One date with Mr.Nature!

one early morning..
you get up as fresh as ‘just born’

one insecured thought, lingering through out last night..
tells you though ‘life is going to be all fine’

one friend..
who cares for you, as much as u do

one lovely message..
' see you soon '

one small road..
you wish it never ends

one small garden..
and scenery around..
oh, how much I love talking to my plants still

one peacock, bunch of those bamboos
one bench over bridge, and some waterfalls
who wants more..

one walk over one talk..
combination cant get better

one sweet smile..
assures your deepest concerns

one life..
just to keep it going,

one date..
i wish, i go on
with mr. nature!..
again and again :)

tympanoplasty surgery

Now some pinch of salt with sugar :)
I went through ear surgery on 10th oct ‘08. In medical terms its called ‘tympanoplasty surgery'..currently I am under my rest and medicine period advised for three weeks..

Reasons to write this blog:
Those who will come across this blog and incase if anyone is going through this same surgery then I can be help in my way.
my experience of going through this surgery is not the only valid reason to write but I have been very lucky with assistant things like – the way my surgery was done, my doctor (who did the particular surgery from inside ear) very few doctors do it that way. Ratio is 1:6 and how does it benefit me today, by doing the same surgery in better and advanced way

what this surgery is all about?
· well it’s a surgery needed to heal perforation in ear drum. I.e hole in eardrum.
· http://audilab.bmed.mcgill.ca/AudiLab/teach/me_saf/me_saf.html
structure and function of ear.

Causes of perforation:
· Childhood perforations most commonly occur from infections_ fortunately self healing!

· An adult with a perforation will generally notice a hearing loss in the ear. Water entering the ear when showering or swimming may be painful and can cause dizziness. Frequent summer ear infections related to swimming may be a symptom of an undetected perforation. Most adults with frequent ear infections usually have had a history of ear infections in childhood.

· Flying with a severe cold can also perforate an eardrum due to changes in air pressure. This is especially true on landing.

· Self-inflicted damage with a cotton swab or other device inserted into the ear is another common cause of eardrum perforation in adults and children.

In my case it was a combination of all of these reasons. :(

Myself, a very prone child to cold and cough. I hardly took up swimming may be cause of the same. When the infections majors one ends up answering the continuous itching inside ear by cotton swab. You can survive with that itching temporary (by using cotton swabs) but then not for long. Eventually you would end up hurting ear… perhaps I have survived last 10 years of my life with the same..! (I used cotton swabs too)
But then lately, I started experiencing ‘vertigo’ too very often specially after my dance practices! my right side ear (damaged) had no air sensation compared to the left one, plus I was experiencing some hearing loss too for the same side ear.
When I got things checked, Doctor in pune advised me immediate surgery cause my perforation was 45% (that’s a lot) with major hearing loss of one ear and specially ‘vertigo’ would get me bugged at myself…….. :( as it had nothing to do with my stamina levels (which I thought would be one) but only ‘my damaged ear’ was the one reason why I would get vertigo.
With work commitments and other things around (may be my good luck!) I could not do surgery immediately. The only bad side of this was when I got it done (eventually in mumbai) my perforation was almost 65% total. :O already added 20% more to original harm in just 2 months… unbelievable...
The good side of doing this surgery in mumbai and little late was that, i got to know things about this surgery before and how its done in little detailed manner. and I been very lucky knowing and finally going through this better treatment.

I was fortunate enough to come across DR. Divyaprabhat (ENT surgeon, mumbai) through my aunt who lives in mumbai. Dr. divyaprabhat was her student 20 years back.

