Oopsy

Started with the intention of blogging everyday, and back after such a long break!!

Had to go to Pune! Mom came here with a car and driver to chauffeur me and my brat to Pune, so that we could be a part of the Milad-Un-Nabi celebrations with Syedna.

It was a hectic trip, what with Abiali refusing to eat or sleep, but overall it was good. Got to reconnect with Mom and lots of other people. Saw my brand new nephew Taher!

We had to travel to bombay on Sunday for a wedding.. It was not just a wedding it was the baap of all weddings! The stage and the canopy was designed by none another than The Nitin Desai! It was beautiful, serene and festive!

After getting back I really haven't gotten much ahead on my decluttering project, but atleast ticked one thing off my todo list, starting homeopathy for Abiali's recurring cough and colds!

Inshaallah with a healthier baby, things will fall faster into place!

So...

Today was alright, went to an aerobics class.. realized I have like zero stamina..

But the class was also really dull and boring.. the instructor was busy texting away on her mobile, while all us baby-elephants were trying to count and follow her instructions..

It didnt feel like a group activity at all.. Was really regretting having wasted my free time while Abiali was at school.. I could have come back home and continued with my decluttering.. which now I am too tired to do!

But before I could catch a breath after getting Abiali bathed and fed, Abu showed up, telling me to go with him to check out some lawns.. I wanted to be involved too, because this was going to be the venue for the banquet dinner, and it was after all my suggestion. So I just got out of my sweaty aerobics clothes, changed into fresh ones, sprayed some deo, and grabbed Abiali for a long drive!

It was fun.. got to meet new people, check out new areas of Nashik that I have never ventured into! Abiali got to play in yet another lawn, and spoil all of his clothes and entire body in mud!

Starting Over

So with a few free hours or minutes that i get when my child is napping or playing.. I've been contemplating at some improvement in my useless, no movement, no progress existence.

Decided to do and try some new everyday, and if not that, atleast get some work done off my todo list, which is a little too embarrassing to be posted here.

But also decided to blog about it, everyday, so that I dont fall flat on my face!

So to start off, I decided to declutter. Hmm.. how did that go.

Did two cupboards(which were actually quite well organized to start with) and found a bunch of things that I wanted to give away.

One is an old shirt(which on second thoughts I will just remodel into a new apron for myself)

Another oversized kurta which will have to be taken to the tailor to get refitted.

Thats it for today.

Dear Dad

It was exactly on this day, last year when my world changed for good. I spent the morning sleeping, blissfully unaware of the conversations Abu and my father in law were having. The day started late, after a night of fitful sleep. I went to office, all set to get my self in order to bid my adieus the next day. My evening was spent at a social event, where the whole time I was only thinking if I am dressed right or am not looking too fat in the dress despite being 9 months pregnant. I did not even take a hint when Abu left in the middle of the day for Pune, absolutely unannounced.

How I wish I could have been there for you. Why do I keep feeling like things would have been different if I were there. If I could have spoken to you, or seen you smile and tell me that everything will be alright.

I dont even want to think about the last time I saw you, or the last words we spoke to each other, because it still hurts. If I had known that the last time was indeed the last time, I dont know what I would have done.

Oh well, bygones be bygones.. I just hope that you are looking at me from the heavens with the same pride that you used to when I was a child. That you are still watching over me, and now your grandson.

Life will never be complete without you.

I love you.

Sound of Music to Little Ears

Its been a long long really long time since my last blog, not that there weren't things to write about, but there wasn't really the kind of time to collect my thoughts and actually get down to posting them on a blog.

Nevertheless, there are certain golden moments in life, that jolt you, and make you realize that penning down these memories now will do the most justice to them.

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to witness the "switch-on" of a cochlear implant. A little background is in order. A Cochlear Implant(CI) is a bio-electrical device, which is implanted into the head, behind the ear of a deaf patient. What this device does is, it receives the sound waves travelling towards the ear, and converts them into electrical signals that can be sent to the brain. The neurons in the brain then process these signals, in much the same way as sound is perceived in the brain of a person who has the natural ability to hear. In a nutshell, its enabling a person who is born deaf, to hear like a normal person.

