The Ship Pirates

Having spent two months on the ship this year, and passing through some risky area of the Indian Ocean while sailing from the Antarctic Ocean via Cape Town and Indian Ocean, news such as ship piracy in such area of course attracts my attention. While on the ship, I was quite surprised to learn that ship piracy is a regular risk with the ships and its crew especially cruising in the Gulf of Aden. During my daily visits to the Radio Room at M.V. Emerald Sea for making/receiving phone calls from home, or collecting/delivering emails, I would see printer regularly printing alerts from the maritime bureau. If you ever thought that the ship pirates in current times existed only in the Hollywood, then improve on your information and general knowledge. They are every where in different oceans with high speed boats and modern weaponry. Fortunately, we were safe in Antarctic Ocean; so far no incident of ship piracy has ever been reported from this continent. In fact the menace of the ship piracy is so rampant that many maritime bureaus have dedicated and specialized crime services to collect and disseminate information to alert the ships about the risky areas. There are many famous books and movies on sea pirates, the latest being Pirates of Carribean. There are now dedicated websites on this subject.



It is a big relief now to the families of all the sailors on board the ship, MT Stolt Valor. It was hijacked by pirates 38 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden more than two months ago while it was on its way from the Suez to Mumbai. The Hong Kong-registered ship was carrying a cargo of oil and chemicals. Apart from 18 Indians, the crew members also included two Filipinos, a Bangladeshi and a Russian.
At any given point there are one lakh Indian sailors on foreign seas; India is the largest suppliers of sailors and yet there is no system in place to ensure their safety. There have been so many such incidents in the Gulf of Aden, this was the 54th incident this year.
Surprisinghly, despite such high numbers, India is neither a part of the UN Coalition Force that patrols the area nor is there any set protocol for dealing with such incidents.
Last week only, the Indian Navy was able to prevent the hijacking of m.v. Jag Arnav in the Gulf of Aden because it was an Indian ship. The Stolt Valor was, interestingly, Japanese vessel registered in Hong Kong. Owning and registering of ships is also a complicated process. M.V. Emerald Sea, for example, a Greek ship, was registered in Liberia to save the taxes. Liberia and Panama remain very attractive cities for registration of such huge vessels as they do it at very cheap rates.



Some of alerts received on M.V. Emerald Sea
Warning Warning Warning: piracy prone areas
Somalia: heavily armed pirates are now attacking ships further away from the coast. Ships not making scheduled calls at Somali ports are advised to keep at least 200 nm from the coast.
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: 19 incidents have been reported in 18 months. Pirates are targeting ships preparing to anchor. Ships are advised to take extra precautions.
Chittagong, Bangladesh: 62 incidents have reported in 2 years. Pirates are targeting ships preparing to anchor. Ships are advised to take extra precautions.
Other risky areas:
South and Central America and the Caribbean waters
Brazil – Santos
Peru – Callao
West Africa – Lagos

Some actual and attempted incidents:

