A memorable trip to Kathlekaan and Gerusoppa!!

Well,it was completely unplanned for me!When Guru asked me to accompany him to Shivamogga, it was basically for the periodic check up of mother and an overdue consultation with doctor! Well, that got over on schedule and a change in dosage and medication with more emphasis on exercise and input control(which was excellent), what set in store for the next day was not dreamt also!! Next morning, he said we will go to mavinagundi to meet shri Ashok Hegde, and discuss the setting up of a portable weather station just imported!! And he had casually mentioned going around to nearby places!! Not in the habit to ask details, I sat in navigator's side, and the brothers conversation in that trip would have made the dialogue writers job easier for main stream cinema/media!! We reached  Kathlekaan in about an hour or so!! What lay in store in the deceptively simple woody/jungle surrounding was unravelled in an excellent fashion by that person who knows it like the back of his hand!! He is doing research in that area for close to around 17 years now and I can say with certainty each individual tree/ shrub and the habitat talks to him!! Courtesy of his leading the way, he got a tick or two embedded in him!! And as he had done the recce, I was neither sprung the coils of vipers or the inoculation of ticks!! The myristica swamp which unravelled in front of us is a treasure trove of natural history and ecology!! Though guru was giving me the scientific name of the trees which have adapted themselves to the marshy nature of the area, I was awestruck at the sudden cool ambience with clear stream flowing and the roots in various shapes and sizes spread across that sacred zone!! He showed once more plant used for making natural yellow dye!! And roots of some of the plants were like the one in kannada or a reverse U!! In between i have missed out on these plants,which somehow reminded of the Avataar movie and we strangers were encroaching on their lung space!! So, having spent nearly an hour in that place and filled lungs with enough oxygen to last for next visit, and the placard showing the incremental growth recordngs of forest trees by that englishman used even to this day by researchers and students alike!!

TENTH EDITION OF BANGALORE BOOK FAIR

      Tenth edition of bangalore book fair got underway at palace grounds today. As promised to son Paawan, I went along on the opening day itself. The thrill of going around stalls displaying various language books is something I still have not lost. But, to my surprise and dismay, there were more stalls peddling car-go lots in various forms and many prominent publishers were conspicuous by their absence. Paawan picked his series finishing lemony snickets while I scrounged unsuccessfully (chaya was extremely happy for this!!)for long lost friends in wildlife/ornithology and general fiction. There was a book release function attended by dr chandrashekar kambar, dr suryakant mohapatra, and other dignitaries. It was an evening well spent. But, has bangalore lost out on the charms of book fair? or is it too early to be commenting?

AN EVENTFUL DAY WITH P SAINATH

I had planned to be present at the start of the function for the release of kannada book "ಬರ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಇಷ್ಟ " translation of the seminal work everybody loves a good drought by sainath p published in the ninetees. I had read the book, and wanted to meet the person in flesh and blood, who through his unbiased and hard hitting reporting had bought national as wellas international attention on the plight of rural indian. by the time i reached gandhi bhavan, the crowd had spilled out of the hall probably seating around 300ppl; I took a vantage spot on the side ledge of a window, where in I could view the proceedings inside without hitch. two free lance journalists were honored on the occasion 1st jul 2012,by counter media awards. one is the person speaking in the photo with sri sainath, sri tk dayanand, who had reported in the media about the ramapant practice of carrying of night soil in kgf which had drawn media attention. other journo honored was smt gayatri, who is propagating the rural agri practices with a periodical from the past ten years.

       In the morning session, sainath had only given an appetiser of a speach while congratulating the winners and the main course was to follow in the afternoon. sri devanoor mahadeva, who had revolutionised the poetry with his rich imagery and coarse words from the humble background to carve a niche for himself in the kannada literature circles also spoke at length on the need for education for the rural masses. in the lunch break that followed, i had the opportunity to accost sri sainath for 10-15 minutes on the topic close to my heart. sanitation has become an unending problem from the day human waste ie., urine and fecus were isolated from the earth and sent on a separate course where it will not become earth. while i was espousing the need to create that scene where u can again, regain that control on the human waste by circulating it back to earth, by having urine and fecus separated at the starting point itself, sainath avoided the issue by stating that it was a different issue and needs to be looked at differently. by then, others had gathered around and luch got over. we went back to hall, to have our main course.

