Chai Time with Princess Karamiri...

May-June 2008 Issue of Health

2008-07-22T14:06:00.002-05:00

Things have gotten so hectic of late, I've neglected by blog for something like two whole months!

The May-June 2008 issue of the Southern Health Magazine came and went and I never got around to posting a copy here for my long distance readers.

If you'd like to take a look at it:

Click here to download a low-res PDF copy (3.5 mb) of the Southern Health Magazine.

Click here to download a hi-res PDF copy (8 mb) of the Southern Health Magazine.

Big red dogs, trucks and well child visits

2008-05-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Its Sunday and my story on how a rural health clinic is making literacy a part of regular pediatric care was in the papers today!

Her hands in many pies

2008-04-22T23:21:00.004-05:00

Wrote my first story for the main paper a few days ago! So exciting!

It was a feature on this 77-year-old guy who bikes 10-17 miles a day, despite having had both his knees replaced, a hip replaced, peripheral neuropathy of one foot and some pins in his back. Was truly inspirational. Will be writing a story a week for the paper from here on out.

As you can see i'm a regular busy bee these days! :)

A Classic Moment...Captured!

2008-04-20T11:59:00.002-05:00

The four babies in my house: Pico (in front), Mina (behind him), Billu (cat on the right) and Motu (cat on the left).

Earthquake

2008-04-18T14:54:00.004-05:00

Our windows and doorknobs rattled and shook for a bit around 4:30 a.m. this morning. Nanu wondered why the road crews - who have been re-laying roads in our neighborhood the past few days - were already at work so early in the a.m. I never heard it, because I was sound asleep.
Imagine our surprise then to wake up two hours later and find Southern Illinois had experienced an earthquake that registered a 5.2 with the U.S. Geological Survey. Luckily no one was hurt.
But I found it interesting that our dogs woke my husband up sometime before the earthquake and he figured they needed to go potty at this unearthly hour. So he let them out in our back-yard and got them back in and came back to bed.
And that was the only reason he was awake when he felt our windows rattle…

Goodbye Bombay Tatha

2008-04-15T12:00:00.007-05:00

After spending 10 days in a coma, my grandfather’s heart finally gave up on him. He died five minutes to midnight on April 13. If he’d hung on five minutes more, it would have been my grandmother’s birthday. He was 86.

I had no idea he was so well known and respected, until I was at a friend’s house some years back and her grandfather totally perked up when I mentioned my grandfather’s name. “

You’re Mr. K. Ramachandran’s granddaughter?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“Oh he is the Steel Man of India!” he said admiringly.

Steel Man of India or not, he was simply Bombay Tatha to us, because he was the much-loved grandfather who lived in Bombay (now Mumbai). Summer holidays during my childhood meant heading to Bombay, to my grandparents’ house, with my sister and mom. Dad, a chartered accountant by profession, would never come since April-May-June was invariably his busiest time work-wise.

We’d spend two whole months playing with my cousins and assorted building kids our age, while mom would catch up with old college friends, shop and relax in her parents’ home.

I remember my Bombay Tatha then as a powerful, authoritative figure, who enjoyed clipping interesting or relevant articles from the newspaper every morning and filing it away or sending it to someone who needed to read it. He would get very upset if any of the neighborhood cats - Chellam Paati (my grandmother) loved to rescue - so much as got on the couch!

Many years later, when I was all grown up and working in Bombay as a writer, living on my own in a small apartment in Four Bungalows, Andheri, a suburb of Bombay, Bombay Tatha took the time and effort to visit me one day. Due to the traffic it took him two whole hours to get there. I was on the third floor with no elevator. Bombay Tatha was too weak even then to negotiate all those stairs. So we sat in the backseat of his car and spoke at length. I brought down some snacks and drinks and we had a nice time talking. He seemed proud of the fact I was making it on my own.

In August 2003, a few days before I was all set to head to the US for graduate school, Paati died. Bombay Tatha was heartbroken. He’d been married to her for a lifetime. Now he would have to learn to live without her.

At my wedding, he helped arrange a whole lot of things, including the venue and the caterers and at the ceremony itself he was the person in charge of all the change. He sat on the stage with us and the priests, dutifully handing all the coins and notes whenever asked, as part of the ceremonial rituals.

He approved of my husband and said I had made a good choice. That meant a lot to me.

Since then, Bombay Tatha has seen his first born die due to cancer, and his youngest (my mother) lose her husband. The deaths affected him profoundly and weakened his already frail heart.

Living with my mother the past year, he’s been in and out of hospitals a lot for a while now. The doctor’s called it, “Living on borrowed time.”

His failing health frustrated him, because his mind was as sharp as ever. “My body is refusing to keep up with my mind,” he said to me on the phone one day. And that was the problem.

I will miss my Bombay Tatha. I’m sorry I wasn’t around in India to participate in his last rites. I hope he’s reached a happy, serene place, wherever he is now.

The Shaking Cue Stick Club

2008-04-08T14:52:00.001-05:00

A story aout four friends who wont let Parkinson's disease or stroke get in the way of some serious fun.

Now this was a story I had a blast writing. I interviewed these four feisty old men who are determined to lead full lives despite their serious health conditions.

Midway through the very serious interview one of them said to me, "You know that one of the side effects of Parkinson's includes having an erection for up to 4 hours or longer, right?"

“Really?” was all I could muster. I was caught completely off guard. I didn’t recall reading anything about erections and Parkinson’s in the course of my research prior to the interview.

And then they started laughing, loudly. Rolling on the floor laughing. It took me a few seconds to realize I’d been had. Imagine pulling a reporter’s leg! Seventy plus and with a fantastic sense of humor to boot! Ha ha ha.

Every Tuesday, three men with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and a recovering stroke patient meet for lunch, followed by an interesting and often comical game of pool. They call themselves the Shaking Cue Stick Club or more hilariously, the Shakers and the Shufflers...
Read the story here.

How Local Residents Deal with Parkinson Disease

2008-04-08T14:22:00.001-05:00

Read the story here.

Celebrate All Fools Day with Gmail Custom Time

2008-04-01T14:29:00.007-05:00

So its April 1 and guess what Google has come up with for Gmail users?
Gmail Custom Time™
The tagline? Be on time. Every time.*

The idea is fantastic. You can send an email and reconfigure the time to the past – so say your mom’s birthday was last week and you forgot to wish her, you could still send her an email today and change the sent date to last week – so it appears in her inbox as sent on such and such a date. Then you can claim, “I did send you an email!”

Google has even set up testimonials:
"I just got two tickets to Radiohead by being the 'first' to respond to a co-worker's 'first-come, first-serve' email. Someone else had already won them, but I told everyone to check their inboxes again. Everyone sort of knows I used Custom Time on this one, but I'm denying it."
Robby S., Paralegal

Even more hilariously, Google has set a 10 predated email limit per person because allowing an infinite number, “would cause people to lose faith in the accuracy of time, thus rendering the feature useless.” Heh heh, they talk about e-flux capacitors that make predating an email possible and even have a crazy formula:

Ha ha, hilarious. Its so April Fools day! I'm loving the humor in it. They almost had me. Almost!

Reducing Recidivism: The Awakenings Way

2008-03-21T23:48:00.005-05:00

Revolving Door No More: Why Local Communities Need to Care about those with a Criminal Record

I got a little too involved with this story and ended up interviewing a TON of people! I had the hardest time ever fitting it into the allotted word count.

But the end result is a story that will hopefully initiate conversations about why we as a community need to care about those with a criminal record.

Read the story here

Home Modification for Seniors

2008-03-21T23:33:00.004-05:00

Click here to read a text version of the story.

March-April 2008 Issue of Health

2008-03-21T22:36:00.002-05:00

Click here to download a low-res PDF copy (3.5 mb) of the Southern Health Magazine.

Click here to download a hi-res PDF copy (8 mb) of the Southern Health Magazine.

Feature: How Veterans Lose Weight. How I lost 71 lbs. How I lost 122 lbs.

