drkjshenoyGreeks call it ‘Ambrosia’. Hindus refer to it as ‘Amruth’. Whatever is the name, it means ‘The Elixir of Immortality’. And the Man’s quest for immortality is as old as the human race itself.
drkjshenoyWe always tend to under-estimate the impact of Hindi cinema on the psyche of the Indians living outside the ‘cow-belt’. Despite the tosh most of them churned out over the years, the Hindi movies played a pivotal role in integrating a nation of disparate regionalisms. The days of the Anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s is now a passé. The Hindi filmdom has given the lingua franca to the peoples who previously met each other like a bunch of Trappist monks-completely tongue-tied.
drkjshenoyYears ago, as a PG student, I was assigned to work on a dissertation titled ‘Duodenal Mucosal Study in Malabsorption Syndrome’. The study entailed taking the intestinal biopsy using a tool called ‘Crosby Capsule’.
drkjshenoy‘A fool and his money are soon parted’- so goes an old adage. In this drama of fool-parting-with-his-money, there are two protagonists: A con-artist and a gullible victim or the bakra. The modus operandi of the con-man has remained unchanged for centuries; only the tools of the con-game have changed.
drkjshenoyYears ago, as a PG student, I was assigned to work on a dissertation titled ‘Duodenal Mucosal Study in Malabsorption Syndrome’. The study entailed taking the intestinal biopsy using a tool called ‘Crosby Capsule’.
drkjshenoy‘HORN—OK—PLEASE’. Does it ring a bell? Well, most of us in India have seen these words on the rear of trucks. Why do the truck owners write the phrase? Because others do. And others do because their fathers and fore-fathers did the same. No one paused to think of something new. They just copied. No questions asked. As in the case of the ‘roaming calf.’
drkjshenoy Snake-bite causes death of more than 100,000 people across the globe annually. Of more than 3000 known species of snakes, only 10% are venomous. Death due to snake-bite is common in all most continents. But, surprisingly, the figures in Europe is, on an average, one death for every 3-5 years!!!
On encountering a case of snake-bite, one should find with certainty that the person has been bitten by a poisonous snake. If there are no distinct fang marks and if local pain, swelling, numbness or weakness does not appear within 20 minutes, it is unlikely to be caused by a poisonous snake.
drkjshenoyCall it vainglory or extreme vanity. But the truth is that most of us, at one or other times in our lives (and for a few all the time), try not to show what we really are by showing ourselves to be what we are not. If it sounds like bumble, an explanatory illustration will clear the air.
drkjshenoyA classic example of occupational cramp is the writer’s cramp in which attempt to write causes spasm of related muscles that help in holding and moving the pen and may spread to the whole upper limb. Movements are jerky, making the writing illegible. Similar problem may occur in others while typing, painting, playing piano etc.
