Smoky mountain trip

Yesterday was a long day indeed ,

A distance of 571 almost 600 km in six ( took more than 8 to 10 hours ) with frequent stop overs 

From Charleston in West Virginia to Smoky mountains near Bryson city in North Carolina through well maintained roads except for stretches .

Sruthi and Achyuth had booked a log house in a woody hilly remote place after Bryson city .

It was in smoky mountain hills in begginings of some great hiking trails like the Appalachian trail .

A stop for breakfast in farm fresh Bob Evans  I had posted here ..

After that we stopped in many quaint little American towns with thier own branded and unbranded shops ,churches  municipal buildings houses .

The weather was generally cold outside the heated eight seater Hyundai Palisade driven in turns by Achyuth ,Sruthi ,and Shyam .

Though I had driven in UAE in right hand drives the long interval in Brunei and Cochin has reduced my confidence to even attempt US roads with its fast traffic .

Shyam had driven extensively in Australia and India and last six months in US too .

Sruthi has been driving in cold frozen Cleveland later in Houston while Achyuth had driven to many parts of the US on his work .

So I had the prime seat near driver as premila and Sruthi need to be near Tara kutty in her childrens seat and first long journey .

By evening we were all tired with Tara not comfortable at all .

Somehow we trudged along to reach our AIRBNB cottage .

The last stretch in dark of about ten km was to me treacherous of lonely steep hilly wooded roads with poor internet and failing GPS and not a soul around in places known for bear sightings .

I read accounts of poor souls lost for ever in the Appalachian trials and as a known paranoid panic person in family injected bit anxiety amongst the joking others .

And on and on of dark lanes abrupt curves which in daylight we were sure would have great views finally honed in on

ABOVE IT ALL !

The message talked a of a secret post box black in colour carrying a code which carried the key not at all the regular check ins I was used to .

Manichithrathaaz said I to the fun of all .

But all these were worth the efforts as we entered a magnificient luxury wooden cottage of three bedrooms an electronic fireplace ,plush leather furnitures and all kitchen paraphrenalia 

Tastefully selected coffee table books paperbacks on Bryson city mysteries etc in the voluminous hall cum dining ,huge kitchen and confortable bedrooms .

And we rested with gratitude to those who built such a cottage in such a place

 

Sprituality with Son

 With my dad leaving me at ten with unerasable memories for this life time ,being the scholar and intellectual he was I often wonder how our conversations would have been if he had lived till I was say around 28 years !

I am sure it would border on the fathomless truths undiscovered , for he a Sanskrit scholar ( self learned ) and a repository of Vedanta by his vast reading and innate intelligence would have a veritable ocean for me to plunge in but alas it was not to be .

But then I am happy my son more than makes up for it .

Whether he finds me intellectually stimulating Iam not sure but our conversations end up invariably in the profane and beyond borders of esoteric secrets .

Yesterday Shyam called me as it was Sunday morning in frigid New York and we connected over transatlatic borders as if by telepathy treading into unexplored vistas of the cosmic world and powers that direct us all .

It started with my asking him his present post doctoral work .

Shyam mentioned it was on earliest star formations in the universe known today by way of the James Webb telescope which took human insights way back to those times .

 He said it was surprising that the heavenly bodies then were much larger than ever thought , larger ,more luminescent ,more throbbing with power and potential ,

He would measure those inputs to chart out a simulators likelihood .

It was an individual foray but as part of a team probing into those uncharted waters .

This led to me asking him 

As a cosmic physicist doesn't the question of who is behind all this intrigue him ? 

He said it has to !

 Spell binding and startling truths always does .

Sadness suffering and separation seen by Doctors in thier practice also does .

And so we walked into the secret of life in our conversations .

Shyam said knowledge in philosophy or spirituality requires acceptance and  curiosity and not confirmation .

Being sure of something make one lose the possibility of alternatives .

Going in one path made one lose the others .

I countered him telling Adi Sankara in his Advaita had no niggling choices .

He had Supreme confidence in his mentioning that we all living beings are sparks of the one power from where we come and go back .

Shyam said yes but thats the disadvantage of confirmation in absolute beliefs ,while Sankara talked of there being an absolute power Buddha talked of Sunyam or nothingness beyond all .

We both agreed on the ancient Indian methodology of debating  which was by intellectual sparring of doctrines the famous tharkaas of logic  .

A brilliant Sankara or Buddha or Mahavira or Ramanuja or a Paninni won by conversations .

