Vemana/Sumati Satkam Poems in Engish by SBD

Mrs. Bhargavi Devi translates Vemana and Sumati satakam poems into English, hoping to inspire other Telugu/English pundits in the family.

1

The joy of  a father
is felt the moment a son is born
But when he is praised by all that gather
Great is the pleasure the father does adorn


2

A dog seated on a golden throne
never loses the traits of its own
No one will benefit
if power is given to the unfit

3

Piety gained with a clean heart
may be little but is a start
The Banyan tree so tall
rises from a seed so small

4

The unintelligent blabbers a lot
unlike the wise who speaks so soft
Bronze  does boom when tolled
Will it be the same with gold?


More to follow!

What was that?

After reading Gouri's comment, I had a doubt.
Those who practice "CRIMINAL MEDICINE"--are they Criminals?
of course, nowadays with litigation mounting, doctors are being dragged to court and are being charged with criminal cases.
So, why are "criminal lawyers" not prosecuted when you arrest and charge "criminal gangs" and "criminal tribes"? And some of them are known as  " leading criminal lawyers" too.
Is a "Child Psychologist" a prodigy?
(we saw it on a signboard in Kavali)-- "child specialist"--should we not congratulate the parents for such a precocious child. BTW, what kind of a specialist was he?
In a book dedicated to a great man of Kavali--someone wrote anecdotally--"he served his community well"--really? Of course, he meant the community.
Have you met any "Pichi doctor"?
I invite contribution of such gems.

Examiners!

The day I realised, that the Examiners were not the devils I(and many more students, even today) thought them to be, was the Medicine Practicals and Orals day of the FINAL year exam.
I did my short cases well, I did the long case very well and was happy and went for lunch in a happy mood. My good friend Anky had not done well and was depressed. So, in a sombre mood, we returned from lunch and lighted up ( I was a terrible smoker those days--upto 30 cigarettes per day).
We did not see the examiners pass by.

It was 3 pm by the time I was called and it was time for the examiners' tea. So, I sat in the room waiting while they had tea and biscuits. That over, Two of them lit cigarettes.  There were 6 of them sitting in pairs. The first pair were non smokers.
As soon as I sat down, one of the asked me-out of the blue so to speak-"do you smoke?"
I never lie if it is not absolutely essential for preserving my life.
So, I said " yes sir! I do."
He said " not bad. At least you are honest. Now tell me the hazards of smoking".
I started with the mouth and recited a list of about 20 conditions.
He asked "you know all that and you still smoke?"
I had no reply but had a convenient defense at hand. I just looked at the two examiners smoking and back at my examiner.
He laughed and said " Oh! you mean they are smoking. But remember, what your guru does is not always for you to mimic."
Then he plunged into the questions and I answered well and he passed me on to the next pair.

So I knew they also have a sense of humour and are not absolute terrors. They are HUMAN.

As a bonus I got a high 58% (50% being the pass mark.) There was only one first class in the university (60%).

So. now, whenever I hear the students in the family complain about  the heartless, cruel examiners, I just smile to myself.

Never Give Up

Exam time was always fun filled and tension ridden. When it came to II MBBS (Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry) we had to go to Madras for Practicals and Orals. Since students from all 6 Medical colleges were jumbled and allotted to 2 centers, it was always a mix of students and we JIPMERites had an advantage. Since we were the "cream of students from all over the country", we stood out in the batch of 20 students.

But we were scared of the "woman power". The talk was that the girls would cry and get sympathy from the examiners while boys could not be so lucky. There were only 3 boys in our batch, all from JIPMER--Lakshmi Narasimhan, Leons Joseph Rajendran and Lingeswaran. All the rest were Lathas and Lakshmis.

The Examiners were a tough lot. There were some dreaded names--John Suneetha, SeethaRamaRao etc. They (according to legend) take the greatest pleasure in failing a student for the trivialest reason.

So, scared about the double handicap (woman power and tough examiners), we went to Chennai and stayed at a lodge in Broadway (Ambi's cafe--since demolished) because it was close to both MMC and Stanley. It was an old house converted I think, and was a building straight out of a horror movie like "House of Wax." That added more to the tension.

My dissection practical was "the Lateral Ligament of Knee" and around me were 3 girls dissecting away. The examiner approached us within 40 mts. and asked the girl next to me "what is your dissection?" She said "Cubital fossa, Sir!” That is the front of the Elbow. He took out a tailor's tape and measured the dissected area. It was 4.5" long. He just smirked and said “young lady! What is the length of the incision according to Cunningham?” She replied -quakingly-"4 inches sir!" ”So!" was the drawn out comment. Silence, dreaded silence for 15 seconds. “Just because it is a dead body, you cannot cut as you like. If it was a living person, do you think he will accept this unnecessary butchery? Please go back, practice some more and come back in April". Fate decided. Imagine my feelings when he approached me. Luckily, I got away with my mistakes (I am sure there were some) and passed.

When the results came out, we were not surprised. University pass % was 50 and JIPMER's 95. That was a record and I think it still stands. That gave our batch a big reputation as a bunch of intelligent blokes. Class of 1966 is just great. 