December, 2007, Dar Es Salaam: Pirates boarded a container ship drifting. They broke padlocks, removed container lashings bars and stole ship stores and cargo.
November, 2007, Belawan, Indonesia: duty quarter master onboard a product tanker at anchor noticed two robbers hiding under windlass. Crew alerted, robbers jumped overboard and escaped in a boat waiting below.
November, 2007, Arabian Sea: A reefer underway detected a small boat on radar at a range of 4 nm approaching from the starboard side; alarm raised, lights switched on. The boat moved away.
November, 2007: In the Gulf, a suspicious craft approached a tanker. Master sounded general alarm, increased speed, crew mustered and fire hoses standby. The speed boat closed at 0.1 nm, and when it noticed crew alertness, aborted approach and moved away.
November, 2007, Somalia: A car carrier noticed an unlit boat at 3 nm off the port bow with a speed of 19 nm. The boat reduced speed to match the speed of the vessel. Another unlit boat observed at 2 nm. Master raised alarm; crew mustered and switched on deck lights. Both boats moved away.
November, 2007, Vietnam: Robbers armed with knives boarded general cargo ship at berth. Port security informed. Ship stores stolen.
November, 2007, Malacca straits: an unidentified small watercraft approached a chemical tanker underway. Alarmed raised, the craft came within 150 meters and aborted the attempted.
November, 2007, Mozambique: Robbers boarded a container sip at berth and stole ship store amid tight anti piracy watches. The ship had shore security personnel deployed by the port security. In addition there were armed security guards on the shore side.
November, 2007, Hoogly river, India: Six robbers armed with knives boarded a chemical tanker at anchor, via the poop deck. Crew raised alarm and activated anti-piracy measures. Robbers jumped overboard and escaped, with ship’s stores in their waiting boat. No injuries to crew. Reported to harbor pilots but no action taken.
November, 2007, Mogadishu, Somalia: A general cargo ship was boarded and hijacked by seven armed pirates while at anchor after discharging cargo at Mogadishu. Pirates took control of the bridge, engine room and steering room. There was a fight between the crew and the pirates. Six crew members were injured. An U.S. warship rendered assistance in rescuing the crew and ship.
September, 2007, Haiti: Robbers armed with knives boarded an anchored general cargo ship unnoticed. Ship’s general alarm sounded and crew mustered, robbers jumped overboard and escaped with ship’s stores. Attempt to contact the local authorities were futile.
September, 2007, bonny river anchorage, Nigeria: five robbers in two motor boats armed with guns and knives boarded an anchored chemical tanker from the bow using ropes and hooks. Duty crew spotted the robbers and raised the alarm. The robbers broke the locks on the forward store and stole ship’s stores and escaped. Bonny signal station was called many times, but did not respond.

Chandigarh....the city beautiful

Ever since I left Chandigarh way back in 1982, I have looked for opportunities to visit Chandigarh again and again. There are so many pleasant memories and experiences associated with the city. It has not yet disappointed me in my so many visits in last 25 years. Though these visits are now never for a longer period, not more than 2 nights usually, but the visits and meeting with old buddies always refreshes me. Chandigarh has changed in so many ways, and yet it has remained the same in its character. It has expanded in all directions. Like NCT region of Delhi which now encompasses Noida, Gurgaon, and may be Sonepat also, Chandigarh’s unofficial boundaries now engulf Mohali, Panchkula, and may be Raipur Rani. It is not uncommon to find letters for Panchkula also mentioning Chandigarh in the address. The traffic has multiplied manifold; the ubiquitous cycle, the most common mode of transportation earlier, has rapidly been replaced by motorcycles and small cars. Traffic jams, unheard earlier, do occur now on some roads. I used to own a cycle then; and would enjoy using it for various errands, and also on many occasions with Chitra on carrier at the back. Later I also put a small seat in front and would take Ishu for fun ride in the campus. It was a bit of unusual since very few docs in PGI used cycles, and perhaps none to use it as a family transport.
My hobby for bird watching really took off from the woods adjacent to the hostel. There were many resident and visiting birds there and gradually I learnt to recognize them. I still remember my joy when for the first time I made a spot recognition of golden oriole and grey hornbill.
We got lot of visitors from Delhi who would visit us for various reasons: medical consultations in the hospital, just to visit and spend some time with us, or on their way to Kasauli or Shimla. We were always on lookout which hostle-room’s occupants were away on home vacation so that we could accommodate our own guests. Besides usual tourist attractions, we would always entertain them at the first floor cafeteria which they found so spotlessly clean. They found it amusing to see the caloric value of each item of food served there.
Some of the friends we made there are our closest friends now and we value their friendship. People of Chandigarh were warm, simple, and yet fun loving; unlike Delhi. I also tried my hands to learn to speak Punjabi; speaking same language is a key tool to communication and it proved very useful to establish rapport with patients. My skills to speak Punjabi were OK if some linguistic expert did not sit on judgment. However, what I learnt most at Chandigarh and which I continue to cherish is to take pride in my profession.