My father-in-law, Dr. Shabbir Indorewala, and my better half, Dr. Abuzar Indorewala, had performed the CI surgery on two 3 yr olds here in Nashik. The two children Suyash Sarkate and Vaid Patil, were born with profound hearing loss. Not being able to communicate to their children, not being able to provide them with a normal schooling and upbringing, was something which was very difficult to except for both their parents. These children have little or no benefit from hearing aids, and the only conceivable solution is the CI. The implant however is a highly revolutionary and advanced device which costs a lot.

Not trying to blow my own trumpet, but I must mention that Indorewala ENT Hospital decided to provide a substantial financial aid, to these families of limited means. The surgery was successfully performed by the father and son team, and 3 weeks later both the children had recovered from the surgery, the foreign device, firmly implanted in their bodies. The device however was not receiving the sound waves just yet, which had to be transmitted to it from an external device.

The mechanism is very simple and genius at the same time, on top of the implant on the external side, one can place a specialized RF transmitter. This transmitter stays on top of the implant at all times, due to sheer magnetic force, the strength of magnetism can be controlled externally. The transmitter receives its input from a microphone which is placed on the ear of the patient. The amplification of this microphone can be adjusted using a specialized processor which is strapped on to the back of the patient. Typically an audiologist would be qualified enough to adjudge the right kind of amplification and programming that needs to be done on this processor, which has to be customized for each cochlear implantee.

We had all this mechanism and fundas in place, but nothing could prepare us for what we were about to witness when this assembly was finally made to work on these children who have never heard sound before.

The first in line was Suyash, an extremely aggressive child, who needed to be pacified by his dad at all times. He was easily distracted and very mischievous, so we were curious as to how he would respond to the new sound signals that he was beginning to hear. We switched on the processor, and transmitted sounds with varying frequencies to the microphone. Although he could not understand whats happening, we could literally see the flurry of activity in his brain, through his eyes. With every sound he was looking in a different direction, trying to perceive exactly what was happening. Then once the initial round of test was over for each frequency, we started making different sounds like, clapping and calling out his name. All this was a bit too
much for someone who was used to living in a silent world. He got a little cranky, and we decided that all the electrodes implanted in his brain are working fine, and its ok to give the little one a small break, and let him go out into the quiet for a bit.

Next was Vaid Patil, a bright and happy child, who just cant sit still. With him we tried a different technique. We gave him a set of toys in his hand, one at a time, and then he had to put the toy down when he heard the sound. It took two three different sounds to get him to understand the concept, but then it was really fun watching him. He was really enjoying the whole process. With every "aaa", "eee", "sssss", etc. sound, he used to put down the toy in his hand and pick up another one, readily waiting for the next sound signal. We played with him a bit, sometimes not making a sound at all, and the sweet kid would patiently wait and then give a big smile when he finally heard a sound and put the toy down.

These memories, just cannot be described in words. Watching these kids, react to sounds is something which is so overwhelming, that it can bring one to tears. However this is just the beginning of an uphill task for the parents. These children are now at the hearing and speaking ability of a just born. They still need about 2 or 3 months to differentiate between sounds of people and of traffic. And maybe few more months to be able to understand words and associate them with what they see around them. I really pray to God that He gives the parents the strength and understanding, to undergo the process with patience, and provide the children with regular speech therapy. If all this goes well, by the age of 5, these kids should be able to communicate just like a child blessed with normal hearing.

I hoped you enjoyed reading this, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please post your comments or mail me if you would want more information on this.

Rock On!

Farhan Akhtar lives up to his name! What an amazing movie... a simple tale, but the music, the passion portrayed by all the actors, mind blowing!! Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy have outdone themselves! What music, the guitar in particular, of course with the Greek God Arjun Rampal in the visuals with the guitar, who can resist that! Also the actress who plays Debbie, I guess it Shabana Goswami! She's my favorite as far as the girls in the movie go.

