The Thought Addict

I'm a pediatrician, and it has been told that pediatrics is one of the toughest medical specialties, because it deals with young children who tough to understand and 'handle'.  This statement couldn't be any farther from the truth. Before I became a pediatrician, I too had been a believer of this view. I had had very little opportunity to interact with children, much less understand them, and they were truly an enigma for me.  My earliest personal experiences with a child was first, with my nephew, and later, my daughter. The moments I've passed with them have been no less than eye-opening and life-changing. Every day spent with them showed me my drab world in its raw beauty as seen through the unassuming, wonder-filled eyes of a child. In fact, all children are often better than grown-ups with many 'superior' traits. They live in a simple world with simple beliefs. All it takes is a keen eye and a loving mind to understand them. Children have

I recently travelled by bus on an overnight journey, and in a nutshell, it was a terrible experience. This was an anomaly, considering the number of times I've travelled ever since I was a kid. The bus was in a bad shape, and the driving - what can I say? Half the time I felt as if I was being dragged along the rugged road, with the bus taking off in short leaps like a grasshopper. And the rest of the time, I was trying hard to lie down with the tiniest part of me touching the sleeper berth, so that I could spare my poor aging body the agony of being flipped in air often with a vigorous jolt. The bus was of course air-conditioned. I had wanted that so that there would be at least some semblance of neatness and comfort on a long journey. What I had not anticipated was a gaping wide AC vent right on top of my head with the thermostat set at 16 degrees Celsius on a cold winter night. Well, the best part of my journey was that : it ended!! As I got down from the bus, I was th

For a moment, I felt like I was getting into the shoes of our very own Czar of Confusion . Right or Wrong? Yes or No? These questions flooded my mind as I reflected on my past. The new year wasn't new to me anymore. None of the good wishes that came by lifted my spirits. Nor did I feel anything 'new' or special about the day. It was the same old routine with probably a few changes here and there that didn't actually matter. For the first time, I did not feel like taking any resolutions, because these gave no 'actual' results, in the positive sense. Reflections from my early life flew past, and nothing special remained in my mind, especially when I thought of the new year. As a young adult too, I don't think I've really enjoyed the new year by partying or dancing, as is the culture now. So did I not have any happy or joyous moment all these years? Am I right in inferring that happiness is a passing phase and happy moments are not here to stay fore