Weekend adventures......

Whoa...life is crazy here in NIMHANS. We work endlessly in the weekdays from 9 am to 8 pm. So it is imperative that we must chill out in the weekends ala software pros. Like last week we went out to a buffet with all our unit colleagues. This week we thought may be it is time for something more daring , more adventurous & more thrilling (than convincing our patients for a mental status examination or doing a ward side night duty..!).


Our choice for the occasion was Skandagiri mainly because our seniors recommended it that it will be ideal for beginners like us since it has a very easy course for night trekking .So we started from our hostel by about 12 midnight blissfully unaware of the things to come. With a borrowed sweater from my friend Mahavir i embarked on my journey along with 3 others – Mahavir – the perfectionist & the mentor of the gang , ever smiling & ever balanced Kapil & Shivkumar – the son of the soil & the man for all seasons.


Half way through the journey we realised that we have forgotten to bring any torch & contemplated returning to hostel to get one. Just then i realised that i my mobile phone had a torch which has light powerful than any torch that we use in our clinical practise. (apparently that model mobile phone Add used to show a sardari lorry driver using the mobile torch for his malfunctioning head light..!)


After getting stopped by police twice & paying Rs20 after informing them that we are doctors from NIMHANS finally we reached the foothills of Skandhagiri. After bargaining with the so called contractors of the bike stand (if there was one ) we started on our adventurous trek upwards . Unmindful of the “warnings” of the guides whom services we shunned as their demand was too high (as else ware here too the software pros have made their presence felt..).



Amidst their ridicule & petty warnings we started our trekking on a wrong foot not knowing where the path to the hills starts. Shivkumar suggested us one route which we studiously followed only to know that we were in a no man’s land no where to go stranded in the middle of the unfriendly terrain .

Just then we noticed a dark figure approaching us......
was he our saviour or our nemesis ....????

99....!

“99” is the story of two men in two cities who are bound by a common feeling of always being stuck at '99'. They never seem to make it to a 'century' - in life. When I saw the movie somehow I felt connotation of the theme in my life too. Ya I too have a fairly long share of “99’s” in my life . All through my life as far as my memory serves me right I have always slugged it out way upto 99 albeit left stranded there invariably.



During my primary school days in Cluny I always used to be second in either the sport activities like running or gunny-bag races or if I get an award like for “ Excellence in Studies” it will be ever 2nd..Never ever have I got the first rank in any of my classes though I have innumerable 2nd ranks to my credit.


The most striking part that vindicated my “99”ness came during my higher secondary days , that too in my Mathematic tuition tests. In almost all tests I will get 99/100 , 49/50 , 59/60...... howsoever carefully I do the tests I would have bungled with one step here or there for which my Mathematics madam as strict as she is would deduct 1 mark. So I end up almost always 1 short of that “century”. I used to say to her that I would end up in the same manner in the 12th exams too & you know what in my 12th exams my score in Mathematics was 199/200 & in Chemistry 199/200...! So much so for the Nostradamus in me .


I thought there would be a change on the brighter side since I was the only one from my batch who got into Govt. Medical college . But if you would have guessed it right give a pat on your back. In my first exams in Anatomy paper my score was 299 missing the distinction by 1 mark..! AGAIN..! By the time I finished my UG I got couple of 3rd place finishes in my academic performances (happy that atleast here I wasn’t 2nd ) .


After my UG instead of what most of my friends did in pursuing for the PG I took a detour towards civil services examinations . Here too I cleared preliminary exams with ease each time I wrote twice unable to cross the Main exam. 99 striking again.
Not only in academics , in every sphere of life I felt often stranded in 99 . I had two crushes so far neither of whom rejected me at the point 0 (zero) or 1. In both the instances I built hopes (albeit false ) upto the level of “99” when I was told that all along I have erected a castle built upon delusions .


Now coming back to the academics , after my futile attempt at UPSC & realising that “the grapes are sour ” I started my preparations for PG entrance exams which lasted for some 7-8 months. At the end of it I got rank in almost all the exams I wrote but misfortune was shadowing me. I missed the seat in JIPMER only because I didn’t browse through their notification of extended counselling. In the NIMHANS too I missed the seat (the exact mark by which I missed I don’t know but I bet you it won’t be too high.... ). In All India PG counselling my first choice was MD (Psychiatry) & when the counselling started on my day only 1 seat was left which stayed as it was till lunch but just as I was about to be called someone took it & the “Luck” played its part once again.


Why was I left stranded @ 99 time & again..? May be I was not able to put in that extra bit of effort that separated 99 from 100 or was it that lacuna is bridged by that thing known as “Luck” which is a distant relative for me....?





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This how this piece would have ended if I have written it couple of months back. But there were many turn of events in the last couple of months after which I had to experience the satisfaction & joy of reaching that “100” for the first time in life when I got admission in NIMHANS by virtue of increase in one seat & guys who were ranked above me refusing the seat..................................................How’s that for a happy ending.

Leisure.....

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."

- William Henry Davies

When will i have a life without care & have time to stand & stare.....will i ever have it...?????

Intro......

Hai buddies....

I am one among those striving to be a good human being which i found to be not that easy...

& I believe in “The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do...."

It’s me SRI @ OTee @ Sabari Sridhar O.T. Am happy to share my life with one & all.





Am a simple guy with average looks & cheerful demeanor , craving for intellectual stimulation as much as for cathartic respite after all these years of academic corrosion .


Am an atheist & believe in one’s mind is more powerful than other imaginary/supernatural/superstitious /abstract non-being.


Am 27 years old , born in Erode , brought up in Salem & residing here in Chennai for the last 4 years. My father Thambidurai is a advocate & my mother Vasantha is a retired Sub-treasury officer. I have a younger sister Mythili happily married with a kid.


My friends list is a long long one & there are about 5 or so soul mates .Will be elaborating them in the future posts.


My alma maters are Primary @ Cluny Matriculation School , Metric & Higher secondary @ Holy Cross Matriculation Higher secondary School & UG medicine @ GMKMC , Salem. After 3 years of unsuccessful attempts at Civil Service , here I am at the brink of joining a PG seat after I decided to change tracks some 6 months ago.

As far as this Blog “Sriupclose” is concerned , it is a cathartic vehicle through which I like to shed all my happiness , sorrows , desires , disappointments ,achievements , misadventures, et al.


This is Sabari Sridhar for you , known to probably about 100 or so people today , but one day he will be surly known at Pan-Indian level or may be beyond. Though am not a Nostradamus , this prediction of mine will surly come true…..Am going to watch it unfold along with you people….Lets enjoy each other’s company….


Cheers,

Happy reading,

OTee…