Nagpur medico reunion 2015 souviner (1)

"Cherry Blossom" from Original fabric collage by Dr Aruna

Dr Ravi Mene

It gives me great pleasure in presenting the souvenir of NagpurMedicos in UK. The encouragement for organising this event comes from the support and enthusiasm of you the alumni and the organising committee, we hope that you will continue to support this event which needs to become a biennial affair.

The quality of material received for publication has been extremely high.

These gatherings give us an opportunity to meet our colleagues from back home, reminisce old memories, rekindle old friendships and above all develop a sense of camaraderie.

It is nice to see so many of you after long time, it's also unfortunate that not all could make it for some reason or other. We hope to see them in future.

This year we have received and published poetry from one of our colleagues in USA! The news from across the pond is that they have been encouraged by our enthusiasm and are proposing to hold similar meeting in USA next year, another opportunity/reason for us to travel?

I must thank my wife Dr Aruna Mene for her constant encouragement to get on with the job in hand.

Thanks are also due to Dr Ramesh Mehta, Dr Shyam Purohit and the committee members for their advise & Dr Smita Deshpande in taking the lead on entertainment. And to Dr Buddhdev Pandya MBE of BAPIO without whose help and ideas this publication would have been impossible.

Enjoy the programme and the contents and do let us have your feedback.

Ravi ravi.mene@gmail.com

from an Original fabric collage

by Dr Aruna Mene

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Dr Ramesh Mehta

W

hile I was in Nagpur in January, our friend Dr Harish Warbhe kindly organised a visit to my alma mater, the Government Medical College, Nagpur.

As we entered the gates of GMC there was déjà vu! It was 1966 when I had first entered the gates as a medical student! At first glance everything looked the same, including the tower with clock which was not working!

However soon I noticed a new building on the right hand side, which I was told is new trauma centre to be opened soon. I loved the walk in the campus. I noticed that good old Ophthalmology dept. has been turned in Emergency dept.

change to my previous depressing visits. The paediatric ward (where I worked) was exactly the same but more orderly. We were taken to the impressive oncology unit. The day care centre was as good as any in UK. The play room for the cancer Kids was heart-warming.

But I was very impressed at the new garden in the top left hand corner of the college. It was well manicured and looked beautiful.

As we passed the mortuary, memories of scary stories during student days of ‘ghost’ came alive! Hostels looked the same but I was told that the girls to boy’s ratio is reversed; girls strongly dominating!

Our final stop was the brand new digital elibrary. Highly experienced librarian took us around the magnificent building.

However, unfortunately it is still waiting for the proper furniture and equipment! I shouldn’t have been surprised knowing Indian bureaucracy!

The visit ended with mixed feelings. Happiness for the opportunity to go down the memory lane and recollect fond memories of some of the best days of my life as a medical student.

I was pleased that the college and hospital looked much cleaner as compared to my previous visits and there were some new developments in the campus. But even the meagre progress seemed to be at snail’s pace.

It was time to meet the Dean Dr Niswade. I was surprised to see all the HODs there too. After introductions we had a general chat about the college and hospital. He was happy to consider any projects the alumni may want to do at GMC. I extended an invitation to him to join us at Coventry. The Dean’s office took me back to New Trauma centre to be opened 969 when we had invited Mr Vijay Merchant the famous cricketer/commentator who had a welcome reception in the office before going to the fully packed auditorium for interaction with students.

Finally, thanks GMC for whatever I am today, you have a played a great part in it!

The dean kindly requested Prof to take us around for a brief tour of the college and hospital. I was keen to visit the coffee house (now called canteen) and was sad to see there were no uniformed waiters and absence of Indian Coffee House aura. I missed the vibrancy and colour of old days!

Cleanliness, in the hospital was a pleasant surprise, an obvious

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"A JOURNEY FROM UK TO UK (Uttara Khand via Delhi) IN INDIA AND BACK". 'Material world to Spiritual world to the Best of both worlds' Dr BalMukund Bhala, Consultant in Anaesthesia & Pain Management Yog Teacher and Chair, Northants PYPT (UK)

H

those present at this were RSS sarsanghchalakji, Cricketer/TV personality Navjyot Siddhuji .

aving lived in India from birth in 1949 & in the UK from October 1976 it was time to think seriously about developing some more useful skills for planning proper retirement. As these thoughts were gathering pace an opportunity arrived like many others to visit India again. In December last year I was in India visiting friends & relatives followed by attending the Annual Meeting/Conference of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists at the temple city of Madurai in Tamilnadu state. This was followed by an excellent trip to New Zealand North Island to visit our son Neeraj and company, attending the arrival of the New Year 2015.

Also present & actively supporting were businessmen like Azim Premji and Mr Rao. Then I was invited to co-chair a session on Health Sewa projects with Dr Kukde, who lead the medical sewa during that Latur Earthquake. It was a great honour to be an overseas observer and guest speaker to an audience of over 350 delegates from all over India, actively working from city slums to vanvasi areas there. This was another spiritual experience in the field- nishkam karma yog!!!

Then it was time to pack & prepare to return with heavy heart. But another surprise was waiting as I went for a simple dinner only to be invited to be in company of Shri Mohanji Bhagvat & Shri Singh Saab of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. What an honour to be in such an elite twins' company, two full time voluntary heads of two patriotic RSS organisations. If I had any negative ego still with me, it was time to dissolve it there & then. Om sahana vavatu...

The opportunity, or more of a spiritual calling, this year was from Haridwar Patanjali Yog Pith (PYP) for the Yog Teacher Training level 3 in the last week of March. I landed in Delhi via Birmingham Airport and took a taxi straight to Keshav Kunj (Dilli RSS Karyalay). I went straight to Haridwar to join a team from Northants PYPT of which I am honoured to be the Chairman.

Story continues when we continued our post-dinner chat for a few more minutes & I managed to take a relaxed selfie, my first successful effort so far. Charaiveti... ..charaiveti..carry on and keep up the good spiritual work, and share that spiritual sunshine with others in UK and elsewhere as advised by Vedas & the great verdantin Rishis like Swami Vivekanand:

Participants were all senior/experienced Yog teachers from all over the world; UK group of over 125 was the biggest from outside India. Whole day training for over a week from 4 am to 9 pm was slightly tiring initially but soon we all got used to. Very inspirational Baba Ramdevji was there all the time in his usual enthusiastic & active participation mode. At the end of the course he personally blessed each individual as a qualified yogi. A spiritual experience for body/mind in deed!

'Arise, awake and stop not till the (spiritual) goal is reached!'

Hope you all would like to join in to spread this message in our areas of activities and be Nishkam Karmayogis, just like so many spiritually enlightened ones I met recently.

Some of us then went to Rishikesh Parmarth Ashram to seek blessings from Pujya Muniji and his disciples including the very dedicated westerner, now fully easterner, Sadhvi Bhagvati Saraswatiji. Here on the bank of river Ganga we attended the famous Ganga Arti and Hanuman Chalisa two evenings in full swing followed by a Q&A sessions with Muniji in presence of some dignitaries. Another close to the nature spiritual experience!!