Dr.Divya Prabhat does this surgery in a very skillful way. And as I mentioned before, he operates internally i.e through ear and very few doctors do it that way. (the one in pune was going to do it another way)

usually when you do the same surgery from giving a cut outside it has its own limitations_
· You will be given full anesthesia
· Doctors need to take a cut from outside ear to reach inside and do further surgery (girls be ready, nurse will definitely trim ur hair near ear)
· Once your ear is cut, it needs stitches to get back to original.
· Stitches may cause fibrosis near ear (your ear may loose its original positioning)
· Recovery healing time can be 2 months if you can afford pain real longer :) compared to when you can do the same things in advanced better way which is

When you do it through ear
· You are given local anesthesia plus sleeping injections (though it pains while operating and no sleeping injection works, but you tolerate minimum as compared to when surgery is done from outside)
· Almost bloodless surgery _ my haemoglobin was low during surgery still there was hardly any problem to undergo surgery
· No extra stitches since no extra cuts on ear
· No fibrosis of tissues (my ear today just looks the same) :P
· recovery is faster and better.. hearing loss will recover too.
· http://www.earsurgery.org/tympan.html _ tympanoplasty surgery

On 7th I started with medicines, antibiotics
On 10th morning 8:00 I went through surgery, same day evening discharged to my uncles place
On 13th morning 8:00 went for check up, follow up (doctor said I can travel back to pune)
On 13th night I reached to pune
Started eating solid diet from 14th oct

currently I am on medicines, antibiotics.
work, dance, driving, swimming, hair wash, hangout, chilled food, sour tastes…. nothing is really allowed to do/have for next 3 weeks.. Its little difficult today, when each and every sound I hear is crisp clear to me .. I find everything loud suddenly! but that’s temporary. I shall be fine soon and adjust ant to this new frequency of voice or noise :P
in order to recover properly and forever one needs to rest ! Though it gets really boring at times..
I am going through my own set of temperaments coping with situation……. But a very big thank to all of those people who been lot of help and support during this surgery....... and are still helping me to get out this surgery thing mentally and physically.. :)

here is my doctors’ details :

DR. DIVYA PRABHAT
M.S. (ENT), D.O.R.L., D.N.B., F.I.C.S.

EAR-NOSE-THROAT SPECIALIST,
ENDOSCOPY AND LASER SURGEON
TIME: 4.00 P.M TO 7.00 P.M
Monday to Friday

JEEVAK HOSPITAL
Opp. Asiad bus stand, near Dadar .T.T
Dadar (east) Mumbai –400014
Tel: 2418 3922 / 2414 0055
Email: divyaprabhat@gmail.com

you learn through play..

I visited Pondicherry, Auroville and Chennai for the first time in April 2007 with my dance friends, teacher. We stayed in mothers ashram for some days in Pondicherry and visited Auroville’s Matrimandir for one day..
I love both these places so much for the amount of peace and discipline these places follow,
While roaming around mother’s guest house area, her ashram, areas near her samadhi, cottages, all departments, specially the place where we used to eat.. wow.. one must experience the silence, peace, discipline and ‘food’ out there. In reality I feel they are the only one who execute pin drop silence. no one wants to check mobile phones… no one dares to.. you are not compelled to do the same .you are only requested and that says it all about the polite behavior of those people and their efficient management skills. You just cant say ‘no’ to any of the things they wish u follow visiting these areas. you may ask me by now, who was ‘mother’?? is she your mother?

Mother was french lady and her name was ‘Mirra’. people must have started calling her as ‘mother’ as she was the person who did so much for the mankind, for kids, for child. you name the area and mother have contributed something in the same. Two of her works, dreaming architecture of Aurovilles Matrimandir, working on that 'dream' in reality and opening international school will always remain inspirational to me. She was so good in everything she did..
how can one dream such a beautiful architecture piece who is not even an architect.. how can she choose colors, patterns so well?? how could she know materials so well? Her drive to perfection and enthusiasm is something you experience in every little she does. those who have visited matrimandir will stand by what I am saying here. ‘Golkond’ building (now hotel) took so much time for construction but I still wonder how they managed natural air conditioning with stones alone?? Mother knew how to do things differently better. We also visited one of the schools one day. saw amazing enthusiasm by elderly crowd who marched so well that day..

