Jimi Hendrix and the fighter pilot

You begin to write about something and go somewhere else.It's called 'Plot drift',I believe.
I was just ruminating about the effects of music.I don't know if it has a therapeutic effect or not,but I find it very soothing.It steadies my nerves and improves my mood,which is morbid most of the times.
I don't know why Jimi Hendrix killed himself.His songs are so variegated and colourful.I am sure they came out of his brilliant mind.Are brilliant minds restless?Did he get bored after achieving so much in such a short time?Anyway,we lost a few hundred songs due to his impatience.Look at the output of other restless souls like Bob Dylan,Beatles etc.How poor our lives would be without all of them.
The driver of the bus which we travel in everyday is impatient as well.I heard that he has been a lorry driver in the not too recent past.He is super confident and drives as if he is on a 2-wheeler.He makes narrow turns and overtakes everything in his way.He should have been a fighter pilot.

Colours of Goa

I have been wanting to write this from many days but something or the other came up.So,here it is finally.
I went to Goa for the first time in my post graduation days with the guys(actually one guy!).We had a conference in Mangalore and decided to visit the famous 'Miami' of India.It was a low-budget venture since we didn't have much money.We got what we wanted,alright.It was sunny,the beaches were blue and the water was delicious.We swam at all the beaches...Calangute,Anjuna,Baga,Vagator etc. and also sipped the local special-cashew pheni.We did all this in one day on a bike-taxi and stayed in a small room for one day.I had decided that I was going to go back again and again.
Four years later...
I and my family decided to go to Goa.I forgot to check the season(It was monsoon) and I thought off-season meant less number of tourists.The rains started lashing us from Karwar and I thought since Karwar was 'Malnad' region,the weather was so and that there would be no rain in the coastal areas.The rains didn't stop.When we got down from the bus in Panjim,Goa had turned from blue & sunny to muddy,cloudy and rainy!It rained continuously for three days.In spite of that ,we visited all the beaches,went on a cruise and went to some temples.We saw more of Goa than I had seen the last time.
Moral of the story-Offseason means that it is the wrong season to visit!

Clinical Language Practice

I had posted a 9 year old kid with an abscess for incision &drainage in the operation theatre.I had to do it under local anaesthesia,sedation and my sweet talk!So,I started trying to soften him up in my pathetic Telugu & Tamil(The kid knew both & I didn't know both).I tried all through the procedure with gems like "valli irakka?","noppi unda?","ayi poyindi","nidra po","nidra vastunda?","valli irakka ante sollu"etc.I struggled throughout the procedure(not with the procedure but with my communication skills).
After the procedure,I called the mother of the patient in to pacify the patient a little bit.
Guess what she spoke to her child?
"Enappa novu agtha ideya?Alabeda mari,agi hoythu"
Kasthuri Kannada!!I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!!!!

Surgery-Art or Science?

Continuing from my last blog,one of Gawande's essays dealt with the proficiency of Indian surgeons.Having worked in quite a few places,I can vouch for this.At the junior level few can beat us in terms of exposure or skill but people in other places like UK,US are more structured and focused in their training & approach.
We routinely deal with all sorts of cases-urology,plastic surgery,pediatric surgery etc.General surgery means,in general,all of surgery!!
While learning to do surgery,we are faced with a dilemma.Daring or caution?Learning to find a balance between these two and improving surgical skills requires experience in itself.

Hand-washing

I recently read a review about 2 books written by a surgeon named 'Atul Gawande'.I decided to buy the books and after 2 weeks of persistence managed to end up with a book called 'Better-A surgeon's notes on performance'.The book deals with a lot of aspects of health care(American-not surprisingly!).
One chapter is about handwashing or the lack of it.
The author describes how clinicians ignore to wash their hands after examining every patient.
As far as India is concerned,this problem is more rampant.I don't know about the central institutes but as far as Govt hospitals are concerned,there won't be any bedside disinfectants.You either have to find a tap & wash ur hands with soap or use spirit which is unpleasant.
When I was working in the breast & endocrine unit in Portsmouth,one patient had complained to the nurses about the fact that I & a colleague of mine(incidentally a Sardarji) failed to wash our hands after seeing each patient.This had irritated me no end.
The problem in India is mindboggling.It is difficult to find disinfectants for such large hospitals and there is no guarantee that the solution will not be mishandled.So,should the doctors pay for it out of their own pockets?
I am sure if we adopt this simple measure in our wards,we can prevent a lot of cross-infections.

I wonder why so few doctors write blogs.As far as I am concerned,this is an entirely new concept.It is not a very comfortable thought,sharing your thoughts with others.
I was thinking about the neurological basis for happiness.If everything has a biological basis then there should be a biological basis for happiness too.I plan to do some research (from my chair) and find out!