Then it was time to return to Dilli/Delhi. I stayed at RSS Karyalay in good company of many dedicated full time adhikaris & pracharaks fully participating in their routine shakhas. From there two daily trips to Sewa Sangam were truly enlightening. In one place were nearly 3500 active workers of RSS heavily involved in various 150,000 completely voluntary unpaid Sewa projects from all states of India.

Two of my brothers were there from two different parts of India (Bhala sangam at Sewa sangam). The representatives meet every 5 years and it's organised by a City branch of Sewa Bharati. This was inaugurated with blessings from Pujya Ammaji, the famous spiritual hugging Saint from Kerala state. Amongst

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"पुनर्मिलन" या "पूना र्मलन " पुनर्मिलन का आया अवसर

भूत काल फ़िर जागा क्षण भर पुण्य नगरी का सुन्दर पररसर आवो बाते कर ले जी भर साल दो साल बीत गये कुछ साथी हमसे बबछ्ड गये कुछ दे र साथ साथ चले

फ़िर हात छोड कर ननकल गये

अब तक हम सबने अथि कमाया

अब हमको फ़िर से र्मलना है

"कौन है हम","क्या है हम", ये जाने

अब परमाथि कमाना है

भुली यादो को दोहराना है

जीवन को सिल बनाना है

कुछ गीत पुराने गाना है संगीत नया बनाना है

अब ना फ़कसीसे कुछ लेना है

अब वक्त हमारे साथ नही

ज्यादा दे ने फ़क हममे क्षक्ती हो

जजतना पाया उससे ज्यादा दे ना है

यौवन का भी साथ नही

इतना ही प्रभू से कहना है

जो बीता उसका शोक नही

मै नातो कवव हू, ना शायर ना लेखक हू, ना नेता

लेफ़कन रुकने का ये वक्त नही हम

हार कभी ना मानेन्गे

मै हू बाला घाट से ननकला एक नन्हा सा झरना

हहम्मत को ना छोडेन्गे एक बार फ़िर दोस्तो के साथ नूतन

इस झरने का कोइ नाम नही

सपने दे खेन्गे

बतलाने जैसा काम नही फ़कस जगह जा पहुचना है उस जगह का कोई पता नही

by

Dr Subhash M Waikar MD USA, 1963 batch

उसकी इस यात्रा मे कुछ दोस्त र्मले कुछ दे र साथ साथ चले

जब मागि मे कोई अडचन थी वो सही हदशा हदखा गये क्योन हम फ़िर एक बार र्मले बीते हदनो को फ़िर याद करे बनकर हमसिर फ़िर एक बार अपनी जीवन यात्रा को सिल करे सभ ु ाष

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Here is all that you wanted to know about Nagpur, also known as the orange city….

Dr Meena Supriya Bhide London

Batch 1966

T

he city gets its name from the river Nag. Situated on the river, Nagpur is the orange growing capital of India. It was once the capital of the central province, but was later incorporated into the state of Maharashtra. Long ago it was a centre for the Gond tribes who remained in power until the 18th century and many Gond still live in the region today.

Nagpur is one of the key industrial and business cities today. It plays abode to many coalmines, thermal power plants. It has a lion share in producing cotton. One of the specialities of Nagpur are the well famous Nagpur oranges, the cultivation of which in Vidharbha region of Maharashtra has brought glory to the area.

Nagpur city’s population is made up of a mix of people from many parts of country. Needless to say there is a variety of foods found here from Bengali, South Indian and of course Maharashtrian.

Nagpur is a city in the central part of India’s Maharashtra state.

The city faces extreme variations in temperature with very hot summers and very cold winters. The district enjoys three major seasons; monsoon sets in the month of June peaking in July and August. Summer is really hot with temperatures shooting up to 45°C, sometimes even higher! (Not a right time to visit!) The best time to enjoy travel in Nagpur is winter from November to the end of January.

As we all know Nagpur is the orange city and therefore one could see the great influence of oranges in Nagpur food.

The orange city is famous for its laid-back life style. Everyone knows everyone and an easy informality arises out of such close contact. People of Nagpur are quite humble and hospitable.

Nagpur is a city with unique charm welcoming visitors with open arms.

Nagpur city has a few places of interest for tourists. Picnic places are found in the areas surrounding the Ambazari tank and Telankhadi tank. Here one will find a nice park with boating facilities. Seminary hill is a wooded place, good for strolling around and has the added attraction of a children’s park. The city zoo—Maharaj Baag is the good place for the kids to enjoy. The city museum, the Raman Science Museum is also a good attraction for school going children.

Please enjoy this delicious recipe from Nagpur!

Places of interest around Nagpur…

RAMTEK This is the place visited by lord Rama along with Sita and Laxman.

It is well known for its annual Ramnavami festival. It has a temple of Shriram on the top of the hill.

ORANGE KHEER INGREDIENTS Full cream milk--5cups Sugar--1/2cup Oranges--3 Almonds--10 Pista—10

KHINDSEY TALAO (LAKE) This is about 8km from Ramtek and 60km from Nagpur. The beautiful lake is set like a gem in the background of green woods on the slopes of the Ramtek hills. There is a regular bus service from Nagpur.

WARDHA About 67km from Nagpur, Wardha is well known for its long association with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s ashram is at Sevagram, which is about 8km from Wardha. A visit to this place takes one back in time to the Gandhian era when all the major decisions about the course of the freedom struggle used to be made.

METHOD Peel oranges and cut in to small pieces Blanch almonds and pista and cut into small pieces Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan When the milk starts boiling add sugar and cardamom powder and cook on a low flame.

When the contents start thickening switch of the gas.

When the contents are cool add orange pieces and refrigerate.

Garnish with almonds and pistachios.

Served chilled

Nagpur is an educational and cultural centre in its own right.

There are good educational facilities with engineering, agricultural and medical colleges. This is a bilingual city where the national language Hindi is as popular as state language Marathi.

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Long Walk Down The Memory Lane – ‘Life Before Birth‘ -Easha

Gogte (Vasudha Gurjar) GMC Nagpur Batch 1972 ed my 60th birthday !

Dear friends, we like to take a stroll down the memory lane.

Nostalgia has its own unique joy. A big ‘ thank you‘ to organisers of Nagpur Medicos Get together. We will be munching the memories of our college days, studies, clinics…and also the ‘Extra‘ curricular activities, not just sports and drama but also memories of ‘Heart Throbs’ and ‘Heart Robs ‘ ha ha !

I thoroughly enjoyed playtime. One fine day, my mum felt my movements. I was ecstatic to behold the beautiful smile on her pretty face. We refer to this as ‘Quickening‘ an important milestone which would-be-mums record joyfully.

Later on feeling my movements with palms placed on my mum’s tummy ….became an enjoyable family activity for my parents and my elder brother, Sudheer. Mum enjoyed feeling my kicks. I think mums must be the only humans who enjoy kicks by another human being…of course by their own baby in their own body!

