A dose of youth

So I took a trip to Madhepura Christian Hospital last week, which is on the other end of Bihar where I also reside at the moment.  The journey was long and uneventful but with the sense of independence that I’d recently acquired, I felt convinced this is something I should do. And amongst catching up with an old friend and interacting with contemporary examples of missionary doctors, I stumbled and staggered across a delightful bunch of siblings that have inspired me to write this.

Anand, Numrata and Dheeraj; aged 11, 7 and 6 respectively (and approximately). The Ninan kids. Now most people who know me know that I’m quite clueless regarding how to interact with kids. I remember when I was young (or younger), I knew this problem might emerge; that I wouldn’t be able to relate to kids or understand that phase in their lives (was I weird or did ya’ll think of stuff like this too?). So I thought I’d start writing a diary of sorts so I could always use it as a reference to figure out what kids would be into at that age before I talk to them. Obviously that didn’t work out.

So I entered their house, took a nice long look at their piano which brought out an involuntary smile and yearning in my eyes; I would imagine.  Suddenly in a flash of seconds I felt a small but firm grasp on my hand leading me outside to see the rabbits.

Dheeraj, a tireless bundle of energy with a toothy grin possessing an impressive impression of Gollum from Hobbit; started rattling on about the names of the rabbits, the guinea pigs, how he couldn’t come up with a name for the third rabbit yet, how he didn’t bounce up at the suggestion to name him bugs :/ He even knew how to tell their gender! I was soon joined by Anand (who’s honestly too intelligent to still be a kid) and Numrata (who’ll make certain she can catch up with the boys). Together they took the conversation towards going to see the ducks; who as it happened were not in the enclosure. “To the duck pond!” cried Anand, and he lead the way. I felt like I was in the famous five heading off into a mystery. And I haven’t felt like that since I was a kid.

So they ran. As kids should I guess. And so did I, In my formal black pants and shirt, past the muddy field and into the foliage of the woods. It was scorpion territory; they said. We shouldn’t be here; they said.
“Yeah we should probably go back huh?” I said looking at the ground hoping to avoid a painful sting. What an adult thing to say! “Don’t worry, we know this place.” said Anand as he led on towards the pond. As we reached, the ducks swam away and we turned our attention to something else.

“Oh Dheeraj remember when we found that big spider here?” I was like “where!?” turning around trying to make sense of why children would play here, and walked into a web, which thankfully seemed inhabited at the time. “Oh yes that was huge, it was like this big!!” Smiled my toothy friend as he held up his hand and spread it as wide as it would go.

“Are you allowed to be here” I asked, but only the leaves responded with a gush of wind. And then there we saw it, a beautiful big spider, more accurately close to the size of my hand.

Careful not to walk into that, we exited the woods and entered the ‘panther’ territory. Down the heaps of sand we descended into a large field of unused space (again, with my formal black pants). “Oh! There’s a hole over there!” exclaimed Anand. “I wonder what lives there. Remember that crab we caught here? That was so big!! I know, lets dig up the hole and see what lives there.” Now I’m all for curiosity, but the next statement really turned it up a notch. He picks up a shovel, walks up to the hole in the ground and says: “I wonder if it’ll be a crab. Perhaps it’ll be a snake. But that’s ok, I’ll just cut it in half with this shovel.”

Feeling pretty dumbfounded and irresponsible as an adult, I decided better me then them. Before which Dheeraj asks me: “Are you strong? You’re fat. You’re fatter than my dad.” To which I grimaced and responded Yes, Yes I am.
We digged for a while and upon finding nothing we decided to head back. “What are you good at?” Asked Anand. “Can you run?” I wanted to say yes but I’m more of a musician! Apparently kids don’t wait for long hesitant answers cause he ran off, as did I (again, with my formal black pants), after which I believe he acknowledged that I could run.

We head off towards the basketball court (because you know, who’s tired?). Along the way we made some conversation, and they laughed at all my jokes! Sweet kids. We then started to play Ice and water, something I hadn’t played since I was 10. And might I say, I still had some dexterity in me 😊

The rest of the evening we spent in the house, playing uno, enhanced uno, racing piggy backs

and building a maze out of magnetic pieces, with ‘horrid’ dinosaurs at every corner (awesomeness).

The creativity, imagination, lack of restraint… the reach for the stars attitude, and asking why not at every opportunity. The enjoyment of life with child- like perception, is something a lot of us have forgotten isn’t it? Perhaps this is what Jesus was talking about, to receive the kingdom of God like a child. Perhaps it’s the worries that drag us down. All I know is that I had a fantastic time with these guys, and they’ve really brightened my view on things 😊

The Fatboys

I am about to describe to you what I find to be quite an unprecedented friendship of 6 dissimilar bros, one that has made my college life the best it could be, and one that promises to last a lifetime. 

We are: the FATBOYS, brothers from other mothers, the brothers of the nights watch (cause our favourite pastime was watching movies way into the night; ranging from Mathews’ collection of French movies, to soul- sucking, depressing-to-the-core movies like ‘Everest’ right before Prof which only Thejus’ spontaneity could push us to watch!)

An Andhra- born living in Chhattisgarh who has an eye for getting things (or mess boys) in order, a knack for big scale management projects, and a friend whose advice you can rely on.

