OBSESSION

OBSESSION*:

Indians have an obsession with cricket. Half of Indian population is keeping their fingers crossed for today’s match between India and Australia. In football they are at the bottom ten, in hockey they just qualify for the champions trophy and Olympic. In tennis our players win half trophy because their partners are from other countries. So a ten nation game is everything for India. The players are treated as Gods, the rules are bent by ICC to suit our team and players even ‘Puja’ are offered to different Gods and Goddess in the country. In one World cup the Indian captain sacrificed one goat for the victory.

No one treat the game as another form of sports. Millions of dollars change hands, some lose their house & property, and others build Mansions. Some gift away the betting money to political parties. We do not know how many might be offered “Raupadi” as bet. It’s a Modern form of Mahabharata, which is being telecast live.

With a shadow of sorrow looming large over the country, which can be spotted from insat 1B, it would be better for cricket and Indians to win this tournament. In case they lose, Namo & NDA may be labeled as inauspicious and questions may be raised in the parliament by the sleeve twisting oppositions. As per the predictions, India will defeat Australia badly as they did it a couple of months back in their home ground, 3—0.

Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy

*Not for die hard cricket fans staying in other countries and show off as patriotics.

WC-T20 winner

WC-T20 winner: The way Indian Team is playing they will lift the cup.
Semifinal
India vs WI
NZ vs End final India vs NZ==Winner India

DROP IN VIEWERS NUMBER

Doctor inside a saloon:

The retired doctor would choose Thursdays or IPL match days or when India would be playing a cricket match for his hair cut days. Actually Indians become patriotic on three occasions 1. August 15^th because it’s a holiday and someone gave them independence and left a colonial game to celebrate 2.when they go out of the country and 3^rd.when man in blue plays a cricket match against any country more so against Pakistan.

 A curfew scenario and atmosphere can be observed and felt in the town and market places during any cricket match when Indian would be playing. Some people perform ‘Jagyan’ to show off their patriotism before the media camera. Even the film stars, models, business man and politicians stop working on those match days and go to stadium to market their respective business and face. The icons are asked to sing national anthem for an undisclosed amount as if school girls or anyone else can’t sing it.

So our doctor left home exactly at 19:15 hours for the hair cut. The roads were deserted in the capital city of Odisha. The stray dogs and bulls were happily occupying their respective places under the trees. They too could know that a match is in progress.

The saloon had a vacant look with only the middle aged man skipping some raunchy photograph pages from an old film magazine. There was no TV in that shop.

“Why no customer?” asked the grey haired doctor.

“Don’t you follow cricket? You are a strange person! The whole country is tense and awake because of India vs. Pakistan match and you have come for a hair cut?”While offering a revolving chair the hair dresser said.

“If you keep a TV then you have customers. So you can have good business too.” the retired doctor suggested before the dresser put the apron on his chest and tied it on his neck.

“Yes, we had a small TV, but during last world cup tournament one of the ruffians smashed it because India lost the match. ‘This is an inauspicious TV’, the boy said. From then on I have decided not keep any TV in the saloon”. After spraying the hairs with water the dresser asked-“Sir, should I put on the AC?”

“Yes”

“But will be ten rupees extra.”

“Done, but don’t you follow cricket?”The doctor looking at his distorted image in the mirror said.

“Earlier I was interested but once the fixing and selling of cricket match was known, I lost interest. They are cheating us like politicians because win or lose they get in crores at our cost.  No more do they play for the country, they play for money. We are fools to watch this foolish game.” In one breath the saloon man said.

While watching his retched wrinkles on the face and the grey hairs, the doctor was surprised to know the logic of the hair dresser which was very much similar to that of his own. There were some fireworks in the nearby apartment.

“You have trimmed my hairs too much, looks like we meet again after three months”. While handing over the currency notes to the dresser the doctor said.

Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy

Maggot therapy:

Few decades back when Sanjoy was working as a junior doctor in IGH, Rourkela he learnt a very interesting tip from an experienced dresser. A tribal woman was attacked by a bear while she was collecting mahula phula (photo) for making anarkali. This country liquor (anarkali) is made out of mahua flowers, very strong in flavor and in strength. Those who love alcohol can try it at least once. Bears also love to eat these flowers. Usually bear bites cases occur during summer months. The junior doctor had gone to the isolation ward on a morning round to see medical cases, when the dresser asked him if he was interested to see a badly mauled lady by a bear(surgical case), in the Jaraikala forest.

Sanjoy had never seen such cases in his life. The head and shoulder skin was out, the muscles and bones were visible and hundreds of maggots were crawling on the body of the unfortunate lady.

“Will she die?” asked the doctor.

“No, sir, she will survive because of these maggots” was the immediate reply from the dresser. He was a small man but dedicated worker, used to work from morning till evening. If anyone should have received Jahar award, (highest SAIL award some say Juhar award) it should have been that man.

There was no internet, no idea of maggot therapy. Hence Sanjoy smiled and left the ward. He learnt that actually the lady got a new lease of life due to the maggots. The dresser knew that if a wound has maggots then chances of septicemia is less as the maggots eat away the debris, bacteria and dead tissue. Now Maggot Doctors (MD) earn in millions through maggot therapy of diabetic wounds in USA. MD comes with a jar full of live Maggots (larvae of flies) leaves it on the infected wound and after few hours he collects them and goes back to his maggot laboratory.

