MY FIRST SURGERY

I have been having a small boil on my upper eyelid for more than two months and as usual I have been ignoring it. This small boil started causing discomfort in my vision over two weeks and hence I went to an eye doctor in Dubai who advised having it checked in Chennai.

I landed in Chennai Airport at 5 a.m. on 19th August 2011. I went to eye doctor Dr.N.R.Rangaraj at 3 p.m. the same day for eye checkup. The doctor looked into my eyes and said I have “chalazion” and it needs to be operated upon. He said “you come tomorrow evening I will cut open and scrap it off”. I said “OK Doctor. Thanks and see you tomorrow”. As I left the clinic I started having “butterflies in my stomach”. Until I met the Doctor the following day at 6 p.m. I was only thinking about the surgery. It is the first ever time that a knife is going to be put on my body by a Doctor. I have never had a surgery before and hence it caused lot of fear, excitement and nervousness in me.

On 20th August 2011 I met the doctor and he checked my eyes and said the “chalzion” is more defined and clear now due to the hot water fermentation. He then said “please go to Ashwini and wait for me I will come at 7 p.m.”. I went to Ashwini Soundararaja Hospital and waited in the reception. The doctor was delayed and finally arrived at 7.35 p.m. I was immediately asked to get into a room and made to lie down on a bed.

As I lay on the bed my nervousness increased manifolds and I was closing my fingers and gripping myself with fear. The Doctor said “I will give local anesthesia in your eye. It is a very small injection and not very painful”. As he poked the needle in my right eye just below the eyebrow, I felt acute pain and at that moment I thought how did “Periyavaal – Shri Chandrasekara Saraswathi” bear the pain of two eye surgeries that too without any anesthesia. My mind was only seeing the face of Shri Chandrasekara Saraswathi Swamigal and I started chanting “Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara”. I kept doing that throughout the 10 – 12 minutes that the Doctor was working on my “chalazion”.

After the Surgery was finished when I got up and sat in front of the Doctor I told him that I was thinking of “Periyaval”. I said “I have read somewhere that Periyaval has undergone eye surgery without any anesthesia”. The doctor said “that has been incorrectly reported, in fact Dr.Badrinath performed both the surgeries on “Periyaval’s eye only after administering local anesthesia”.

I felt that the thought of “Periyaval” on the operation table and staying focused on chanting his name was remarkable. My first ever surgery went off very smooth without any pain – thanks to “Periyaval” Shri Chandrasekara Saraswathi Swamigal. It turned out to be a wonderful experience as I could regulate my mind and thinking process.


T.P.Anand
28th August 2011
Dubai, U.A.E.

தனிமையின் கடுமை – அது ஒரு கொடுமை

பழைய திரைப்பட பாடல் ஒன்று நினைவிற்கு வந்தது -

”தனிமையிலே இனிமை காண முடியுமா நள் இரவினிலே சூரியனும் தெரியுமா?”.

என் அனுபவத்தில் இவை இரண்டுமே நடந்து விட்டது நான் 1992ல் ரஷ்யா சென்றபோது ஜூலை மாதம் இரவு 12 மணிவரை சூரிய வெளிச்சத்தை பார்த்து வியந்தேன்.

வாழ்க்கையில் சில நேரங்களில் தனிமை எனக்கு இனிமை கொடுத்திருக்கிறது. ஆக சில சமயங்களில் தனிமையிலே இனிமை காண முடியும் அதே போல சில நகரங்களில் சில சமயங்களில் நள்ளிரவிலும் சூரியன் தெரியும்.

பொதுவாக நான் தனிமையை விரும்பாதவன்.

ஆனாலும், சில சமயங்களில் தனிமை சிந்திக்க/சிந்தனைகளை விரிவாக்க உதவும். அந்த வகையிலே தனிமை எனக்கு பிடிக்கும்.

தனிமை ஒரு கடுமையான நிலை – அந்த நிலையை தினமும் அனுபவிப்பது மிகவும் கொடுமை தனிமையின் வாட்டத்தில் வளைகுடா நாடுகளில் வசிக்கும் தவிக்கும் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான இந்தியர்களில் நானும் ஒருவன்.

இந்த கொடுமையில் இருந்து மீளுவதற்கு பல யுத்திகளை முயற்சித்து வருகிறேன்……தொலைக்காட்சி நிகழ்ச்சிகள் பார்ப்பது; ஷாப்பிங் மால்களில் சுற்றுவது; காரில் நீண்டதூரம் செல்வது; டேப்/சீடி போட்டு பாட்டு கேட்பது;….. என் நிழலை நானே துரத்தும் கதையாக முயற்சிகள் தொடர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறது…..விடை கிடைக்கவில்லை….

தி.பா. ஆன்ந்த்
துபாய்
ஏப்ரல் பதினோறாம் நாள், இரண்டாயிரத்து பத்து

NEW T.NAGAR

The sea of people that I see in T.Nagar is really mind boggling. It is impossible to walk freely on Ranganathan Street. Vehicles are prohibited on Ranganathan Street. There is a colloquial expression in Chennai "Cycle Gap" even that is not there in Ranganathan Street.

Inspite of the huzzle buzzle and crowd I choose to walk through the busy Ranganathan Street with my wife and what an experience it turns out to be. There are so many tall buildings which are disproportionate to the street. I was told that the height of the building can be only twice as much as the width of the road. This rule seems to have been given a "go by" in Ranganathan Street. As we walk from the Usman Road end to the Railway station end we take a good 45 minutes to reach the end. While walking back I noticed that there are 8 buildings on the street which is owned by "Saravana Stores". We walk into one of the stores and are amazed by the stock pile and the crowd inside the store. The number of employees and that too most of them being youngsters made me think of the film “Angaaditheru”.

As we keep walking on the street I suddenly realised that there are Electric Poles at every 15 feet on either sides of the road fitted with a ceiling fan. I also noticed Water Cooler and Butter Milk dispensers. I could not believe my eyes and was wondering whether I am in T.Nagar in Chennai or in some other country.

We then walk into Usman Road and find that the platform is very clean and there are no hawkers on the platform. In one stretch I saw the Corporation workers cleaning the platform with soap and bleaching powder.

It was a lovely experience to walk in T.Nagar and do shopping for Textiles, Gold Jewellery and Household Items with clean Platforms, very clean roads, water dispenser, buttermilk dispenser and fans blowing cold air. The only thing that was bothering me was the unmanageable crowd. But for the crowd everything else seemed very pleasant and lovable.

The pleasant walk suddenly ended when the alarm went off in my iPhone to inform me that it is 6.30 a.m. and I am in Dubai. I suddenly felt the chillness in my body and realized that it was a Dream. How I wish it becomes a reality in the near future………

-T.P.Anand, Dubai, U.A.E.
5th August 2011