Further down the memory lane, come the flashbacks of school days and childhood chums. Stretching my memory further, I visualise my very early days as a new born, taking nap in my beautiful mum’s lap, free of tension, claiming total attention of my parents, the comfortable cuddle times or being rocked about in the cradle, to the lovely melody of lullaby !

My past time was to listen to the soothing rhythm of my mum’s heart and the soft melody of blood flowing through my ‘Store house of nutrients ‘ the placenta .

Delving deep into my memory disc, I was astonished to recollect the very first moment of my existence, me as a fertilised ovum enjoying the pretty pink, soft, soothing surroundings of my first abode in this world -the fallopian tube.. I felt grateful to my lovely parents for bringing me into this wonderful world.

The visits to the green grocer increased. Dad made it sure that mum included fresh vegetables, fruits, milk in her balanced diet. Mum went for regular Antenatal check ups.

With rapt attention, I listened to her consultant…yes, like the great ‘Abhimanyu of Mahabharat’.

While I enjoyed jumping, playing with the soft rope like thing (the umbilical cord) thank goodness my ‘Kolanti udya’ did not cause knots! Well, everything went on smoothly .Very soon it was time for mum to welcome her ‘Second bundle of Joy ‘

Mother Nature happily started implementing her plans to nurture and nourish me. Very soon, gently I was transported from my pink tunnel to a huge pink chamber – ( the Uterus ), dear mum’s womb. It had a huge dome on the top (the fundus of the uterus ). I was not tempted to lazily loiter in the tunnel for a little while more otherwise this would have ended up in ‘Ectopic Pregnancy ‘. Thank goodness !

My pink chamber prepared itself to introduce me into the world. It coaxed me giving me warm farewell embraces rhythmically.. labour had set in. The water around me slipped down past my head. Mum-dad picked the bags , went downstairs to our own maternity home.(Later our ‘Own bundle of joy ‘ …Aaditya, was born on the same table.

From his mummy’s tummy he got directly into the loving hands of his daddy !)..

At one stage in my life dear friends as you know I must have looked like a ‘Boondi ka Ladoo ‘- Morula stage! Soon the miraculous plans of Nature started unravelling. My tissues started getting their own identity. So many things were happening! I looked around my soft ,pretty chamber with great awe and amusement. Mother Nature wished to ensure I had a comfortable stay there. It was huge compared to the tunnel in which I spent my most early days. I chose a cosy spot to settle down . This would be my living quarters for the next 36 + weeks. Good I did’n t settle lower down my pear shaped chamber. Hence another disaster was averted.

Implantation on the lower side would have led to placenta praevia.

Well..with dad’s encouragement my mum pushed and paused appropriately. Finally the great moment arrived.

Jubiliant smiles welcomed me as I slipped into Dr Sunandatai’ hands.

Dear friends, this is the enchanting story - ‘LIFE BEFORE BIRTH ‘ not just mine, but ALL OF US ! Then…what a joy.. I felt two tiny palms caressing me. Dada was 7 years old.

Smile would’nt leave his face ! God had dispatched his special order-a sweet sister for him .So also, gratitude filled my whole being.

Friends, imagine my excitement when I realised something beating/throbbing in my being. I clearly recollect that magical moment –the very first time I was aware of my heart throb …long before my teenage !

I was thankful to everybody especially my mum who endured all the ordeal happily.…And I thank my dad, my brother ,my family, friends like you, teachers colleagues …all deserve heartfelt thanks for the love showered on me all these six decades !Cheers dear friends !

Mother Nature was busy working relentlessly to introduce great variety in my tissues. Multiple systems started taking shape achieving anatomical and physiological perfection which supported me for the last 60 years, Recently celebrat-

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Jammi N Rao MD FRCP

The Gondwana Club in Seminary Hills was, and perhaps still is, an exclusive preserve of success, wealth and privilege.

For an impecunious student in Nagpur it was also distant and unattainable.

particular to the health and healthcare scene?

In the 4 decades or more since some of us have been a part of the British NHS, India has moved on, slowly at first but since the 90s at a blistering pace. Not just economically but in health care too. Pioneers in efficient and effective heart eye surgery and primary care, have established India’s reputation as a centre of innovation in lean healthcare – the new management fad of jugaad has made its way into the assembly-line delivery of cutting- edge healthcare. It’s the sort of growth story that is mirrored in the success of my two classmates. What about healthcare policy? A small but visionary group of doctors including one of Nagpur’s own have produced a plan for universal access to healthcare , but its a plan - on paper. If we in the NHS think we are suffering austerity then it might be sobering to reflect that India’s new Government has cut the central health budget by 20% in one year.

But we dined there, my wife and I, as guests of a couple of class mates, now at the height of their professional careers, leading super-specialists in the city.

The conversation turned, as it does after a mellowing drink or two, to the semi-philosophical question of how life had turned out for us.

Did we do better, those of us who had decided soon after graduating to leave India and seek our professional fortunes and personal happiness in foreign lands? Or was it the case that those of us who stayed back were the real successes.

It was a reflective question, not intended to be competitive, much less an opening to boast; an opening for a pleasant conversation without expectation of a verdict. Leaving aside the comparison, there is the wider question, Did we, those of us who became doctors 4 or 5 decades ago, did we do good?

But these glittering examples beguile us into missing what I think is the elephant in the room for India’s healthcare system.

It is the corrosion of culture and the corruption of value systems in the institutions of medicine and healthcare in India. Political interference and the growth of corruption have led to the decay of publicly provided healthcare.

Medical colleges are stagnant, producing doctors of variable quality, with little by way of values or respect for patients.

Happiness is personal, both in its quest and in the definition. Professional success is, except at the extremes, difficult to measure objectively and is in any case not a matter for self-definition. Reflecting back over 4 decades and counting, it is germane to ask, did we contribute as much as we might have done or did we merely accumulate the trappings of material success along the way, content merely to rise with the tide?

Corruption starts at to the top with the Medical Council of India. The growth of poorly regulated private medical colleges charging extortionate entry fees would not have been possible without the connivance or ineffectiveness or both of the MCI, and state politicians. As a result a medical qualification is no longer an entry to a caring profession but a down payment that must be recouped by a future income stream that is sustainable only under a system of institutionalised corruption. Stories abound of patients being kept alive for a few extra days in intensive care so the bill can be inflated, of kickbacks for using a manufacturer’s medical devices, or for ordering expensive imaging studies without clinical justification . A colleague at my hospital tells me of trauma centres that have sprung up on a 200 mile stretch of the highway outside a major city that is notorious as a high risk zone for road crashes; each center offers a cash commission to private ambulances to bring road crash victims to its facility.