       It was a listeners delight, with sainath talking straight through for about an hour. trying to desribe that whole speech is beyond me. it was like a ride in the torrents of ganga, u go smoothly for a minute, u jump a boulder, then crash a few hundred feet, then climb up the rocks, then smoothly glide for a while, then with great roar fall down the gorge. the speech was about the journos being the conscience keepers of the nation, and how are we faring at it, with ample examples from around it was a talk the journalism students would give them right ear for. glimpses of the same would be available in you tubes. next almost an hours inter active session with questions thrown in from eager audience was deftly handled by him.

     For a long time, i had religiously used sundays only for roaming in search of second hand b ooks, but jul 1st proved to be a bonus where i could get the first hand book and the man behind it for chatting.

AN INTERESTING BOOK RELEASE FUNCTION!!

You are wondering on seeing the heading, whether the book release function was interesting or the book? But in reality, both were interesting. The day was the save frogs day ie., 28 Apr 2012. Location: Patanjali Yoga hall, Gubbi. Book: The Pictorial guide to the frogs and toads of western ghats. Author: Dr Guru raja KV. I was invited to the function and was looking forward to it from 7am as that was the time to board the taxi to gubbi with dr NA Aravind. Since all three of us (Manju the saarathi, me and aravind didn't want to miss the adrak chai) shared and sipped the hot chai, the ever present delay raised its head right there. After picking the author and preeti, we headed towards gubbi on a pretty uncluttered highway. Whatever size pins, the passengers used, manju refused going beyond 70kmph on that stretch. Other reason was we were all feeling the hollow sounds in the tummy! So, with gr8 fanfare, kvg announced that the alpahar will be at kamat just before tumkur. One common feature of all the eateries around bangalore is most of them are crowded beyond normal capacity on holidays by the 5day week crowds!! The angry looks, hungry waits, and sambar abhishek to appease manju was worth in the end. Idli, wada were worth the wait. Coffee was also good. It was 9-15 and we were still an hour from destination. KVG received the anxious call from gubbi labs director, and i think he assured that we will not break the tradition of maintaining the schedule (ie., if the event is at 10, presenting oneself at 1030 at the earliest!!)Post breakfast, manju flew us into gubbi by 1015. On getting the directions from Dr Sudhira, we arrived at the venue. Hurriedly, the kids who were in quite a large number enjoying their outdoor activities, assembled into the hall in  remarkably neat rows. Official photographers of the function, Mrs Ramya and Preethi, set their equipment unobtrusively in the corner for capturing the event. At 1030 sharp, Shri Satyanarayan along with two eager kids released the book in the presence of our future generation. I believe the release was exemplary because of the utter disregard for the fanfare and hoopla. It was a fitting celebration of the save the frogs day 2012. Immediately after the book release, we broke off for a cup of tea and snacks. This was handled with elan by Sudhir's mother along with a few volunteers.
Best part of the book release function was in store. KVG spoke at length about the frogs, why they are called amphibians, what are their role in ecology and what is happening to them and how we can help save them. This was an enlightening talk on the role of frogs. Kids participated in gusto with cross checking the small photos they had of frogs with actual id. This, I felt would go a long way in making them open to identifying, recording the frogs. Murali, of namma cycle fame had some interesting folk tales about frogs, which prompted sri satyanarayan to recollect some from his memory. I will give the links to the event subsequently.
Click here for the flier made for the event. And here are some more photos of the event.here you will find aravind, guru, sri satyanarayan along with curious kids who released the book.
At the end, we all went to sudhir's house for a sumptuous, gregarious meal topped with mysore pak. 
Post lunch, a drive around the field lab of gubbi and lots of photo graphing later, we had a surprise coffee. Special mention must be made of this coffee, because very rarely you get wonderful coffee which lingers on your taste bud. Thanx to Sudhir's mother and attige and ramya we had the coffee to die for. Return journey was mostly eventfree as sonia had already left tumkur and roads were free!!
All in all, a memorable day and the maiden publication from gubbi labs could not have asked for more!!!