But when it came to Path and Bacteriology (Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology), it was a different story.

We had a combined paper for Path and Microbiology. Part A (Path) and Part B (Microbiology) with 2 essay questions and the third one with 4 short answer questions.  Each essay was for 17 marks and each short note was for 4 marks. If you left even 1 short note question (4 marks) the result was a FAIL. Because, as they were fond of saying "you cannot leave a question in choice, because tomorrow you have to leave the treatment to choice and the patient to God."

The pattern in Microbiology was one essay from Bacteria (TB, Typhoid, and Diphtheria etc.), one essay question from Parasites (worms), 2 short note questions from Bacteria, one from Parasites and ONE short note from viruses.

AIDS was not known till 1981, Ebola was discovered in 1976 and hepatitis viruses were no big deal. We knew other viruses were out there and were pathogenic but they were only minor nuisances like Coryza virus (common cold).

So, nobody studied virology in detail--only just general characteristics of viruses which used to appear now and then as a 4 marks short note question.

But our batch got lucky--One essay and 3 short notes were from virology and the other essay and short note questions were from Parasites present in Africa. In effect, the knowledge of most (99%) of the students was Zero. Me, I am a guy who never takes a chance. I did study all the viruses also once, just for completion sake and so I did give about 75% of the answer. So, I was confident of passing and was a hero amidst devastated classmates.

My roommate Papanna Sastry just gave a blank paper for Part B. So, he was ready to go home after the exams not waiting for the practicals as the result is a foregone conclusion.

I told him that all the students of all 6 colleges will be in the same position and they cannot (can they?) fail everyone. He countered by saying that the final year pass last year was 14%.

Still I said “NEVER GIVE UP, as a doctor, you should never give up. Even if it appears bleak, you have to fight on. Even if ONE life is saved out of 50 because of this, it is not 2%--It is a life and a family is saved. Let us go to Madras and see what happens”.

 He refused, I argued, wore him down and finally we went to Madras and stayed at Ambi's cafe (where else?). We had a haunt- a chai kadai in Walltax road where all these birds of same feather from 6 colleges gathered to compare notes.

To my gratification, I discovered (and Papanna felt happy to know) that blank papers for part B were very much in fashion and nearly 40% did not write down anything except their number on the answer sheet.

Encouraged by this we went for practicals next day. He did the staining procedures well, identified all the specimens and drew the slides neatly. With restored confidence and palpitating heart, he went for the orals. The Devils or Deities who were presiding there looked at him and the blank paper in front of them. (No spot valuations those days--they used to correct the theory paper during orals and while 5 examiners were questioning the student, the 6th will correct his question and pass it on to another.  So, the paper is valued in front of you and your idiocies will be brought to your face then and there.)

They asked him why he had given a blank paper. He said that he did not prepare for Virology as it carried only 4 marks till then and he used all the time for the rest. One examiner said “as if you are thorough with the rest. We will give you one chance as an exception. Impress us. Tell us about Mycobacteria (TB, Leprosy etc.) Papanna was a good student and he had the ability get a book by heart in a week. So, off he went on a spree and they were impressed. “So, tell us about Diphtheria”, they said and he told them. Lastly, tell us about flukes--of course he flew in a flow. They were really impressed and said “ok! don't make a habit of skipping things. Read everything at least once. Go happily." I got a B plus and he got an A plus. So in the end he outshone me.

So, my advice to anyone and everyone is "NEVER GIVE UP."  If you give up you have failed already, so, try and see if you can win.

Dead Men Do Tell Tales (or) Why Irreverent Medicos are useless

We were the first Entrance batch in JIPMER and were an all-india batch in nature. We started off with Premedical (I MBBS)—Physics, chemistry, Botany, Zoology and English for 1 Year. That will be dealt with later.
We entered the II year—Anatomy (1 year and 6 months), Physiology (1 year and 6 months)and Biochemistry (1 year and 6 months)with Biophysics (1 year). WE started our Anatomy dissection with great glee. We were cutting up a real body (though dead) like real doctors and learn what is there inside. We were paired in twos and my partner was T. Krishna Moorthy AKA Tikky ( who now is a plastic surgeon in Trichy.) We took possession of the Right leg and another two took up the left leg. 4 of our seniors were doing the dissection on the upper limbs. So there were 8 of us crowding round the table and jabbering away while jabbing and cutting away, supposedly as per the instructions in the dissecting manual. Most of the time we did, but occasionally we were too fast because it was a race to see who were the fastest.
On the first day, some of us were scared and touched the body gingerly. By the third day, it was familiar. By the end of the week, we were propping up the books by the body’s flanks and we used to lean over the body to talk to guys and gals on the other side, casually resting our hands on the chest or abdomen of the body.
We had Osteology classes taught by a Lady Medical Officer (only MBBS) working as a demonstrator. She got the job because she was the wife of our Radiology Associate Professor. She was from somewhere in the North East and had poor English Language skills. These Two things made her an object for ridicule and we had a field day in her class.
She: why you late?
Student: me not late. Mess is late. Mess is Dosa and Dosa is late.
She: don’t care. Not late in future. Student : no mam! Only on dosa days.