Continued...on page

Individual successes tell a part of the story of immigrant doctors in England. Pioneering scientific achievements led to professional recognition and International fame for at least one of us. Many others did remarkably well in our chosen specialties. Some of us have contributed to art and culture. Almost all of us have worked hard and made a difference to our patients, our workplaces and o the wider NHS. All this despite good evidence of an undercurrent of overt and covert racial discrimination – a problem that some of us may never have faced, but that has bedevilled the careers of quite a few. Overall, it would be hard to argue that we deserve less than an A-minus.

What about India? The land we go home to every now and again, for a wedding may be, or a holiday, to visit family or sadly, for a funeral. It’s always a visit, a limited duration trip; we go home to India but come home to England.

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Continued from page …

Even when medical practice is not quite so blatantly corrupt, Indian citizens have to contend with the over selling of surgical procedures, screening tests and diagnostic imaging . The experience is made worse by an antiquated doctor-knows-best attitude that still pervades medical practice in India.

At the root of these multiple ills that so ail India’s health care scene is an exploitative culture that pervades so many aspects of public and private life in India. Never mind the question who did better, collectively as doctors did we do enough to combat this culture? Did we speak

up and demand change? Could we have done more to deal with the system through which healthcare is organised and the way in which it is delivered? Did we connive with the ‘system’ simply by staying silent?

No doubt each of us will make up his or her own mind.

Maybe we just could not have done more to help. Maybe we were too busy grappling with the system here in England; after all medicine is a demanding mistress and focusing on one thing and delivering on it is part of our success story. Maybe system reform and re-focusing medical education was always going to be an agenda for another day and another generation of doctors. Perhaps this is a challenge for younger doctors to take up.

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Dr Aruna Mene MD,DCH,FRCPath

I

love fabrics- their different textures, colours, patterns entice me . Working with fabrics is very therapeutic and uplifting and gives me immense pleasure!

My love of textiles and fabrics dates back from my early childhood, when I would see my mother stitching beautiful dresses from lovely fabrics for my younger sister and me.

She was such a creative person with innovative ideas for stitching fashionable clothes, that people would ask us who the tailor was and I would proudly tell them that it was my mother who had stitched them!

Dr. Mary Sheppard - a renowned cardiac pathologist and the collages have a pride of place currently in St. George's hospital , London.

My fabric collages are 'happy ' collages and I hope they are uplifting and convey the joy of living. My attempt is to impart a positive, 'feel good' factor through them. They take a long time to make, as hundreds and thousands of fabric scraps are used in layers in making them, but I enjoy visualising the completed picture and find them very relaxing.

This was just her hobby which she enjoyed. My very first foray into stitching was making my doll's clothes and later on making my own clothes.I remember making a stylish churidar kameez from a curtain and proudly wearing it to college!

My art of fabric collage is very' green' as I use fabric waste and recycled textiles. I try to create beauty from waste .

Most of the fabric remnants I use are synthetic materials and this is a great way of using them, as most of the synthetic fabrics are non- biodegradable and would clog up the land fill sites.

Images from my collages were selected for a Japanese calendar for 2015 with the title 'Joy of living'. The image of 'Tree of life' has appeared on a Gastro enterology journal.

I continued making clothes for my children when they were young , but it is only in the last seven years or so, when I diversified into creating fabric collages- pictures made using hundreds and thousands of fabric scraps and recycled textiles. I use fabrics as my medium, instead of paint . The fabric fragments are stuck on canvas board with an ' iron on adhesive'. I then embellish them with crystals, diamantĂŠ, coloured stones etc to give them a magical, fairy tale feel.

Through the sale of my collages and merchandise using images of my fabric collages, my endeavour has been to raise money for various deserving charities, in India and UK. I feel this is an enjoyable way of fund raising and I am glad to say that in the last five years we have raised funds in excess of fifteen thousand Pounds.

The inspirations for my collages come from nature, romance, passion , humanity and all things beautiful. My pictures depict Mother Nature in all its glory. I enjoy travelling to various exotic destinations in the world and the wild life , flora and fauna of the world provide me countless inspirations. Some of my figurative collages are inspired by Gustav Klimt, Vermeer and photographs of Steven Mc Curry- a national Geographic photographer.

The various charities I support through my art are1. ’ Anandwan ', founded by the renowned social activist Baba Amte at Warora, near Nagpur, which is now very efficiently run by Drs Vikas and Bharati Amte and their children.

Anandwan (Forest of Joy) is a peaceful green remarkable commune ,thanks to the very innovative ideas of Vikas. He has turned this previously barren land into green fields, growing double crops with the help of his cured and physically challenged residents.

A few years ago, I decided to marry two of my passions- Histopatholgy (my professional specialty) and fabric collage- and the result was the creation of a series of fabric collages , entitled ' Beauty under the microscope'.

These depicted some microscopic images as exotic landscapes. The first collage' transmission electron microscopic image of common cold virus in the nasal epithelium, appeared on the cover of ' the Royal college of Pathologists' Other pictures included Giardia Lamblia parasites in the intestinal lumen, Aspergilus fungal hyphae with fruiting spores , coronary atheroma, TEM myocardial cell, whole human heart .The Cardiac Pathology collages were specially commissioned by

Another remarkable initiative by Vikas Amte was the formation of 'Swaranandawan' - a therapeutic theatre. This is a unique musical orchestra of the select group of leprosy afflicted, visually challenged and hearing and speech impaired people of Anandwan. This is aimed at providing them a psychosocial rejuvenating therapy by harnessing their talents. I was very happy to note that fundraising through my art made it possible for them to buy new musical instruments for their orchestra.

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2.Hemalkasa, another Baba Amte initiative, is run by Drs Prakash and Manda Amte and their children. This project helps the Madia Gond tribal community residing in the deep forests of Gadchiroli district in providing health care and education for the past forty years. The residential school has now produced first Madia Gond Doctors, lawyers and teachers. Hemalkasa's Lok Biradari Prakalp also houses 'Amte's Animal Ark' a unique orphanage for various wild animals .

There are so many deserving charities in this world and we the privileged people in the society should support these bona fide charities to make this a better world. I would definitely urge our fellow Nagpurians to visit Anandwan and Hemalkasa, to see the remarkable work our fellow Nagpurians Drs Vikas, Prakash, Bharat, Manda Amte are doing .

Please help me in supporting these charities by buying the merchandise and my original fabric collages, by visiting my website www.arunamene.com.

3. Another very deserving charity I support is Nirmalya trust in Pune, which was started by Meena Bedarkar in 2003 and provides a helping hand for the physically challenged people in the society and makes them independent and useful members of the society. Their main goal is to generate employment for the physically challenged. I was very pleased to help Nirmalya trust in buying specially adapted scooters for the paraplegics by fund raising through my art.

Thank you.

Dr Aruna Mene

4. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at London's University College Hospital. The funds I raised two years ago, helped in the purchase of some essential equipment for the unit.

The unit does an absolutely wonderful job for the premature babies and the dedication of its staff is exemplary. I observed this first hand when our grandson was born prematurely and was a resident there for the first four months of his life.

5. Other charities I have supported through my art are the Bobath centre in North London for supporting children with cerebral palsy and also another charity in a Pune called 'Jagruti', which supports education and self-Development programmes for slum children and women.