A TALE OF MOSARANNA ALIAS CURD BHATH

Chaya was preparing curd rice for the get together at her papa's place. Incidentally, she makes nice saaru, north indian dishes and a wonderful home maker if you ignore occasional battles across borders. So, this narrative may take different twists, as I try to be as faithful to the events that unfolded. She is preparing rice for the mosaranna. Mobile disturbs. the call is from ananya. chayatte, you make the most wonderful mosranna. only if you allow the oggarane items to remain crisp how good it would be. so, chaya prepares oggarane (really, special one: uddina bele, sasve, godambi fried to rose brown with karibevu leaves) and packs it separately in a box. next caller is keshu, he has a grouse! chayatte, you are partial to girls because you dont have one and cheat the boys of godambi in oggarne, so to play fair, please count them and distribute equally amongst boys n gals! ok. this wish can be fulfilled as the oggarne is kept aside. Now the mixing is taking place with dalimbe and other ingredients, phone rings for the third time its varshini the bean pole! chayatte, if only if your mosaranna sticks to its very basics  and lots and lots of curds with no kaat kasa leaves in between how wonderful it would be. chayatte is in obliging mood. so she stores the kaat kasaa, ie, kottambri leaves and other things separately in one more box. the fourth call was near about direct. its from her son paawan. amma, don't you make anything other than mosranna as a special, something say like a pizza or a pasta or a...

cruel are the ways of the world, which while enjoying a lovingly made mosranna still grumbles with it how better it could have been and so on..

Parents: Should they try to be their kids' friends?

With so much input coming from all kinds of specialists and especially from the western world (I have nothing against them personally) the current tendency of parents in Indian cities trying to be their kids' friends is setting an alarming behavioural pattern in the kids. Kids always were smart now more so because of the exposure to  all media. While trying to be friends, parents forget that they are parents first, they have a job (a thankless one at that) and any slack on their part would make the job of developing their kids into responsible citizens a muddled one. I am no academic in kids psychiatry, but you would accept my view that when u are trying to teach some value, firmness is essential. Consistency in imparting is a foregone assumption. Above all, since the kids see with their ears and hear with their eyes, practising of  what is taught is also of paramount importance if it is to be inculcated without failure. Citing my own example, as well from those around me in all spheres of life, I have seen a disturbing trend. Children are becoming more self-centered, loud mouthed, mean minded and devil-incarnates, when parents are taking their role of parenting casually. The usual excuse of what can I do, if that is the fate, unfortunately will work in reverse here because of the easy nature. A non-conforming act/talk/behaviour should be dealt decisively and firmly. It has no place in our society, if we want what we have lost. Other wise, in the coming decades, we can see the decadence of western society, seething into our very own veins, and killing us morally completely. We depended on foreign investments, for our industries and economy but we did have a wonderful culture of our own, which was vibrant having stood the test of time. Alas, now it looks like we are going to succumb to that western influence and are heading towards a path of no return if there is no correction immediately. Parents, please look back on what you cherish most and what is the best you have learnt from them and try to impart that to your kids so that they may also feel empowered to face the world with sound values. This whole article needs a bit of re-look and I would definitely welcome a debate on the points raised and methods to achieve.

A Blood Donation Camp Hosted at Gunata Vihar

It was proposed to have a blood donation camp On 8th Nov 2011 at our residential quarters, gunata vihar. Nimhans blood bank had been approached to collect the blood and sanjaynagar lions club would assist with the conduct of the camp along with us volunteering residents. The camp preparation had been done previous day itself with all furniture, wastebaskets chairs etc in place. On 8th at 9.15am the team from Nimhans came with all the donor beds, blood extraction kits, and donor refreshments. We added large sized banans for replenishing the sugar and salts in the body of donors. Camp started in right earnest at 1030am with our Controller coming with his family to donate blood. But only his daughter could donate blood as he was deferred for high blood pressure. We were in for a surprise when eight ladies came to donate blood all of them donating for the first time. Hats Off to you all ladies may you donate many many times more in your life!!! Also, there were a unique couple, col SK Mishra and his wife leena Mishra who donated blood creating a record in the campus. The volunteers team of sanjaynagar ably lead by Shri Kurien matched the vigor and smile of the RWA team comprising Saravanan and his friends. I had a whale of a time interacting with first time donors, there were 31 of them to make sure, they do indeed come back to donate many times in future. The camp was a roaring success with 68 units collected from the camp. Here once more to all those 68 donors, a hearty congrats and thank you for saving lives by donating blood and thanx to all those volunteers who made the event a memorable one.You may watch the photos of the camp by clicking on the links below.
Voluntary Blood Donation & CARDIAC Screening Camp
Blood donation camp photos.https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1888235504167.74563.1789843046&type=1https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2222562239617.2098315.1114550859&type=3

