Hospital keeps following me – it gets me for third time in three months

I, like any other normal person, hated hospitals. The strong smell of disinfectants, the nurses going about with grim expression on their faces, the doctors who do not know how to laugh - all of these have negative effect on every one.
I was no exception but, as it turned out, I had to get admitted in the hospital for treatment of disease connected to the heart. Yes, it was hereditary and, hence, the doctors did not want to take any chance. And, to add to my bucket of woes, my GM wanted to ensure that I remained fit and effective. It was a selfish motive but, it did have its plus points because the doctors took special care for me.
However, after being in the hospital twice, I felt that my diagnosis was complete and I started on a regular dose of medicines that were meant to ensure a trouble free life. But, God willed otherwise.

It was a party in a hotel – the occasion was to meet the family of a prospective bride for my son. The contact had been through letters and they hailed from Raipur. And, the head of the family was known to one of my local friends.
All of us met in a hotel in Nashik City and, agreed to let the youngsters go out and try to discover each other’s likes and dislikes. They came back after half an hour or so and there followed a session of some hot and spicy snacks peppered with discussions in a light vein. We exchanged smiles and parted company.
But, by the time we returned home, I was once again in discomfort. And, it ended with yet another visit to the hospital and an entry into the ICU – it was the third time in less than three months. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Activists on kayaks protest against drilling for oil in Alaska

Disenchanted with rosy promises of a life with the ISIS, three British girls escape

Over 600 stranded migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar rescued by local fishermen

British spy chiefs recruiting computer geeks for £27,913 to help fight terrorists, criminal gangs and hackers

Ancient 2000-year-old city of Palmyra in Syria targeted for destruction by ISIS

I become a detective to trace a missing consignment

Search for a daughter-in-law is a complicated matter

I had never expected the search for a suitable daughter-in-law to be such a complicated affair. My son had his schooling in co-educational school and college and, many of his friends had selected their life partners on their own – from among their circle of friends. Thereby, their parents had no headaches. But, I was not so lucky.
Before embarking on our mission DIL (daughter in law!!), I asked my wife to check with our son if he had anyone in his sights and, once he assured that the line was clear, we began our behind the scenes activities. And, so it came to pass that we began by contacting parents of prospective brides based on newspaper advertisements.

The responses were, at times out of this world and, my wife and I realized how little we know about human behavior and their expectations. We wanted an alliance from our own caste. No matter what others may say, a permanent alliance like a marriage should be between like-minded individuals and, if the caste is same, plenty of problems become non-existent.
Obviously, caste was one of our requirements and, of course, the usual about being qualified, fair, and handsome.
Replies would come with photographs and write-ups - and, the photos would be returned with regret notes from our side. And, in order to cater to these returns, I had to maintain a stock of envelopes and postage stamps.
Needless to say, this became an extracurricular activity of sorts for my wife and me – she would get to read the replies first because those would arrive by post. Once I came home after work, she would show me the replies. And, finally, my son would have a look-in.
However, since we were unable to zero-in on a suitable bride in our initial search, we decided to insert an ad in the Times of India. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Activists on kayaks protest against drilling for oil in Alaska

Disenchanted with rosy promises of a life with the ISIS, three British girls escape

Over 600 stranded migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar rescued by local fishermen

British spy chiefs recruiting computer geeks for £27,913 to help fight terrorists, criminal gangs and hackers

Ancient 2000-year-old city of Palmyra in Syria targeted for destruction by ISIS

I become a detective to trace a missing consignment


Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Violence and atrocities

Venturing into the world of matrimony

The world of matrimony is a very sensitive field and, only the experts can find their way out of the labyrinth. There are pitfalls galore and one has to be careful of selection of a suitable match for either the son or the daughter. In spite of the best of intentions, the alliance may not finally gel – and, then, those who had taken the initiative would have to bear the brunt of the attack and criticism.
Therefore, when the time came for me to find out a suitable match for my son, it was several months of searching the matrimonial ad columns in leading Bengali newspapers. For that, I used to get the paper by post on a monthly basis.

In those days, contacts would be maintained through handwritten letters and the regular task of my wife and me was to minutely go through the ads that appeared on Sundays. I had prepared and kept my son’s bio-data ready and, after a few lines of communication in the form of a brief letter, would attach a copy of the bio-data and post them. In most of the cases, a reply would come and that would be the first step towards forming a permanent relationship.
But, Man is a creature that is difficult to satisfy. The search for a suitable bride for my son was gradually turning out to be a process that was more complicated than I had ever imagined. I was afraid that my search for a stick would see me at the end of the forest without laying my hands on the exact type of stick I had in mind.
Therefore, apart from sending replies to ads of others, my wife and I decided to post an ad in the papers from our side and see what sort of response we get. (to be continued …)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


More than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped last year by Boko Haram have vanished

Journey to freedom – 5800 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean

Indonesian smugglers stuff yellow-crested cockatoos into plastic bottles to get past customs

Engineering graduate of Hyderabad goes astray, dies because of links with ISIS

Dozens of corpses found in bamboo cages in Thai human trafficking camp

Quick tour of Delhi by ITDC bus


Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Violence and atrocities