A Kerala- born living in the Gulf with a tech-savvy mind, an eloquent pen; a habitual critic and your everyday cynic.

A Kerala- born who lived in Nagpur; a ‘typical’ pastors son with a talent for fitting in anywhere and with anyone, and can potentially sing your socks off.

A Kerala- born, who remained in Kerala with a talent for…practically everything, and who we deem our very own ‘nigga.’

An Orissa born, who also remained true to his state; known for his acts of random kindness, his limitless appetite, and a drab obsession for Bullets (the bike.)

And me.

Truth be told, this ensemble came together quite insidiously, we rapidly progressed to being good friends and neighbors, and were known cases of getting fatter by the day.

I remember talking to Manu first, waiting for our turn at the medical check- up prior to joining college; we had the most unlikely and uncomfortable of conversations to begin with, one I can’t share 😊 Perhaps it didn’t help that my mother had told him to ‘take care of me’ before he had a clue of who I was.

I remember meeting Thejus and Mathews on the bus while we were travelling as a batch to watch Harry Potter. I had asked Thejus what songs he listens to, hoping to find a common interest; to which he replied: ‘techno music’. Or was it disco music??!

I remember bumping into Nishant during systole (inter- batch fest) and somehow agreed to join him in a three- legged race, during which I literally bumped into his lateral malleolus and fractured it!

I remember meeting John everytime I took a break while studying for Anatomy stages. The ensemble had already gathered by then talking and whining mostly the day before the stage, and they’d somehow always choose to study just when I came down for my break!

I guess we started to really getting to know each other after we got single rooms and most of us ended up in ‘the lobby of the prodigies.’ Ground floor, just near the mess. In hindsight, that might have been a key contributing factor to maintaining our esteemed reputation.

Trust me none of us had much stage experience prior to college. But something about doings things together got us to try out for the Christmas play, and even the annual play ‘Harvey’ during which some of us found our niche! I may mention at this point that taking part in such things didn’t only expose us to the variety of skills we could attain by the end of college, no; but let us work with some of the best role models around whom we were fortunate of becoming friends with.

We would go for night walks; perhaps to amul or malik (not for exercise mind you!), morning walks after pulling an all- nighter during which we’d grab a snack at Bikaner. We used to sit in the lawn and talk for hours. We even have a tree in which we carved in our names (I know, cheesy). We used to have prayer in the terrace with a lone light and a guitar.

We used to make the same mistake of going out every Diwali to eventually realize that ‘obviously everything’s closed!’ and go to dunkin donuts because well, that’s always open.

We’d talk about life, people, ambitions, visions… our deepest secrets, our ridiculous fantasies. Our different ideologies, our different approaches to the same problem. Genuine bro talk.

We’d have fights, we’d shortly make up. We’d get our bro outta a 6 month depression by telling him there are more fish in the sea, or break into a bro’s room when he has a mental breakdown. We’d make a sincere effort at waking each other up in the morning to make up our low attendance, and eventually understand when a bro is not gonna get up even if a friends room caught on fire!

We’ve seen each other at our worst, and at our best. And we haven’t budged. Just like Thejus couldn’t after running into a pole on the terrace!

Together we put together what I believe to be the best musicals CMC has ever seen. John in production, Mathews and Thejus in sounds (though Thejus can act!!), Manu and I in the creative team, and Nishant being the backbone as he literally bends his back doing all essentials everyone else forgets. Hell we once thought we could start our own theatre company!

We used to gather in each other’s room just the night before an exam (because we didn’t feel like it any other night) and completely spoil each other’s preparation with the usual: “anyway you’re not going to study, lets talk man!!” And it lead up to some of the best conversations I’ve ever had.

In internship as was the custom, 80% of conversation should consist of which PG pissed you off, which we totally made use of 😊

As our days in CMC got shorter, our wallets opened up and without any hesitation we visited all the best eating joints in Ludhiana. We said our heartfelt goodbyes, and wished each other well.

We’re all at different places now. (Except Nishant and Thejus who are 4 hours apart!!!) 

Perhaps one thing we regret is not making time to go on a trip together. But as we turned each other’s gloomy days into sleepless nights of laughter and memories, we hope to accomplish that too in the near future.

Be it musicals, profs, failures, major life events, heartaches... We were in it together.

So cheers to a memorable start to what I know is going be a friendship that’s going to last!

The state of mission hospitals in India- as I see it

I have added ‘as I see it’ to act as a clear declaration that I am very inexperienced, both as a doctor and in years, and have had very little exposure in such hospitals. Little, but significant. My views come from neither statistical data nor hard evidence, but simply the emotional and genuine sentiments from my close friends whose view I can trust and identify with. My objective is not to put down any organisations or people, or even dispel any enthusiasm towards mission hospitals; but rather for people to see clearly that there is a much larger problem than a simple lack of doctors that threaten health care in rural India. And to quote my aunt who is a PhD in old testament: “the institutionalization of the church in India is seeing the church sinking into an alarming condition where there seems to be no vision or sense of purpose that corresponds to the dictates of the gospel.” Which is heavily showing in the hospitals managed by them.