Student: madam, I am feeling giddy. I want to go to casualty.
She: why?
Student: because head is turning.
She: go.

He leaves the class amid titters. We all know he is going to lie down in his room.

Another student: madam! He is giddy. He may fall on the way. I shall go with him.
She: (glowering) ok go.

A small pause. The second student returns.

Student: madam! He has fainted. I want 4 people to carry him.

An exodus starts without waiting for permission.

She: (angrily) you will all suffer in the exam.

We were all confident, because we depended on ourselves and text books. All the students in six medical colleges (MMC, Stanley, Kilpauk –all 3 from Chennai, Chengalpat Medical college, CMC Vellore and JIPMER) were pooled together and divided between 2 exam centers in MMC and Stanley. None of our professors were examiners as they were in CGHS and were taking a transfer to North India within 2 or 3 yrs.
In Physiology lab., the demonstrator was introducing us to the various pieces of lab equipment. Suddenly a boy in the last row fell down faint. Ether was kept in the lab for cleaning the glassware stained with blood. He wanted an experience of “ether kick”.
But in Biochemistry we were more careful as our Lecturer with his phenomenal memory (He will figure later in my story) asked us for personal details and wrote them down. From next class, he used to call all the 65 by name. We had to sit alphabetically in his class.
Thus we were well on the way to earning the name of a mischievous batch.
Back to Anatomy dissection then.
We (Self and Tikky) finished the dissection fast and first. We separated the limb from the body, after disarticulation at the hip. We held it aloft like a trophy and crowed “we are the first.” All hell broke loose wiuth everybody yelling something. In the next second, there was a deathly hush.
Our Professor, Dr. Charnalia had stepped into the Dissection hall. We all received a dressing down and we were singled out for most of it (deservedly). He concluded by saying ” I know what is happening in the Osteology class, I know what is happening in Histology lab (that was directed at me) and they tell me you are exhibiting the same behavior in other classes. Remember that you are a nothing now, just a student and an irreverent one at that. You have no respect for your teachers and elders. You have no respect for what you are doing.
This cadaver is so much better than you. It is trying to teach you something useful, so that you become useful to the society. And you are shamelessly insulting its dignity. God help you all.
I expect better from you now on.”
We were chastened and never did we do silly things in class after that  and from that day I made it a policy not to disrespect an elder.
Dead men do tell tales and teach us many things.

What of My Future?

I was not a model student by any chance and was a bit of short tempered and a stubborn person too. (Gouri! Are you Happy?), I was beaten by the headmaster in the VI form in ZPMP School, Kavali for leading a strike and boycott of classes in protest against the attitude of our Tyrannical Sanskrit teacher. Of course, later we were called to the HM’s chamber and were pacified and made to agree to attend classes. It was a moral victory of sorts, as our Sanskrit teacher stopped beating us—which was the cause of the uprising. Luckily, it did not reach home or I would have gotten a second coating from my father. When I was doing my PUC in Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, I was expelled from the college for indiscipline (read going home to write my Hindi exam from DBHPS before the quarterly exams, after I was specifically denied permission to do so. The Vice Principal felt that as it was a crossroads time, Even a quarterly exam was more important than any silly other exam.) On returning, I was called for a one-on-one with the VP Fr. Thikkamore and was told in no uncertain manner that this kind of behavior was intolerable and I had to bring my father for a discussion about my future. I had to go back and explain to my father why he has to accompany me to Vijayawada—which was a nightmare for me—but surprisingly, he took it in his stride and only later have I realized how well he sympathized with my position at that point of time and refrained from saying anything. By the time we returned, I was struck off the rolls and my father had to give an undertaking about my future good behavior and pay a hefty readmission fee before I was allowed to attend classes. My father, the great man he was, merely said “careful! Do not be annoying the powers to be” and left for Kavali. I did not even accompany him to the bus stand, as I had classes to attend to. When I was doing my I yr B.Sc. (MPC) in Jawahar Bharathi, Kavali-we had a strike in January (no big deal in JB, as it is a quarterly occurrence and dissent is given its due respect and place in the ideology of Visvodaya which runs the college). I was not THE leader this time (as it was a collective effort), but one of them. It was against the hastily announced half yearly exam schedule. We won the right to take only assignments and were given stationery from the collge—8 full sheets per each paper (40 in all). We returned the assignments with the written papers numbering from 0-40 according to the students’ ability. I was in IIT for 10 days—a theory week followed by a workshop week which was tiring—so after 3 days of metallurgy and a day of carpentry, I turned my tired feet and body home to Kavali (bunked Friday and Saturday and added Sunday) to have a 3 day vacation after 11 days of study. I do not know what would have happened for that because on return, I attended JIPMER interview and came to IIT campus for my TC only on Wednesday and vacated by Wednesday evening. Thus with this illustrious career behind me, I joined JIPMER as a I year. I wondered what lay in store for me. So, there I was, In June 1966.