Skip to main content

Posts

A Teacher Who Changed My Life

  A Teacher Who Changed My Life Dr Sudhir Kumar   Christian Medical College Vellore has played a vital role in changing the course and purpose of my life. Several teachers have taken great personal efforts and have gone out of their way to mold me into a person in right direction and with a meaningful purpose in life. Today I would like to remember one such angel- Prof Mary Jacob, who taught Anatomy to several batches of students. I joined CMC Vellore in 1989 after having done my schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bokaro Steel City, which was a part of Bihar then. I faced several challenges after joining. The first and foremost was the language barrier. It was a Herculean effort to converse in English. Writing answers to “essay and short note” questions in English was worse. In MaJa’s (this is how students used to affectionately address Dr Mary Jacob) own words- “Your answers have the required information, however, due to multiple grammatical errors, we cannot make out what you
Recent posts

Why are Everything Negative “Black” and Not “White”?

Why are Everything Negative “Black” and Not “White”? Dr Sudhir Kumar Prejudices against Black are neither uncommon nor new, Such incidents are many, though in the limelight are few, Well known are the racism and biases of White against Black, Awareness of many other prejudices against Black we lack, In India, the most “suitable” bride is always “slim and fair”, Parents of “dark-skinned” girls are in state of perpetual despair, Fairness cream industry making millions is not new, Cosmetic surgeries for skin whitening are luckily few, Cats that supposedly bring “bad omen” are always “Black”, It is the “White” cats that bring happiness and good luck, It is a “Black” day that marks an event unfortunate or sad, Thus racism has entered into days making them good or bad, Band adorned on arms to mourn a death is “Black” in colour, Ensuring that Black is linked with sadness, sorrow and dolor, Badges worn to show protests are also Black, Linking Black with f

ENJOY THE LOCK-DOWN TIMES...WHILE IT LASTS

ENJOY THE LOCK-DOWN TIMES....WHILE IT LASTS Dr Sudhir Kumar This complete lock-down is first of its kind in our lives, Resulting in “enforced” confinement with our wives, Staying at home ought to have brought calm, But people seem hurt & pained needing a balm, Didn’t you earlier wish for times like these? When you could just sit, relax and be at ease, A kid faked stomach ache to bunk school for a day, And hoped that it repeated so that he could play, You skipped office at times citing some silly excuse, Because asking your boss for leave was of no use, Driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic gave no pleasure, Time wasted on roads you would rather not measure, You were fed up of flight hopping and “living out of a suitcase”, Accumulating frequent flyer miles ceased to bring smiles on your face, Hectic work schedule meant you couldn’t pursue your hobbies, Chronic sleep deprivation made you look like zombies, 54-day nat

WHEN A GRAVE ERROR BY EDUCATION BOARD COULD NOT DENT A TEENAGER'S RESOLVE

A TEENAGER'S RESOLVE AMIDST A GRAVE ERROR COMMITTED BY THE EDUCATION BOARD Recently, Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) has been in the news for wrong reasons- fiasco in declaring the results, where several students have been wrongly failed or marked absent. This had led to disappointment among students as well as their parents, in some cases, resulting into suicides of some failed students.  https://www.news18.com/news/india/telangana-result-fiasco-parents-worried-as-21-students-commit-suicide-in-10-days-2120021.html This takes me three decades back to May 1989, when a similar error was committed by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).  In the "Marks Statement" issued by the CBSE in May 1989, you can see the marks in Physics theory- 23/70 (which happens to be the bare minimum marks needed to pass). Compared to this, marks in Chemistry theory- 63/70 and biology theory- 62/70. The minimum overall (theory + practical) pass marks was 50

ENJOYING THE PROCESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE "END RESULT" ALONE

Enjoy the Process and Not the End Result Alone In our life, we always set up goals. The goal may be small or big, it may be set up during our childhood, or when we grow up, and even when we are accomplished in our fields. I would explain those with examples. As a school kid, we always want to score very high marks and get the first rank in the class. As a teenager, we want to get into a professional stream of education of our choice. As an adult, we want to earn well in our respective jobs. All these goals require hard work and dedication. To score marks, a kid has to study hard, may be lose his sleep and normal entertainment (such as watching movies). Also, there are uncertainties, such as he may fall ill on the day of exam, or that he may forget what he has learnt, etc. Also, someone else may also be a good student, and that would prevent the kid from getting first rank. These apprehensions make the "journey of studying" not enjoyable and even stressful most of

A HEART-TOUCHING EXPERIENCE WITH A PATIENT

WHY I LOVE BEING A DOCTOR It was one of the usual busy out-patient clinics, where I was seeing patients with a variety of neurological problems. Some patients had come for the first time and some were my old patients. I always try to talk to my patients and enquire about their family and job, as far as possible. This gives me a better insight into their problems, as well as any disabilities that they may face due to the illness. This also lets me know their support systems at home and at work place. Most patients are accompanied by a family member or a friend, especially if they have a disability. However, on that busy day, one of my patients, Mrs Leena (name changed), slowly walked into my clinic with a limp. She had significant walking difficulty and managed to make her way inside with the help of a hospital attendant. She was not accompanied by any of her relatives.  She made herself comfortable on the chair, and I could notice a smile on her face.  Six months ago, Mrs Leena,