Anyway, back of my mind I was so moved and inspired to do something alike. it immediately strike me if I can design some school in Pondicherry ? I really wanted to design some school now….
as I came back to pune this desire remain somewhere back of my mind. I started with my other routine work. Never knowing this would really happen to me :) And I will get to design school soon! not in pondicherry but in pune. Never the less. if you have heard and believe this dialogue from movie om shaanti om “ kehte he, agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho, toh puri kaynath usse tumase milane ki koshish me lag jati he……”

1st may 2008.. labours day! Holiday! and one lady called..
all she wanted that day was appointment on coming Sunday!
Me: mam we are off on Sunday (obviously after early morning dance practice, travel and heavy lunch I prefer watching movies, who wants to work on Sundays??)
Leena (name held with privacy) : mam, Sunday will be better for me… and I have very less time to do things.. (again the routine demand)
Me: what is it all about? what you want to design? area? Sq.ft?
Leena : mam I have to design a nursery.. and its located……….
I cut her immediately..
Me: nursery??!!!!!!!!!
Leena : yeah….
Me: allright I will confirm appointment on Sunday itself.. if you can visit office by12pm ?
Leena : ohh.. ok .. Sunday any time will do!
The only thought stuck that time was.. its something for kids..it’s a school!

Sunday morning after dance practice my teacher gave me one beautiful picture of ‘Mother’, the picture she got from her recent visit to Pondicherry. today I believe it was more than just a coincidence of my teacher giving me mothers picture same day when Leena was going to visit me.
And I was waiting for her now. Flat one and half hour late.. I was irritated.. i cant even take 10 minutes late come easily. needless to say punctual myself. soon she entered with 4 year old kid.. sweating, irritated (more than me) and was asking her child to behave well! I got the picture and got calm down. We had a long conversation for 3 hours and meeting concluded with my first site visit another day!

Very strict budgets, time limitations and more to it, it wasn’t just another office or residence for me to design. It expected to carry out different official and residential activities simultaneously. Being a kindergarten school it had to have nursery, day care, club, outdoor, kitchen, reception altogether. Total second house for children of 9months to 4 years age who learn, educate, play all under one roof. In short it was a challenging project, which expect a fine blend of science with art.
I was rethinking! Whether to take up this project? one mind said plain simple ‘no’.. Accepting this project definitely means somewhere rejecting other. which can be from usual marwadi, gujrathi, corporate clients.
Dance being integral part of my life I somewhere need to manage my time well, save my energy for the same. i don’t have much time for trial and errors……I need to be selective. whether picking this project will benefit me? And How?
“You can not balance your loss with other profits. still lots to be done priti! You have arangetram coming up.. girlie don’t fall for this. My mind was calculating fast……….
and just next moment of realization, I was so shameful of myself.. how could I even think no? Being in service industry, designing bar is also my duty so as designing school. I should be glad that I get to do this! How could I rethink?? But it happens..
when you are into business its hard 'not to' think business always and when you are pursuing some beautiful art along with your profession you need to be selective so that you meet a good balance in both!
Finally my dilemma ended. I took up the project. Before I started designing, I personally visited almost 10 kindergarten schools around area. I will say every school was disaster when it came to designing! each school had painted heavily on wall.. Mickey mouse, Donald, Dora, all cartoon characters.. and nothing more than that they had to teach child.. I was wondering if these are schools?? no thoughtful concepts, no precautions, not even a proper designed concept chart for numbers, letters.one of the school had no railing for staircase. And this staircase was leading to daycare area (9 to 24 months old kids) I was wondering how mothers will be leaving their children to any of these school??
may be these places were not planned well, may be they didn’t appoint any designer to do things but they had all the money to paint so heavily on walls, and do what is not really necessary to do. I could not make out any school differently as they all looked so similar with heavy painted walls around and nothing much happening on floor. only one school could come to my rescue which looked better than all others..!