Sorry to start on such a gloomy note 😊 perhaps my views are highly biased, perhaps they will turnaround completely in a few years, or maybe this needs to be said so that it can reach the corner of someone’s mind and initiate whispers of change. So, with a collaboration of experiences from different corners of India; here goes the good, the bad, and the ugly…

The Good-

The concept of mission hospitals brought an air of inspiration for a lot of us. The idea that like-minded doctors work tirelessly towards a common goal of doing what God intended for them despite the existence of a comfortable, well reciprocated life in the private sector made us want to strive to acquire that sort of passion. Cause we had seen in; face to face during our small exposure trips. There are hospitals where Doctors; even if they have to work everyday from 8- 10 are happy to do it because they have each other, and a community that they have grown to love and serve. Where in the middle of nowhere; excitement, laughter and memories are created evaporating any longing for a city life. Where everyone from the director to the sweeper is treated equally. In fact where everyone works the same amount regardless of your degree. There are places where consultants alternate calls with the junior doctor. Where learning is an active lifestyle; be it clinical skills, to ultrasounds, to life lessons and lessons about God. Where work is a passion and not a sacrifice. Yes there are such hospitals! Where nurses work beyond their duty hours, and good patient care is the emphasis. Junior doctors get to learn more than they ever expected, some are doing independent C- sections. With the increase in learning, they get an equal amount of trust to manage patients which only makes them work harder. A significant point to note is that in most of these hospitals, the burden of patients and their inability to afford higher centers is felt and is met with compliance and compassion. As in the whole hospital feels it, making way for a wholesome treatment and a united front. Good company is what makes it worthwhile. Some have prayer partners who go on prayer walks, or cook food (for the first time) together; basically they get to spend quality time with each other. Some are able to see legends of Indian missions at work, and learn far more than medicine and get the inspiration they need to push forward. There are even hospitals where there is open sharing of the gospel, despite repeated persecution. These are places where lives are shared, lives are saved, and lives are born again.

The Bad-

From all my conversations, the most common element I hear (and have experienced) is loneliness. The extreme of which is having an average of 3 patients a week, duty hours of 9am- 12pm, and literally nothing to do (too isolated to get an internet connection) and no one to talk to. And that’s bad, people can go crazy! Perhaps its hitting us hard cause we’re fresh out of an unbelievable college life, but its dawned on us that no one should be put through this extreme, and loneliness is not something people should get used to. You would be surprised to know how lonely one can feel even in a hospital surrounded by people. You know how I talked about having a like-minded community? What if that didn’t exist, and in place is a “let’s just do our job and go home” environment? It can put even the best of us down, and makes you look once again for a hint of motivation to serve. It’s really hard to work with the attitude you intended to have when all around you everyone seems to follow a different agenda. For lots of us, coupled with this loneliness is a severe lack of spiritual nourishment. Perhaps gone are the days when a Christian mission hospital would mean having fellowship and worship together, and abiding by Christian values. There are places where the hospital exists solely because it once HAD a vision, and where great things used to happen, where there WAS a big demand. I once heard a great man of God and doctor say: “mission hospitals whose purpose is to only exist for the sake of existing have definitely lost their purpose”. These are places where the administration is least supportive, and only look at numbers and finance. There are places where there are no senior consultants, sometimes no other junior doctors and where the staff are less than competent. It’s a startling discovery when you realize that being a mission hospital doesn’t mean you need to care for the poor, or have any sort of spiritual support system. In some places the consultants don’t work after 5pm, and the hospital functions as a referral center. So we’re left with no one to talk to, no one to pray with, no job satisfaction, no source of learning, and sadly a declining motivation.

The Ugly-

I think this best describes the fact that people have used the title of a mission hospital for personal gain, in a variety of ways. A particular story that comes to mind is when a junior doctor was asked to give a lesser dose of oxytocin so as to deliberately prolong labour leading to a probable C- section! It’s sad to hear of such things, and I who started out having the most optimism for mission hospitals am heart broken. There are places where the doctors hardly work 15 days a month, whilst portraying a different picture to everyone else. These are places where there was no effort to bring about a community in the first place, where doctors who had joined were treated badly and were driven to leave owing to the fact that the person wanted to be their own boss. Where the administration is least bothered and give a below par pay to really qualified nurses. Where it seems as if the hospital were to close down, no one would care! I don’t know the statistics but there has been a dramatic decline in the functioning of mission hospitals over the last 25 years, revealing a poor administration as a major cause. Mind you, most of these were managed by church bodies. A junior doctor was told to admit everyone who comes because they need more income. Really poor patients are sent away, and you can see the desperation and hope in their eyes turn to sadness and despair. A man I highly admire once said to me that he charges the minimum possible for procedures and treatment and even with that his hospital is able to make enough profit. Just imagine how much profit everyone else is making. There are places where drugs are sold at 4 times the actual price. Recently I’ve heard of honest, passionate, strong willed Christian doctors feel a sense of defeat and injustice, leading to them moving out in search of a place where they could attain the freedom of doing good. Naïve young doctors like us are left wondering where this is going lead; is that it for the future of mission hospitals? Where good cannot be done even if you tried. A quote from one of my friends: “We can be happy here only if we stop caring about what’s happening around us.” 

What makes me more upset is that the churches have done nothing, and have shown no intent on doing anything to improve the situation, despite repeated promises earlier on when we were even more naïve. There is no structure in place to ensure the sacredness of the vision and mission of these hospitals. Nor is there an attempt to maintain sources of spiritual food. It’s like these hospitals are telling us: why do you want to serve the poor? Work for an income and be happy. The painful fact is, that people just don’t care.

