Guest guest Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Kishore, very well written. You have managed to bring on a smile at a time of gloom. Its really heart wrenching to see someone you have know in such a bad shape and knowing very well that you may never see that person again. Anyway, lets hope for the best. Thanks for writing it the way only you could have. Thank you Kishore, on behalf of the whole of MGIMS, I guess. Ravin '82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Very moving story,Kishoreda.. Thanx...for paying a visit..on..behalf of this Big Family..of hers... I hope,...I could.have..used her statement,..of being unable..to attend the reunion, her greatest sadness..,...to some of my batchmates..,who..feel,they r busy now.in life....and this is not the time..to meet with oldfriends... I hope..I never have..to visit a sick,terminally ailing, batchmate of mine..in future.. Nahi..toh.....I may end up...saying... " MAINE..BOLA THA..AANA AANA..PAR TU NAHI AAYA..reunion mein. " .: Thanx again..Kishoreda.. Bye. Shyam(84) Re: Goodbye? Kishore, very well written. You have managed to bring on a smile at a time of gloom. Its really heart wrenching to see someone you have know in such a bad shape and knowing very well that you may never see that person again. Anyway, lets hope for the best. Thanks for writing it the way only you could have. Thank you Kishore, on behalf of the whole of MGIMS, I guess. Ravin '82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 Dear Kishor, Your mail brought back memories of our student days.It was Prof.Mahajan who was fond of using Punjabi while descrbing anatomical parts while lecturing us about agents,hosts and environment. Your writeup brought tears in my eyes. I join Abhoy ,Takiar and all others in praying for her health. VK Gupta 1976 Subject: Goodbye? To: mgims Date: Saturday, 20 December, 2008, 7:47 PM " Yaar, Maya Band ka Band baj gaya. " " Don't joke! " Pradeep pokes me in the stomach. " Colo-rectal carcinoma is as serious as it gets. " Yeah! I remember Maya as the over weight girl of our class. She always joined in the jokes and the fun, and was ever smiling. The darnedest things happen to the darnedest people. I grope in my shirt pocket and pull out the chit. I peer at the scrawl, " It is Block No D1, Room No.5. " We ask our way around the white tiled hospital. A young, helpful nurse points out the correct way. In passing, I wish I were at least 20 years younger. I wistfully look away. " You remember how she was always in a dilemma about how to spell her surname? " Pradeep tries to make conversation. " Yes! I do remember. Her surname was Bund as in the 'und' part of underground. But the Punjabis always mispronounced it as Boond, as in posterior part of our anatomy. What an irony that it is the very part that is involved now. So she preferred Band, where it got mispronounced as that instrumental mélange of Shaadi baraat. " We see the clearly labeled Room No. 5 / 6. There is no one on one bed. However the other bed is occupied by a haggard old lady of around 80 years. I decide to ask her about Maya. " Excuse me! Do you know where Dr. Maya is? " The old lady lifts her tired rheumy eyes and says tremulously, " Aarey Kishore! Don't you recognize me? " There are no words to describe how I feel. I feel at once shocked, flabbergasted, dumbfounded and ashamed. What a goof up I have done! What will Maya think of me? Of herself? But the one emotion, which dominates everything, is fear. Is this how we all will end? As withered bags of skin and bones? " Maya?!!! " That one word compresses all my astonishment and sympathy. " Yeah! I know that I have changed. Is that Pradeep with you? He also has lost a lot of hair. You have remained the same. " " It's genetic, I suppose. But never mind me. Since when have you been here? " She is a bit breathless. Her voice comes in short gasps. " I have been here for five long months! They have done such extensive operations, and now this Chemotherapy is draining me. " Pradeep is so shocked by her appearance that he launches into a big time bloomer. " First Deepak Phuljhaley of our batch died. But he died of heart attack! Then there was Neelam Soft. She had Ovarian Carcinoma! " I nudge Pradeep and glare at him, moving my eyebrows up and down. Pradeep suddenly catches my hint and lamely ends it with, " However, these Colo rectal carcinomas have good prognosis. " Then he lapses into silence biting his tongue. Suddenly Maya's husband enters. We immediately hand him the various eatables and drinks that we have brought with us. He says regretfully, " Thanks for getting all these things, but she just does not eat anything. " Pradeep and I immediately launch into how nutrition is very important