In childhood Sanjoy was a naughty boy, used to create panic amongst his sisters by calling maggots as “mudhi with a tail”—see the photographs. Now Sanjoy knows how the Maggots work. 1. Debriment 2.Disinfection of the wound 3.Stimulation of healing 4.Biofilm inhibition and eradication

• In January 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted permission to produce and market maggots for use in humans or animals as a prescription-only medical device for the following indications: "For deriding non-healing necrotic skin and soft tissue wounds, including pressure ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, neuropathic foot ulcers, and non-healing traumatic or post-surgical wounds."
• My  friends please bear with me for boring you with medical jargons, but isn’t it interesting? The summary of the story is we learn lessons every day even from juniors, an uneducated person and even from birds and animals.

Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy.

SWINGING COMPARTMENT:

Swinging Compartment:

Sanjoy was traveling alone from Rajaloka to Bhanjpur by this narrow gauge train (photo). He was hardly ten years old and needed a half ticket costing four paisa only. After Rajaloka station the next stoppage was at Budhamara. There was a stiff slope after a down ward track before the station, Budhamara. The train was traveling fast due to down ward gradient. After some time as the station was about to approach, the passengers noticed that the train was moving backwards. Then again it swung back and forth and came to a standstill. Most of the passengers were tribal people carrying with them saal leaves and dantoon sticks. No one realized that the engine had left behind two compartments including the guard van and had gone ahead and stopped at Budhamara.

The station master observed that half of the train has arrived minus the guard. He asked the engine driver what about the other compartments and the guard van? The engine driver was taken aback and realized the mistake. Actually the old styled connection between two compartments had given way leaving behind the other bogies. Sanjoy was enjoying the fun without realizing the danger involved. Luckily it was a single line and no other train was expected to come. All the passengers got down as the engine with its attached compartment came back slowly to take the rest of compartments and the passengers. The compartments were joined with sabai grass ropes*(photo) as no metallic wires were available in that forbidden place. No one complained over that omission or commission of railway department, it was taken as supportively as a tribal man takes to death of their near and dear ones. Everyone was laughing loudly as the train, Bangiriposi—Baripada express went ahead with its home ward journey. Sanjoy gets nostalgic when he remembers his childhood days of traveling alone in that toy train. Many nights Sanjoy would get up from sleep with wild dreams of a stranded compartment in the middle of a forest.

(That train service stared from 1905.Those days, parents used to leave their children to fend for them and learn the art of living. *Sabai grass ropes are unique to Mayurbhanj, Odisha, and a small scale industry)

Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy

PS: Train passing over Katra River. Sabai grass topes.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With folded hands i beg apology from my viewers/readers if i have hurt any one through my stories and postings.One post on saraskana block was withdrawn as a viwer could not understand the true spirit behind the posting, hence it was withdrawn from my blog but i am undone if its still copied to other sites on which i have no control. thanking you--sanjoy satpathy

Jackfruit curry.

Health benefits

1. Jack-fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon.
2. Fresh fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin-A, which has powerful antioxidant properties and is essential for vision. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining integrity of mucus membranes and skin and to boost immunity. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
3. It is also rich in antioxidant flavonoids like β-carotene and lutein. These antioxidants are found to be protective against colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
4. Jackfruit is a good source of Vitamin C. The human body does not make vitamin C naturally so we must eat foods that contain it.
5. The jackfruit root is a remedy for skin diseases and asthma. An extract of the root is taken in cases of fever and diarrhea. 
6. This vegetable curry is prepared from unripe jackfruits.A tedious process but worth it.

POEM OF AN OLDMAN

UNIQUE SCOOTER

UNIQUE SCOOTER:

Purusottam had a second hand lambretta scooter, a proud passion those days. One summer evening two of his friends Bikram and Dilip were undecided about a Hindi film starring Jennet Amen & Devanand at Apsara talkies. They had no conveyance of their own as they had sold of their fantabulous bike, when they met Purusu as they used to call him & asked for the scooter. Willingly he handed over the scooter with the engine in running condition. Usually he would give his scooter happily to any of his friends with an idea that whoever takes it would have  to fill the tank with petrol before going on a long journey of more than ten kilometers. With the song blurring out from a mike ‘mere sapno ki rani’ the friends went happily straight to the cinema hall. Dilip went for the tickets and Bikram took the bike for the scooter stand. The scooter boy came and attached a fifty paisa ticket on the clutch groove. Bikram was finding it difficult to park the vehicle on stand when the scooter stand boy laughed and said ‘babu, there is no stand. No return of money, it’s your headache to park it.’ In the mean while Dilip came back with two balcony tickets.

“Dilip, return those tickets, this bloody scooter has neither brakes nor a stand.”An angry Bikram said.

So they returned to the same spot from where they took the scooter. They found a smiling Purusu gossiping with a shopkeeper. Bikram blasted him but he did not react and suggested him “that he should have leaned the scooter on a wall, as simple as that.”All burst out with a laughter and went for snacks, who paid for the bill we do not know.

(This is a real life drama. This story is dedicated to G.Purusottam and Dilip Pattnaik, they are no more)

Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy.