Anush Ravindranathan's Blog, page 2
March 8, 2020
HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY…
I wish all the women happy women’s day. Personally I don’t believe in a particular day but the cause associated with the day should continue throughout the year and lifetime.
Wish you all a lifetime full of self respect and respect from others in your life, along with your known strength of compassion and hard work.
The key to such respect, I believe, is economic independence. the women who are educated and those who are skilled must go for work and be independent financially, at least for there own needs so that no one can take them for granted. If you wish improvement in your life, you should be able to take a stand and help in decision making, which is only possible if you are in-charge of your own life, at the least. Such an empowered woman would see to the eventual upliftment of her family and the society.
Also, having self respect does not mean disrespect towards opposite sex, it will only hurt the cause. There can not be a generalised hate towards men; it shall drive away the men who support the cause. The men who realise that their success and happiness is the result of multiple sacrifices, prayers and support of the women in their life, be it his mother or wife or sister or a best friend.
Once again, wishing all the women a lifetime full of happiness, respect and success they deserve.
Anush Ravindranathan.
February 23, 2020
Finally, the wait is over…
Dear Friends,
Finally the wait is over. I apologize for keeping you all waiting for so long after the announcement, and I am thankful to all the support and inquiries during the period which makes this moment even more special.
I am glad to announce that my second novel, Samsara- Reflections of a Life…is now available for purchase exclusively on the online store of the publisher, Saikatham Books.The link is provided below for your convenience.
https://www.saikathambooks.com/Samsara
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The book shall be made available on other online stores like amazon.com and amazon.in soon and it shall be available in offline physical book stores as well in next three to four weeks. Will update you all as soon as that happen.
A lot of hard work has gone in to this project, probably more than the first book, Born Again. Please do read and give reviews. Your opinion and reviews mean a lot for me. Please don’t forget to share with friends and family.
Loving Regards,
Anush Ravindranathan
February 19, 2020
The Bliss Of Getting Lost In Someone Else’s Imagination!
‘What’s so fun about reading?’ I had mocked my book nerd friends in the past. Some of them explained and the others ignored. But later when I started reading books myself I found the answer strangely in the first book that I purchased online. It was printed on the complimentary bookmark which was kept inside the book. It read:
‘The bliss of getting lost in someone else’s imagination…’
To be honest, I didn’t understand it then. Yesterday, as I was reading a book by one of India’s finest writers, O V Vijayan, I understood what that meant. I came across a sentence which I quote:
“The stains on the walls, the tears in the carpet, were exactly as they used to be; unchanging, they waited for him.”
O V Vijayan, The Infinity of Grace.
This was exactly what I had felt, three years ago, when I visited my school and quarters after a gap of long thirteen years. The genius of the writer is that he had written this for me (I felt) many decades back. It was left for me to discover; it is left for each of us to discover the message we need in every book we come across.
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The Bliss Of Getting Lost In Someone Else's Imagination!
‘What’s so fun about reading?’ I had mocked my book nerd friends in the past. Some of them explained and the others ignored. But later when I started reading books myself I found the answer strangely in the first book that I purchased online. It was printed on the complimentary bookmark which was kept inside the book. It read:
‘The bliss of getting lost in someone else’s imagination…’
To be honest, I didn’t understand it then. Yesterday, as I was reading a book by one of India’s finest writers, O V Vijayan, I understood what that meant. I came across a sentence which I quote:
“The stains on the walls, the tears in the carpet, were exactly as they used to be; unchanging, they waited for him.”
O V Vijayan, The Infinity of Grace.
This was exactly what I had felt, three years ago, when I visited my school and quarters after a gap of long thirteen years. The genius of the writer is that he had written this for me (I felt) many decades back. It was left for me to discover; it is left for each of us to discover the message we need in every book we come across.
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January 26, 2020
SAMSARA- Reflections of a Life…
January 22, 2020
A Symptom, A disease and A Nation! part-2
One week later, in the afternoon, I received a phone call, “Hello, is this doctor speaking?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“Good evening sir, I am Aman (name changed) calling from Pandalam Janamaithri. I need to talk to you about Rakesh (name changed) the patient whom you had referred to Kottayam Medical College for treatment.”