This was akin to ancient Greeks or Egyptians of the past or those from lost Mayan civilisations debating and knowing .

In stark contrast to forcible compulsion of shallow beliefs by physical threats or fear .

Thus Shyam gave me half an  hour of HIT REFRESH  to my ageing neurons .

Thanks dear .

Tissue is the issue

 TISSUE IS THE ISSUE 

For non medicos Pathology is the study of cells microscopically in diseases states and histology is the same study in normal states !

Histology is microscopic anatomy of the human body at cellular level and is studied as a basic science in medical curriculum ie during the first or second year while 

pathology is generally done in third or fourth year after starting medicine ,surgery and gynecology ,and knowing about diseased states .

Forensic science is the study of dead tissues and post mortem examinations also are a part of pathology but of a more investigative approach associated with criminology and post mortem examination to find cause of death etc a totally different and vast field by itself as a medical student one went through that in fourth year .

To us working in oncology or cancer medicine ,pathology is vital and pathologists are one of the most important specialists we work with as a team .

In these days of great advances in the molecular level of differentiation's pathology at many times decides on the treatment and the word of the pathologist is sacrosanct .

Getting a pathology or biopsy report for a patient too is very unnerving as it could be a diagnosis which would strike terror into his or her heart or rarely relieve him of his anxiety !

in oncology we always say tissue is the issue 

we have in most centers multidisciplinary meets with pathologists to discuss cases as subtle difference can alter the whole management 

in these days of highly specialized stains in immuno histochemistry and molecular tests and even genetic mutations the differentiation is so vast .

in the early days it was suffice to get a diagnosis of say in breast cancer what type of tissue it was either from glandular tissue called adenocarcinoma or from connective tissue a type of sarcoma called malignant phylloides whose treatment were diametrically opposite 

Today the sub classifications like the hormone status the aggressiveness by grade or by KI 67 range or specialized targets amenable to treatment like Her 2 or epidermal receptors ,the microscopical invasions into blood vessles lymph nodes or lymphatics or nerves are all vital .

In hematology too the sub classifications of lymphomas or leukemia's  deserve separate tomes and are in hundreds and each one is important for  prognosis or outcomes  ,

second opinions are taken at times when pathologists themselves are foxed over certain modulations in tissue .

Transformation of the tissue from one type to another as tumor grows , certain mutations that confer resistance to certain types of targeted treatment or monoclonal antibodies have all made pathology a highly specialized and meticulous science in oncology .

Selective pathologies for immunotherapy to work 

over the years I still remember some eminent pathologists I had the opportunity to work with  .

The reputed madam Pushpa professor in lakeshore hospital in kochi was one when there 

The Dept had been very helpful when requested for an early report during 2003 to  2006 when I was working in med oncology for those whom we wanted to waste no time to start treatment like in young patients 

Iam sure its still so today .

I still rememebr getting a bone marrow report on same day ( not full one but what was needed to start treatment ) something which would never happen abroad !!

in Tawam hospital in Al Ain UAE a John Hopkins hospital managed tertiary care center the pathology hematology had a great team there was an Italian hematologist who only specialized in lymphomas and he was an authority on that .

We used to have exhaustive monthly Hematology board meets like tumour boards in med oncology ( pathologists used to contribute thier inputs there too ) 

in the center I worked in Brunei The Brunei Cancer center  too we had a highly specialized and capable department of pathologists .

In  Ripas Govt  hospital the department of pathology was led by Prof Telesinghe  the main support structure in the diagnosis of our patients

with newer forms of tissue sampling like circulating tumor cells and plasma based DNA detection the paucity of sampling from difficult areas like lung will be met better in future ( Liquid biopsies)

so the kaleidoscopic world of starry cellular wonderland the home of pathologists is  dear to us too .

After all tissue is the issue

Diwali Hinduism

 Happy Diwali or Deepavali as said in South India .

Somehow this one festival says everything on Hinduism ,on its true message .

That life is but love and a path to light that is the Almighty .

The festival of lights may have mythical stories of slaying of Ravana or demon Naragasura and the journey from darkness to light .

Tamashoma Jyotir gamaya 

Mrityonma Amirtham gamaya 

From darkness lead me to light

From death lead me to immortality 

But again death is not the death of this illusionary life

 its death of births and unity with the oneness .

Hinduism unfortunately isbnot understood by many of  its own practioners .