Would it be so bad, or take so much effort to just pray together, and reaffirm our commitment to use our abilities for God’s work? Hospitals like what I depicted earlier exist, I’ve seen them; and my friends work in them right now. It really doesn’t take much to make that happen, all we need to do is put aside our own agendas and simply build a community together. A community of friends, family; sharing our joys and pain with each other, enabling us to become better people with a heart to serve the people suffering around us…To have meals together, and enjoy a movie now and then. Or simply to just talk about things other than work.  A batch of us left to do good and decrease suffering in this world, but have realized the world is a mean place, and working in a mission hospital needn’t offer any solace. The best of us have lost heart, and are in a process to revive it by looking at others who are in better places, recognizing that all is not lost. We thought the hardships of mission life would be electricity and water shortages, or busy emergencies and endless days with hardly any sleep. But none of us expected this. These are definitely experiences we will one day be thankful for, for it has showed us early-on the hypocrisy that exists; and to not judge a book by its cover. Lots of us have turned to God, for that is what we do when we are left with nothing.  

I seek change. With the future of sponsorship looking bleak and the way certain hospitals are right now, people won’t be looking to go back unless they have an obligation; and this spells disaster.

Eric Williams.

Must watch TV shows

So for the last 3- 4 years, I’ve been drawn to (rather addicted) to TV shows. They provide scope, prolonged suspense; they are elongated versions of our favourite movies except that they fulfill that feeling inside us after we watch a movie where we just wish it could go on for longer, to further allow us to be part of their world. So I’ve come up with some absolutely brilliant shows that I believe people must watch, as they offer something far more than just entertainment. My list may not appeal to many, but I’ve offered an explanation as to why I believe they deserve to be watched. So here goes, in no particular order:

1.  Breaking Bad: The hype surrounding this has put many people off to even getting a taste of it. Even I was apprehensive just looking at the synopsis. It’s about an average (yet overqualified) high school chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with cancer and realizes he won’t be leaving his family well off. He has a realization that the demand in the public and the returns for a methamphetamine manufacturer are high, and its easy money with the skills he’s already equipped with. Driven with desperation and frustration he ventures into this trade. But please, this show is not to be mistaken for simply being about making drugs and watching a middle aged man have a mid-life crisis. As you watch it, you will begin to drift away from the what this synopsis mentions and be enamored by the beautiful, powerful irony this show possesses throughout the series to the very end. You will find yourself unable to believe how justice, and injustice is poetically achieved, constantly. Its almost as if Shakespeare wrote it, for he used a similar mind game on his audiences to give them that extra thrill! But that’s not the best part. As the story unravels, your feelings insidiously transform from loving and cherishing the character to absolutely hating him in the end. And that’s the intent on which the show was born. It’s beautiful, absorbing, and in the end you’ll have the greatest satisfaction of having been a part of it. And oh, if that wasn’t enough and left you wanting more, a spin off series has emerged called: ‘better call Saul’ which took all its fans back into that trance.

2. Downton Abbey: If you’re a fan of Jane Austin, and frankly all things English, this show is for you. And even if you’re not, I’d like to see you escape the enchantment this puts on people. It’s a show portraying the lifestyle of an aristocratic family in England, at a time when that was a thing. A time when people used to merely live off their inheritance and manage estates, when a working woman is a recent fad. A time of ‘milords’ and ’milady’, when household help was a needed in big numbers and was a profession of dignity and loyalty. It’s a time, I think all of us who’ve watched the show would want to go back to (even if we’ve never lived in England). The story entails the personal lives of pretty much everyone in the household. A beautifully knit series making us fall in love with everyone from the footmen to the Lord is the result. There is suspense, laughter, joy, sadness, and reality.. There isn’t much to say about what actually happens, but if you’re thinking: “why would I want to watch a show about the personal lives of a household?” please take that leap of faith, I did 😊 More than anything, I got immersed in the brilliant English accent. I almost wish I’d been born English! The dialogues are witty, the acting is excellent, the plot has so much to offer. Just watch it.

3. 13 reasons why: A recent show, which is about a teenage girl who is driven to suicide due to unfortunate experiences she faced in high school; but before she does she leaves behind tapes for each of the people she felt was partly responsible for her decision to give up. It’s a powerful, intense, series which doesn’t hold back in portraying what people go through true the eyes of a teenager, bringing up issues like bullying, the casual nature of sexual assault, the extremes of peer pressure, and most importantly the inability of people to accept what they want to do for the sake of what other people may think. It has something for each one of us to acknowledge and be inspired to make a change in modern society and relationships. It brings up the rarely talked about issue of mental health, and the way people are indifferent to it or can’t see when someone needs help. Its not all depressing and gloomy. In fact you don’t even think about that side of it, cause you are already wrapped up trying to acknowledge the reality of it. For me, its fired me up to believe that so much good can come if people just openly talked with each other, rather than live out superficial relationships.

4. Dickensian: Another one for ‘all things English’ fans, but this one brings you into the world of the great Charles Dickens! A somehow brilliantly concocted plot starring Dicken’s most popular characters, takes you into the beginning of an industrial London, with all its pollution, workhouses, and pickpockets. The plot revolves around the individual characters in their own stories as well as an investigation into a murder which strings everyone along. It’s an absolute beauty of a thing, for it pulls you back to your childhood, and makes you yearn once again to be a part of your favourite book. Unfortunately it only aired for one season but even with that, it’s still worth watching.