It took me a few seconds to recollect the case he was referring to. At first I thought it was some social worker calling from any NGO. Then I realised that it was rather Janamaithri Police; I became alert for no reason.
“Please ask me, what you want to know?”
“Sir, why the patient can not be treated here at the hospital where you work?”
“Because he had told me he does not have any money. Even if I wont charge any fees for my procedure, there will be charges for hospital room rent and medicines. So, the best thing was to refer him to Medical College, where he would get free treatment.”
“But Sir, he is back without any treatment.”
“What? Why so, and how did you get involved in this?” I wanted to know if it was safe to comment any further. Doctors are scared these days to speak casually their mind.
“Sir, we at Janamaithri also undertake social work to help poor people. The case was brought to our notice by Municipal Councillor, Reena Madam(name changed).”
“But, why did he not undergo treatment at Medical College?”
“They advised him some scan and he didn’t have money for that, so, he came back.”
“But, the treatment is free at medical college for the poor patients?”
“I don’t know about that. Can you do something to help him sir?”
“First we need to find out what his disease is, for that I will have to run some tests. Also, he has some secondary infection as well for which he need IV antibiotics and IP care. But, as I said there would be some cost involved. Anyhow, let me see what I can do. Can you please bring the patient to the OPD?”
“Ok, I will do it. Sir, please do what you can. We will try and arrange some funds for his treatment.”
“You please bring the patient tomorrow, we shall see.” I was not sure of what help I could offer other than doing the procedure for free.
The next day when the patient was brought to me, the first question that arrived in my mind was, ‘why did he not get free treatment at the Govt. Medical College?’ I asked the patient and the unrelated bystander as soon as I saw them.
“I do not have any documents to prove that I belong to BPL family.”
“Any document? Aadhar, license, voter’s id, house property paper which may be used with a letter from village officer, don’t you have any of these?” I am not sure about the exact rules and regulations about making one eligible for free treatment at medical colleges.
“I don’t have any of these. We have built a small house in wet land, so village house no. also was not provided,” he looked sorry. The same Councillor who is helping him now had approached with help to get Govt. help to secure house no. and ration card, which he had rudely rejected then stating ideological difference. But now, he was not in a position to reject any help and the Councillor was kind enough to forget the bitter past episode.
“Does your mother have any id card?” the question was a mere formality, I knew the answer. He answered with a shake of head.
“What should we do now?” the police person accompanying him interfered.
“Let us admit him and start the medicines, which is most important. We shall not wait any more, and start investigations immediately. Meanwhile, I will speak to the medical superintendent. Let me see what we can do. But, more than medical I think he needs social help because after diagnosis, again, he may need treatment at a tertiary centre. Without documents, again he will not get any free treatment.”
“We have spoken to the municipal councilor. Madam has assured us that she will try and arrange for aadhar card and an income certificate from village officer as soon as possible.”
“Ok, so we will take care of the medical aspect, you take care of other things,” I replied as I filled his admission orders.
I was accompanied by our senior doctor (who is always more than willing to help poor patients) when we went to Medical Superintendent’s office. Without much effort we could convince him to help the patient in whatever way possible.
All the procedures, investigations and scans were done free of cost. The rest of the bill due, whatever little, was settled by the efforts of councilor and janamaithri police. The patient got symptomatically better, and was discharged after two days.
When we were waiting for the reports I had a second thought about the whole sequence of events. If some one had told me about such a person before this incidence, I might have ridiculed the statement. But it is a true incidence that has not happened in a tribal or forest area; it has happened in a second tier township of a state that boasts of 100% literacy with great civic awareness, and the person stays in municipal limit area. Just imagine how many more (lakhs if not crores) such people must be there in a country as vast as ours! How can we imagine them to prove their identity without any help from authorities and social workers! I realised how important the Govt. ids and documents are for its citizens, especially the poor people who tend to ignore it the most.