in Cancer patients. Anything to avoid the question of prognosis. Maya weakly waves her hand, " 11 of the 14 removed lymph nodes have tested positive. " That is the trouble with being a doctor. You no longer believe in magic. You no longer believe in miracles. But Maya bravely continues, " Some specialists do say that with proper chemotherapy and radio therapy, recovery is good in some cases. " We nod our heads in unison. What else can we do? We also do not believe in magic or miracles. But we need to believe. Maya takes a wheezy breath and continues, " But I have no regrets. I had a good practice, a moderately sized hospital. I made quite a name in Ahmednagar. I married off my daughter also. I have only one regret. I could not attend the silver jubilee reunion of our batch. I could have met everybody then! " That reminded me. " All of MGIMS has sent good wishes to you. " I reel off the names. She wrinkles her brow and sinks deeper into the pillow, " I know Dr. OP Gupta Sir, of course. And I know Parvin Ansari. But who are these others? " " Well, one pair of them is Dr. Harinath's son and daughter in law. Another is Desikan madam's daughter. You remember her? " " Yes! Vaguely. But who are these Kalantri and Das and Kamath and Archana and Kamra and Mina and Sharmila and others? " " Well, believe it or not, Maya, they are all part of your family. You may not know them but now they know you. And they can feel your pain and they are all praying for you. " Maya tiredly closes her eyes. She is so debilitated that no moisture came out. But she blinks open her eyes again and says, " Please thank them on my behalf. " " I shall, Maya, but no one thanks family members. " Conversation flags for a while. Then Maya's husband gets out a huge volume of case papers for us to read. I remember how I had refused to read 'War and Peace' in my childhood because I had a principle that I would only read books that I could lift. This sheaf is much larger. Mercifully, the nurse enters then with her dressing trolley. Maya cringes at her sight. " That give me spasmodic pains when they clean and flush my Ileostomy bag. " Pradeep and I get up thankfully. We can no longer bear to see the ruins of our cheerful, ever smiling colleague. I decide there and then to instruct all my relatives not to do anything heroic in case I get something similar. We turn around and look at the skeleton wrapped in skin called Maya. " Goodbye Maya! " Is there a question there? We walk out with our eyes firmly glued to the toes of our shoes. This time around, I ignore the young nurse that we had passed on our way in. Kishore Shah 1974 Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 Dear Kishor: Teary and numb, I recall WH Auden's famous poem, " Miss Gee " that runs into 25 stranzas. WH Auden wrote this poem in 1937. I have retained the middle part of the poem but have omitted the opening and the closing parts, for I have no courage to share them with friends. Yes, cancer evokes pain, tragedy and misery and we, the ordinary mortals, find it hard to cope with these emotions. " Let me tell you a little story About Miss Edith Gee; She lived in Clevedon Terrace At Number 83. She bicycled down to the doctor, And rang the surgery bell; `O, doctor, I've a pain inside me, And I don't feel very well.' Doctor looked her over, And then he looked some more; Walked over to his wash-basin, Said: `Why didn't you come before?' Doctor sat over his dinner, Though his wife was waiting to ring, Rolling his bread into pellets; Said, `Cancer's a funny thing. `Nobody knows what the cause is, Though some pretend they do; It's like some hidden assassin Waiting to strike at you. `Childless women get it, And men when they retire; It's as if there had to be some outlet For their foiled creative fire.' SP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 I shall definitely convey everybody's sentiments to Maya whenever I visit her next. Meanwhile, those who know her can at least chat up with her on phone mobile number: 09422797685 I don't know if I should add " before it is too late " . It may not be in good taste, but sure is a bitter fact of life. Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 What can one say in such a situation ? There is really nothing left to say, apart from praying for a pain-free time in hospital. God bless her. Prabha '84 Subject: Goodbye? To: mgims Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008, 1:17 AM " Yaar, Maya Band ka Band baj gaya. " " Don't joke! " Pradeep pokes me in the stomach. " Colo-rectal carcinoma is as serious as it gets. " Yeah! I remember Maya as the over weight girl of our class. She always joined in the jokes and the fun, and was ever smiling. The darnedest things happen to the darnedest people. I grope in my shirt pocket and pull out the chit. I peer at the scrawl, " It is Block No D1, Room No.5. " We ask our way around the white tiled hospital. A young, helpful nurse points out the correct way. In passing, I wish I were at least 20 years younger. I wistfully look away. " You remember how she was always in a dilemma about how to spell her surname? " Pradeep tries to make conversation. " Yes! I do remember. Her surname was Bund as in the 'und' part of underground. But the Punjabis always mispronounced it as Boond, as in posterior part of our anatomy. What an irony that it is the very part that is involved now. So she preferred Band, where it got mispronounced as that instrumental mélange of Shaadi baraat. " We see the clearly labeled Room No. 5 / 6. There is no one on one bed. However the other bed is occupied by a haggard old lady of around 80 years. I decide to ask her about Maya. " Excuse me! Do you know where Dr. Maya is? " The old lady lifts her tired rheumy eyes and says tremulously, " Aarey Kishore! Don't you recognize me? " There are no words to describe how I feel. I feel at once shocked, flabbergasted, dumbfounded and ashamed. What a goof up I have done! What will Maya think of me? Of herself? But the one emotion, which dominates everything, is fear. Is this how we all will end? As withered bags of skin and bones? " Maya?!!! " That one word compresses all my astonishment and sympathy. " Yeah! I know that I have changed. Is that Pradeep with you? He also has lost a lot of hair. You have remained the same. " " It's genetic, I suppose. But never mind me. Since when have you been here? " She is a bit breathless. Her voice comes in short gasps. " I have been here for five long months! They have done such extensive operations, and now this Chemotherapy is draining me. " Pradeep is so shocked by her appearance that he launches into a big time bloomer. " First Deepak Phuljhaley of our batch died. But he died of heart attack! Then there was Neelam Soft. She had Ovarian Carcinoma! " I nudge Pradeep and glare at him, moving my eyebrows up and down. Pradeep suddenly catches my hint and lamely ends it with, " However, these Colo rectal carcinomas have good prognosis. " Then he lapses into silence biting his tongue. Suddenly Maya's husband enters. We immediately hand him the various eatables and drinks that we have brought with us. He says regretfully, " Thanks for getting all these things, but she just does not eat anything. " Pradeep and I immediately launch into how nutrition is very important in Cancer patients. Anything to avoid the question of prognosis. Maya weakly waves her hand, " 11 of the 14 removed lymph nodes have tested positive. " That is the trouble with being a doctor. You no longer believe in magic. You no longer believe in miracles. But Maya bravely continues, " Some specialists do say that with proper chemotherapy and radio therapy, recovery is good in some cases. " We nod our heads in unison. What else can we do? We also do not believe in magic or miracles. But we need to believe. Maya takes a wheezy breath and continues, " But I have no regrets. I had a good practice, a moderately sized hospital. I made quite a name in Ahmednagar. I married off my daughter also. I have only one regret. I could not attend the silver jubilee reunion of our batch. I could have met everybody then! " That reminded me. " All of MGIMS has sent good wishes to you. " I reel off the names. She wrinkles her brow and sinks deeper into the pillow, " I know Dr. OP Gupta Sir, of course. And I know Parvin Ansari. But who are these others? " " Well, one pair of them is Dr. Harinath's son and daughter in law. Another is Desikan madam's daughter. You remember her? " " Yes! Vaguely. But who are these Kalantri and Das and Kamath and Archana and Kamra and Mina and Sharmila and others? " " Well, believe it or not, Maya, they are all part of your family. You may not know them but now they know you. And they can feel your pain and they are all praying for you. " Maya tiredly closes her eyes. She is so debilitated that no moisture came out. But she blinks open her eyes again and says, " Please thank them on my behalf. " " I shall, Maya, but no one thanks family members. " Conversation flags for a while. Then Maya's husband gets out a huge volume of case papers for us to read. I remember how I had refused to read 'War and Peace' in my childhood because I had a principle that I would only read books that I could lift. This sheaf is much larger. Mercifully, the nurse enters then with her dressing trolley. Maya cringes at her sight. " That give me spasmodic pains when they clean and flush my Ileostomy bag. " Pradeep and I get up thankfully. We can no longer bear to see the ruins of our cheerful, ever smiling colleague. I decide there and then to instruct all my relatives not to do anything heroic in case I get something similar. We turn around and look at the skeleton wrapped in skin called Maya. " Goodbye Maya! " Is there a question there? We walk out with our eyes firmly glued to the toes of our shoes. This time around, I ignore the young nurse that we had passed on our way in. Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 you are right Kishore, Bhaav ka Abhaav na ho Sadbhaav sada bana rahe Kavita hi bahatee hai Kwachit alp shabd hi kahe opg To: mgims@...: kshahsky@...: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:56:05 +0530Subject: Re: Goodbye? Dear Sharmila,I have never considered myself as a gifted writer. I have only written pouring my heart out. That, I think, makes a difference. Everyone can feel what I feel. And that is why there is such a nice and warm response to my simple mail.My advice to everyone is that it does not matter how or what you write, But please write with your heart and not with your brain. We need all of your mails here on this group. And that is how we as a group are so strong.Kishore Shah 1974 Re: Goodbye?dear kishorda,Your write up has tugged at the heartstrings of everyone who has read it.Most of us are silently connected to this big Mgims family-reading smiling, appreciating sharing but never expressing ourselves,May be not all of us are such gifted writers like you ,kishorda,! but hats off to you ,all non writers now feel like saying something and wanting to stay connected.let me tell you i,ve got so addicted to this family platform- that i,m writing this after i,ve finished a high risk C- section at 2 am!today it feels nice that there are so many others who find that when you share, sorrows decrease and joys increase.regards,sharmila-82 _________________________________________________________________ For the freshest Indian Jobs Visit MSN Jobs http://www.in.msn.com/jobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Beautifully said OP Sir :-) Ravin '82 > > you are right Kishore, > Bhaav ka Abhaav na ho > Sadbhaav sada bana rahe > Kavita hi bahatee hai > Kwachit alp shabd hi kahe > opg > > To: mgims@... <mgims%40yahoogroups.comFrom>: > kshahsky@... <kshahsky%40gmail.comDate>: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 > 09:56:05 +0530Subject: Re: Goodbye? > > Dear Sharmila,I have never considered myself as a gifted writer. I have > only written pouring my heart out. That, I think, makes a difference. > Everyone can feel what I feel. And that is why there is such a nice and warm > response to my simple mail.My advice to everyone is that it does not matter > how or what you write, But please write with your heart and not with your > brain. We need all of your mails here on this group. And that is how we as a > group are so strong.Kishore Shah 1974 Re: Goodbye?dear kishorda,Your write up has > tugged at the heartstrings of everyone who has read it.Most of us are > silently connected to this big Mgims family-reading smiling, appreciating > sharing but never expressing ourselves,May be not all of us are such gifted > writers like you ,kishorda,! but hats off to you ,all non writers now feel > like saying something and wanting to stay connected.let me tell you i,ve got > so addicted to this family platform- that i,m writing this after i,ve > finished a high risk C- section at 2 am!today it feels nice that there are > so many others who find that when you share, sorrows decrease and joys > increase.regards,sharmila-82 > > __________________________________________________________ > For the freshest Indian Jobs Visit MSN Jobs > http://www.in.msn.com/jobs > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Wow! That's poetically put! Kishore Shah 1974 Re: Goodbye?dear kishorda,Your write up >> has >> tugged at the heartstrings of everyone who has read it.Most of us are >> silently connected to this big Mgims family-reading smiling, appreciating >> sharing but never expressing ourselves,May be not all of us are such >> gifted >> writers like you ,kishorda,! but hats off to you ,all non writers now >> feel >> like saying something and wanting to stay connected.let me tell you i,ve >> got >> so addicted to this family platform- that i,m writing this after i,ve >> finished a high risk C- section at 2 am!today it feels nice that there >> are >> so many others who find that when you share, sorrows decrease and joys >> increase.regards,sharmila-82 >> >> __________________________________________________________ >> For the freshest Indian Jobs Visit MSN Jobs >> http://www.in.msn.com/jobs >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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