2008-03-21T16:33:00.011-05:00

This was an insane story to write. Imagine interviewing someone who has lost 71 pounds in all. Wow!

Now imagine interviewing someone else who has lost 122 pounds. Fantastic!

These two gentlemen were such inspirations. And it sure sounds like the MOVE! program, which they participated in works on some level.

An acronym for Managing Obesity and/or Overweight for Veterans Everywhere, this national weight management program, focuses on behavioral health, diet and exercise.

You should totally take the FREE interactive online quiz and get a 4-6 page individualized report, which includes a list of recommended MOVE! handouts (containing nutrition, physical activity, and healthy behavior change information) and see for yourself.

Click here to read the entire story.

Feature: When You've Hit Rock Bottom There's No Place to Go But Up

2008-02-12T23:15:00.002-06:00

This was one story that moved me like none other.

I met a woman with a remarkable story to tell and her courage and fortitude in the face of abuse and homelessness just blew me away. She told me, there's no place to go but up, when you have hit rock bottom and thats what kept her going in spite of the odds.

Click here to read the story.

Jan-Feb 2008 Issue of Health

2008-02-06T22:40:00.001-06:00

Click here to download a low-res PDF copy (2.30 mb) of the Southern Health Magazine.

Click here to download a hi-res PDF copy (5.46 mb) of the Southern Health Magazine.

Feature: Surviving Inflammatory Breast Cancer

2008-01-28T23:12:00.004-06:00

Click here to read the story.
I interviewed a sweet old lady for this story. She was an inflammatory breast cancer survivor and spoke at length to me about her battle with the disease.
Towards the end of the interview, she told me about how she would love to visit India and about her interest in space! She came across as warm, intelligent and full of life.
Unfortunately she never got to see the story in print. She was in hospice care when she spoke to me. She passed away some weeks before this issue came out. I hope she is at peace where ever she is.

Nov-Dec 2007 Issue of Health

2008-01-12T16:13:00.000-06:00

This was the issue I collaborated on long distance, while I was in India. It was a crazy time, since dad was in a coma then. My team did a remarkable job putting this together, with my long distance input.

Click here to download a low res PDF of the Southern Health Magazine.
Click here to download a hi-res PDF of the Southern Health Magazine.

Feature: Skin Regenerating Procedures

2008-01-10T16:07:00.000-06:00

What are your options?

Click here to read the story.

Feature: In Pursuit of Youthful Skin

2008-01-07T16:03:00.000-06:00

Non-Invasive, Anti-Aging Beauty Treatments in Southern Illinois

Click here to read the story.

Oct 2007 issue of Health

2008-01-04T15:27:00.000-06:00

I never did get around to uploading the October 2007 issue of Health, did I?

A lot of people told me it was the prettiest issue ever.

I guess we need to thank my gifted graphic artist for that.

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (4.9mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3.5 mb)

Goodbye Appa

2007-11-02T20:29:00.000-05:00

My father passed away at 1:35 a.m. on the 29th of October, 2007. He was only 63. The doctor's labelled the cause of death as multi-function failure.

I find it hard to believe that my father, the man who brought me to life, is now dead. I find it hard to believe that an important chapter in my life is now closed.

It saddens me that my future children will never get a chance to meet or know my father.

I feel scared when I think of my mother living on her own for the first time in her life, in a house full of memories. My mother is strong and brave and insists she will be fine on her own.

As the death ceremonies were being conducted according to Vedic rites, I kept thinking my father was going to wake up and say, "What the hell is going on?"

As I went through some of my father's closets, the day after his cremation, I found objects from my youth, preserved and taking up pride of place in my father's room. I found gifts I had given him a long time ago, still kept, unused.

I flipped through his address book and found names and numbers of everything from friends to funeral services to freezer boxes for the dead. It seems my father, a meticulous man, had planned ahead in case of his death.

Since we are Hindu Brahmin Iyers our death ceremonies will continue for 13 days. My mother leaves for Varanasi, the holiest of cities, on Sunday, to perform my father's 9th to 13th day ceremonies there.

According to Hindu philosophy the body is just the outer garment of the individual. The real self never dies, but is reborn in a different body in due course. I wish my father good health, happiness and all the love in the world, in his next birth.

Update on Dad

2007-10-28T04:28:00.000-05:00

Its been a little more than two weeks now since my father went into a diabetic coma and had a stroke. The doctors label it a Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) coupled with a multi function failure.

A few days ago, he was shifted from the IMCU to the ICCU. This means he is less critical then what he was before, because the Intensive Critical Care Unit is apparently a step down from the Intensive Medical Care Unit.

But he continues to be hooked up to machines and monitors and the doctors continue to tell us it could swing either way. They refuse to give us any hope.

They say every day is different and right now they are focusing on stabilizing my father. Also, they are yet to ascertain how much damage has occurred to the brain, when it was deprived of oxygen and if the damage will be temporary or permanent.

Meanwhile, my father drifted into semi-consciousness two days ago and mumbled a few words no one understood, before drifting back into unconsciousness. It looks like his speech function has been affected.

I have postponed my ticket back to the US by a few more days, on the advice of my father's primary physician, who is fast becoming a friend.

Not Dead

2007-10-26T07:28:00.000-05:00

The doctors informed a lady sitting next to us that her husband was dead. Very soon some 300 Muslims showed up at the hospital. It seemed like the dead person was an important Islamic leader of some sort.

An ambulance was deployed to bring the dead body home. Relatives wept outside the IMCU.

Suddenly a nurse comes out of the IMCU and informs the people that the man is not dead. Apparently they managed to resuscitate the dying man.

How can any responsible hospital do this? How can they claim someone is dead and then say the opposite. It really is appalling behavior.

Shouldn't they first make sure their patient really is dead before informing his family? Its simply bizarre.

Given a choice we wouldn't have placed my father here. But this is where he insisted he wanted to go to, if there was ever a medical emergency. My father truly believed he would get cured if he came to St. Isabel's, since this is where he has always been hospitalized in the past and this is also where my grandfather came to when he was unwell.

Call it superstition, faith or just a place he was comfortable to go to, but we will respect my father's wishes to the end.

Hospital Hoarding

2007-10-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

Durga Puja Pandal

2007-10-25T11:45:00.000-05:00

In India, Navaratri just ended and Diwali is fast approaching*. Its one of the most festive and auspicious times of the year.

I walked out of Apollo hospital a few days ago, and saw a Durga Puja pandal erected right outside the hospital. Normally this is something you would see in the State of Bengal. Not in the South of India.*

Apparently a lot of Bengalis come to Chennai to avail of the excellent medical care available here. And since their most important festival is Durga Puja - of course there is going to be a celebration.

I found myself appreciating the artistic interpretation of Durga, the Supreme Goddess and wished I had more time to attend one of the several pujas organized for this festival.

* Navaratri literally means nine divine nights, where we worship the divine Goddess and Diwali is the festival of lights.

* While its true we South Indians have a Kolu, which is essentially a decorated, stepped platform filled with small images of Gods, animals, birds,and other beings, its nothing like the pomp and splendour of the Durga Puja pandals.

Bleeding Rooms

2007-10-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

My father needed blood today. The local blood bank was out of my father's blood group and so I volunteered mine. The lab tech ushered me into the room meant for donating blood.

This was the sign that greeted me.

My mother and I burst into hysterical laughter, much to the bewilderment of the lab tech. Bleeding Room indeed.

Its strange how we cope by finding humor even in difficult circumstances.

St. Isabel

2007-10-24T13:18:00.000-05:00

Outside the IMCU is a little shrine of sorts to St. Isabel. A life-sized figure, carved out of stone, she stands on a pedestal, wearing a nun’s habit. Her arms are outstretched, her eyes compassionate.

Since this is India, where religions often merge, especially in times of desperation, people of all faiths light candles to St. Isabel, praying for their loved ones in the IMCU and the ICU.

Truth be told, the Hindus treat St. Isabel, a catholic saint, much like they would a Hindu God.