I could never imagine, in our society, that a police personal would help a poor patient at the request of a local politician. We always readily read and write so much negative about these class, I thought I should share the positive and bright side of them as well. So often the private hospitals and doctors are blamed for milking the poor patients for profits because the concessions and free treatments which they provide are never appreciated or discussed in public. In this case where a Govt. set up failed to help the patient, a joint effort on the part of many people in their personal capacities is showing the rays of hope for him.
Today, the biopsy result has come. My diagnosis is proven right, and I am not proud or happy about it. The municipal councilor had come to meet me, she has assured me of all the help possible to continue his treatment at the specialist centre in Thiruvanathapuram. She told me that the Aadhar card will be issued soon, and she will arrange a reference letter from municipal chairperson. I gave him a reference letter explaining the course so far to be shown in the hospital.
Hope he will get the best treatment without any further delay, and I will be lucky enough to review him after many disease free years. I pray for his well being not just for his sake, but also his old mother’s sake for whom he is the world.
January 19, 2020
A symptom, A disease and A Nation! Part-1
Today, as I write this blog, I am waiting for a biopsy report of one of my patients, hoping and praying that my provisional diagnosis would be wrong. But, the chances are less. I see many cases every day, then why am I so concerned for this patient? I am not asking myself, because I know the answer. So many prejudiced conceptions of mine got questioned by myself over these past two weeks.
The patient was referred to me by a colleague from outside clinic, suspecting infection that had spread to neck (I am not going to put clinical details here, to avoid any fear mongering). After seeing the patient I advised admission and IP care for more investigations and definitive diagnosis; the patient was a debilitated 50 year old man. But, the patient refused citing his personal problems. He said he had a 80 year old mother, who is partially blind and has no one else to take care of her. I tried to explain the seriousness of the situation, and somehow managed to convince him.
“How much it would cost, Sir?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“I don’t know. You can contact the senior accountant in the office, he will guide you,” I replied, “may be 3000-4000 rupees, I am not sure.”
“Oh my God! I don’t have that much. I am not able to go for work because of illness. Also, there is no one to take care of my mother.”
“If you can arrange someone to take care of your mother then I can refer you to Govt. Medical College, Kottayam where I had studied. I can give you a reference letter to one of my teachers. There you will get free treatment.”
After some thought, he agreed. I wrote a letter and personally called my Sir, who readily agreed to help. I felt relieved that the patient will get the best affordable care possible for him. He left for medical college, and I went for my consultations. I was in for a surprise, not a pleasant one.
to be continued…
January 8, 2020
The Writer’s Block- My Experience.
I first heard about this term from my wife when I was struggling with the writing process of my first novel about five years back. I had not yet written anything to be considered a writer but still what I had was a writer’s block, I was told. Second time when I experienced the block was when I started writing the first draft of my second book. And now, I am experiencing again after finishing my second book. So, if you ask me, the writer’s block does exist, and is very frustrating.
Some say its not real, just a state of mind. One article said that it was all in the mind of a writer and not a real block as such. I agree partially. Yes, it is a state of mind because in creative writing, everything is in the mind of the writer. The plot, story, characters, conversations, dialogues etc. When the writer is not able to move forward with these ideas, it is a Writer’s Block.
How does it feel? I felt as if the characters refused to speak to me. When I tried to put them in to different situations and observe how they would behave, to my frustration, they refused to respond. I felt as if I was trying to move forward, but stuck against an invisible wall. No matter how hard I tried, I was not able to move forward.
At first I denied its existence, then felt frustrated and angry, later depressed and now, I feel relieved to have finally typed a few hundred words. Yes, this article is my attempt to restart my writing routine after a break of almost two months. So, I am not worried about the quality of this article but just the fun and love of juggling a few words and sentences together.
Why does this happen? It may be due to a change in routine, or a seemingly harmless break which got a bit too extended, or the lack of energy to start a new project after draining out all the energy in to the last project, or just an inability to write for no known reason. In my case, it was a combination of all these factors. I got busy with my clinic work, a two weeks break to concentrate there got extended to two months. The fact that I had finished and secured publishing contract for second novel did add to the complacency.
