke, or exercise. Amongst asthmatics, some may have mild BHR and no symptoms while others may have severe BHR and chronic symptoms. Asthma affects people differently. Each individual is unique in their degree of reactivity to environmental triggers. This naturally influences the type and dose of medication prescribed, which may vary from one individual to another.

Asthma symptoms may be activated or aggravated by many agents. Not all asthmatics react to the same triggers. Additionally, the effect that each trigger has on the lungs varies from one individual to another. In general, the severity of your asthma depends on how many agents activate your symptoms and how sensitive your lungs are to them. Most of these triggers can also worsen nasal or eye symptoms. Triggers fall into two categories:

·        allergens ("specific");

·        nonallergens -- mostly irritants (nonspecific).

Once your bronchial tubes (nose and eyes) become inflamed from an allergic exposure, a re-exposure to the offending allergens will often activate symptoms. These "reactive" bronchial tubes might also respond to other triggers, such as exercise, infections, and other irritants. Common allergens include "seasonal" pollens, dust mites, molds, pets, and insect parts, foods, such as fish, egg, peanuts, nuts, cow's milk, and soyadditives, such as sulfites and work-related agents, such as latex, epoxides, and formaldehyde. Factors which can trigger an asthamatic attack include certain foods especially those with higher amount of saturated fats, exercise especially in cold dry weather, emotional stress, and certain conditions of hormonal changes. Thus asthama is NOT A DISEASE OF MIND, IT IS NOT A PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION. IT IS AN ORGANIC DISEASE WITH REAL PATHOLOGY. IT CAN BE ‘TRIGGERED BY PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS.

Like any other chronic disease, asthma is a condition you live with every day of your life. You can have an attack any time you are exposed to one of your triggers. Unlike other chronic obstructive lung diseases, asthma is reversible. Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled.You have a better chance of controlling your asthma if it is diagnosed early and treatment is begun right away.With proper treatment, people with asthma can have fewer and less severe attacks.

But asthama needs to be diagnosed, treated properly from a medical practitioner  AND NOT HYPNOTHERAPIST as it is a fatal disease.

They say the world has come closer due to the technology today, they say the world has become smaller due to the advances in communications. Once upon a time not long back ago, people used to send telegrams, people used to order trunk calls. And today, we are just a click away from each other. Yahoo chat, messenger, mobiles, skype, facebook, twitter. We all snoop into each others living rooms and kitchens almost daily. Previously the aim of taking photographs was to preserve the beautiful memories of the moment, but today we do it to upload on facebook. Before your grand mom comes to know that your wife just delivered a baby, your friend circle knows because you were sitting on twitter to tweet the moment it happened. But sometimes I wonder, are we living in some virtual world? A world where you share your deepest thoughts and feelings as your ‘status update’ with God-knows-how-many people? A world where a friend whom you have not met in a decade comments on your daily activities? A world where a friend of friend, whom you have not even seen, casually pokes you? While in reality, your partner is unaware of your feelings, your parents have no idea of your daily activities, and you have had no time for your best friend? This reminds me of a line from ‘The perfect stranger’ – We are connected online but disconnected in life!

Last year, I came across this article titled "ek motha shunya", meaning 'one big zero' in a Marathi magazine. It was written by a lady doctor. She had written about Dr.Nitu Mandke's death. We all know Dr. Mandke was a very famous and talented cardiothoracic surgeon. His life was very dedicated to his patients, so much that his hectic schedule and the stress of his huge ambitions proved fatal to him in the form of a heart attack at a young age. The article stated, what did he achieve by stressing himself so much that ultimately nothing was left? She wrote that she is a doctor who does not work beyond her own capacity, is not famous as him, but is atleast, alive! She wrote, 1 minus 1 is also 0, and 1000 minus 1000 is also zero. So whether '1' dies or '1000' dies, its always zero. and zero is the same for all. Its not a 'big zero' for 1000, then why be 1000?

But I completely disagree. Today, everyone remembers Dr.Nitu Mandke's name, his achievements, even though he is no more. On the contrary, I dont even remember the name of the abovementioned author, inspite of she being alive...isnt that a difference? Mr.Dev Anand passed away recently. But I dont think anyone is going to forget him for many years to come. We still fondly remember his young image, his romantic songs, his classic movies! So is that a zero? Same is the case with Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Bhagat Singh, Kishore Kumar...the list goes on. Moral is, maths cannot be applied to life's equations. In real Maths, 1000-1000 may be zero, but in real life, 1000-1000 is still 1000!