12

Dr Prakash Jagadambe

I

t was a pleasant winter evening in Nagpur, the occasion was one of the functions of Golden Jubilee of our batch. As the friends started arriving there were emotional scenes as some were meeting after long period. It was very interesting and emotional experience to live those memories again after fifty years.

I am sure most of the description below, is common to all the batches, I thought let us share and try to relive some of the events and the ”phrases” which gives great joy. As those golden days of student life never come back but memories are very soothing.

was Ganesh festival and then the annual gathering which generally came in winter, these events gave so much scope to inborn talents of medical students, at the same time musical programmes, dramas and various activities like picnics had embedded chance to grow acquaintance with girls, also had some foresight to get into good books of some teachers.

We had to thank the brilliance of the person who arranged lectures like Pharmacology, Pathology immediately after lunch break, so that some of us could have little naps ,and refresh brain cells for the practical which followed. The most inseparable part of student life was the “Cafeteria” or the coffee house, most visited room in campus (not even the lecture theatres). It was like second home. Assured KMT was happily given by friends.

As students in first year we lived in some sort of constant fear ,and juniors always prayed that seniors should get busy somewhere else. Once this initial period of torment finished, the colourful life started. The new academic year started with the most enjoyable and keenly fought event as you correctly guessed “The election” various groups and “pacts” during election , the arguments off course all was just for that moment.

The vast interest in the election was surrounding the post of vice president as this was the face the boys wished to see in functions for the whole of next year.

The hostel life for some, was most memorable part of that student life , friends were like family away from home, the unity was great, the days during examination were full of tension, anxiety expectations, however the support from friends and other students was simply out of the world. For answers or difficulty solving, search engines like Google etc were not born.

In election the amusing factor was the post of “5th year CR” how wisely and unanimously this selection was made, and the procession of this Victor ,sometimes on elephant was unique to our college. In all the activities and entire college life one was hypnotised by the word ”Bhojan” anytime we meet, this word brings back all the memories of that life.

The bonds which grew amongst us in those five and half years is golden treasure of memories, let us all cherish it.

With all the best for GTG Dr Prakash Jagadambe

There were two other events all looked forward to, one

13

पा

हिलं ! एका साबणाची गोष्ट िे शीर्िक बघून तुम्िी

तुमच्या पैकी जे लोक 'झी' बघत असतील त्यांनी कदाचचत नोंद

वाटलं असेल की िी एखाद्या िमाम ककं वा लक्स साबणाची किाणी

दहापयांत प्रत्येकी अध्याि तासांच्या तब्बल सहा मार्लका असतात.

केलं असेल. यांच्या संध्याकाळी साडे सात पासून ते रात्री साडे

थांबलाच आणण केली वाचायला सुरवात ? आपल्याला

आिे ...पण

नािी

वाचकिो

िी

किाणी

आिे

(मी त्या बघत नाही. हा अमूल्य वेळ मी माझ्या कॉम्​्यूटरवर

आज-कालच्या

काम करत असतो, असं मला वाटतं...पण माझी बायको यावर

दरू दशिनवरच्या साबणाची. साबण म्िणजे सोप. सोप िा शब्द सािे बांच्या

भार्ेत

वर्ािनुवर्े

चालणाऱया

सहमत नाही ! घरो घरी मातीच्या चुली...!!) मी आपला येऊन

दरू चचत्रवाणीवरच्या

जाऊन लक्ष ठे वत असतो मार्लकांवर. बहुतक े हठकाणी रडारडी चालू असते फ़कं वा कारस्थानं होत असतात. एके हदवशी काय झाले

मार्लका. िे लोण आता आपल्या भारतातसद्ध ु ा अगदी संसगिजन्य

रोगा प्रमाणे फैलावत आिे . थोडक्यात सांगायचे म्िणजे २४ तास

नऊ वाजताच्या मार्लकेतली पात्र तोच ड्रेस वगैरे घालन साडे ू

दरू दशिन चालू असतो. मग ततथं भरायला कायिक्रम तर िवेच मग

आठच्याच मार्लकेत प्रकट झाली. मला वाटले प्रसारणात काही

ते आणायचे कुठून? ज्या प्रमाणे बॉलीवूड िॉलीवूडची नक्कल

चूक झालेली हदसते. पण नाही. ते सत्य होतं. नऊची मार्लका

करतो, त्याचप्रमाणे तनमाित्यांनी सोपची कल्पना उचलून भारतीय

आहे मराठी कुटुंबातली. साडे आठची आहे बबहारी. एवढ्यावर ते

संस्कारात आणून ठे वली. मग काय ववचारायलाच नको.

थांबले नाहीत तर त्यांनी तेथे पंधरा र्मननटे रामायणातील र्सनपण

आता भारतीय लग्न घ्या. नुसत्या लग्न या ववषयावर वषािनुवषे

सादर केला...! याचा काय संबंध होता नऊच्या मार्लकेतील

जाता

त्यानंतर तीन आठवडे झाले, अन ् साडेआठच्या मार्लकेतील पात्रे

मार्लका चालताहे त. लहान मुली मोठ्या होतात. मग शाळे त जाता

गोष्टटींशी? म्हं टल असेल बुवा. हा प्रसंग दोन हदवस चालला.

होतात. एक मल ु गी, नतच्या मागे दोन-तीन मल ु े. साखर पड ु े होतात

आठ वाजताच्या मार्लकेतच प्रकटली...!!! मग कळलं, या सगळ्या

महाववद्यालयात

पोचतात.

मग मुला-मुलींचे

खेळ

सुरु

मोडतात होतात-मोडतात. लग्न ठरतात-मोडतात. मागे केववलवाणी

मार्लकांच्या ननमाित्या त्याच 'क' वाल्या होत्या...! काय ही राष्टरीय

गाणी आति सुरात चालू असतात. त्यातल्या त्यात एक गाणं तर

एकात्मता...भारत माता फ़क जय...!

सगळ्या मार्लकांमध्ये वाजत असते.

आणखी काही मार्लका रात्री उर्शरा असतात. पहहल्यांदा वाटलं

आणखी एक वैर्शष्ट्य म्हणजे रडणे. काही मार्लकांमध्ये तर

वयस्क लोकांसाठी असतील ! पण नाही. या सगळ्या भुताटकी वर

हास्याला बंदी असते सगळी पात्रे नुसती सारखी रडत असतात.

आहे त आणण रामसे बंधूंच्या कारखान्यातून ननघाल्या आहे त. यात

आधी हहंदी र्सनेमात कोणे मेला तर सगळे धाय मोकलून रडायचे. पण आजकाल कोणी मरायची गरज उरलीच नाही. सासवा-सुना-

सगळ्या पात्रांचे डोळे मधून मधन ू पांढरे होतात, हे पाहून माझे डोळे सद्ध ु ा पांढरे व्हायची वेळ आली...!