Finally, when I decided to restart again I realised that I was not able to sit in front of my table for even five minutes. I tried to get up early, to stay awake late night, to write in between clinic breaks, listened to motivational videos and quotes, but nothing worked. Yesterday, I came across a quote which said, “Excuses sound best to the person who make them.”
I decided to try again. I tried to write yesterday night but, failed again. I woke up today morning at 6:00 am and tried again. Finally, I could write a few words; the result is this article. I know that I am bound to have many more such episodes, hopefully someone or something from within or outside will keep me motivated to continue.
Please do share your experiences about any such episodic block, not just creative but in any field so that we can help each other to be motivated and move forward.
The Writer's Block- My Experience.
I first heard about this term from my wife when I was struggling with the writing process of my first novel about five years back. I had not yet written anything to be considered a writer but still what I had was a writer’s block, I was told. Second time when I experienced the block was when I started writing the first draft of my second book. And now, I am experiencing again after finishing my second book. So, if you ask me, the writer’s block does exist, and is very frustrating.
Some say its not real, just a state of mind. One article said that it was all in the mind of a writer and not a real block as such. I agree partially. Yes, it is a state of mind because in creative writing, everything is in the mind of the writer. The plot, story, characters, conversations, dialogues etc. When the writer is not able to move forward with these ideas, it is a Writer’s Block.
How does it feel? I felt as if the characters refused to speak to me. When I tried to put them in to different situations and observe how they would behave, to my frustration, they refused to respond. I felt as if I was trying to move forward, but stuck against an invisible wall. No matter how hard I tried, I was not able to move forward.
At first I denied its existence, then felt frustrated and angry, later depressed and now, I feel relieved to have finally typed a few hundred words. Yes, this article is my attempt to restart my writing routine after a break of almost two months. So, I am not worried about the quality of this article but just the fun and love of juggling a few words and sentences together.
Why does this happen? It may be due to a change in routine, or a seemingly harmless break which got a bit too extended, or the lack of energy to start a new project after draining out all the energy in to the last project, or just an inability to write for no known reason. In my case, it was a combination of all these factors. I got busy with my clinic work, a two weeks break to concentrate there got extended to two months. The fact that I had finished and secured publishing contract for second novel did add to the complacency.
Finally, when I decided to restart again I realised that I was not able to sit in front of my table for even five minutes. I tried to get up early, to stay awake late night, to write in between clinic breaks, listened to motivational videos and quotes, but nothing worked. Yesterday, I came across a quote which said, “Excuses sound best to the person who make them.”
I decided to try again. I tried to write yesterday night but, failed again. I woke up today morning at 6:00 am and tried again. Finally, I could write a few words; the result is this article. I know that I am bound to have many more such episodes, hopefully someone or something from within or outside will keep me motivated to continue.
Please do share your experiences about any such episodic block, not just creative but in any field so that we can help each other to be motivated and move forward.
November 22, 2019
What should I feel?
Dear Readers,
When I was about to publish my first novel four years back, I didn’t know what was I supposed to feel. Happiness, excitement, relief, anxiety or tension? Back then I had thought that it was due to my inexperience.
But now, when I have finished my second novel, and secured a publishing contract from Saikatham Books, I realize that it is not due to inexperience, I still feel the same. I am bound to have these feelings and confusion every time I publish a book.
Writing a novel is a painstakingly long procedure; not just the writing but, finding a publisher and convincing them to believe in your writing. In this case, it took me one and half years to finish my first draft and then it took another one year to find a publisher. More than one publisher did like the story and writing, but they found it risky to invest in the book of a relatively lesser known writer, ‘a bad business decision’ I was told.
Finally, after effort of three years when my second novel is about to become a reality, my feeling is like that of a student who has prepared hard for an entrance examination and is confident about his preparation, but still when the exam day comes is nervous thinking about the result. And, I admit that the feeling is wonderful and surreal. You can never get old and matured enough to wear off that student feeling.
I love the whole writing and publishing process, and the ups and downs associated with it. So, no complains only gratitude.
As mentioned earlier, I can’t thank enough the people who supported my first novel and encouraged my writing. It is because of you all that I dared to dream of writing a novel again.
Hope I won’t disappoint you.
-Anush Ravindranathan.