So when there was another opportunity to visit Chandigarh for a meeting, I jumped at it. And the organizers of the meeting booked my stay at the UT guest house in sector 6. It has just been renovated and its sprawling lobbies would put ordinary 5-star hotels to shame. The best part of the guest house is its close proximity to the lake. I went there for my morning walk. I was visiting it after so many years, may be after two decades, but was very happy to see it as clean and unpolluted. On the opposite side, one could still see the clear land and greenery with no encroachment. When we were there, visits to lake, rock garden, rose garden, 17 sector market were quite frequent. What I also liked very much there was the cactus garden in the Punjab University. It had at that time some amazing variety of cacti. I have not been to all these places now in so many years now, but would like visit cactus garden once again.
The roads and various sectors continue to be clean and uncluttered. It is such a contrast from Delhi where you could not pass a stretch of one km without the road being dug up, or huge dump of garbage. Unauthorized floors or extensions are not visible, at least on my short visits. However, with third generation having now grown up, the Chandigarhians will be facing tremendous pressure for the need to have an extra floor above their houses.

The Scent of Fruits and Vegetables

You read any health column; invariably, you will be told umpteen number of times the value of fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet to ward off modern life illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or heart attack. You can also ward off pernicious illnesses like prostrate cancer, colon cancers, or even Alzheimer’s disease. We all take the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in India almost for granted. I now know from my personal experience how much one can miss even the mere sight of fresh fruits and vegetables. I have now known what the sight or scent of fresh fruits or vegetables can do to boost up your morale and improve your mood. We were returning from Larsemann Hills (69° 25´ South, 76° 15´ East), Antarctica on M.V. Emerald Sea and by the time we reached Cape Town, we were already on board for nearly six weeks. We had exhausted all our supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables and were getting slowly sick of frozen stuff. Only potatoes and onions were unfrozen, but they had also started sprouting inspite of being stored in the cold room of ship. As luck would have it, our ship anchored on ‘fruits exporting dock’ of Cape Town harbour. South Africa is a major fruits exporting nation, and crates after crates were lying all around ready to be loaded on to vessels going all over the globe. During our short trip to the city, I was thrilled to see the quantity, variety, and looks of so many different kinds of fruits. Of course, our mess committee did not disappoint us, and made sufficient purchases of fruits to last till we reached Goa two weeks later. When we set sail again after one night’s halt at Cape Town, I refused to have any daad-chawal-roti for next three days and thrived very well on fruits and salad.
Who can forget the scintillating and award winning performance of Al Pecino in ‘Scent of a Woman’, but scent of fresh fruits and onions can excite people so much if they have not set their eyes on fresh fruits and vegetables for six months, you can very well gauze by reading Ashit’s account. He is the current wintering member of our 27th IAE team.

The scent of the fresh vegetables and fruits
Guest Column by Ashit Swain





I never imagined that the scent of the fresh vegetables and the fruits will be so sweet aromatically. I could never have thought that this much of urge for the fresh things would be there with a large group of people who stay for a common cause in the harsh wintering period of Antarctica.
From my first day at Antarctica, I have been exposed to so many wonderful things. At one side, where some of the natural beauty is unparallel, the other side focuses on the different attitudes of the human beings. Towards the end of October, skua and penguins have reached Maitri and generated intense interest among the members. Even though these birds of Southern Hemisphere generated intense excitement in most of the members here, all did not participate in showing their eagerness to watch them. However, with their arrival, summer season has begun. Very soon lakes will melt on which I have traveled a lot with the vehicle and walked length and breadth for various scientific and other interests. The accumulated snow will melt away and the landscape will change entirely.
With the start of the summer season, the flight service between Cape Town and Novo airbase in Antarctica has started and we are once again reconnected to the mainland. The de-induction has started. With the inaugural flight coming on 31st October, we were told, there was a huge parcel for Maitri. The news spread like fire to all the members that some important things for Maitri station have reached airport. Very soon, there was a guessing game began on the possibilities of things which are coming. Some members were of the opinion that the most crucial parts of the vehicles must be reaching; others were of the opinion that this must be the fresh vegetables and fruits package; or it could be some vital and delicate scientific equipment. The suspense was increasing every hour. It was taken into the custody at the Novo airbase and reached Maitri late afternoon, and no time was lost in opening the packets. To our great delight, there were apples, oranges, lemons, onions, carrots, leafy vegetables, broccolis, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, green chilies etc. All of us were excited and extremely happy to see all this and wanted to touch it and smell all vegetables and fruits. We were setting our eyes on them after a long gap of more than nine months. The sight of fruits excited us, but it was not comparable to the sighting of the onions, which were long missing in the kitchen.
For fair distribution, apple, orange, onion, carrot and lemon was equally divided among all the members. I would not have seen my share so closely, if I were there in India. But with the fresh stock in my hand I saw it more closely than ever. It seems I had already forgotten the taste of lemon, apple, orange etc. I smelled the lemon. It was so sweet. When somebody is away from it for a long time, only then the importance of the very common things can be best felt. The green, orange, yellow, light pink and reddish orange colors of the fruits and vegetables could attract all of us together that starting from the youngest to the oldest, all are very happy to get, see and feel it. Even penguins and skua had not generated that much interest or excitement!
Very soon, the plans were made to prepare the salad and omelets, with the fresh stock of the new things. It was like a festival; possibly more numbers of persons were seen in the kitchen area to prepare the dishes of their choice, keeping Narayan Singh aside. I wish subsequent incoming flights will bring more fresh stocks. To appreciate fresh fruits and vegetable with all the five senses, you have to be Antarctica and spend the polar nights here. Not a big deal!