It  has layers of truth to be uncovered 

its highly abstract 

For eg the fight between Rama and Ravana is truly the fight between good and bad in ourselves .

The ten headed Ravana is within us in form of ego , lust , envy  ,arrogance ,anger ,spite ,greed cunningness, selfishness ,and smallness in mind .

These are the ten heads we need to fight and destroy with our inner Rama or pure soul and win the battle to move from our darkness to light .

By lighting diyas we are not only spreading light but giving warmth and our thoughts go loftily to the skies as every flame in a wick burns to the top .

By bursting crackers we are by sound celebrating our victory against darkness by love and enlightenment. 

In all this Hinduism is only thinking of Humanity

 where is the caste and creed we are accused of by ignorant fools !

Where is the idol worshipping !

Where are the myths !

Where can one get such universal truths in its essence !

Without knowing anything millions of Hindus themselves exist clapping hands to those who ridicule the greatest thoughts man has ever conceived .

Many Hindus specially in Kerala think thier religion as full of old orthodoxies and myths and shake thier foolish heads when lesser people accuse it of shallowness .

That lies in thier mind which is unfit to the greatness they are born with .

So every festival every scripture every ritual every puja in Hinduism has an inner meaning .

Try to get into that if you are a Hindu

 if you cannot at least dont air your foolishness as parotted by others or better quietly join other beliefs because it's good riddance to bad believers .

Kamalahassan

 

Kamalahassan was 69 years old on November 7th 

Remarkably talented he was a budding actor more a dance master during my college days .

Since his niece Nandini hassan was in our college and my senior he used to come to drop her I heard Think I saw him once with red lipstick on lanky and thin .

No one knew he would become the Kamal the superstar the actor dancer charmer singer etc etc .

Incidentally it was malayalam films that made him a hero 

Tired of the Prem Nazir Jayan Madhu combos Kamal was a welcome change with his romantic exuberances .

His prancing around with the likes of Zarina wahab Lakshmi and others with Salil Chowdurys music were a rage .

In Tamil it was K Balachander the ace director who realised Kamals potentials though Kamal was a child actor .

Balachander discovered Rajni too 

It was 16 vayathinnile which made him a commercial film sucess ,though he had acted in so many meaningful films earlier like Arangetram ,Apoorva ragangal by Balachander ,

IV Sasis Sigappu Rojakkal gave him a sophisticated look ,

Later he would do Tik tik tik with Sasi as Director .

Maro charitra was a Telugu romantic tragedy which was later filmed in Hindi  as Ek Duje ke liye 

 and Moonram pirai became Sadma directed by Balu Mahendra .

By then Kamal was acting in so many languages 

He was a multi lingualy talented as he rarely used dubbed voices 

He learnt instruments ,sang for his films, did stunts, learnt magic ,Martial arts ,Make up and prepared so much for every film .

He was the Mr Perfectionist in everything He did like  when he acted as a middle aged lady he was just that and not a cross dresser when he was a dwarf he appeared as one ,later one  realised how much effort and pain he went through

He donned multiple roles in same film 

multiple films with different roles. 

Even after 60 he is still active 

Though he is better off with others films than his own with exception of Rajaparvai .

Sree devi was kamals best heroine I would say .

His foray into politics has been a failure like his family life 

Divorced twice he has two grown girls one of them is a good actress too .

Has Kamal reinvented himself with age ?

 Not much I feel ,looking at the type of pictures he comes out with ,

The Drishyam remake Papanaasam was not bad though a bit Tamilish but his latest Vikram though I haven't seen sounds to be in same genre of Jailor of blood and gore .

Kamal has excellent sense of timing and is very good in comedy ,most good actors are too .

His Michael Madana Kamaraaja ,Manmada leelai ,Sathi leelavati  ,Avai Shanmukhi ,( Chachi 420 in Hindi ) Tenali, pammal sambandam ,panchatantram ,were laugh riots .

He did serious message films like Anbe sivam ,Mahanadi  ,Varumayin niram sigappu .

Of course in Nayakan he brought out a near imitation of Marlon Brando  in Godfather

Kamal couldn't let that oppurtunity go waste .

Thevar magan with the thespian Sivaji Ganesan himself with whom he acted even as a child. 

What plans does the old man has now to show his fans  ?

He could do a Jackie chan type of film Karate kid .

It's time actors of his calibre break away from thier commercial straight jackets and do good films which last for ever like the venerable Sivsji Ganesan had done before he left us .