5. Homeland: I’m not one for political shows, but I’ve been hung on this ever since it came out, for it gives more than American politics and corruption, etc. The focus is on the concept of terrorism, and the effect of war and hatred on people. Claire Danes. I’ll say it again, Claire Danes. She is one of my favourite actors and in this series you see the overwhelming talent of this woman. She goes from being bipolar, to a person in love, to a person stricken with grief, sometimes all in one season! The show gives an interesting take on terrorism and counter terrorism organisations showing realistic angles from both sides. And I must note how well it was able to deviate from a simple ‘good always wins against bad’ by dedicating a whole season to Pakistan fighting back, and you almost want them to! It’s intense, its unexpected, and the characters draw you in. I must mention at this point another show called “Band of brothers” which I’m hoping you’ve already seen otherwise I must say: stop reading this write now and go download it!

6. Modern family: This is the one show that can always make me laugh, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. The jokes are incredibly witty, so much so you really wish one of the writers was your best friend. A well thought of family consisting of diverse ‘modern’ relationships, each having their own pros and cons, and they make it a point to bring them out in each episode. It’s a pleasant experience to watch them overcome things and get closer to each other, not afraid of sharing their flaws. It makes you wish you had similar building up experiences with your own family. Its heart warming, and is something you can watch at any time, in any mood.

7. The man in high castle: A riveting series set in a dystopian, or rather a parallel universe which brings an answer to a question, probably no one dared to ask- what if Germany had won world war 2? It’s a magnificent idea, and I congratulate whoever thought of it. Again I’m not one for political stuff but this is far from that as you can imagine. It centers around a woman who was brought up in a japan occupied America and tangles herself into the resistance who believe they’ve found the answer to ending this nightmare. And it involves the appearance of a set of mysterious tapes, the significance of which is unraveled at a later stage. It is produced by Ridley Scott! So you can believe me when I say it’s a work of art. The purpose of series and most visual media is to bring the authors world and its characters alive, which this does pretty well. It shows a frail and paranoid Hitler, and makes him out to be a lesser evil compared to the people setting out to claim his spot once he’s through. It also includes a romantic couple, a troubled Japanese official who may have found the end game of meditation, and the not so comfortable life of a German official. I just can’t wait to see where the story goes.

8. This is Us: A pleasantly surprising new series starring Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, about a young married couple who end up with triplets. And the series introduces you to everyone who’ve impacted their lives in detail, from the stand-in gynaecologist who delivered the kids, to the stranger who comforted them in the hospital, to flashbacks from the past which have made up the people they are today. It makes us think back on our own lives and think of people who’ve impacted us. Furthermore, it takes us into the lives of the children, the troubles they face. Each having their own unique personality: an aspiring actor who had everything he wanted but felt a void and decides to make a change, an obese woman who has never looked at herself as anything but being fat and finds love, a brilliant and successful ‘weather commodities trader’(don’t really understand what that is) who lives out the struggles of being a black man in a white neighborhood; and gets reconnected with his biological father who happens to have terminal cancer. What makes it worthwhile is seeing the family members support each other, and not support each other at times when you least expect it; making it quite realistic and moving. So moving I can guarantee you’re bound to tear up atleast once. A definite must watch, an elaborate platter of family values making you rethink how you treat your siblings, spouses, etc.


9. 11.22.63: Adapted from a Stephen King novel of the same name and starring James Franco, It’s a story about an average man tumbling into the past, with the alleged mission to prevent the assassination of JFK. In the process he finds love, changes a few things he has the power to, and seeks for the courage to let some things occur as they did. Its actually the best role I’ve seen James Franco play. Admittedly, this doesn’t really compare to the league of the other series on the list, but I felt the uniqueness of the story, and the genuine characters makes it a series no one should miss out. It’s also an emphasis on how the past affects the present, sometimes for the better even if we don’t understand how.

10. Black Sails: Welcome to the world of pirates😊 It’s not the typical ‘pirates of the Caribbean’ effect that Johnny Depp does oh-so-well, but it’s gives the raw, hardcore, through dirt, pain and betrayal nature of pirates. Beautiful cinematography, and well scripted character development. It’s a prequel of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘treasure island’, and so it deals with how those characters became who they became. Captain flint, Long John Silver, Blackbeard… They’re names any pirate enthusiast would’ve caught hold of as a child and it brings an enormous amount of delight to see them make their name. Winning not just hard fought, viscous battles at sea, but personal challenges with each other and with themselves. It gives a deep insight into the motivation of a pirate, the circumstances that make them do things. Its provides a preview into their feelings and aspirations of wanting to earn an honest living and strive towards a betterment of their state. It ultimately leads up to an unexpected united front against colonization by the British, putting aside greed and past exploits. It concentrates heavily on the unlikely friendship between two men, and the turmoil they face in deciding to lead their fellow men together despite each other’s reputation. It’s a beautiful world, with a highly satisfying ending.