HALDI - THE WONDER INDIAN SPICE

Turmeric or haldi has been used in my family for many purposes besides culinary. I am sure it must be true for most of the homes in India. I was introduced to turmeric powder (haldi) during my own childhood when my mother and grandmother prevailed upon us to take it for frequent bouts of cough during winter season. We took it in powder form with hot milk just before going to bed. We were also advised to take it when having general aches and pains all over the body after a particularly grueling day in the sports field. The powder of haldi was also sprinkled over open wounds to speed up healing. Now we know that it works as an antiseptic and prevents infection of the open wound. I started taking haldi regularly only a few years ago to overcome my frequent bouts of sinusitis. I think it has benefited me somewhat. It has reduced my frequent use of antibiotics. However, it has not set right my proneness for easy and recurrent rhinitis and sinusitis. Recently I discovered that Bikash, a very close friend and famous neurosurgeon in the US, also takes haldi on regular basis. Bikash and Dottie were visiting us in England, and after dinner Chitra asked them if they would like to have a drink. She suggested if they wanted to flatter me, they should take ‘haldi-milk’. Surprise, surprise; Bikash had been using haldi regularly for some time in the same way as I took, though he took it in cold milk.
So, when recently I was asked about the scientific validity of haldi powder, I rushed to where else, but Prof Google and Tutor Wikipedia, and collected the following information.

Medicinal properties of Haldi (Turmeric, Curcumin) as gleaned from the net:




In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties and many in India use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises. Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine say it has fluoride which is thought to be essential for teeth. It is also used as an antibacterial agent. It is taken in some Asian countries as a dietary supplement, which allegedly helps with stomach problems and other ailments. It is popular as tea in Okinawa, Japan. It is currently being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer's disease, cancer and liver disorders.
It is only in recent years that Western scientists have increasingly recognized the medicinal properties of turmeric. According to a 2005 article in the Wall Street Journal titled, "Common Indian Spice Stirs Hope," research activity into curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is exploding. Two hundred and fifty-six curcumin papers were published in the past year according to a search of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Supplement sales have increased 35% since 2004, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health has four clinical trials underway to study curcumin treatment for pancreatic cancer, multiple myeloma, Alzheimer's, and colorectal cancer.
A 2004 UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving genetically altered mice suggests that curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, might inhibit the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients and also breaks up existing plaques. "Curcumin has been used for thousands of years as a safe anti-inflammatory in a variety of ailments as part of Indian traditional medicine," Gregory Cole, Professor of medicine and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said. Another 2004 study conducted at Yale University involved oral administration of curcumin to mice to study its benefit in cystic fibrosis. Anti-tumoral effects against melanoma cells have been demonstrated. A recent study involving mice has shown that turmeric slows the spread of breast cancer into lungs and other body parts. Turmeric also enhances the effect of anti-cancer drugs in reducing metastasis of breast cancer.
Curcumin is thought to be a powerful pain-relieving agent. In the November 2006 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a study was published that showed the effectiveness of turmeric in the reduction of joint inflammation, and recommended clinical trials as a possible treatment for the alleviation of arthritis symptoms. It is thought to work as a natural inhibitor of the cox-2 enzyme, and has been shown effective in animal models for neuropathic pain secondary to diabetes, among others. Presenting their findings at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco in June 2008, researchers discovered that turmeric-treated mice were less susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes, based on their blood glucose levels, and glucose and insulin tolerance tests. They also discovered that turmeric-fed obese mice showed significantly reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver compared to controls.
Welcome to Haldi Club!