Kamal , I hope does that, as he had been my favourite actor always

Master trainer communications

The official certificate of being a Master Trainer in Healthcare Communication to 15 senior doctors selected from all over Kerala sponsored by IMA Kerala state Branch which involved ten online classes of 3 to 4 hours each which we completed under Dr Indhu Arneja a well know Health communication professional was officially presented to us by IMA President Kerala state Branch in IMA SWC Meet conducted in IMA House Aluva today .
The 15 master trainers would train other doctors and nurses .
I had already imparted a few to doctors and nurses .
Hope to do more

 

Melam .. Drums of Kerala

 The melam or percussion orchestration of Kerala has several knowledgeable enthusiasts and many of the artistes are as popular as Rock stars .

The art of this style of music has strict rules of classical music and said to have evolved from four vedas and Natya sasthra. 

The rhythms of a Mohiniyattam or Kathakali or  Bharatanatyam dancer  to the beats of a mridangam or the throes of a Chenda or drum .

The two main types of Melam though there are around nine are PANCHARI MELAM and 

PANDI  MELAM 

Broadly Panchari is played inside temples while Pandi outside temples in processions celebrations etc .

PANCHARI has six while PANDI has seven beats .

The word Pandi in malayalam refers to Pandi Naadu or Tamilnadu 

So many including me was thinking PANDI Melam had Tamil influences .

I learnt it is NOT so .

In fact the creating of this new mela from conventionally accepted Panchari the purists relegated it out of temples and labelled it sarcastically as PANDI MELAM that is its  something alien !

Pandi is actually elegance while Panchari is Melody 

Panchari is played by hand and stick in Thrissur while with two sticks in Malabar .

In Thrissur Edamthala and Valamthala are known as Uruttuchenda and Veekanchenda .

Panchari stands as a guide to other melams like Chempa ,Chempada,Anchathanta ,Adanta  ,

Dhruvam etc 

Pandi melam stands alone 

In fact but for Pandi melam rest are under Chempata melam .

The rare chendas are Navam ,Kalpam and Shadkari .

The Chenda itself is in two 

Edamthalam and Valamthalam 

Other three are Kombu ( bow shaped wind instrument ) Kuzhal ( flute like instrument ) and Edathalam or cymbals .

Like a western classical music orchestra the melam troupe has a defined structure and strict rules and guidelines and patterns laid out .

The rhythmic percussion of drums timed by wind instruments and cymbals can last hours .

The number of Valamthalas ,Kuzhal ,Kombu ,Elsnthalams should be same as Valamthalas 

From minimum 15 to 130 are numbers .

The Pramaanakaaran  or the captain of the orchestra stands opposite the senior most in Kuzhal on both sides the others in descending order of seniority stand so junior most will be at two ends with seniors more to center ..

The timing of the kalaasam or ending of one phase and starting of another is by Kombhu and then by Kuzhal .

The subtle changes in rhythm and pace is the responsibilty of the Pramaanakaaran  with the senior most in Kuzhal 

This is done with subtle nods bends of chendakaar and by bends and  rounding of kuzhals started off by the Pramanakaran of chenda and kuzhal .

Each phase starts with Kaalamittal or fixing base tempo by Valamthala followed by single stick beat of Edamthala followed by beats in center and rim of drums for one Thaalavatta .

Then the Melam follows.

In Panchari its five times 

Kaalam one 96 Aksharas

Kaalam two 48

Kaalam three 24

Kaalam four 12

Kaalam five 6 

So it's actually 6 .

Am not going into the mathematical details of the kaalams suffice to say the rhythmic pleasant sound of an unified melam group has lot of sense and structure and science behind its art and skill .

I had the oppurtunity to talk to some musicians as I waited with them in a hall prior to programme 

Shyam a bank officer and Kannan his brother and Kalamandalam Jayan .

Above all Satyan Maraar a senior chenda melam artiste and teacher and guide to many gave me the oppurtunity to attend the melam today inside with the musicians an unique oppurtunity 

He also introduced me to Shri Jayaram the Pramanakaaran today and for last many years in the Pavizamalli thara melam in Chottanikara temple 

I also chanced on an excellent thesis by a couple of scholars that made me write this post 

To understand fully by reading and listening once by someone who is not trained as a musician is impossible so there may be mistakes or gaps in what I wrote but am happy I did not stop to just listen and shake my head I did make a feeble attempt to understand more