Every day they place an offering, often a saree or a garland, sometimes both, in front of her. A hospital worker then drapes the offerings on St. Isabel. Candles are lit. Prayers are said. Hopefully loved ones are cured by her Grace.

So far, I have seen St. Isabel wear as many as four new sarees in a single day. It seems she has such an extensive wardrobe; she needs a change of clothing every few hours.

Don’t ask me what happens to the old sarees. I do not know. But I’m guessing (and hoping) they are donated to the needy at the month’s end.

My mother’s cook bought two candles the other day and gave it to her. “Please light these in front of St. Isabel,” she said to my mother. “Your husband will get cured.”

And so we lit a candle each this evening to St. Isabel. We prayed silently and asked her to heal my father.

Stories from the IMCU

2007-10-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

The doctors each have different opinions. There’s my father’s primary care physician, his diabetologist, his neurologist, and the duty doctors at the IMCU. They are yet to reach a consensus on whether he will make it.

Meanwhile we wait outside, in case my father were to wake up or we are needed to pay bills or procure a drug unavailable at the hospital pharmacy.

Waiting outside the IMCU, is exhausting on many levels.

Yesterday someone really young died inside. The relatives outside cried and one of them went into loud, screaming, hysterical fits that went on for a while, until a nurse came by and sedated her.

Someone else was rushed inside last evening after a suicide attempt. The man apparently objected to his son marrying outside his religion and in true Bollywood style, tried to kill himself, by eating the fruit of a poisonous tree. When he vomited after the first attempt, he went back to the tree and ate two more fruit.
His son’s upcoming out-of-caste marriage is now on hold. It looks like the blackmail attempt worked. The relatives outside blame the son, for making the mistake of falling in love with someone outside his religious sect. I feel sorry for the son.

A 68-year-old woman waits with us. She holds a rosary and looks as if she is near-collapse herself. Her husband has advanced COPD. Pneumonia has complicated his case and he is struggling for every breath. She has no children and no relatives or friends to support her. All she has is her husband and she is afraid she will lose him.
And so she waits endless hours outside, muttering prayers, hoping her husband will be all right. I tell her she needs to sleep some, in order to conserve her energy.

Another elderly lady sits next to us. She has four sons and two daughters. But none of them are here with her. She tells me her husband has had a massive stroke and heart failure. He is struggling for survival. He has no insurance.
Most hospitals in this country require an advance payment at the pharmacy and at the IMCU every single day. She managed to pay for his care for the first three days. After that she ran out of money.
“Every day I have to beg my children to give me some money,” she wept. “We sacrificed so much to bring them up and educate them. What is the point? They are not here in our time of need.” Her grown children are still fighting amongst themselves about who should pay and how much, apparently.

Sea baths, Pune visits and broken hands

2007-10-20T00:43:00.000-05:00

As I sit outside the IMCU, waiting for my father to wake up, I think a lot about the past.

I think of the good times. I think of the happy times.

I think of the time when we went “seabathing” as he put it. I was about 10 years old then. My father held me on one arm and my sister on the other and sat in the waters of the Indian Ocean. He let the waves wash over us. My sister and I squealed in delight each time the waves hit us. My father laughed and held onto us tight.

He was handsome and healthy then.

I think of the time my father visited me in Pune. He came by train, just to see me, all the way from Chennai . It was a journey of nearly 28 hours. I was doing my Master’s degree then and was at my irresponsible best. I overslept that morning and awoke to the phone ringing around 10 a.m. It was my father. “You didn’t come to pick me up,” he said. He sounded so disappointed and hurt.

He was still strong and vital then.

I think of the time my father fractured his right hand, just before my wedding. His osteoporosis had made his bones so brittle; he was like the proverbial glass man. Despite the pain, he insisted on playing his role as father of the bride. He actively participated in all the numerous Hindu wedding rituals, wincing each time he had to feed the Holy fire with his broken right arm.

Appa

2007-10-16T02:59:00.000-05:00

My father lies in the Intensive Medical Care Unit at St. Isabel’s hospital in Chennai. He’s been unconscious for four days now. Every breath is a small miracle.

My mother realized something was wrong when he didn’t wake up one morning, She called the ambulance right away. And called me a few hours later from the hospital. Less than five hours later, I found myself in a car heading to St. Louis and then on a plane later that night heading back home to India to be with my family.

Appa looks fragile and shrunken. A mass of tubes snake their way around his bed and into his body through intravenous drips and ports: A glucose drip entering his neck, an oxygen mask covering his face, a nasal feeding tube winding its way across his face, a medication drip entering his arm on either side, a urinary catheter, a pulse meter attached to his finger. Machines surround him. Quietly humming and beeping in turn.

His hands are covered in purple bruises. The blood thinner meds they gave him to remove any possible blood clots in his brain, ended up bursting the clots on his arms. His arms bled for a while and were bandaged at regular intervals.

His face is bloated. The skin is dry and scaly. His eyes are shut tight. He looks nothing like my father.

His sugar levels dipped to 15 a few days ago and he’s been in a diabetic coma ever since. The doctors now say he’s also had a stroke. His entire left side has been affected. Breathing is torturous. He is an advanced COPD patient. No one knows if he will survive.

Visitor’s keep stopping by to say their goodbyes. I’m not ready to let go as yet. I don’t want him to suffer.

I sit outside the IMCU, with a bunch of others who all have relatives who are critically ill. Visiting hours are only between 5 and 5:30 p.m. everyday. That’s a measly half an hour, to be shared with a hundred other relatives and friends who want to see my father.

So I tip the security guard and sneak into the IMCU when it’s not visiting hours.

I whisper into my father’s ear, “Appa, it’s me, your first born. You can make it if you want to. Please come back.”

At other times, I pray he dies. He's suffered enough. And I don't want him to anymore.

Weekend in Bloomington

2007-10-04T14:16:00.001-05:00

“Bring your favorite cookbooks,” Sunitha instructed us before we left for B-Town last weekend.

Her request may have seemed strange to anyone, but us. For in the old days, we used to have a lot of fun with communal cooking - the concept of catching up with each others lives, while cutting a bunch of onions and potatoes.

So we drove the five hours and hooked up with Abby, Koichi and Sunitha. And then proceeded to stuff our faces with Blarney Puffballs, Saturday Night at the Irish Lion.

Over a late breakfast at the Runcible Spoon on Sunday, we discussed each others lives and then, what we’d like to cook together!
And then the real fun began. We shopped for ingredients and spent the rest of the day holed up in Sunitha’s rather quaint and charming rental, cooking!

The five of us had a pretty good time chatting non-stop, watching football, surfing the net, prepping the veggies, cooking, washing dishes and drying them.

Koichi plucks mint leaves, while Nanu watches football.

There’s no doubt about it. It’s the people that make a place special.

B-Town here we come!

2007-09-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

In a few hours we will be in Bloomington, Indiana! Should be fun catching up with old friends and soaking in the "atmosphere!"

This picture is from August 2004.

Cant wait to see Sunita and Abby! Sunita's back in B-Town to finish her thesis and Abby is in town to attend a wedding. Koichi and Giri (who are still studying!) will be there too.

The icing on the cake? The Lotus World Music & Art Festival is on this weekend in B-Town. Fun fun fun!

Feature: "I lost 92 pounds and went from a size 22 to a size 8!"

2007-09-24T16:01:00.001-05:00

When I met Melissa, my first thought was, “No way!”

I had seen her “before” pictures when she was 92 pounds (41.82 kg) heavier. She looked like a completely different person then. I had trouble believing this slim lady was the same heavy woman of two years back in the picture, sitting before me.

Her story was so much more than just inspiring. It made me believe that anything is possible when you set your mind to it.
“If you want something badly enough, you will do it,” she told me and her current weight stands testimony to her belief.

Click here to read the main story "I lost 92 pounds and went from a size 22 to a size 8!"

Click here to read the sidebar Strategies that worked for Melissa

Click here to read the sidebar Melissa's food advice

Feature: Biking for Health - How a little bit of cycling can add years to your life and put the smile back on your face

2007-09-24T15:59:00.001-05:00

Remember the time you rode your first bike?