असतात. मनाला पटे ल असे प्रसंग िारच क्वचचत. पण बोलायची

हा सगळा टाइमपास आहे . ज्यांना बघायचा असेल त्यांनी बघावा.

सोय नाही.

पण, बघताना एक दक्षता जरूर घ्यावी. कृपा करून आपला मेंद ू

नणंदा

नस ु त्या

एकमेकींच्या

चग ु ल्या,

कांगावा

करण्यात

दं ग

कुठे तरी सुरक्षक्षत हठकाणी ठे वावा. नाहीतर काही हदवसांनी कुठल्या

एक ननमािती. नाही म्हणजे त्या माय-लेकी आहे त. एक जुन्या

तरी मार्लकेत तम ु चाच में द ू प्रकट होईल...!!!

काळचा उड्या मारणारा प्रर्सद्ध नट आहे , त्याच्या या कुटुंबीय. असं सांगतात,

की

दक्षक्षणेतल्या

कोण्या

दे वतेचा

आर्शवािद

यांच्या

पाठीशी आहे . काही वषा​ांपूवी यांच्या सवि मार्लकांना म्हणे दे वाच्या

Dr Ravi Mene

First Published 01/07/2010 in eSakal, Pune

आज्ञाने 'क' शब्द वापरला जायचा. सगळ्या नावांमध्ये एकाच्या एे​ेवजी दोन 'क' वापरले, की या मार्लका चालायच्या.

खरं तर या

मार्लकांमध्ये तेव्हा नाववन्य होतं. ते संपलं. ववषय तरी फ़कती खोदन ू

खोदन ू

काढणार?

मग

म्हणे

या

माय-लेकींना

एका

ज्योनतषाने सांचगतले की तुम्ही तीन वषे अज्ञातवासात जा. आणण

यांनी ते ऐकलं. मोठ्या मुजककलीने गरीब प्रेक्षकांची सुटका झाली असं मला वाटलं...! पण कसलं काय?

14

Dr Sudhir Marathe

H

The flying experience in these two types is quite different; as you can see, one is more exposed to elements in the flexwing type but then, that is the closest one can get to flying like a bird. People tend to go for one or the other just due to personal liking.

ello! My name is Dr Sudhir Marathe and I am from 1968 batch of Nagpur Medicos. I have been in UK since 1979 and have worked as a GP in Wollaston in Northamptonshire for past 24 years. Ever since my first flight to UK, I had wondered how an object so heavy as an aeroplane lifts itself up in the air and flies? And then I thought what a wonderful experience it would be to fly that aeroplane? In 2003, I walked into our local flying school in Sywell with these questions buzzing in my mind and without much thinking; found myself buckled and strapped into a contraption they call a microlight aircraft.

My instructor gave all basic information about

I have now been flying for 12 years and have had many highs and lows when I almost gave up on the idea. One of the reasons for my taking too long is my difficulty with the navigation skill and my occurrences of “ jaato qao jaapana paohaoca gayao caIna”. The particular one to mention is of my getting completely lost for direction in mid-air. All the teaching about what to do and how to summon help on the radio vanished from my thought just like that. I ultimately noticed that I am flying over what looked like an airport and without much thinking I decided to land there, only to realise after landing that it was a military airport and I had infringed military airspace. It was a relief to see I was excused, being a student!

what to expect in a trial flight that all schools give; and within minutes he had our aircraft flying 2000 feet over Wollaston where I live – an experience I shall never forget until I die! The thought about right or wrong about the whole thing was out of the window as my mesmerised mind was not able to think straight as we landed and I popped out of the aircraft.

Having reached this far and getting a pilot’s license, what could one fly to. Well, across the UK there are very many small grass airstrips that you could fly to and there are number of larger airfields with very good facilities.

The instructor told me, the minimum requirement is of 25 hours of flying to get your pilot license. Little did I realise at that time that in reality, an old fuddy duddy like me would take about 100 lessons and sustained efforts over a period of 4 yeas to get my pilot license! Most people though, would be able to get it in about 40 to 50 lessons, of an hour each, that cost about £100 a lesson these days; going over about couple of years.

In nutshell flying from anywhere to anywhere in the UK or from somewhere in England to, say Calais, in France is well within the range of the most.

My best flying experience was to fly with Sulabha, all around Wales when we took a week off in 2013 and flew from my flying club in Riseley in Bedfordshire to Canaerfon in North West Wales, down to Swansea and back and then to Isle of wight. I am hoping to fly cross Channel to Calais this summer. Most aircraft run on ordinary unleaded petrol and have a fuel tank of 50 litres of fuel.

In one full tank most would fly for just under 2 hours.

These aircraft come in two types. A flexwing microlight that looks like a glider with a motor attached to it; and that is what it basically is. Another type is a fixedwing microlight that looks and is more like a conventional aeroplane.

15

In these two hours most microlight aircraft would be able to go about 200 miles; top of the price range models would do much better than that.

would give you a reasonably good performance, for top performing models sky is the limit. A good place to visit to get some idea of the prices of aircraft is www.afors.com (short for Aircraft For Sale). Most flying clubs, and you would be a member of one of these if you go and buy an aircraft, would have hangers to rent to keep your aircraft that are adjacent to the runway where you fly from. The hanger rent is about £100 a month.

What started as a personal hobby has soon become an interest for whole of my family and friends. On buying my first aircraft all I wanted was to fly my family members around. Sulabha and I off course fly together regularly. Flying my 3 grandchildren and the pleasure they get from it makes it all worth it. My grandson Maahir, when first flew with me exclaimed, “I shall never forget the sound of the propeller ever in my life”.

There is British Microlight Aircraft Association and their website (www.bmaa.org) has all sort of very useful information including name address of every flying school in the UK. I hope you found my article useful and interesting. If there is anything further you wish to know please feel free to contact me via an email to sudhirsulabha@gmail.com. Well, hoping to meet you at some airfield some day.

After getting your pilot license, most would like to buy one’s own aircraft. A very wide range and numbers of these are available, like buying a car. A very wide price range exists that starts from as little as about £10000 to £15000 for a microlight aircraft that

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17

'Giardia Lamblia'

Fabric collage by Dr Aruna Mene

'Giants playground with Quiver trees, Namibia'

Fabric collage by Dr Aruna Mene 2015

'The valley of Flowers' Fabric collage by Dr Aruna Mene 2015

'Psychedelic Summer colours' fabric collage by Dr Aruna Mene

18

Dr Balkishan Chandak

H

ow time has flown! I remember arriving in 1978 in the UK. It was a complete change of environment. We struggled and survived. Now more than 35 years later, me and my wife reflect back and feel satisfaction of seeing our children achieving success in life.

My youngest son Navin is an IT Consultant and is doing well, recently appearing in Costco UK magazine. He currently also teaches an online Excel course. The course since launching last October 2014 has over 3000 students globally.