FIRE ACCIDENT AT PROGRESS, THE RUSSIAN ANTARCTIC STATION

Fire is a major risk in Antarctica with grave consequences. When we, the members of 27th Indian Antarctic Expedition, were being trained and briefed at Auli, our team leader, Mr Arun Chaturvedi, veteran of many Antarctic expeditions, had very explicitly told us the risk of fire in Antarctica due to closed spaces, wooden structures, high wind, dry air and plenty of oxygen.
Unfortunately, inspite of it being a real danger and all the precautions, such accidents do happen in Antarctica with tragic results. Besides the loss of life, loss of scientific and communication equipments, medical and other supplies can also become major hindrance in the successful completion of expedition. Sadly, such an accident has happened last week at Russian station, Progress, situated at Larsemann Hills (its rough coordinates are: 69S and 76E).
I had visited this station in March, 2008 when I visited Larsemann Hills where India is also coming up with its third station. The Russian leader, Lukin, had greeted us very warmly, and the team doctor, again Lukin, had taken us around the station. I was very impressed with the new station coming up at Progress. I am reproducing below the mail which the Russian leader shared with all the Antarctic nations after the accident. The photograph below shows Mr Ajay Dhar, again an Antarctic veteran and leader of the summer team of the 27th IAE, with both the Lukins.



From: lukin@aari.nw.ru - Valery Lukin (lukin)

Dear COMNAP members,
With great regret I have to inform you that at night on 5 October around
2.00 Moscow time (4.00 local time) there was a fire at Progress station in
the two-storeyed living building. The station team was not able to cope with
the fire by their own efforts and the building was completely destroyed by
fire. The station team comprised 29 people including 10 builders. As a
result of the fire, one person is missing (the body was not yet found) and
two persons were injured (fractures of different gravity). All three people
are from the construction team. The injured people are now at the medical
unit of the station. On 7 October the Progress personnel began dismantling
the collapsed structures and probably they will find the body of the third
builder at this place. Most of communication facilities and part of
scientific equipment including all PCs were destroyed. At present the
station team (28 people) lives in the old small houses left by previous
builders. The fire did not spread to the other station facilities, so we
have the mess-hall and the galley, the medical unit, "warm" and "cold"
warehouses, all transport vehicles and also the facilities of the new
wintering station under construction (diesel-electric power station, garage
and repair shops, a bath-house, a heli-pad, fuel storage and the carcass of
the new building). All food, fuel and medical supplies were preserved. The
people are provided with normal meals, polar clothing and medical service.
The station continues to fulfil the program on geomagnetism, partly on
coastal oceanography and hydrography. Meteorological observations and
receiving satellite information were temporarily stopped. The Progress
station now has HF radio-communication and telephone satellite communication
via Iridium and RAE daily communicates with the station and Progress station
communicates with Mirny or Vostok stations twice a day. We are very grateful
to Chinese colleagues from Zhongshan station for their immense help and
various assisstance provided after the fire. The Zhongshan station is at a
distance of 1.5 km from Progress station in the Larsemann Hills on the coast
of Prydz Bay. The burnt building was built in 1991. RAE plans to organize a
flight of BT67 airplane from Novolazarevskaya station in early December. If
the state of the injured people aggravates, RAE will make this flight in
early November for evacuating these people. The R/V "Akademik Fedorov" will
approach the Progress station on 20 December and deliver the necessary
equipment and supplies and new personnel.
So far the cause of the fire was not determined. We have informed all our
wintering stations about this accident with the request to check all
equipment and safety emergency action plans.
We are not asking the Antarctic community for help as the situation at the
station is not critical and station continues operation.
Have a good Antarctic season.
Best wishes.
Valery Lukin
RAE Head

Dharan Revisited...

Ever since I spent time in Dharan, I have looked forward to visiting it again and again, and fortunately there have been a number of opportunities to go there and relive the time once again. To the uninitiated: I spent more than two years between 1997 and 1999 at the B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan. Dharan was then a sleeping town in the foothills of Eastern province of Nepal. It is 150 km from Siliguri (airport: Bagdogra) or 5-hour drive from Darjeeling. Bihar border is only 50 km at Jogbani adjacent to Birat Nagar. Dharan had been the centre for the British Army to recruit soldiers for its Gorkha Regiment. The Ghopa Camp, established by them on a 700-acre estate, offered them to live there in style with an 18-hole golf course, swimming pools, sports facilities, and a vast jungle. They had established a 150-bedded hospital too there for people living there, ‘goras’ as well as ‘civilians’. There was a clear dividing line between ‘gora lines’ and ‘civil lines’ with civilians being prohibited to enter gora lines. In the early 1990s when the demand for Gorkha soldiers decreased, British decided to hand over the camp to Nepalese government, and subsequently wound up their operations. It became difficult for the Nepal government to sustain this sprawling estate. The then Indian PM, Shri Chandra Sekhar, a good friend of Koirala family, offered a substantial grant to develop the camp with a new health institution with a mandate to train local manpower for spreading health care in the Himalayan state. Thus, the B. P. Koirala Instt for Health Sciences got established where Indian doctors have been going there for short-term as well as long-term assignments for providing clinical care as well as training the young Nepalese health professionals for the country. I had gone there to help set up the department of psychiatry in the institute for its clinical and training facilities.
When I went there more than 10 years ago, Dharan was just a little sleeping town. It had started to awaken then and now 10 years later it is a bustling town with a vibrant economy, and in keeping with modern trend, has a few ‘malls’ too. In those two years, besides doing my clinical and academic work, I got plenty of opportunities in Dharan for trekking to nearby areas where I got a chance to see first hand how people lived in mountains with no roads, no health facility, or only a symbolic school. Only means of transportation was either to trek for a few days to reach the road head, or fly. Yes, Nepal could boast of nearly 40 airports situated on plateau on various hill tops. Flying in a small Dornier and landing over flat grassland was an experience in itself.
Last month when the Dean Office invited me there, it also advised me to come to Bagdogra (airport in Siliguri) from where I would be picked up. Normal route would have been Delhi-Kathmandu-Birat Nagar by air and then to Dharan by road. The Kosi River was in full spate with incessant rains in the hills and had breached the road bridge on the highway linking Dharan with Kathmandu, and with road traffic totally paralyzed, the Kathmandu-Birat Nagar flights were going full. The floods-prone Kosi, 'Bihar's sorrow', is a nightmare in flood management. Efforts to contain the river's annual season of fury by building embankments have not succeeded. Kosi is one of the largest tributaries of Ganga. In spite of an age-old treaty between India and Nepal, both countries have failed to tame the river. Each year it is the same story of floods, destruction, and human migration. It was funny watching Nepalese and Indian TV channels there when both sides blamed the other side for not fulfilling the obligation of maintenance of embankments etc.
The BPKIHS staff car was waiting for me at Bagdogra. The Nepal border at Kakarbitta was 25 km away. The road on Bengal side was in pathetic condition due to rains as well as poor maintenance even during dry season. While traveling in those parts of the country, the main worry is not because of the condition of roads, but because of frequent and instantaneous road blocks or ‘bandh’. The famous village, Naxalbari’ is on this route. Once we crossed into Nepal, the highway became better. East-West highway is the longest in country and is maintained in large parts by India. We stopped at Damak to straighten our legs and have tea. Over the last 10 years, the quality of ‘samosa’ had certainly improved. We reached Ghopa camp or BPKIHS on time. A number of new buildings had come up in last two years since my last visit. However, the greenery was still intact and it was very welcoming. The guest house was full of various medical experts from India and Nepal who had come there to conduct the M.D. examination in various disciplines. It was very nostalgic meeting some old colleagues; it was almost like home coming. A big colonial house has been converted into a guest house where I was put up with the luxury of a suite. It was very heartening to see that inspite of vast new construction, the green cover apparently was still intact. During my early morning walk next day, I came across a number of birds with whom I was familiar. I almost felt as if we recognized one another. Besides common birds, I spotted grey hornbill, pied hornbill, tree pie once again. While walking back in the night, I wanted, but at the same time did not want, to come face to face with a snake. Those days, it was a common occurrence for a rat snake or cobra to cross your path during late evening walks. But now with increased human and vehicular traffic, the snakes perhaps have hastened their exit.