This story was all about trying to reawaken that feeling of simple joy as the wind ruffled your hair and you whizzed by houses in the neighborhood.

Click here to read the main story in text format.

Click here to read the sidebar Biking for MS in text format.

Feature: Biking Seniors - How they do it

2007-09-24T15:57:00.000-05:00

This was a fun story to write.

Finding senior bikers with fascinating stories to tell was a research exercise by itself.

But I got to meet some truly inspiring folks like the guy who continues to bike after a knee replacement or the couple who bought their first bikes at the age of 63!

Click here to read the story in text format.

September 2007 Issue of Health

2007-09-24T15:23:00.000-05:00

Here's the September 2007 issue of the Southern Health Magazine.

I really liked the cover on this one. A new graphic artist worked on this issue, since S. who used to lay it out before got promoted and moved onto more important things!

So I asked P. my new graphic artist to come up with a fun image of an elderly couple and this is what he came up with!

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (8mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3.5 mb)

Saturday Project!

2007-09-22T22:32:00.000-05:00

My first Bollywood video. Its got it all - romance, music and a high-adrenaline chase!

How tacky but fun was that? :)

Credits
Hero *Pico Iyer*
Heroine *Mina Iyer*
Music *Gori Gori*
SFX *The Lawnmower*

Happy Birthday, Amma!

2007-09-14T23:09:00.000-05:00

It's my mom's birthday today and I'm too far away to give her a tight hug and a sloppy kiss.

And unfortunately I cant even claim this as true, since I'm not around...
My sis and brother-in-law will take her out to dinner tonight, while I celebrate from another continent away and miss another birthday.
Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you lots.

Cascade of Colors

2007-09-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

Saturday evening, we took both the dogs to Cascade of Colors - Southern Illinois' hot air balloon festival.

The parking area at Southern Illinois airport was jam packed with cars, when we got there.

Hundreds of families and their kids filled the venue, staring up at the balloons as they rose into the sky.

It was lovely watching the colorful balloons rising up into the air, as the wind ruffled my hair.

Since we had our dogs, we didn't go inside, but watched the balloons from outside the fenced in area.

A lot of people came by and petted Mina. "Oh she's such a cutie!" was the common refrain.

I felt bad for Pico. No one petted him. Poor boy!

Visiting New Born Baby

2007-09-09T17:47:00.000-05:00

Just visited our friends who have recently become brand new parents of the cutest baby boy ever!

The baby had just been fed and was sleeping soundly in Papa Jack's arms.

We admired his tiny feet and hands and wondered how on earth Jack and Angela cut their baby's nails!

Jack was a sight to behold. There he sat on his recliner, with a drink on one hand and the baby curled up in the other, watching the Sox on TV.

I asked him how his cats (he has two kitties) are reacting to the new baby.

And this is what he said, "At first they were like 'When's he leaving?' And when they realized he's staying on, they just look at us in the middle of the night, whenever he cries as if to ask us, 'Are you going to take care of that or what?'"

Hilarious. :)

Du Quoin State Fair

2007-09-04T18:31:00.000-05:00

Went to the Du Quoin State Fair yesterday.

Cant believe its been a year already. My sis was here the last time and we had such a blast...

This time Nanu and I exercised incredible restraint, avoiding the funnel cakes and the blooming onions and the fried twinkies!

Instead we shared an assortment of salted nuts and dug into a bowl of low fat dipping dots.

Mina joins our family!

2007-09-03T17:35:00.000-05:00

Big news people! We have a new baby at home!

She is of the four-legged kind. And her name is Mina.

My family thinks we're nuts. What? We want to add one more dog to our home-zoo of two cats and a dog? We must be crazy or just plain masochistic.

Against all advice from the wise, we went ahead and adopted Mina, a happy and beautiful terrier mix, this Saturday.

I first saw her on Petfinder and something about her seemed to call out to me. I called Nanu over to my computer and asked him what he thought. He liked her too. And so the wheels were set in motion.

PAWS, the shelter where we adopted Mina from, stands for Pets Are Worth Saving and is located in Anna, Illinois. We adopted Pico from them almost two years ago and it was sweet to be able to go back to them for Mina.

Apparently Mina's former owner - an old lady - gave her up to the shelter saying she was unable to take care of her any longer.

At the shelter, she was microchipped and spayed and then put up for adoption. The folks at PAWS, think she is about a year old.

The PAWS ladies called her "Angel," but since she doesn't seem to respond to "Angel" we figured we'd change her name to something nicer; and Mina seems to fit the bill.

So far, Mina and Pico get along like a house on fire. But the cats are mad as hell about having their space invaded. So they are still sulking.

The past two days have been crazy-fun. The dogs go for their potty breaks together, eat together and chew each other's bones.

We took them on a 2 mile walk this morning and both doggies did fine. There's a Discovery Channel documentary on animal behavior unfolding in my home and its fascinating and often funny to watch the craziness as it happens.

So congratulate us on our new baby and send a friendly bark across Mina's way! :)

August 2007 Issue of Health!

2007-08-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

Here's the August issue of the Southern Health Magazine. Been crazy-busy this month and never got around to uploading it here, on my blog.

Funny thing is at least six people came up to me separately and said they felt sorry for the young couple on the cover, posing for an STD story! :)

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (8mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3.5 mb)

Portrait

2007-08-25T13:24:00.000-05:00

A portrait of my beautiful babies - Billu and Motu.

Heat Wave in Southern Illinois

2007-08-08T15:12:00.000-05:00

The temperature has been boiling hot the past few days. You cant step outside your house without feeling like you're entering a sauna.

I dread sitting inside cars these days. The first few minutes, until the a/c starts blasting cool air into your face is agony. Cars with leather seats are especially vicious, if your bare skin happens to touch a heated seat. They burn! I know from first hand experience.

Southern Illinois is going through a major heatwave. With the temperatures continuing to soar 10-12 degrees above their averages, just five minutes outside is enough to sap you completely.

A heat advisory is in effect until Thursday, since the heat and humidity may create a situation in which heat illnesses are possible.

Weekend Warriors

2007-08-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

Yellow Moon and Radiant Red.

Those were the colors I chose on a whim.

And those were the colors we painted our family room this Sunday.

Our very first paint job ever.

It was backbreaking work.

Took us a full day almost.

One thick coat of primer, followed by one thick coat of paint.
The painting was the easy part, however.

The prep work prior to painting was time consuming.

Moving furniture, removing wall paintings, getting the drop cloths in place, patching the wall, masking off the
moldings, scraping old clotted paint, wiping the walls down with a vinegar-water solution...you get the picture.

And then the cleanup of the floors, our brushes and tools, and rearranging things back in place after the painting was over – took ages!

The guys on HGTV could have fooled us.

They make it look so easy!

At first I was scared we had gone too bold.

I mean, the colors looked so much more muted when we saw the samples in the store!

However once they dried, they looked really nice - very vibrant and interesting.

And truth be told, we are kinda enjoying our
new “bold” colors, for the reason we wanted bright colors in the first place, was because its a dark room, with no windows and not the greatest of lighting.

We still have to paint the moldings white (they used to be a brick red before!), but we’ve decided to keep that for another weekend.

Now if only my body wouldn’t ache so much...

Who knew that painting could be such good exercise? :)

What do vegetarians eat in a Japanese/Korean restaurant?

2007-08-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

Try this: Avocado Rolls
served with wasabi, sliced pickled ginger and soy sauce.
It's my all time favorite dish.
And this:

Spicy Tofu Box

On the left is the Spicy tofu over a bed of shredded lettuce, carrots and squash in a sweet and sour sauce.

And it comes with the following accompaniments:

Rice
Egg rolls
Vegetable dumplings
Creamy fruit salad

The meal was YUM. But way too much for one person to eat!

It looks like Carbondale is seeing a sudden spurt in Japanese restaurants. The pictures were taken at Kaya, where we went this Saturday. But Sachi is just as good.