11. Westworld: This is a stunning piece of work. An absolute thriller, with climaxes at just the right time; and It keeps you guessing till the very end. And Anthony Hopkins. What more do you need? It’s based on the 1973 movie of the same name, and it’s about a futuristic theme park where highly advanced artificial intelligence (robots) are made to exist, not knowing that they are robots, and live out programmed storylines everyday catering to the guests. I’m not sure if I should say much more! But let’s just say: what happens when one of them figures it out? It’s authentic, it’s addictive, it’s so much more than any of you expect! To quote one of the dialogues: ‘We can’t define consciousness because consciousness does not exist. Humans fancy that there’s something special about the way we perceive the world and yet we live in loops as tight and as closed as the hosts do, seldom questioning our choices, content, and for the most part, to be told what to do next”. The ending of the first season (infact even the first episode) will leave you bamboozled and ravenous for more!

12. Full metal Alchemist: This is an anime. And that does not mean “it’s a cartoon, ergo it’s for children!” That’s a common but very misinformed (and insulting) belief. I very recently delved into the world of Japanese anime, and my God; I wondered how I escaped this marvel for so many years (the addict that I am). The storylines that these people come up with, the character development, the freedom to create countless episodes… It breaks every restriction tv series seem to have and it makes sense that all the breathtaking ideas come to this platform because to depict them without animation would result in a severe lack of creativity and storyline restrictions, spoiling the entire idea of the creator. Anyway back to FMA. It’s set in a world where the magic of alchemy exists. Based on the law of equivalent exchange, an alchemist is able to mold, or create matter after offering something in return. The story is about two brothers who lost their mother at a very young age and in desperation attempted the one thing alchemy does not permit: bringing someone back from the dead. In the process, one of the brothers lose their body only to have his soul trapped in a metal armor and the other brother loses his right arm and leg. With full determination to find a way to get their bodies back, the brothers set out and end up joining the State police as they figure it’s their best chance. However they get entangled in a conspiracy so deep and convoluted that the entire country is in danger. It’s a personal journey for the boys, and mans flaws are clearly outlined as characters in the form of the 7 cardinal sins. It’s a beautiful story, absolutely immersed in emotion and filled with imagination. Watch it, please. Now there are two versions: the earlier one just called FMA and the later one called FMA: Brotherhood. Both are excellent although I must tell you if you like a darker story with an even darker ending, the former is the one for you.

Honourable mentions:

·         Game of thrones

·         Mercy street

·         Sherlock

·         The walking dead

·         Dexter

·         A series of unfortunate events

·         Fargo

·         Stranger things

·         Utopia

·         American crime story

·         Daredevil

·         The handmaid’s tale

·         Monster, death note (anime)

·         Mr Robot

The story of Dr George Varghese

The story of Dr George Varghese or Dr Laji as most people know him is one of faith, love and passion for Christ. One that radically changed communities and defined the very essence of Christian missions in India.
Born and brought up in Kerala (Alleppey), Dr Laji was surrounded by the traditions of the Syrian Orthodox Church, which his family followed. It was in his teens (pre-degree) that he heard about Jesus Christ through the Billy Graham ministries. It sparked a curiosity in him to know more about Jesus, and so began his spiritual journey.
At around the same time, Dr Mary Mathews (Dr Laji’s aunt) who was in Christian Medical College, Ludhiana motivated him to take up medicine as a vocation. Though under the impression that he ‘was not an intelligent guy’, Dr Laji felt that there was no harm in trying. And so, in the summer of 1971, he entered into the world of medicine.
“Life in hostel was fun!” said Dr Laji. Back then he had already possessed the strong determination to become a life saver. He thoroughly enjoyed dissection in Anatomy and was good at it; so much so his teachers asked him to dissect the entire middle ear with its ossicles which he successfully accomplished! Dr Laji even cultivated a passion for teaching by helping his juniors in understanding things in another way.

Dr Laji accepted Christ as his personal saviour in his 2nd year of college. He says that Jesus is such a wonderful and unique person, that he had the absolute conviction that he was God. He learnt to take God’s word more seriously and so studied it on a regular basis which created in him a special love for the word.
Led by Mr P.T. Chandapilla, he and his friends started CMCL’s first Evangelical Union (EU) with the motive of having students gather together for fellowship and worshipping God; which exists to this very day.
It was in this college where Dr Laji met Dr Sheila. Being batch mates they got to know each other quite well and became rather fond of each other, although they broke apart four times! Dr Laji states: “a word that could describe her best is her middle name- Grace.” Dr Sheila says that she felt understood in her conversations with him and what attracted her towards him the most was his compassion for the poor and his love for Jesus. This adorable couple even then had similar dreams of working in rural areas and burned with a desire to follow God wherever he’d take them. They were both challenged by the fact of there being fewer doctors in rural areas.
In his fourth year, Dr Laji attended the UESI conference in Nagpur where he stepped forward during the altar call, making a firm decision to stay in India and serve the people here.
In his time, or perhaps even now; doctors would rather serve in other countries or higher centers in the cities of India than serve in a small mission hospital. This was partly due to the fact that they had bad experiences during their bond period where they endured a derogatory attitude and there was no planned program, which enabled them to see their potential in such a place. Also most senior doctors in big institutions had never worked in mission hospitals and looked down on those who went to Mission work.

