Random Musings - Everyone Has a Story to Tell

  Grind, grind, grind. Life has been like an interminable grind ever since Corona. There has been no ‘work from home’ for us doctors! No holidays, no vacations, no leaves of absence. While the world stayed indoors, we have gone out and done our jobs; and it has taken its toll. Life has become a grind. Every day we have plodded to work, scared but keeping up a brave face, and then plodded back home – tired but triumphant. But no, this is not just the story of these exceptional times; why, it’s not just my story too! It’s the story of everyone. Life in the 21 st  century has become stressful; keeping schedules, appointments, targets….work, work, work! Even taking time out for the family has become a chore, leading to stress.  In the midst of all this stress, I watched a movie on Hotstar which made me laugh, made me cry, made me sit starry-eyed with wonder; in essence made me feel like a child again. ‘Christopher Robin’, a movie made on the character of the same name from th...

  A beneficial spinoff of the Corona pandemic induced lockdown has been that I have been able to catch up on some great movies in the free time that most of us have been forced to endure. Although there were several remarkable movies I saw recently, the most memorable one that comes to my mind is ‘Taking Chance’. The title itself is non-committal and does not give one a clue what the storyline might actually be. The photo of Kevin Bacon, the protagonist, in an army uniform, and the plot synopsis on Hotstar does give a broad hint that the movie has something to do with the delivery of the remains of a marine to his home. However, what follows is nothing short of spellbinding. The movie is set in the year 2004 and was released in the year 2009. It has been directed by Ross Katz, and Kevin Bacon plays the lead role of a Marine Lt. Col. (Michael Strobl) who volunteers to accompany the remains of a slain soldier to his home county for his funeral rites. ‘Chance’ is a Private in the US M...

Insanity! Such a small word, and yet so powerful. So lightly used by those who do not realize its import, and so devastating for those who live it. What is insanity? A different point of view can be insanity. A different outlook? Inability to adapt to the society at large, is that insanity too? Maybe it is. Is it an objective definition? Can you measure insanity? Weigh it? Transport it? Liquify it? Evaporate it? Or is it a subjective definition imposed by the ‘sane’ majority over the ‘insane’ minority. Is it a majoritarian imposition? Can it be crystallized in a laboratory? Can it be cured? What causes it? Is it genetic? Is it brought on by circumstances? Or maybe it is both, like most things in life are.  So little is needed for someone to ‘turn’. One picogram of serotonin or melatonin or dopamine more or less, and you turn insane. These are powerful substances. Stuff made by the Gods. They can alter one’s concept of reality, their dreams and aspirations, their value system, their...