An obituary to two people from very different parts of the world

Its with a very sad heart that I noted that Shri Mattur Krishnamurthy that wonderful half of the gamaka duo of keshava-krishnamurthy passing away at bengaluru on vijayadashami day 06 Oct 2011. the man who promoted and propagated the gamaka art form through his renditions of the bharata and ramayana ably assisted by the resonant voice of kesavamurthy. Many will not have interacted with this simple human being had single handedly bought about the establishing of bharatiya vidya bhavan branch in london and stayed there as its director for close to three decades(not sure). True gandhian that he was, he wore that wonderful smile like that of happy kids on his face and his white attire and the vidhuti and kumkum on the forehead completed the dress. I had the good fortune of meeting him many times during the visit to bharatiya vidya bhavan functions in bangalore. He was the constant along with ramanujan at the khincha hall on most functions there. Ever patient with his audience and always expressing thoughts in clear, precise and well modulated soft tones we have lost a gandhian in this era of instant attention seekers and self styled experts. May he rest in peace. You are leaving behind a large fan following who admired and tried to bring at least some simplicity into their lives.


Sadly, at another part of the world, we have lost a genius Shri Steve Jobs who gave apple and mac computers, the animated movies through pixar and not to forget the ipods, iphones, ipads and U name a gadget which had that I must have it feel he would have had a hand in its coming to the earth. May his soul rest in peace. Though he was a college drop out by choice, he made the life of college students so bearable through his gadgets. Each segment of human beings were touched by at least one of his gadgets. Such was the vision and design capability of this great engineer. 

pratham-the ngo that promotes reading in kids.

Set up in 2004 to promote reading activity among kids, Pratham has grown hugely in last few years. Please copy paste the rest of the blog to promote it amongst friends. thanx

Activity: Pratham Books was set up in 2004, as part of the Read India movement, a nation- wide campaign to promote reading among children. Pratham Books is a not-for-profit organization that publishes quality books for children in multiple Indian languages. Our mission is to see "a book in every child's hand" and democratize the joy of reading.

In the last 6 years we have published over 200 titles in upto 11 languages and have spread the joy of reading to over 12 million children!
Details: Read about our why we are using Creative Commons here: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/24780
Support: reading, literacy, education, kidlit, children's literature, publishing
Note: We have put a lot of our content under the Creative Commons framework and we have begun to see success with this. Which means that we make our stories and illustrations available under an open license model and the larger community can then repurpose our content to create something completely new and thus contribute to the cause of a book in every child's hand. Our books have been adapted by our community into a range of  new creations from audio and Braille books for the print-impaired, to iPad and iPhone applications - all to reach every child in India.

We are hoping that many more people can come forward and help translate/remix/re-purpose/distribute our Creative Commons licensed content.
This post is a part of BlogAdda's Bloggers Social Responsibility (BSR) initiative. I am exercising my BSR. You can too with three simple steps. Visit http://www.blogadda.com/bsr/  and support the NGO's.

Giving in India

This is a different kind of blog post. I am posting this for the twestival which is on for the benefit of NGOs. The money generated will be donated to a charity which one chooses. So, friends if you feel strongly that you can do something, please be that and do.

        Much has been written about the giving in print and bandied about in the e-media. But, considering the close to 120crore population of our country, it is never enough and never sufficient. the least each of who can think, and feel for the under previleged, is to do something that is practical and do able than preach about the same. Its like this, by writing this blog, i will be spending my 10 minutes, the thoughts go around the people, who dont have shelters, who dont have a square meal a day, can't afford schools, but will benefit from the large hearted efforts of common people like u and me by those ngos which are nurturing them. If you can't donate money, no issue. Please donate ur time, talent and any other thing which you feel, will make life better for those, who dont have those.

I would like the amount generated from this blog be donated to India Literacy Project.

ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಿಂದ: ಬೆಂಬಲ ವಾಹನದೊಂದಿಗೆ ೧೩೫ ಕಿಮಿ ಸವಾರಿ

Shri Nelyadi govinda Bhat had an adventurous trip of around 135 km in his recumbent bike recently. the  link will lead to that post.


ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಿಂದ: ಬೆಂಬಲ ವಾಹನದೊಂದಿಗೆ ೧೩೫ ಕಿಮಿ ಸವಾರಿ

BLACK EAGLE'S DAY OUT ON JAN 16 2011

5th Bangalore Bird Race was scheduled on 16 Jan. Probably the largest in terms of team members 7 in total, and diverse in its composition, the Black Eagles set from IISc campus in the wee hours. Ably lead by Dr Gururaja KV and supported with occasional  glares and looks by the wise captain ((c) guru) Priti Gururaja. Bringing human touch with identifiying and pointing with avanyaru nodi, ivan ivanallava... was Dr Harish Bhat with constant ribbing on sarathi of the trip. I wonder where Dr HS Sudhira stores that inexhaustible source of energy in his 5o kg fragile frame? Its definitely not easy manoevering the bangalore traffic. He knows best being the man who gaveus urban sprawl! But his driving skill, we will explore in instalments. His passion for bird watching, was evident in the way he was excitedly pointing out the (at least to me difficult to spot even with binocs) lone rangers in distances. Dr Raghu Hedge, had come with his full trek kit, awe inspiring camera in tote, water bottle hitched to the everpresent backpack. How can I not mention my pick up and drop, cousin Dr NA Aravind, who with his keen ears and sight could come to identifying conclusion in a jiffy.(the one he dilly dallied did cost the eagle's their 15 seconds on the ramp PS also as Harish rightly said, who wanted a three way tie to the bird of the day???? sharing 2/3 of nice calenders!!)

       As the team assembled at the CES parking lot, as is the tradition, (BTW, I am going to bird watching after a gap of a few decades??) and started off in royal style to wards the silver jubilee pond. If you are looking for all the birds we spotted on the way, I will link it later. The sight of almost empty and barren pond bought tears to the eyes of team members whose fond memories were ignited in a unique way. the highpoint of this leg was the spotting of only the second sight till date of orange breasted green pigeon (link). the oohs and aahs of the team members were heard by the obgp but still he managed  to strike a stoic pose knowing fully well the fans and load of appreciation ahead. 

        The end of this leg culminated in the Nesara with steaming idli vadas bathing in sambar and hot coffee. Team left for the Hebbal lake, which unfortunately resembled the hampi ruins. The numbers and variety of winter visitors were meagre and not worth the stopover. But an interesting point here was a keen kid in his pre-teens, evincing interest to join the eagles on their expedition. He was sporting a pretty high tech camera, aiming and shooting any thing coming in the way. The kid was given some key pointers on birding and id by our Sudhira in his inimical style. 

       Surprisingly, traffic on the bellary road didnot test Sudhirs prowess. At puttenahalli lake (I don't know why it is still called so, because I could neither spot lake or water) which is covered mostly by hyacinth(?) few waterbirds were noticed and after a brief chat with the guards on duty, we left. A surprising feature by the side of the entrance is the CNR bar and resturant (renovated) evoking strong memories of the former director of IISc.

