Santhosh's ramblings

This blog is a travel blog. Annapurna Base Camp trek. At the outset itself, I invite you on a journey. Rather, two journeys: one diagnostic, another experiential. (It is a bit long too – you can skip the reading for the pictures if you are too busy – but I advise you to stop, sip, savour, and move on.) Diagnostic one – to decide if the author is crazy or normal. The author was almost convinced by the middle of the journey that he was crazy. This was acknowledged by close family members and a few observers. You too can come to your own conclusions.   Experiential one – I have tried to give as many pictures as possible (a photo blog) so that you can experience some of it. (To try to instil a bit of infectious craziness in you too.) There are multiple reasons why people go on challenging journeys. The most likely one is to prove that he/she can do it – an adventurous spirit. But at the outset itself, I had mostly given up that spirit, knowing very well that I may not reach the end po...

Once you cross 60, memory becomes a constant companion - sometimes as a gentle reminder, sometimes as a nagging worry. You start thinking about remembering because you tend to forget. Last week, for instance, both of us spent an hour searching for a bag - a big, visible one - only to find that I had kept it in a place where bags are not supposed to be kept! And this isn’t a one-off phenomenon. I’ve written about memory before, but here I am again, circling back to the same theme, a sign of MCI!     https://santhoshsramblings.blogspot.com/2023/08/gold-fish-memories-and-mediterranean.html A couple of weeks ago, I met a 95-year-old family friend, now mostly confined to bed. A retired professor of Theology, a college principal, and a man of immense wisdom. He recognized me instantly and spoke with clarity about many past things. At one point, he paused and said apologetically, “ Sorry, these days I keep repeating myself. I asked you the same question many times. I’m losing my memo...

I do not sleep well (please do not diagnose me). It is an unspoken practice in our home—we do not ask each other, “How did you sleep last night?” Occasionally, a statement may slip out without thinking, but since both of us have sleep challenges, it is taken for granted that sleep is not something to worry about. The challenge arises when we have guests or are staying with friends. The first question in the morning is - “Did you sleep well?” I have started replying, “Do you want the truth or is it just another ‘How are you this morning?’ question?”   I correlate our sleep challenges with our profession. Years of residency and night duties with much sleep deprivation, the stress of medical work, learning to take short naps on theatre beds, trolleys, etc. - all of this plays a role. We had a friend who would come religiously for every Bible study, open the Bible, and go to sleep. That was the only good rest he would get. We encouraged him too!   But now, there is a preoccupation...