Dr Laji however feels that a lot can be done with good basic education. “It all depends on your teachers and your interest” He said. He had the pleasure of being taught by Drs Betty Cowan, Mary Mathew, Howie, Feiraband, Deodhar, Prior,Chatterjee, and Dr Satow later on in Herbertpur. He not only learned medicine but also major life lessons through these mentors. He also learned a lot by staying over with friends during the holidays.
In his final year Dr Laji topped medicine and though intending to be a physician, he left his post graduate studies four times to work in mission hospitals!
After MBBS, he even travelled around North India to see the country. Through this he realized how wonderful India is and his heart for the needy Indian people grew. This concern for people and loving them as Christ loves us was taught to him early as a child, and he was greatly inspired by Drs Mary Mathew and Betty Cowan who openly portrayed this trait during his college days. He enjoyed his time in Kotagiri and realized that Jesus did not come to start a religion but to give His life to replace our old life and its habit patterns. “Living out His life through my body in this world is the meaning of being a Christian. This was a revolutionary thought. It meant saying ‘no’ to my plans and desires and opening my life to another kind of life, serving the needy of rural India.”
In 1977, he joined CMCL intending to take up medicine but had to leave soon after to Herbertpur as Dr Satow (who ran the place) had to go on leave. Before leaving, Dr Satow prayerfully blessed Dr Lajis hands which he believes to have made a difference in his work as a surgeon. Seeing that there was an enormous need for surgical skill in the rural population and encouraged by the fact that he had good hands, he decided to take up surgery instead but decided to postpone it.
In 1979 Dr Laji married Dr Sheila and so started their beautiful life together. He says it was a patient, growing conviction that made him know that she was the one to marry. As many of us face or will face the question of whom to marry, Dr Laji simply- believes in ‘no sign business’, but marriage requires a lot of self death for it work in a meaningful way. This is hard but possible. He waited, and his love grew.

After marriage, they left for Pune to the Pandita Ramabai Mukti mission hospital, Kedgaon, to relieve Dr Sheela Gupta who had not taken leave for years. It was there they heard about Manali.
Fully intending to resume higher studies in CMCL, they still wrote to the Lady Willington hospital in Manali (Himachal Pradesh) that was about to close down due to the lack of doctors for the past year and a half, not knowing what to expect. Before long even before their letter reached, a lady nurse from the UK who was running the place wrote to them asking for help in reviving the hospital. At around the same time, a friend who knew nothing of the invitation also wrote to them simply mentioning ‘Manali will welcome you with open arms’. Having prayed about it for quite a while before this, the receptive couple decided this was God’s way of telling them to go to Manali. And so, they left to a desolate place with just an MBBS to show; were offered food for work and no salaries. This they believed, was what faith is all about. They intended to go back to CMCL but stayed on in Manali due to the workload and lack of other doctors in the region.
This meant that they couldn’t complete their higher studies which invited a lot of criticism from family and friends. While most of his contemporaries went forth pursuing higher studies and some moved on to other countries Dr Laji stayed back in India with just an MBBS, not acknowledged for the surgeon he was and was often thought of as old fashioned. It was sad to realize that for many out there, degrees matter more than abilities.
Dr Laji himself felt like giving up: as a doctor due his lack of training, when he felt the economical constraint and when his colleagues looked down on him. But with his faith and love in Jesus, his love for the people of Kulu valley, Dr.Laji stuck his ground. He says, Jesus redefines life, and you can’t walk away from it.

Greatly supported by his wife, friends and senior doctors who visited the hospital from time to time, He mastered his surgical skill to be one of the very best in the country. “He is one surgeon I know who can see or watch one surgery and then be enabled to do it!” says Dr Sheila. “He has a good imagination and imagines his surgeries before he goes and does them.” He became so good in a variety of surgeries ranging from orthopedics to pediatric surgery to gynecology that the University of Glasgow recently bestowed him with a FRCS.
With his growth in surgery came a passion to teach it especially to those who had a fear of surgery. He spent time in Nepal, Uganda, Nagaland and the Burmese border training young doctors and taking away this fear and passing on his skill. If he has taught one doctor one skill, it makes him very happy.
Becoming a surgeon, Dr Laji believes was simply conforming to a need which was crying out when he started his mission work. Surgery is not his passion but people are. To aspiring surgeons: “Learn all you can, really understand basics, have a heart for those who do not have the means. Look at the need rather than what specialty you’d like, study a variety of things!”
With the help of the NRHM scheme of the Himachal government, Dr Laji conducted a number of surgical camps along with others to benefit those who are in remote places. The team would go to a government hospital, take over the OT, and do 50- 90 surgeries in 4 days! Camps are an example of good teamwork and an opportunity to train young doctors and nurses.

In 1984 Dr Laji began to visit a small village called Lahaul -Spiti located at 12,000 feet near the Chinese border, which he reached by trekking and hiking. Here there was no electricity, it was -30 degrees Celsius, and was snowed in half the year. The people were very poor, unaware of health resources and hygiene practices, and there was a gross insufficiency in the distribution of Hep B vaccines.
Dr Laji stepped up and cleared 3 problems:
Installed solar powered fridge to store vaccines
Encouraged parents to give children bath and installed a solar water heater as kids suffered from nephritis and stupor during school hours due to scabies and head lice.
Motivated parents to stop feeding under 5years old children magi and kurkure and asked them to switch to ladoo or muesli from locally available grain flour.
In 1985, Dr Laji started what he believes to be his greatest achievement: the Day Star School, Manali When his eldest daughter was 3 years old, he decided to start a small school which he conducted in an open courtyard with his children and others which made up the first 9 kids of this school. Gradually nearby villagers asked if their children too could enroll and so this school grew to what it is today- a senior secondary school with around 500 children and a variety of faculty! The first batch of 10th grade students passed out in 1997.
The school-
Led a social change in the attitudes of environmental protection and drug/ alcohol abuse in the community (reached top ten in Design for Change Ahmadabad)
Led a campaign to establish a library in a poor school in manali by collecting English/ hindi books from the public
Children who got used to the toilets at school went back home and insisted that a toilet be built at home, thus abandoning the practice of open field defecation.
Produced students into various fields from medicine to lawyers and even actors.