ನಿದ್ರಾ ಭಂಗ

ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಇದ್ದಕ್ಕಿದ್ದ ಹಾಗೆ ನಡು ನಿದ್ದೆಯಿಂದ ಎಚ್ಚರ ಆಯಿತು. ವಿಶೇಷ ಏನು ಅಂತ ಕೇಳ್ತೀರ? ಬಲ ಕಿವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಸೊಳ್ಳೆ ಹೊಕ್ಕಿತ್ತು. ಪಾಪ ಅಂಕು ಡೊಂಕು ಒಣ ಬಾವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ ಬಿದ್ದು ಹಿಂದು ಬರಲಾಗದೆ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗಲಾಗದೆ ಫಜೀತಿ ಪಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ನನಗೋ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದೊಂದು ಕಡೆ, ಈಗ ಸೊಳ್ಳೆ ಏನಾದ್ರು ಕಿವಿ ಒಲವೆ ಕಚ್ಚಿ ಬಿಟ್ರೆ ಏನ್ ಮಾಡೋದು ಅನ್ನೋ ಯೋಚನೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದ್ಕಡೆ. ಸರಿ, ಒಳ ಕಿವಿಯ ತಮ್ಮಟೆ ಹತ್ರ ಹೋಗ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದ ಹಾಗೆ, ನಗಾರಿ ಬಾರಿಸಿದ ಸದ್ದು, ಕರ ಕರ ಪರ ಪರ ಅಂತ ರಾತ್ರಿಯ ನೀರವ, ನನ್ನ ಯೋಚನೆ ಎರಡನ್ನೂ ಕದಿಯುವ ಸೊಳ್ಳೆ. ಮಗ್ಗುಲು ಬದಲಿಸಿದರೆ ಹೊರ ಹೋಗಬಹುದು ಅನ್ನೋ ಯೋಚನೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೆ, ಮಗ್ಗುಲು ಬದಲಿಸಿದೆ. ಊಹೂನ್ ಸೊಳ್ಳೆ ಜಪ್ಪಯ್ಯ ಅನ್ನಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಮತ್ತೆ ಕರ ಪರ, ಯಾವ ಎಮೆರ್ಜೆನ್ಸಿ ಹಿಂಸೆಗೂ ಕಮ್ಮಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಕರ್ಣ ವೇದನ. ಅಯ್ಯೋ ದೇವರೇ ಈ ನಡು ರಾತ್ರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವ ಕಿವಿ ಡಾಕ್ಟರ ಹುಡುಕಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ ಅಂಬೋ ಸಂಕಟ ಬೇರೆ. ಅಮ್ಮವರನ್ನು ಏಳಿಸೋಕ್ಕೆ ಭಯ (ಆಮೇಲೆ ಸುರುವಾಗೋ ಹಿಂಸೆಗಿಂತ ಕಿವಿ ನೋವ ವಾಸಿ) ಬೇರೆ. ಇದರ ಮಧ್ಯೆ  ಕಿವಿಗೆ ಹೊಕ್ಕೊಂಡ ಅರಳೆ ಯಾಕಪ್ಪ ಮಲಗೋ ಮೊದಲು ತಗಿ ಬೇಕಿತ್ತು ಅಂತ ನನ್ನನ್ನೇ ಜರೆಯುತ್ತಾ ಅತ್ತಿತ್ತ ಮಗ್ಗುಲ ಬದಲಿಸೋ ಕೆಲಸ ಸುರು ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಇಸ್ತರೊಳಗೆ ಪಾಪ ಸೊಳ್ಳೆ, ಯಾವ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ಕಲೆ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದ ಗುಗ್ಗೆ ರಾಶಿ ಒಳಗೆ ಸಿಲುಕಿ ಸುಮ್ಮನಾಯ್ತು. ಅಯ್ಯಬ್ಬ ಬದಿಕಿದೆ ದೇವರೇ ಅಂತ ಮಲಗೋ ಮೊದ್ಲು ನೆನಪಾಗಿದ್ದು ಅಪ್ಪ ನನ್ನ ಬಾಲ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಲಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಪ್ರತಿ ವಾರ ಕಿವಿ ಸ್ವಚ್ಚ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸೀನು. ಭಾನುವಾರ ಮಧ್ಯಾನ ಸ್ನಾನದ ನಂತರದ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಅದೇ. ಒಂದು ಸಣ್ಣ ಸೈಕಲ್ ಸ್ಪೋಕೆ ತುದಿಗೆ ಅರಳೆ ಸುತ್ತಿ, ಹಗೂರಕ್ಕೆ ಕಿವಿಯಾಗೆ ಸುತ್ತಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ, ಸಣ್ಣಕ್ಕೆ ಅಮಲು ಏರ್ಕೊತಿತ್ತು. ನಿಜ ಹೇಳ್ಬೇಕು ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಅದ್ನ ಅನುಭವಿಸ್ಬೋದಷ್ಟೇ. ಬರ್ಯೋಕೆ ಖಂಡಿತ ಆಗಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಿವಿಗೂ ಮುಗಿತು ಅಂದ್ರೆ ನಾವ್ ರೆಡಿ. ಸಣ್ಣದಾಗಿ ಹೇಳ್ಬೇಕಂದ್ರೆ ಪ್ರತಿ ವಾರ ನಾನು ಕಾಯ್ತಿದ್ದ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಇದು. ಅಪ್ಪ ಏನಾದ್ರೂ ಕಿವಿ ಕ್ಲೀನ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಇಟ್ಟಿದ್ರೆ, ಸೊಳ್ಳೆ ನನ್ನ ಕಿವಿ ಧಂ ಅನ್ನಿಸ್ಬಿತ್ತಿರೋದೇನೋ? 