My eldest son Pankaj is a Specialist Registrar in

Multi-Organ Transplant Surgery at Guy’s and Great

Ormond Street Hospitals in London with an interest in Paediatric Transplantation. He is a Hunterian Scholar and in November 2014 was awarded the Joseph Lister Medal by the President of Royal College of Surgeons of England as well as the prestigious 2015 Royal College of Surgeons James Arnott lecture. He has also recently been awarded a position as honorary lecturer in Kings College and the Royal College of Surgeons.

I look forward to enjoying the Coventry reunion!

19

Dr Raj Kathane

I

N 2004 I first heard about this extra-ordinary hotel that is built every year, in Sweden, 217 km further north from the Arctic circle. It only lasts for about 5 months, then disappears. Every year, a new hotel, new architecture, every year new construction. That is, because it is constructed from ice.

that he had not been awarded the Nobel prize, despite his General Theory of Relativity being published in 1915.

The next morning we flew by a propeller plane to Kiruna.

This is the northern most town in Sweden, in the Lapland area and has a population of only 18,000. It is some 200 km north of the Arctic circle, at longitude 67.51 degrees north. Two rivers flow around: Torne to the north and Kalix to the south. The tribe of the people who live here are called Sami. As we landed at mid-day, there was bright sunshine, the air was crisp and temp. was minus 12C. A bus took us to our destination, the Ice Hotel. This is in a small village called Jukkasjarvi, some 17 km further north.

The more I read about it, the more I was fascinated: being a hotel, of course you can spend nights in it, but it is not for faint hearted because everything in it is ICE. The tables, chairs, beds.... To me, this was a perfect place to have an adventure of a life time. So I decided to book a four-day break but I was disappointed to know that there was a long waiting list, the nearest booking I could get was in March 2006. Such was its popularity. It was a relief to know that there were more mad people in the world, besides me!

The ICEHOTEL (as this is how it is written) first came in to being in 1989, when a group of Japanese ice artists came to make ice sculptures but could not find any room in a hotel to stay, so they requested permission to sleep in an igloo, slept on slabs of ice, on reindeer skins, in warm sleeping bags. That way of hotelling experience has remained at the core of this hotel...get it?

I booked for the week end of 21 March 2006. Fortunately, I did not need much effort to persuade my wife; she is always game for any adventure with me. (All her life with me has been an adventure!).

The entire hotel is made fresh each year. It is made from snow and ice, from blocks of ice taken from the Torne river. They start constructing the hotel around 15 October and finish by around 10 December. From then on, it stays up because it is so cold. In mid-March, as the temperature begins to increase, there is a chance that the ice will melt away, although the temp. does not exceed zero degree until about 15 April. Therefore, the hotel exists until the 30th March, then shuts down for the year and later, it just melts away.

The flight was to Kiruna, Sweden, via Stockholm. We spent one night in Stockholm. This is a very beautiful, very clean city of population about 900,000. That name comes from Swedish, (stock=wooden log, German, Stock= fort and Holm = a small island). It is built on a large archipelago, the central part alone has 14 islands. People have lived here for over 8000 years but much more so since about 1000 AD. Stockholm's underground metro rail is a huge art gallery—about 80 kms of tunnels and corridors are covered with paintings and street art. The Swedish people are most gentle, polite, helpful and tolerant. Sweden (like other Scandinavian countries) is horrendously expensive.

It is basically a giant igloo, therefore they avoid use of metals and plastics or ceramics. That means there are no hinges to hold the doors up, that means there are no doors: it is all open, wind (sometimes howling and fast and Arctic wind can be bitterly cold) just passes through the hotel rooms. Oh, it also means there are no toilets inside the hotel—if you need to go, you have to go outside, in a properly built toilet block.

As we reached our hotel a bit late in the day, there was not much time to go sight-seeing. The day was beautiful, sunny, crisp and with clean air but very cold: --5C. Ice sheets floating in the river and birds sitting on them, going with the floes. It gets dark quite soon, at about 5 PM. We wandered around, and somewhat accidentally discovered the Nobel Museum. It displays the life story of Alfred Nobel and the history of the Nobel Prizes. 2006 was the 100th anniversary of Einstein's formulation of the Special Theory of Relativity, therefore there was a special exhibition about it. I found a special photograph of Einstein and Gurudeo Rabindranath Tagore talking with each other and a letter Einstein had written in 1919 to Tagore, expressing his frustration and disappointment

The only bit of metal allowed is the wiring for LED lighting in the corridors; no lights in the rooms. The few LED lights in the corridors give out a faint blue light, which diffuses to give a truly surreal view in the dark of the night. This is as close to nature as you can get.

The hotel footprint is about 64,000 sq. ft. There is an impressive lobby with a beautiful ice-chandelier.

Everything is made of ice: the dining tables, the chairs and benches to sit on, the beds...More about sleeping later.

20

There are about 60 rooms. From the main corridor, smaller corridors run to the left and right. Off these corridors on the right, are 'ordinary' sleeping rooms but to the left are elaborate suites. These are for the rich and super-rich patrons. Each of these suites have elaborate and extremely beautiful ice sculptures inside them.

Members of the Swedish Royal family—and also other European Royal families-- spend at least one night each year in the suites. Sculptors from all around the world queue up to make their sculptures for this hotel, they do it free, sometime, they are even prepared to pay for it (not expect to be paid!) and yet there is several years of waiting list. This shows the high value in which this hotel is held.

This wonderful lighting show of nature lasts for about 5 minutes, leaving us totally spell-bound. Back to the total pitch darkness and shimmering stars. This is natures at its best.

We then go back in the wooden hut. A meal of reindeer meat is being cooked. Very simple cooking; just some butter to fry the meat in. Nothing else added, that is because, we are told, reindeer eat lichen and other herbs that grow here, that makes their meat very tender and easy to cook and delicious because of the natural herbs and spices in their flesh. Truly a delicious meal, just eat with warm bread. We sit around the camp-fire, chatting and exchanging experiences. Travel back to hotel after one hour.

Next door to the hotel, there is also a church. Each year it is created, needs to be consecrated to make it a working church and must be un-sanctified at the end of March to allow it to self-destruct. All religious functions are held here, daily mass, christening and weddings too.

Back in the hotel : there is an ice-bar that we must visit.

Absolute vodka (50% alc) is served in glasses carved out of ice. “In other bars, you add ice to your drink; in this bar, you add drink to your ice!” said the bar-tender. We met an American couple from Texas, who here came all the way to get married in the Ice Church and to have the first honeymoon night in the ICEHOTEL. Crazy. Can they do anything?

At 8 O'clock that evening we are kitted out with high tog-value clothes to go out on a snow-mobile (also called ' Skidoo') excursion. This beast is heavy, 300kg and I have never ridden one. Apparently, it is very stable and easy to drive. We are 12 in the group. We are given one lesson for 10 minutes and told to '...get on with it...' We are to follow our guide, in a single row. Vaishali is sitting behind me (as she used to do on my bicycle in Nagpur). I am really scared, so, fighting my the natural instinct to hide and be last, I decided to be the first one to go. The logic is, everyone will be behind me and that way if I breakdown or something dreadful happens, they will all stop and know about it.