Haven’t been to Fujiyama as yet. Actually we did go there this weekend, only to turn back, since it was so packed, we would have had to wait forever in line.

This is what I came home to...

2007-08-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

Billu and Motu cuddling on our bed!

July Issue of Health!

2007-08-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (8mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3.5 mb)

Shahi Malai Kofta anyone?

2007-07-30T22:15:00.000-05:00

In the mood for some authentic stuff, we rolled up our sleeves the other day and followed every minute direction Nita Mehta had to give us.

We spent many hours in the kitchen, chopping, boiling, grating, dicing, deep frying, stirring and what not.

The end result? Simply marvellous I tell you! No modesty there as you can see!
May I present to you our version of Shahi Malai Kofta with rotis as an accompaniment?

*drumroll please!*

We made the paneer ourselves, since its not available here. And then proceeded to make the koftas from grated paneer and potato. The gravy is pretty rich too - since its made up of ground cashews, onions, cream and a bunch of other things.

Then we mixed some atta in our food processor and proceeded to make the rotis in our latest gadget - the automatic roti maker!

I must take a picture of the machine and put it up sometime. Its the best thing we ever bought and lugged all the way from India - because now making rotis is as easy as 1-2-3!

We made utter pigs of ourselves that night. And had all kinds of stomach problems the next day - due to overeating!!

New additions to the family

2007-07-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

Methinks Pico needs a playmate.

Billu has Motu to play with. But Pico has no one.

I think he would be so much happier if he had another doggy to shake paws with and chase around all day.

And so the hunt is on.

We will adopt from a shelter. Pico is getting a brother or a sister very soon!

Yippee!!

Hiking at Heron Pond

2007-07-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, we decided to get off the couch and do something active for a change!

We drove for over an hour (and got lost several times!) until we finally hit the Cache River State Natural area.

The long ride didn't seem to agree with Pico and he managed to throw up some disgusto-smelling stuff several times inside the car.

So our first job was to clean up the mess!

Once we were done with that, we proceeded on our hike as planned, since all that throwing up didn't seem to have affected Pico in any way!

The Heron Pond trail and the Litle Black Slough Trail began with a fantastic truss bridge over the Cache River and I had a field day taking photographs.

Pico had a blast following his nose as we drank in the painted green canvas buzzing with life all around us.

Situated within a floodplain that was carved out centuries ago by Ohio River's glacial floodwaters, this natural area boasts the most massive and beautiful Cypress trees.

There's a sign that calls them "trees with knees" since no other tree has "knees" like the Cypress when it grows in wet, swampy conditions, apparently.

But what really stood out on the trail was a floating boardwalk kind of setup right in the middle of the swampy Cypress pond at Heron Pond.

On one hand, it gave us a chance to observe and appreciate relatively undisturbed wetland and aquatic ecosystems.

On the other hand, it gave us a genuine "Oh my God!" moment - when we just stood there awestruck by the sheer beauty surrounding us on all sides.

The secluded depths of this forested swamp, seemed to have a rhythm and life of its own.

The trees formed a canopy above us and since sunlight had to squeeze its way in, there seemed to be an eerie but beautiful greenish glow - caused by all the duckweed and other green forms all around.

We ended the trail by looking at a bald cypress tree that has earned the title of "State Champion" due to its massive trunk girth, awe inspiring height and heavily branched canopy.

It was a sight to behold.

Cats in a Trailer Park

2007-07-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

Went to get my car serviced and captured these images.

Tom's trailer is surrounded by cats. I suspect they may be feral.

They are bold as brass - they will leap off trees and walk right up to you, if you give them a chance.

More Cats!!

2007-07-23T21:49:00.000-05:00

Went to my friend's place the other day and finally got to meet her adorable cats! Miss B. lives with four beauties, with four fantastic names!

This is Toonses. He may be 10 years old, but his energy levels are more on par with a younger cat. He took a special shine to me!
This here is Dolly - looks a lot like my cats doesnt she?

This is Blasted. She's such a cutie. She likes to lick people if you scratch her on her back!

And this gorgeous guy is James MonkeyFriend. Yes I know thats a crazy name! As you can can see, my friend can get pretty creative with cat names! He's the youngest of the lot and crazy active as can be.

Cat Show!!

2007-07-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

After much persuasion, Nanu accompanied me on Sunday, to the annual cat show held by the Southern Illinois Feline Fanciers in Marion.

And reluctant as he was at first, he pretty much ended up having a BLAST!

128 cats from 12 states, vied with each other over two days, for various crowns. It was a beauty pageant of sorts for cats!

We saw so many Persians, Siamese, Main Coons, Abyssinians; that it was literally a visual feast for us.

I wanted to bring every cat I saw home with me! They were all so adorable!

When I got home, Motu and Billu sniffed me suspiciously. Or so I thought, feeling guilty,
since I had looked adoringly at other kitties, when I had two darlings of my own!

My Sister's Wedding

2007-07-18T22:13:00.000-05:00

My sister’s wedding was a blast. She married Samit in an Arya Samaj ceremony on Beach number 7 in Havelock. This was in the Andaman islands, a literal slice of paradise, cut away from the rest of the world.

For a few days the tiny island buzzed with wedding guests who all flew down to Port Blair and then traveled some few more hours by boat to get to Havelock.

The island was pretty remote and far removed from the rest of the world...but oh so beautiful, lush and peaceful.

Virgin beaches. A view to die for. Glorious greenness all around. The perfect place for a wedding, a honeymoon and a vacation. Which was what it was!

Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Our first glimpse of Havelock Island
The virgin beach at Cafe Del Mar...

The Mahua trees lead to Beach #7 - where my sis got married...

Shaking a leg before D-Day!

Just married!

Sis and mom give each other a hug a the Doli

Fishing boats at the jetty

The boat that got us to the island

The Baaraat - Samit rides an elephant through the Mahua trees!

Here comes the bride!

The Arya Samaj ceremony on the beach

The new couple greet all the islanders at the Bahu Baath

Losing our mind!

2007-07-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

While the trip was wonderful, it also tested us like no other vacation we’ve ever taken before. For we managed to lose Nanu’s passport and a whole bunch of vital documents the moment we stepped out of Bombay airport.

If you had asked me before this vacation, “Is it possible to lose your passport?” I would have laughed and said, “Impossible! Unless you’re an utterly careless fool!”

But this trip has taught me that you can be as careful as the most tightfisted investor, but things happen and you may end up without a passport.

Is that just fate stepping in? The God’s playing with us? Or as someone said, us leaving on an inauspicious day according to the Hindu calendar. Or just plain old bad luck? Who knows?

Looking back it’s easier to forget about all the little inconveniences, the trials and crazy negative experiences we had and celebrate the positive.

Below you will find a video I took from City Center Mall to my parents home in Madras. To ease traffic woes, the city has gone and built a mini flyover smack in the middle of a two lane road!! The result is a really narrow flyover that is simply bizarre!

Back from India

2007-07-10T23:01:00.000-05:00

I’m back!

It’s been about a week and a half since we got back from India. Everyone at work asks me how my vacation went.

After all I’ve been gone for close to two months – what a friend at work described to me as a “dream” since the longest vacation she'd ever managed to take had lasted exactly eight days.

So.......Where do I begin?

To answer everybody’s question, yes, the trip was memorable and all things wonderful! We finally got to spend loads of time with family and loved ones and caught up with long lost friends.

Nanu and I attended my little sister’s wedding in the Andaman islands and had a total blast. Since I hadn’t met Samit (her brand new husband!) before, a part of me was a little worried as to whether I would like him or not when I met him.

Luckily for all concerned I was relieved and happy to realize that I completely approved of my sister’s choice of a husband!

Since this was our first trip to India after our wedding, we experienced “married couple syndrome” for the first time – where everyone – friends and family included – suddenly viewed us as a couple and popped the inevitable, “So when are you having babies?” question.

Of course it being India, where you’re expected to start popping out babies the moment you get married, the questions ranged from the supposedly polite, “Not pregnant as yet, eh?” to the pushy, “Your biological clock is ticking, don’t you realize that?”