DO'S AND DONT'S FOR A PLATELET DONATION

Minimum requirements to qualify:
This may change from time to time
* Weight should be at least 60 kgs ( as against 45 kg in whole blood donation)
* Hb count between 13 and 15 ( same for blood donation)
* Should have normal platelet count ( 2 to 5 lakh/dl)
* should not be under medication especially blood thinning ones like aspirin etc.
* should not have donated whole blood in the past 3 months.
* rest of the conditions similar to that of blood donation
* platelet donation campaigns can't be organised for the reason of low shelf life.
* not all blood banks are equipped with platelet pheresis machines.
Some key factors about platelet are
* fresh platelets cannot be stored for more than 4 days
* As the shelf life is so low, there will always be demand for platelets
* in chronic bleeding cases, requriement will be huge
* in dengue season, platelet which is one of the vital life saver, the shortage of which kills many needy patients.
* a donor can donate platelets once in every fortnight. He cannot donate whole blood though for the next three months.
* it is advised to carry some books or mp3 players as you are lying in bed for close to 1.5 hours.
* THOUGH THIS INFORMATION IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE IT GIVES U THE BASICS.
For a list of donors and other info contact the links below
www.lionsbloodline.com
www.bloodbook.com
www.redcross.org
Still feel in doubt contact me on email      kvca65@gmail.com
or mobile      9448872651            or 080 23432464

Prices of Onions and Tomatoes

you might have just noticed that the name onion and tomato brings tear to the eyes of common man. No I am saying cutting onion makes you cry. no thinking about it makes you cry. people will now add the legend that probably onion is the only vegetable which makes people cry not only in its raw physical form but metaphysical form as well. worst part of the whole episode is, production of onion has actually gone up and not down as the jokers in the ministry suggested. its a pity nobody, punishes hoarders. well, sharad bhai is too busy to attend to chunnu issues like onion jacking up to 80Rs a kilo etc. He is busy organising the world cricket. noble man!!! sad part in this whole episode is neither the grower nor the consumer are happy!! only the middlemen or shall I call them sharadbhai's cronies who are the beneficiaries of this whole game. next time around, you will have virtual onion salads on your plate. you can savour virtually and cry !!!

Minor complications which may deter a neo-donor during blood/platelet donations

Well, its been a long time since my last blog. To continue with the platelet donation process also called platelet pheresis...

  Please remember not all donors can give platelets. The donor suitability is checked for platelet count and other blood parameters, the suitability of vein for the donation and general health conditions. So, please dont feel disappointed if you are turned back from a donation temporarily. You may re-coup the parameters in normal course and try again after say a month. Now, consider you are found eligible also for platelet donation. Please ensure that you have at least 2 hours spare time for the completion of donation (approx). Unlike normal blood donation, platelet pheresis takes about 90-110 minutes for donation and 30 minute for prel checks.

   If all goes well, no issue. But there may be a likely hood of machine malfunctioning. In that case, the worst that happens is the operator switches off the machine. collects whatever has been donated and thats the end of the story. Some times, they may try to restart the machine, ask to press vigorosly the ball in hand etc. which may not help the machine any end. so, that extra blood pumped out after the restart will go as hysteris waste. it s neither processed nor returned back to the donor. (this incidnentally happened to me during oct 25th 2010 platelet donation at MSR hospital, unfortunately, the technician was not competent to tell me about what had happened. And MSR hospital never bothered to reply to my e-mail query)

  And dont be discouraged by such minor hiccups, because this has happened only first time in my 37 blood donations(platelets included) so far. Still, it is always good to know what to expect. If you have any doubt, ask the attending doctor to explain exactly what had happened. 

