Sunday, November 04, 2007

pills r us

I've always preferred the alternative over the ordinary. Be it art, or movies, or music or books. And now, this preference extends to medicine. I have discovered the joy of Homeopathy.

I have been suffering from a mild chronic illness for a couple of years now. It hasn't been alarm-raising. But the frequent resurgence has led to terrible irritation for me. And I've tried too many practitioners of conventional medicine. I have found myself agreeing with the American medical Association in dissing Homeopathy. What improvement could you expect if the medic dilutes his medicines in alcohol?

Indians are a little more open to alternative medicine. Agreed, Ayurved and Yunani medicine originated here. But how can you explain the wide acclaim of a branch of medicine that some 18th century German Doctor came up with. Quite a few Indian medics recommend alternative medicine for chronic ailments.

After speaking to my sister at length, I decided to give Homeopathy a shot. My sister's a dentist. She should know, right. Being from the fraternity, and all. While talking to her, I also went back to every instance of a relapse, and they all seemed to be stress-triggered. "I need a shrink more that I need a doctor", I joked.

I went with an open mind. The best part, as my sister claimed, was the doctor's demeanor. He was a kind man with a pleasant face. A great listener with a constant smile. He asked me if I'd ever tried Homeopathy before. When i said no, he went on to explain the science in lay-man terms. I got it. More importantly, I enjoyed my visit so much. I have never been as comfortable or as honest in any other doctor's office.

I am now a believer. And what is more, I've found my doc and shrink in one person. Most docs in India have what i like to call 'God-syndrome'. It probably arises from dealing with too many uneducated/uninformed patients. This makes them queasy if you ask them one too many questions about your illness. They also prefer not to go into detail while explaining your problem and the approach to the cure. I find that unacceptable. Which is why I've changed doctors more frequently than I have girlfriends. (O.k. Bad comparison. But it caught your eye, didn't it. After all the ranting about medicine.)

I'm in my first week of the treatment and I already feel better. It may be psychological, but do i care? I give a damn if all the doc gave me in those plastic bottles were placebos. I'll take feel-good peppermint balls over blockbuster pills any day.

Homeopathic Viagra, anyone?

posted by chandru @ 7:41 PM 1 comments

another city, another life

So much has been happening in my life. There's the move to Delhi from Bombay. Separation from your hometown normally causes instability and some level of grief. But in my case, I feel the need to be outside Bombay, for a bit, to really crave the madness of the city. All through my adult life, I've had various stints outside the city and I've always felt my heart beat harder for the city after I've been out for a year or two. Any more, and I miss it too much.

In this process I've managed to make second homes of other cities. Pune, Columbia(S.C), Philly. I wonder how its going to be with Delhi. I've always thought of Delhi as a city I would never fit in. And this, despite being born there. Now, I find myself at this juncture where work forces me to move there. At least spend half my time in that city. Half my time would still be in Bombay. This is an ideal plan for me to feel the pulse of the city, which has so much more to offer than Bombay, as far as arts, culture and intelligentsia go. Its true!

In the past couple of months I have spent considerable time in the city and i realised its not as bad the un-hype. That's the weird structure of Indian metro cities. People from Bombay get along very easily with people from Bangalore or Chennai or Calcutta. It takes a little longer to let your guard down with a person from Delhi. I find this very misguided. I have been guilty of this to some extent, despite my gregarious nature.

"Beautiful city, crappy people", is the standard response I got, when I told people in B'bay that I was moving to Delhi. Not true. I have met a lot of very nice people, many of whom took their time to drop guard with B'bay people. "So, the feeling is mutual", I surmised. All very lovely people, i learned; in due course. And some very uninhibited free souls. Something I used to think was a B'bay/B'lore phenomenon. Now they're almost impossible to find in B'bay. I wonder how B'lore still manages to give birth to such gems. Must be the air, or the water, or the raagi.

There's this comment I've heard comparing B'bay to Del.
It goes:" Delhi makes everyone its own, But nobody makes Delhi their own. Bombay, on the other hand, resists everyone, but everyone wants to make Bombay their own."(Some of the punch may have been lost in translation. I apologise)

So, here I am, Dilli. Make me your own. I promise to try my hardest to return the favour.

posted by chandru @ 7:05 PM 2 comments