It is a perfect example of how Dr Laji reached out to what the community wanted and desperately needed instead of focusing on his own preconceived goals. In fact Dr Laji believes that more salaries should be given to community doctors who prevent disease in the community than curative physicians/ surgeons at the hospital.
A question arose during our conversation: “people are people whether rich or poor, and so there shouldn’t be a difference if you save lives in a village or in a tertiary care centre. Then why should there be a preference for the poor?”
‘The poor’, Dr Laji explained ‘are at a disadvantage as the rich have means to get what they want and it would not make a difference if a doctor was missing for them as they could easily get another one. However it makes all the difference to a man in the rural area who has already had to travel miles before reaching even a Primary care center. Oppression by the rich is very real and is one of the main reasons for poverty. Emergency admissions make borderline people really poor.
The poor are in no way better people but are open, more grateful, and respond to kindness. God sees them as sheep without a shepherd and looks at them with mercy. ’Our job is to care for them and be a voice, to echo their plight and be a healing balm, to help them rise above their misery and find some happiness’.
Another dimension was added to this answer when Dr Sheila explained that people do not have to be financially poor to gain our service. “Many people are poor in emotions, physically poor, intellectually poor, poor in relating to people (and still be financially rich).” So the question is not God help me serve the poor but should be what do you want me to do? As God may want you to work with people who are financially rich but are poor in other ways.
Drs Laji and Sheila gave up their position and all that they started a few years ago and became just ordinary people in the village. Dr. Laji believes that the greatest challenge was and continues to be – “to show kindness and grace to people who don’t like you and treat you as a burden”. In fact his regret is his own inability to love people all the time.
“One can truly love only through self denial. The cross is the ultimate weapon for this. As long as I want to preserve self, to that degree I will be a poor lover”
He says the totality of love is only in God, but we can be partakers of this divine quality in some small ways. Love is an act of will but also a decision of the heart. It’s easy to love people, who love you, but the opposite is tough and to be able to do that without a selfish motive is almost a supernatural act! Then why do it, against such a strong inclination of our flesh to hate?
“Contemplation of the man on the cross till my heart is melted away is the beginning of such love.” This is how we are to know what love is, experience it from the truest, purest of lovers, and then be able to share that with others. “I must get sick of my emptiness to love before I get filled.”
‘A mission hospital’ by Dr Laji’s definition is- a hospital run by a group of committed Christians not for monetary gain or power play but to incarnate God’s love through their service.” He describes ‘mission’ simply as to deny yourself, go to a small village, become part of that community, make a difference and die there. Now people are looking for ready-made hospitals where everything is available for them. Many are looking for various benefits from the mission rather than giving themselves to bring God’s kingdom to their place of work.
This has become a very difficult reality, as not everyone has the same vision. ‘Most mission hospitals have become just become another business and are power centered. Trust level is zero both vertically and horizontally. It is sad to see Mission hospital’s reason for existing change from serving, to, being served.’
Only a few hospitals exist in India today, and I pray that we can work to restore the image of these hospitals to what was once meant to be ‘our work, for a king’. Mission Hospital work ought to be an expression of Churches’ concern for the world around.

Currently Dr Laji and Sheila help some patients during the week, who usually come for reassurance or insist that he is the one to do their surgery. He still travels to Nagaland to train young doctors and take out the myths of being a surgeon.
He enjoys not just being a doctor. His hobbies include: photography (nature and children), watching good movies, listening to music, and writing down thoughts. He spends a great deal of time just talking to villagers about life, purpose, love, hope, death. He enjoys story-telling to kids.
He says there is no greater joy than talking about Jesus of Nazareth. He also teaches health and spirituality to Buddhist monks and nuns in Spiti.
Unfortunately 10 years back he was diagnosed to have Sjogren’s syndrome, which caused all his teeth to break. He finds it difficult to eat or speak, read or even do long surgeries. Despite all this, he never complains and has learnt to accept it as a part of life and finds joy in being alive otherwise!
Dr Laji is a rural doctor in its truest sense. He was ever ready to heed his call from God and made a difference in enumerable lives through his openness to let God in and spread His love to others.
This man exemplifies the greatest commandment our lord has given us and continues to fight the good fight.
“He is a rebel and a non- conformist who asks hard questions to himself and others forcing us to challenge the status quo fervently seeking to have the mind of Christ.”- Dr Vineet Jaison (Laji’s nephew)
“He makes people laugh and has a great sense of humorHalf the patients recover from their aches and pains by the jokes he cracks and makes them laugh!”- Dr Sheila
This man was able to deny himself, take up the cross and follow Christ. Shall we aim to do the same?

Eric Williams