my project place was comparatively different and small than any others and I had to use each and every corner well now. It took me four months to design and execute the same. Most of time went in deciding and searching how this school can look different, simultaneously executing those different ideas.
I must say my client was helping me a lot when it came to different things.
I was not treating this school as any other typical Indian school. My focus was to execute everything good collected from across the world. Be it a toy or entire new activity for child to learn through play. It was more than each day headache when it came to execute things out of the routine job of interiors. Everything I liked was mostly unavailable in Indian market. Anyone bet me find 3 feet and above tall dollhouse with every room and every activity placed in it.
India has only two types of doll houses
1.doll house _ a fabric or plastic house shape tent
2.doll house_ as box as one 17” computer.
one option was to ship things from abroad but we thought lets make it.
it was my clients push that I went into torturing myself with toy designs, activity corners.
most of the time we deny saying , its not my job. Its some other master’s job (toy designer, product designer may be) never giving a chance to be a master our self. Today I can proudly say “ yes this is the little different school in pune which has child to learn more than cartoons, colors, and to learn through play. This School’s punch line says “play, learn, shine”…. and school interior gives every reason for the same, to play... to learn.. to shine..

I will not say I designed things very differently. In fact poor budget didn’t allow me to play much with new things. 50% of ideas, designs we could not execute due to budget and space limitation.only one thing I took care of was to ask myself and argue with my client again and again whenever it came to reasoning anything.. I have strong reasons of doing particular thing or not doing so. Though with every work there is always a balance sheet of flaws and assets.. I have my own set of grievances of the same, that without much of interference and proper harmony I could have done things much much better..
‘Graphics’ of classroom are something,I wished were more educative and contemporary.. they didn’t come out that well..they could have been so better.
I wanted carpet on staircase.. wanted better bedsheets for day care and so many things which did not happen due to difference of opinion between me and client. but one don’t has control of every small thing. Its next to impossible to convince client and do their brain wash in every little small thing.. few things are left for client to regret later, on account of not following the consulted suggestions :) :P I managed headache upto my tolerance level leaving rest of the things to happen on merit of their own destiny!
never the less I managed to do my job well..afterall
with every new work one plays
with every new work one learns
with every new work one shines!

politicians (un)common holi!

By profession I am an Interior Designer.In 2006 mid, I established my firm called ‘en trance’ .. I design commercial and high end residential projects and of course if something interesting (not always known as commercial or high end residential) comes on the way!

The above small introduction part was only to support a stand to what I am expressing here is not myth, fiction, and is a true experience!

Its about the period feb/mar 2008.. very close to holi festival.. in Maharashtra ..in India

Generally we people that is designers, architects, civil engineers, builders.. we have migrants as labor from Uttar Pradesh mostly, for executing our interior projects.
Its been long since UP people have massive hold over services like plaster of paris work(pop), paint, carpentry etc. as compared to other maharashtrian labor(the one who lives in maharashtra and of any cast/creed) why???? Why we have migrants?? Why we have labor of UP for our work??
Well I don’t know.. may be the tradition!

But with my experience I realized the reasons behind their migration and a strong hold in the industry!
Yes, they are far more efficient, superior than any other local ones.
I am a witness to their work of more than 12 hours per day.
I am a witness to their attitudes of perfection without any complaints.
I am a witness to their nature of adjustments.. towards money, time.. yes they are poor with rich hearts!
I am a witness to the local maharashtrian labor who needed my extra attention to get things done.
Actually countless comparisons!

If to judge things by each individual and their attitudes, surely it might not be true in each case.. but I am talking masses.
I am not trying to speak any particular region. Not at all. I am still an Indian, may be for that matter I am still a Maharashtrian….
But yes it’s a fact, that UP labor is preferred over local ones in maharashtra!
many of the architects, designers, colleagues will agree or disagree here..

anyways I am here to speak on behalf of those UP labor and a unfair game happened to them, to us!
Local politicians (??!! Most of people know which political body) all of sudden one day decided to throw UP migrants out of maharahstra! Yes it was all of sudden……….. and who knows the exact reason for doing it so?
Few said local labor must be at work.
Few said its all about their non maharashtrian attitudes! (first explain me what is maharashtrian attitude?)
Few said one has no right to work so good being migrant..