Taking turns staying at Nanu’s parents’ place in Ambernath, a suburb of Bombay and my parents home in Madras, we ended up flying a lot of times up and down the country.

Living in India for nearly two months, after being away for a few years, has been an interesting experience to say the least. It was nice to be home after so long, but the time spent away from home also made us realize how much we've changed as people.

Little things suddenly stood out in stark technicolor. Things we've always taken for granted having lived in India all our lives. The time away, has perhaps changed us - marked us out, stamped us forever with the "neither here, nor there stamp."

Not quite Americans. Not the typical Indians either. Suddenly a little more intolerant of the heat, the dark polluting smoke rising up from the tailpipes of every car and auto rickshaw, the long queues everywhere, the crazy-scary trafic on the roads, the sheer amount of people on every road, every corner.....a world removed from the calm and order of our "other life" in Carbondale.

Yet nowhere else could we be more at home, more self assured or happy. For this was where we grew up. Where we come from. This is where our loved ones are. This is home.

June 2007 Issue of Health

2007-07-03T14:12:00.000-05:00

The June issue was the first with zero features written by me. This was because I was on vacation in India.

My freelance writers stepped up to the challenge and did a wonderful job with their array of in-depth health stories, which I edited before I left for India.

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (9mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3mb)

Feature: Partial Hospitalization Programs

2007-05-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

Cost effective, result oriented, outpatient therapy for acute mental illness and addictions

Click here to read the story in text format.

May 2007 Issue of Health

2007-05-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Here's the May 2007 issue of the Southern Health Magazine.

I got this baby out to the printers a day before my vacation began. l really like the quirky cover.

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (9mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3mb)

Anticipation!

2007-04-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

The condition of looking forward to something, especially with eagerness.

This time next week, we will be in India!

Oh I cant wait!

Trailer Talk

2007-04-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

Two massive trailers sit in the parking lot of the place I work for. Carpenters and workmen have been readying them for almost a month now - awaiting the Big Move.

Next week everyone moves their belongings, files, desks and computers into these trailers and will continue their work - which is to bring out a daily newspaper and assorted journals and magazines; while the old massive building that housed the entire newspaper will be remodelled, repainted and generally made over.

While everyone agrees its high time the office was remodelled, everyone also knows that the process isn't going to be easy. Imagine 400-odd people dislocated from their original work spaces, working in small trailers on a parking lot, trying to still meet their deadlines and goals, in the height of summer. It will probably be INSANE! But then since so much planning has gone into this, it will probably run like clockwork for all I know, with the occasional hiccup perhaps.

Luckily for me, I will be in India, most of the while the office is getting remodelled. So I get to miss working in a trailer! Or so I hope.

But what I do have to do before I leave is pack all my files and office supplies and things in my desk in boxes with labels on them - so that they can be moved to the trailer in my absence.

Monster plant!

2007-04-20T14:03:00.000-05:00

I won a monster plant at the office auction this week. It's a powerful plant, since it sat for years and years in the office of the Editor-in-Chief of the Southern, no less! Ha ha.

Since the newspaper is in the process of renovating and remodelling its offices, a whole bunch of "office plants" were auctioned off to employees and the proceeds given to charity.

There were several bids on the plant, but it seems mine was the winning bid - $7 - a pretty good deal for a mature plant this size.

A friend kindly helped me load the monster plant into her pickup truck this morning and helped me bring the plant home.

Unfortunately the ride home was a bit rough on the plant (no bungee cord to secure it in place, highway driving, lots of wind...) and it lost a lot of its leaves!

Now it sits outside my front door, still recovering from the shock therapy I put it through.

The plant is really pretty. But I still don't know what kind of plant it is.

Does anyone want to hazard a guess?

What I do know is its an indoor, creeper-type plant that has grown and grown into what it is today. I will probably need to repot it before taking it indoors.

Wedding Bells in 25 Days!

2007-04-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

My sister's wedding takes place in exactly 25 days. Thats right, my little sister is all grown up now and getting married on an island no less.

Since I'm not in India where all the wedding shopping action is currently happening, she did something wonderfully sweet.

She emailed me photographs of some of her wedding outfits today, telling me when and where she planned on wearing them.

Looking at them, I was just blown away.
It brought home the fact, like nothing else, that yes, she is actually getting married!

We leave for India in 11 days time! I cant wait!

We've been counting down for a long time now and as the days go by faster and faster, every second thought I have seems to revolve around the much-anticipated visit back home.

In addition to spending time with family and loved ones, I'm already dreaming of all the food I'm going to eat!

Campus Lake Musings

2007-04-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

It looks like we’ve finally established a fun exercise routine, now that the weather has warmed up a bit.

We get home from work and head out right away with Pico-the-happy-crazy-tail-wagging-enthusiastic-doggy to Campus Lake.

Campus Lake has a lovely 2.2 mile loop around it, perfect for walkers, joggers, runners and dog-walkers.

It’s even got some pull-up bars which Nanu uses from time to time.

Pico has a lot of fun, sniffing the privates of various other dogs out for a walk with their owners (!!). And I have a lot of fun watching Pico misbehave.

Oh and Nanu pretends to be horrified.

Ever since I can remember I have envied all those dog-owners riding in their cars with dogs by their sides. They just seemed so happy. And now that we have Pico, we realize what we were missing out on – endless fun!

The accompanying images were all taken around sunset, at the end of one of our happy walks!

This is what I came home to today...

2007-04-10T22:31:00.000-05:00

Aren't they just adorable?

Feature: Adults with Developmental Disabilities

2007-04-09T14:54:00.000-05:00

Bridging the gap between "them" and "us"

Writing a story on how better to bridge the gap between us and persons with developmental disabilities proved to be an enriching and fruitful exercise.

For one, I got to hear plenty of anecdotes.

Touching stories like these, which I featured in the story:

"In 1983 a newspaper featured a small story on a day program for people with developmental disabilities.

Bonnie Mahan, who worked with the day program at the time, read the story aloud to some of her higher functioning residents, since
many of them were featured in photographs accompanying the article.

The first reaction she got from one of her listeners was a troubled, "Why does the man in the paper keep saying I am mentally retarded?"

"It was so difficult and heartbreaking to explain to that young lady, what that writer meant," Mahan recalls of
that day. "

Click here to read the story in text format.

Feature: The Harbingers of Hope

2007-04-09T14:52:00.000-05:00

Helping adults with disabilities lead more productive lives

I spoke with these fabulous ladies in Southern Illinois - all heading various agencies and facilities that help adults with disabilities lead fuller, richer lives.

This story was really a tribute to what they do and the facilities, programs and services they provide.

Hopefully readers can benefit from knowing the range of options they have available to them.

There's even a local support group for senior caregivers of adult

children with disabilities that meets once a month at a steak house in Marion.

Approximately 30 families meet up to discuss and share experiences, gain support and learn how to better plan their finances and the future.

Now, how lovely is that? :)

Click here to read the story in text format.

April 2007 Issue of Health!

2007-04-09T14:51:00.000-05:00

Here's the April 2007 issue of the Southern Health Magazine.

Our graphic artist came up with a really interesting cover to match the cover story on adults with developmental disabilities.

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (9mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3mb)

Speeding Ticket

2007-03-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

I got my first ticket Thursday evening.

I was driving on East Main when I saw a cop car with lights flashing right behind me.

I figured the cops were chasing someone else and continued driving. Three minutes later, I figured that maybe they were chasing me!

So I pulled over and waited in my car for the officer to approach. He came over to me and said I was going at 40 on a highway, where the posted speed limit was 30 miles per hour.

I pleaded with him not to ticket me. But he apologized very nicely, saying even he had been ticketed when he was off-duty and this was his job. And then he proceeded to ticket me.

Now I'm to pay a $75 fine for being 10 miles over the official speed limit. Sucks!

New Flooring!

2007-03-26T13:42:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend on our hands and knees – literally!