I just cant stop swaying to Tum Ho Toh.. beautiful song. Great singing, acting and writing by Farhaan. But I must say, I was most impressed by Arjun Rampal in this movie. In a subtle way, he has "taken over" from the entire band. Although "Magik mein koi take over nahi karta" :)

Sindbad the Sailor.. my favorite track.. The best part about it is the way it fit into the story of the movie.. the words sound like some random lyrics put together.. but it really makes sense in the flow of the story!

Farhaan has a long way to go in terms of being a singer, but as a director, actor, and writer, he scores a perfect 10.

Theres yet another thing which struck me while watching the movie. Whats with Investment Bankers and creativity? I mean Chetan Bhagat, Ravi Subramnian and now "Aditya Shroff". Extremely creative people, toiling away in the bank all day, and then moon-lighting as movie writers, authors and musicians! I hope some of my investment banker friends read this and move on to better things .. hehe..

Do I Want the Monk's Ferrari?

Ok, I know, as per my last blog, I was supposed to have learned a little more about the English royalty and stuff, but that zest has worn away, until I happen to find the Philippa Gregory novels.

Must admit, I've grown very fond of our new batch of India Authors, had a nice time reading a couple of books by Samit Basu, and later I came across a smart gentleman called Ravi Subramaniam.

I read his first book "If God was a Banker" within 3 hours, cover to cover. Really good book which represents life's triumphs and failures in a very realistic way. This really got me very excited about his next book "I Bought the Monk's Ferrari"

I was disappointed. Granted that its a basic, How to Achieve Your Dreams(in this book, your Ferrari) kind of books, which was nice, but got me to wonder, do I really dream for what I think I dream?

The author gives a great deal of importance, to honesty, integrity, hard work towards achieving your goal, which is really good, and which is the school of thought where I come from. Hard work always pays off, that's my motto too. He also gives some great tips for most of us who shy away from marketing ourselves, making ourselves known, which is where many people falter.

But then there was this point in the book, where he said that to own your Ferrari, there is no such thing as work-life balance. The author's point of view is that when you have a goal you forget everything else, like working late at nights, not spending time with your children, not having alternate interests, all for the goal of reaching the Ferrari.

I admit we all do this every once in a while, but even at such times, no matter how ambitious you are, don't you secretly yearn for the small things in life that give you more joy?
This is also fine for someone who is doing things with a certain passion, but just fame or success is not a convincing enough reason for sacrificing so many other things in life.

He also had a good take on physical fitness. How important it is for you to stay fit, he cited examples of people like Anil Ambani, who keeps himself fit enough to be able to run the Mumbai Marathon every year. Its kind of sad that I know very few people who have such a good fitness quotient. But here again I did not agree with the basic motivating factor behind keeping fit.

According to the author, those who don't keep themselves fit, may fall ill, and this gives the competitors an edge over them. Is this is the reason you want physical wellbeing? Come on, whatever happened to a comfortable old age, or boasting of a good stamina or any other such reasons. How can your career determine so many factors in your life?

He spoke about people who want a 5 day week are not the leaders in an organization, the leaders will not worry about all this. Its the followers who are always satisfied with what they have, who will crib and fight for such things. Employers enforce 5 day weeks, 8 hour workshifts for these followers, who form the majority, and need to be kept happy.
The leaders don't care, they are not the ones who will crib and whine for these things, all this doesn't even matter to them.
I beg to differ, I do want great things for my career as well. But what is the point of living like this? Maybe as a woman I have fewer choices, even if I want to,sometimes I can't be a "leader" as per the authors definition.
But what about the men, I'm sure even they are not just career-driven, everybody has something else that draws them away from work. I think everyone should have that. Otherwise you are just a burden on your wife and your family. You sacrifice their happiness, their right to spending time with you, sometimes your spouse's success, just so you can achieve your Ferrari? What is the point of that kind of a Ferrari?

After reading this book, I felt like, do all the people who I want to be like,need to live like this to achieve recognition in my eyes? I admire them, sometimes envy them, no doubt, but I also consider myself lucky, in a way liberated, that I am not tied down to life by these kind of desires.

Its my choice, but I am happy with no Ferrari.