The clock, somewhere in distance strikes midnight so it is time to sleep. This is going to be fun. The bed is a slab of ice. They put one layer of reindeer skin on it with fur facing up, then another layer with fur facing down. The air trapped between the hair makes it very warm. Then another layer with fur facing up. Then on top, there is a sleeping bag (tog value 15) in which you sleep. You have at least 4 layers of clothing on, and boots! Sleep with boots on. And two layers of socks. There is a choice of 2 single sleeping bags or one double. We chose the latter for luxury. There are no doors to close, wind is passing through, the temp. inside the room is about -20C. There is a soft blue haze of LED light in the corridor, apart from that, there is no light. “You must not cover the nose and face”, we are told. But I ignored it, with consequences.....

Outside, it is pitch dark. The guide says : we will be snow-mobiling on the river bed as it is flat and smooth.

'Don't worry,' he said,' the river is frozen solid. You won't sink'. We get going, the guide is going quite fast. Soon, I found that my helmet was ill-fitting so my visor fogged up, making it hard to see. As there is no stopping, that needs to be adjusted with one hand while I drive with one hand. This is adventure-and-a-half. That achieved, we are now going really fast, over 60kmph, in total darkness. I just have to follow the light of the guide's skidoo. The wind-chill at this speed makes the temperature -35C. The adrenaline rush is amazing and I feel supremely confident.

There are also no toilets inside the hotel: if you need one in the night, you have to go all the way out, then walk some 100 meters to a modern building where the toilet block is. We will have to manage somehow.

Surprisingly, the night passes without much problem, except that I found that (having ignored the rule of ' do not cover face') my beard hair had frozen with the moisture from my breathing, had become brittle and when I washed the face in the morning, all the hair broke off!

After about 30 minutes and about 30 km, we stopped by a hut. When all the skidoos stop engines, the silence is amazing. Total, pitch darkness. The stars shimmer brilliantly. Then, suddenly, in the heavens, the brilliant glow of crimson, blue, pink, green, a mixture of colours.

The glow moves like curtains moving on a wisp of breeze.

“That is the aurora Borealis” , the guide says.

Breakfast is of cold bread, cold meat, cold boiled eggs and my favourite—raw fish. Served on plates made of ice. Eat this, sitting on the chair or bench of ice.

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Soon, it is time to go on a dog-sleigh ride. The day is sunny, crisp and very cold, about -15C. We were driven some 10 km away. From a distance, we could hear the howling of the husky dogs. This is a special breed of dog, best adapted to living in extreme cold. They are a variant of wolves, have beautiful white and grey, thick fur which keeps them warm. They are made for running. They are so affectionate you can not stop hugging them. They are very restless and keep howling and barking because they want to run. They can run 80 to 100 km non-stop. If pushed, they will run up to 200 km in one day. Amazing animals.

For lunch, we had reindeer stew, cooked on open log fire.

Everything here is reindeer.

That night we slept in a warm, wooden modern hotel room: no more the frozen bed. Most people can only stand one night of this experience. I was ready for a second night, but that is not to be. Vaishali is happy for the warm room.

The following day, the morning is free for us to explore. We decided to walk on the frozen river bed to a nearby local shops, using the snow sleighs. Bought a beautiful reindeer skin. Then it is time to catch the flight back home.

We are 4 to a sleigh and there is a driver who stands or sits at the back. 'Yo' is the order to the dogs to 'Go', 'moosh moosh' means 'stop'. When we get going, all the barking stops. There is silence, broken only by just a soft swishing sound of of sleigh gliding on the hard ice and the soft patter of the dogs' footsteps. And the wind rushing past us. This is a wonderful experience. Moving at about 25 km/h, the wind chill makes it -20C. I tried to make a video recording of the ride and within 2 minutes, without gloves, my fingers were frozen.

What a wonderful and out-of-the-ordinary experience these four days offered. Very expensive, but absolutely unrepeatable.

Because of the popularity of this hotel, new ones have now been created; there is one in Canada near Quebec city, one in China and one in Japan. More might come up soon.

Many cities around the world are now offering the 'Ice Bars' as tourist attractions. But this will always remain the original ICEHOTEL.

That afternoon, we also experienced feeding the reindeer, and a ride in a reindeer sleigh. Vaishali's reindeer was a bit naughty: he kept stopping to graze on the grass and lichen.

Surya Deva at airport

Sarvesgwar Devalayam

Reserve Bank窶年agpur

Deeksh Bhumi

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Collected by Shyam Purohit Specialities of Nagpur 1.

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Best Chemical Engineering College in Asia 'LIT' VNIT 2nd biggest engineering college after ICE Only city in India having maximum number of statues at squares Biggest cargo hub in India Only city in Asia having biggest Fire engineering college Only city in Asia having diamond crossing Only station in India where 400 train are passing every day 2nd biggest Dikshabhumi stoob in Asia after china Only City which Won Award by Times of India as best city to live in India for 3 times.

Best RBI in India constructed by British.

All of RBI's Gold in India is stored in Nagpur After Delhi now the Second Capital of India, politically as well since RSS headquarters is in Nagpur Only Region in India which has 3 Ordanance Factories (Ambazari, Bhandara, Chandrapur) & Biggest Ordanance Storing facility of Army (Pulgaon) Vidarbha has Coal Deposits that can sustain till 2040.

Haldirams is the Largest Namkeen Production & Marketing Chain in India.

Greenest, Cleanest, Safest City in India - TOI After completion MIHAN Nagpur will be the biggest Cargo Hub in Asia.

After 2017 World's 35% Thermal Power Plantswill be in Vidarbha Region.

Zero Mile is in Nagpur.. Approx Middle- Centre of INDIA. CICR.. is only one National Research Institute in the Country for Cotton.

NEERI the only one Research institute for National Environment....specialities of Nagpur

"FRIENDS"

By Shyam Purohit I left home at the age of sixteen and left in a deep sea of university education without any family support.

At this stage of my life one very important word came in to my life and that word was friends.

After uni I got married and one totally unknown person came in to my life who has been my companion, friend and soul of my life. What happened next..... we both were moving forward in our life and still guess who was walking with us ? The simple answer is "friends" and their families and they are the one who helped me to make my journey of life enjoyable.

Regarding this I would like to mention a quote which I read that explains what sort of bond we need from friends.

The quote is as follows जीवन में एक र्मत्र श्री कृष्टण जैसा होना ही चाहहए... जो तम् ु हारे र्लए यद्ध ु न लडे पर सच्चा मागिदशिन हदखाता रहे और एक दोस्त कणि जैसा भी जरूर होना चाहहए, जो तम् ु हारे गलत होते हुए भी तम् ु हारे र्लए यद्ध ु करे ...

Conclusion Friends are major part of our life.

Treat spouse as the best friend & all "friends" are precious and treasure them.

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from an original fabric collage by Dr Aruna Mene

24 Credit: Both front & back cover images of fabric collages by Dr Aruna Mene