Nanu and I retiled our entire kitchen floor. This was our first major DIY project and we are so proud of the end result.

We spent almost two whole days (Saturday and Sunday) removing the old, ugly, white floor tile in our kitchen and replacing it with a lovely new terracotta-ish, natural looking tile.

The photographs really don’t do it justice.

We borrowed some “tools” from our ever-helpful and super handy neighbors and were down on our hands and knees for most of the weekend after that, toiling away.

It took hours and hours to get the old tile off the floor. More hours to prepare the floor. And many more solid hours to put the new flooring in. But we did it.

And we can’t believe how lovely our kitchen looks now!

This project has given us a huge confidence boost now. In the future we plan to retile the flooring in the family room, bathroom, hallways; and repaint several rooms.

But not just right now. My back is so sore, it needs like a two-month break!

Billu in the Sink

2007-03-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

Billu is our official bathroom escort!

Every time you need to use the bathroom, you can count on Billu to race at top speed and get inside, before you can shut the door.

Then he will either:
a)Pace around your legs and purr from time to time
Or
b) Jump onto the wash basin and lie down in the basin!

Feature: People Who Help the Birthing Process

2007-03-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

Doulas and Midwives
Ever heard of a Doula? What about a Midwife?

For the month of March, I delved into the world of pregnancy, expectant mothers and the people who take care of them the natural way, for my story on the people who help the birthing process.

When I set out researching the story, I had no idea that midwives take care of women throughout their entire lifespan, whether it is caring for adolescents, women of childbearing age or menopausal women.
And about doulas I only had a vague idea.

That's what makes writing any story, such an interesting endeavor. You learn so much as you go along.

Click here to read the main story ["People Who Help the Birthing Process"] in text format.

Click here to read the sidebar ["A Midwife's Tale"] in text format.

Feature: The Water Birth That Almost Was

2007-03-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

A natural childbirth story
This was such a fun story to write!

The new mom, Lisa, looks the picture of health, in the accompanying photographs.

Dont know if water births have caught on in India. But they seem to be a pretty popular option in the US. The lady I interviewed sure was gutsy, opting to go completely epidural- and medication-free during the entire labor process.

Click here to read the story in text format.

Feature: Diet and the Heart

2007-03-13T14:41:00.000-05:00

Priceless advice from the region's top dietitians

This is actually the third in a series of heart stories.

Last month I tackled two stories - How Healthy is Your Heart? and Heart Attacks, A Medical Emergency.

This month it was all about Diet and the Heart.

Of course the advice is pretty darn good. And therefore universal. Whether its for weight loss, better heart health or just general good health.
Click here to read the main story in text format.

Click here to read the sidebar "Top 20 Diet Tips for a Healthy Heart" in text format.

March 2007 Issue of Health

2007-03-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

Here's the March 2007 issue of the Southern Health Magazine.

Personally I think the cover looks beter online than in RL. But I might be the only one who thinks so.

Here's another issue jam-packed with interesting stories and useful health news. I had a lot of fun bringing this issue out.

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (9mb).

Click here to
download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3mb).

Me and my Accord

2007-03-10T19:55:00.000-06:00

This post is for all those who refuse to believe I can finally drive!

Yes, its true. I do drive! Its been several months in fact since I got my license.

I cant tell you what a wonderful feeling it is to finally be able to go where I want to, when I want to, without having to ask anyone for a ride or call a taxi!

Nanu taught me and it took me forever to gain confidence on American roads. Even today, I keep having to consciously tell myself to drive on the right side of the road. I guess years of driving on the left side of the road, is hard to erase!

As an aside, I love driving home for lunch (yeah, I know that’s a luxury!) these days. The sun’s been shining the past week and its so nice outside; I just can’t seem to get over it!

I roll my window down and luxuriate in the slow warmth of the sun. The weather is still chilly in parts, but there’s more sunshine to be enjoyed in the afternoons for sure.

Spring is almost here!

Oh and dont ask me why all Indians in the US choose to drive a Honda! I dont know the answer to that one. Or maybe I do. Ha ha ha.

Indian Superman and Spiderman, uh wait, Spiderwoman

2007-03-06T20:40:00.000-06:00

The bad guys better watch out! Shudder!

Pico is a star!

2007-03-05T23:28:00.000-06:00

Born on the 6th of March!

2007-03-05T13:36:00.000-06:00

My Birthday is here. It's the 6th of March in India. Not yet in the US. But still I think B'day cheer is in order.

Do I look 29 in that picture? I look more like I'm demented! Ha ha.

Heroes Rocks!

2007-02-28T11:48:00.000-06:00

We watched Heroes on Monday and caught a new show, that seems promising - The Black Donnelly’s.

Heroes just seems to be getting better every week. And this week’s episode was particularly gripping.

Ever since this show started, I look forward to Mondays. I even plan my Monday evenings around the show. Its that good.

God, do I sound like a nerd? :)

Plans for the Weekend

2007-02-23T08:29:00.000-06:00

Friday's are always so special. The whole looking forward to the weekend thing happens. With my birthday coming up and a whole bunch of shops having sales, I know what I'm doing this weekend: Shopping!
Nanu and I plan to hit an Art Show this evening. A friend of ours, a Japanese Sculptress is showing her work tonight. Now this is an interesting bit of trivia: She has a pet rabbit called Pai Mei. Yes she got the name from Kill Bill, the movie. It promises to be an interesting evening.
Also want to go to the Mardi Gras Festival at the Von Jakob Vineyard this Saturday.
Am trying to make up for the fact that we've had a miserable few weekends, what with Nanu falling ill with the flu and then me and all that.
Oooh, this weekend shows promise!

Ahh Sun!

2007-02-22T16:12:00.000-06:00

The sun has finally come out! After ages. And I can’t believe I’m stuck indoors, working in office.

All I want to do is bask in the sun. It’s been so long since we’ve seen any sunshine. It’s been a long, bitterly cold Winter. But now I see the sun. And my spirits feel instantly uplifted.

Spring is nearly here and signs of it are slowly popping up. Soon we’ll have to tend to the mess that has become our garden. But I figure we'll still have to brave a few cold, wintry weeks, before Spring kicks in.

That's why seeing the sun come out today is so special. I guess I really missed it. Now who’d have thunk it?

Feature: "My Son Has Dravet Syndrome-SMEI"

2007-02-21T15:31:00.000-06:00

A moving, first-person account by Amy Weasel, a courageous, young mother, who has to deal with her son's heartbreaking form of epilepsy.
This is just such a sad story. The whole time I interviewed the mother, I had this big lump in my throat.

Sometimes its hard to be objective, when you literally feel your interviewee's pain.

Hats off to this family. They are just so courageous. I wish them all the luck in the world.

Click here to read the story in text format.

Feature: Heart Attacks, A Medical Emergency

2007-02-21T15:27:00.000-06:00

How knowledge and some prevention can help save your life.
Shivers ran up and down my spine, when I spoke with this lady who had a heart attack at the age of 33.

I kept thinking, she's only just about 5 years older to me.

The story has been receiving some great reviews from people in the community. One of them wrote in saying, "This story is going to save lives."

While that compliment made my day, I hope the story does help someone.

Click here to read the story in text format.

Feature: How Healthy is Your Heart?

2007-02-21T15:23:00.000-06:00

The rise of sophisticated technology and top-notch services, right here in your backyard.
Writing this story was an interesting exercise. Especially since I've previously written three in-depth stories on the heart, not too long ago, when I was still a freelance writer.

The challenge this time was to come up with something new, something interesting, something readers would find useful.

But the take home message remained the same: Top-notch technology is available. But the point is heart disease is preventable. So smarten up and take charge of your health. Optimize your risk factors.

Click here to read the story in text format.

February 2007 Issue of Health

2007-02-21T15:19:00.000-06:00

Here's the colorful-looking February 2007 issue of the Southern Health Magazine.

Since it's February, we just had to have a cover story on heart health, since it's heart month after all. And before you say anything, the hot pink cover really is quite lovely when you see it in RL!