It was quite satisfying to see the department of Psychiatry at BPKIHS progressing quite well. It has made a space for itself in clinical, teaching and training activities. It is training MBBS students, specialist psychiatrists, as well as psychiatric nurses; it is fulfilling a vast gap between supply and demand for mental health care in the Himalayan nation. The department as well as the Vice Chancellor were kind enough to allow me to share my experiences of Antarctica with the students and staff.

Eid Celebrations in Antarctica

Eid Mubarak at Maitri, Antarctica

I am so full of my Antarctica days. Any event, even remotely connected, fills me with nostalgia. But the Eid that I celebrated last year while at Antarctica will always remain a cherished memory in my mind for ever. Let me tell you about it.

Last year Eid was celebrated in the Maitri on 21st December, 2007. I had gone for a long walk at about 4 pm after talking to Chitra. I returned just before 7 pm (and it was bright day light) and headed for Annapurna lounge for having tea. I was surprised not to find anyone there. I was just wondering what happened when I found all the spoons missing. I guessed immediately that some party was going on in the summer camp. I went to the recreation lounge of the summer camp, Dooda Beta, looking for the group but was more surprised finding that it too was totally deserted. I was now certain that Eid party was in full swing somewhere, and just when I was scratching my head I noticed a bucket outside the igloo hut. And that gave it away since this hut usually remained locked. Reaching there I found the party in full swing. One does not need any invitation to join the Eid celebrations, so I jumped in. I was welcomed very warmly by Sheikh Ghaffar Saab who produced a bottle of Scotch to welcome me. Other people were happy with Rum. People were cracking jokes and reciting Urdu poetry. I was also asked to speak something. I recited a poem by Kaka Hathrasi that I reproduce for you. This poem is more than 40 years old and we as kids listened it many times on All India Radio.

It is about the days of early 1960s when adulteration was rampant in Indian markets. Kaaki sends Kaka to fetch pure ghee from the market, and when he brings it she immediately declares that it is as good as kerosene oil!

“ghaaslet batla rahi, hum laaye ghee shuddh,
isi baat per ho gaya deviji se yuddh;
deviji se yuddh, sambhala hum ne danda,
do belan par gaye ho gaya danda thanda;
ghairat ke karan hua bura hamara haal,
do aane ka sankhya le aaye tatkaal;
le aaye tatkaal, pees kar maari phanki,
mooh dhaap kar so gaye, kar marne ki taiyyari;
kar marne ki taiyyari,
lekin hum nahi mare, kyno ki sankhya nikla nakli”

Ghaaslet: kerosene oil
Ghairat: humiliation
Sankhya: poison containing arsenic

I also narrated my most favourite story of Eid by Munshi Prem Chand “Idgaah”. I am sure you remember it, or I will reproduce it some day.

In the Maitri dinning haal, Ram Das and Narayan had made biryani of both kinds, to top it with gulab jamun. What else I could do after taking some scotch but to indulge myself. So I had 4 gulab jamun, and just when I was about to finish, SK Singh came along and announced that I must have gulab jamun with yoghurt. That is the way sweets are consumed in Bihar! So I had two more. I reassured myself that I would walk extra mile next day.