This conflict resulted into obvious riots.. a second planned thing by political party!
Imagine if things ever get solve without that..?
I could see on television the way some taxi drivers were beaten in mumbai.. their cars were damaged.. for nothing actually! I bet most of them were not from UP also.. they were suffering.. blood, fire, glass, stones, hockey sticks.. Violence was at peak! Curfew went on for long 4 weeks in pune! Karvenagar, varje malvadi areas of pune where all these UP labor stays were under tight custody of this so called politicians. They were not allowed to come out of their houses. the only left option was to go back! Go back to Uttar Pradesh or anywhere. you can no more stay in maharashtra! Imagine trains were flooded with these migrants! Few other political bodies went on railway stations to console, ask them to stay.. but these people had decided to go back.. to save their lives.. tell me, who wants to live so "unwanted?!"

Some of them thought to return after holi festival.. after few days, when things get peaceful again.. holi is there dear festival to visit home, meet wife, children ,celebrate.. who knew they will be visiting such a way? My head carpenter said his colleague’s one hand was cut totally in riot……..

At our end, things were never so cold dead before. Unthinkable 4 weeks without labor. Development was totally at loss. may be today tomorrow these people will earn their bread butter elsewhere. but we(maharshtra) are at permanent loss of this skillful labor and for that matter true development. A good team is not build up every now and then! With temporary labor we carried our respective works then… but I cannot imagine the repetition..

Today things have got down to routine.. few of the people are back.. few aren’t.. few I am clueless!
Yes I am still searching one painter of my team. I wish nothing has gone wrong with him. I wish he is safe.

This left many questions behind to me about human rights!
Right to work, right to choose, right to live in peace.. I am still exploring things as Indian in global world..
We call ourselves educated.. but what more we can do when someone is in trouble, when injustice happen so ruthlessly, when it happens to our own people? what I could do for those 4 weeks ?? nothing substantial!
Sometime back I read in newspaper the guilty person is going to be punished.. I am still waiting for it to happen…………….. may be they still need to learn lessons of ‘live and let live’!

read it as first blog..

Writing what?………was never a question to me!
But ‘if’ to write was?
Just taking it as one more mode of expression for now..
Anyways,
Here I am
Lets see how far this takes me………………
Before it takes me..
Let me take THIS back to year start! Year 2008 start!
Both these things I guess are connected somewhere..

I was looking around some quotations, some thoughts to convey my wishes to all my friends, relatives, contacts…basically new years wishes..
I wasn’t really satisfied with available write ups.When nothing could come to my rescue.. and when I was just gonna get disconnected……. just then…….Something really creative happened!
Before I sunk in the previous low feeling,….
I had penned down my emotion, my thought….something which I was searching like a fool on many .coms! I didn’t know it was within somewhere .. poor me:-)
Wow…. that was truly natural..!
to able to express urself well, is just more than a bliss.. and then further to be able to express in different different available ways... !

I pasted the ‘same write up’ to everyone on orkut. My wishes were conveyed .. truly the way I wanted..
Very few replied directly to that.. not that they didn’t like it.. but don’t we know how lazy people are at times to react, to express and to feel ??

Anyways few remarkable encouraging people like,

Mr. Anand (45 year old gentleman writes really well since long.. very regularly sharing his world, his experiences basically a regular blogger) replied! And since then he encouraged me to have blogging id soon... I took long nah anand?

My dance teacher replied with sms. she demanded ‘if its so good, I should write more..
A true teacher who always wants to bring out the best in you! :-)

Atul, I tried to know little from his world through his blogs.. I guess if he wasn’t writing… it would have been little difficult for me to know the sincerity of the overseas fellow.

And to many such people who’s blogs I came across knowingly and unknowingly.. I thank them all! :)

Here’s sharing with you my scribble.. yes… new years wishes of 2008!

was just thinking can i order u to
get me 'that'??
the heart said yes yes yes..!!
followed by no explanations and only faith..that you lead me 'the best'.. !!
probably, this is the connectivity..
just like a continuous flow of water
the continue existence of human
this shall never change, this shall never shake..
for me, it means 'FAITH'
why does it gets important to ask u the same thing all over again
and there mind says.. there it explains..
'it is' never again..
it is pure always..!!
it just adds drop of faith again..
wish u happy and enlightening year!
- priti