Platelet Apheresis-an experience

There was a call on my mobile on 13th dec at about 8.15pm requesting for a platelet donation. The patient was diagnosed with blood cancer and required constant infusion of platelets. I enquired about the hospital where apheresis was to take place( BTW apheresis is taking out components of whole blood from the donor, while returning the reminder of the blood minus drawn component back to him. The entire thing, is done by hooking to an automatic machine, which takes ur blood, removes the platelet and returns the blood back to u). It was in BGS hospital almost 21 km from my residence. By the time we reached hospital it was 9.15pm. Initial testing took around 30 min. After satisfying with the quality of blood, I was finally hooked to the apheresis machine at around 10 pm. The only contact with the machine is through a needle hole in ur vein like in blood donation. But the difference here is, after the needle, three tubes are connected to the machine. Once the machine takes around a unit (400 ml) of ur blood, it starts the centrifuge and the platelet( it can be plasma or the Cells) is separated and collected in a collecting bag. Now, this blood is returned back to you. All this will repeat 10 or 11 times in a span of 50 to 75 min. U can read a magazine or listen to ur fav music while this is going on.

So by 11pm I was happy to have donated platelet to a patient. I was informed that one can donate platelets 24 times a year!! See the number of dengue patients u would be saving. Except for the time factor, I think more donors should be forthcoming to donate platelets.

I reached home by 12pm feeling exhausted but extremely happy. incidentally the patient is recovering.

Eulogy to the doyen of light music "sugama sangitha" of Kannada

The reverberating voice that thrilled thousands in the packed halls, andmade them stand up to respect the 'Nadageethe' is no more. But the impact it has created amongst us Kannadigas, and especially the adjusting Bangaloreans shall live on. Aswathji, may you rest in peace. Unconventional at times, but true to his heart always and a man of mercurial temper: these are the few adjectives used while describing Aswath C But I would prefer the man who took sugama sangitha to the common man and to a large extent, all the artistes of sugama sangitha owe it to this man for popularising it. First week of dec 2009, at the APS grounds, I heard him live for the last time. Was it a thrill/excitement/experience? For an untrained music lover like me, it was a time to dance with gay abandon to the sheer melody most of which were Aswaths original offerings of our famed songs. May He give the family strength to bear this loss. Kannadigas forever will be grateful to you Aswath for making us happy and proud for these 5 decades with your high pitched renderings of all those folk songs and bhavageethes.

Journey to the Himalayas

Am back from a gruelling journey to the Uttarakhand for a week. I would not havebelieved that a physical journey to any place on earth can make such a marked change in the mental framework as well as the total shift of the paradigm. To cut a long story short, the trip cut me, my ego, the self or whatever you call it really to size. It was a great humbling experience. The range around you abounds in lofty mountain ranges and deep gorges. The gurgling/roaring rivers make one remain silent and enjoy their conversation with the nature instead. The sheer size of them makes one feel like an iota a nothing. To add to this, the silent and non-grumbling attitude of the pahadis(the hill folk! as opposed to the plains folk like us!!) was really endearing. Could I hear a single impatient honk at either of the 5+ hours of waiting for the roadblock due to landslide to get cleared? you bet. None. Second time, in a matter of 24 hours when I heard the familiar honk, you guessed it right, it came from a chandigarh vehicle. Still none reacted to it. I even wondered how, the great Shankaracharya could endure this physical ordeal to build that Badri Vishal temple there? Single minded determination to propagate advaita only could have given him the strength to traverse mostly by foot.

"Expressway to new Bengaluru airport"

How much more of the dust, pollution and blaring noise and unending traffic jams have the average bengalureans are to endure before this joke called the signal free path to the BIAL< materialises finally? Environmentally, economically and sociologically, this new project is a complete disaster from the word go it was formulated. for an air traffic of around a million people every year, I believe an equal number everyday is put to unforseen, avoidable hardships. And we are to endure this cruelty in the name of development. Probably, the policy makers never foresaw the economic downturn, which was lurking to happen. Now, the eyesores of underpasses, magicboxes(not magic anymore)and dug up roads aggravating breathing difficulties dot almost every stretch of bengaluru . Pray, what is the Janagraha, and other civic forums are doing to alleviate, the common mans injuries?