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (9mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the
magazine (3mb).

Tech support anyone?

2007-02-12T13:37:00.000-06:00

Does this work?

2007-02-07T22:44:00.000-06:00

Just fooling around...!

Sniff

2007-02-07T21:48:00.000-06:00

I have a terrible cold.

Its been a pretty dreadful week and a half. Nanu was down with the flu for the first week (after we had to walk a mile in the freezing cold) and I played nurse and now it looks like I caught what he had.

So here I am down with the same symptoms and poor Nanu is trying to play nurse.

On the lighter side of things, a friend of mine laughed out loud when I told her I was having "terrible mucus issues"!

A Torturous Walk

2007-01-29T11:35:00.000-06:00

Weekends are good. Time off from the job. Time off to have a little fun and adventure. Time off to sleep that little bit extra. Time off to awake to a long, lazy breakfast; not the hurried cornflakes-with-milk thingy we have to do every other day during the hectic work week.

We took Pico for a walk on Sunday afternoon around Campus Lake. It’s a 2.2 mile loop around a lake surrounded by winding paths and sycamore trees. On a normal day it’s a beautiful walk. But on a day like yesterday, it was, “A torturous walk,” as Nanu called it.

The January cold bit into my face, fingers and thighs, through the layers of clothing I had on. By Carbondale standards, it seemed like it was the coldest day ever.

Despite the cold, it felt good to be out. Pico was in heaven. He had his red sweater on and was frantically following his nose, inhaling the smells of numerous dogs who had walked that same route before us. The waters of the lake looked crystal clear. We saw a ton of ducks swimming by and the occasional turtle.

About a mile into the loop, I took Pico to the water’s edge to watch the ducks.

Normally he hates water and will never get into it of his own free will. So I wasn’t expecting what happened next. Pico jerked on his leash as he watched the ducks swim past and leaned forward, nose quivering. I took my eyes off him at that very moment and the next thing I know, he’s fallen into the icy water.

My heart stopped. I saw Pico swimming in slow motion, his sweater a red blob in the water. I felt foolish still holding onto his leash. Fortunately for me, he hadn’t fallen very far. I leaned over and managed to drag-carry him out of the water.

Unsurprisingly enough, Pico was fine after his little mishap or should I call it adventure? And despite having just been immersed in near-freezing water, he shook himself, spraying water all over me and then took off, following his nose all over again.

Nanu removed Pico’s sopping wet sweater and got his gloves wet in the process. I had gotten my gloves wet by pulling Pico out of the water. And Pico was wet all over. In about five minutes, Nanu and I had ice-crystals form on our gloves. And then we saw ice-crystals form on Pico’s body.

In no time we felt C-O-L-D-E-R than ever; in definite need of warmth. Nanu couldn’t feel his fingers after a point. Neither could I. The exposed parts of my face hurt with the cold. To make matters worse a wind had just started blowing.

But we were midway into the loop and the car was parked a mile away. There was nothing else to do but to suck it up and walk as fast as we could, the rest of the way.

We felt a bit like the lost climbers on Mt. Everest, doomed to die of frostbite. Yeah that is an exaggeration, but I can totally understand what they must have gone through.

Strangely enough, even though we were literally freezing, there was something exhilarating about the whole experience. However we sure were glad to come home to a warm house and some hot coffee.

Feature: Coming of Age - The Needs of Boys and Girls as they Hit Puberty

2007-01-26T13:09:00.000-06:00

This was an interesting story to write, simply because I got to interview some fascinating people.

For example I spoke with the region's only child and adolescent psychiatrist, who said there is a lot of depression, anxiety and drug abuse happening in the pubertal age group. Its the luckier ones who end up in the doctor's office. The unlucky ones end up in juvenile detention. He said you just cannot blame

puberty on behavioral problems. Even though a lot of parents think its normal 14-year-old behavior to get into trouble.

Other experts spoke about how the majority of their patients have had sex by age 14-15. And hence the need for parents to be more open in their conversations with their children and the need for the adolescents to start getting their pap smears, physicals, pelvic exams at an earlier age.

Click here to read the story in text format.

Feature: Top Menopausal Questions - Answered

2007-01-26T13:05:00.000-06:00

I switched the format up a bit and decided to go with a panel of experts answering menopause-related questions, FAQ style.

Things got a bit murky when I received a press release from a national research organization; a few days before the magazine went to print, contradicting what one of my “expert” interviewees had said in the story.

The story was already written. My graphic artist

had already laid it out. The magazine was due at the printers the next day.

But crunched for time as I was, I decided that the right thing to do was to go back to the expert and ask her what her stance was after this new study. She appreciated the gesture and clarified her position.

The quotes were inserted into the story. The story underwent a bit of modification, allowing for the new changes. It had to be

laid out again by my graphic artist. And we still made the deadline.

Goes to show that things CAN be changed, at the very -nth minute, if you care enough about the end product and therefore exert a superhuman effort to get things right!

Click here to read the story in text format.

January 2007 Issue of Health

2007-01-26T13:03:00.000-06:00

This is the January 2007 issue of the Southern Health Magazine.

I've been pretty tied up with other things and hence the delay in upload.

Click here to download a high resolution PDF of the magazine (9mb).

Click here to download a low resolution PDF of the magazine (3mb).

Pico Likes Popcorn!

2007-01-13T16:24:00.000-06:00

Now who'd have thought a beagle would look at popcorn like it was the most equisite food on earth?

We just discovered that Pico LOVES popcorn. He adores the stuff. He's literally drooling, if you're sitting around him eating popcorn.

Check out Pico's expectant expression in the first pic - priceless, I say!

He'll just stare at you unwaveringly, until you break down with utter guilt and give him some popcorn to nibble at. Bwahahahaha.

10 days without the Internet

2007-01-11T22:02:00.000-06:00

New Year happened and our DSL went down for no reason. We actually went 10 whole days without the Internet at home. Nanu spent endless hours every evening with the phone stuck to his ear, talking to customer service. Either he could never get a hold of them or if he could they couldn't help him.
One day, he ended up speaking to a girl whose accent made it difficult for him to follow what she was saying. So he ended up asking,"Are you talking to me from a call center in India?" And she said, "No. But I'm talking to you from a call center in Mexico!"
Anyway our Internet is back on and i have lots of catching up to do. Having the Internet at work is not quite the same as using it from home!

Hello 2007!

2007-01-01T12:53:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, everybody!

Nanu and I drove all the way to Metroplis - a town that's about an hour away from Carbondale.

Metropolis is kinda famous because its the birthplace of Superman himself! So you see big statues of Superman all over the place and Superman memorabilia being sold even at gas stations.

We gambled the night away at Harrah's Casino. The place was packed and photographs weren't allowed. So I don't have any cool inside-casino pictures to share. But I do have the photographs we took outside!

And in case you're wondering, no we didn't win any money. We just lost a lot. I think the slots at Harrah's Metropolis are very tight. Not loose like Vegas. (Sigh!)

My New Year's resolution is to get healthy and lose some weight! Nanu's resolution is to get his thesis done this year! What's yours?

Some Man Has To Have Made This Up!

2006-12-29T16:23:00.000-06:00

I burst out laughing, this morning, when a friend of mine forwarded this to me (see below).
I suspect some man made this up!!

<<<Women who exercise by doing the housework can reduce their risk of breast cancer, a study suggests

The research on more than 200,000 women from nine European countries found doing household chores was far more cancer protective than playing sport.

Dusting, mopping and vacuuming was also better than having a physical job.

The women in the Cancer Research UK-funded study spent an average of 16 to 17 hours a week cooking, cleaning and doing the washing.>>>>

But on further research I was horrified to see this.

Apparently it just might be true. Jeez. Thats all we need, further arsenal for the man to say, "You need to do the housework!"

Feeding Time

2006-12-25T22:16:00.000-06:00

The cats don't seem to mind Pico all that much these days. But this is still a rare event - feeding them their treats all at the same time!

I particularly love how Motu, Billu and Pico all sat in front of me before I gave them their treats!