Shukraan Misr!

“.........” the man said something in Arabic, approaching me as my shoes click-clacked away on the cobblestoned streets of Khan el-Khalili. The aroma of Sheesha whiffs clouded the crowded souk.

‘Do not entertain conversations with the vendors.’ I remembered the warnings on the internet while reading up about Egypt.

“English please.” I stopped at this one stall with technicolor lamps and chandeliers hung all over.

The market place was embedded in the mini bylanes with scores of shops brimming with Islamic artware and souvenirs from the Pharaohs times.There were maqhas selling black Egyptian coffee. Vendors sat outside the tiny stalls religiously tending to their Sheeshas, aqueels till you pass by, only to go back to their smoke generators when you move on.

“Ah, Sorry, you look  Egyptian. Where you from?”

“India.”

“Ah, Hindi! Amitha Bachan is Egyptian!”

Talk about savoir-faire!

Lamps for Ramadan

Technicolor artwork

Tell you something honestly -Never in my life have I imagined or wanted to go to Egypt! The only exposure I had to this mysteryland was through some information about Hieroglyphics in the state syllabus’s history textbooks and these 2  -

With the political,economic turmoil in the country in the recent past and the Egypt Air Flight 804 issue cropping up 5 days before my departure, 'skeptical to the point of cancelling' was my outlook towards this 2 day visit. I was really not in the mood of going from the hot and ‘sweat while bathing’ weather of Mumbai to a hot and ‘dry yourself to a papyrus’ one.

Trying to see through the airplane window wasn't much of a spirit-lifter either.

On the drive from the airport to the hotel, the scenery was dusty and dry and the effect was compounded by the brown and ocre colored flat,medium sized buildings with sand spread out everywhere beyond them. Only some palm and ficus trees thrown around here and there, seemed soothing to the eyes.

‘Great! I’ll just work on my presentation and stick inside the hotel room for the rest of my time.’ I surrendered myself to this blah plan.

“Second one looks bigger than the first because Khafre wanted his tomb to be highest, he cheated and simply built it on a higher platform than Khufu’s. Look at the pink rock at the bottom, that’s rose granite and the broken cream cap, that’s limestone with which all pyramids were covered.”

As our guide went on about the facts and specifics, I couldn’t help but take in the majesty of these mega structures. Quick fact check -  The pyramids took about 20 years to build and have stood the test of time over 4500 years. 4 hrs after touchdown Cairo, here I was at the pyramids of Giza, with dessert stretching thousands of kilometers to the horizon on the west. Next stop - Sphinx.

“You see Sphinx is body of a  lion with head of a man signifying strength with intelligence to protect the Pyramids.” chipped in the guide.

Enroute the Sphinx,a bedouin offered us a camel ride,quite obviously for an exorbitant price.And my bargaining skills kicked in.

I - No thank you, too much.

Bedouin -  pay what you like.

I - I dont have enough time for the ride.

B - No problem,then I take photo of you with camel and pyramid.

By now, my English pronunciation was changing accents to round off my d’s and switch the p’s to b’s.

I - no thanks, how about I take bhoto of you with your camel and byramid? how much you give for that?I make you famous on facebook.

And we settled :D

By evening,all my previous doubts and apprehensions about this place were on their way out.

As an Indian, it’s hard to not notice the striking similarities between our two countries, ancient and modern.

Civilizations along two great rivers  - the Nile and the Ganga;the multitude of Gods and deities, specifically worshipping the sun, Ra ; The myths behind the monuments, art and culture as well as carving and sculptures ( Sphinx = Narsimha! ) ; use of of mudbricks and stones in buildings ; getting colonized by the British and the recovery thereafter. It was a 48 hr lesson in history,anthropology mixed with time travel.

There is so much to know and learn about this country that they have their very own Egypt specialists- Egyptologists!

Also, Cairo looks very much like Mumbai in the night with the yellow lights bejewelling the city and yes, crazy crowds and traffic! Mumbai, I believe you have been defeated! ETA to any destination is between 30 mins to 3 hrs, based on traffic conditions! Cairo, take a bow!

It’s people that make any place worth the while!

New Friend -

Pervine, my newfound friend, made my life easy while walking about the market place and bargaining expertly for me, when things got serious. Bam! Another similarity - the love of overquoting prices to foreigners and our love for bringing down the price to less than half!

It felt like it was just yesterday we said goodbye -

Ahmed, a friend from winter electives in Weill Cornell, NYC who drove down 150 km from Mansoura just to drive around some more and show me around Cairo. Getting the feel of the night life -Tahrir square, mid and downtown wouldn't have been possible without you!

We will meet again some sunny day -

And Yosra, a friend of Swanit’s, who kept singing praises of this amazing girl he met at  one of the many conferences he attends. With a conversation that seemed so natural about everything under the sun, which happens with people that click, we were hatching Eurafrasian travel plans,already. Swanit, you’re invited too :P

Like I said, never in my wildest dreams did I consider visiting  Egypt before!Now I am back in Mumbai,reminiscing the the cool breeze,while cruising on the Nile, the opulence, sights, sounds and aromas of Cairo!

So here I am making plans of  visiting Egypt again to see more of what this land has to offer, soak in the culture and history and to travel with some of the beautiful people I met there! Courtesy, Yosra!

Those who drink from the water of the Nile, shall always come back….

We want justice!

'We want justice!'

 I am holding out this board. My friend is holding out another one that says - 'Save the Saviour'. There are some 50 of us, white apron clad colleagues with messages and candles, silently protesting outside the casualty of KEM hospital.

You've heard, seen, read the news.

"Go back to the wards and tend to the patients". This is what everyone is thinking and saying - the authorities, the seniors, the anxious relatives who have just reeled in their sick patients to the hospital.

But we are here because 3 resident doctors got beaten up this morning.
We are protesting out here today because we want justice,we want to be safe!

Who are we? you ask.

We are the residents of  KEM hospital, here to speak up for ourselves.



Any KEM ward - a grim place! A large number of sick and serious patients lying on hospital beds in a huge ward reeking of blood, urine, vomit mixed with cries of patients in pain.

You bring your sick son/daughter/mother/father and get them admitted. They become one with the KEM ward. Your dear one lays on one of those cots, unconscious with tubes sticking out of his/her body.You cant bear with this anymore and want him/her to get cured as soon as possible and never see the face of this place again.

But how is that possible! Where is that damn doctor? I've tried to get his attention a couple of times since we got here! He hasn't checked on my son since a while now! Enough is enough! I need to take things into my own hands!



But before you think you can use force, assault that doctor.......STOP!


Do not wage a war against the people who are trying to help your cause, how much ever it seems like we aren't doing much.

We started out with a dream.

A dream of becoming a doctor some day. We studied over 4.5 years to learn about the human body and all the possible things that can go wrong with it. In one year of internship, we saw intimately the entire health provision system at close range. And everyday we wondered about the next step, being a resident - how it would be to take actual responsibility for the well being of another human life?

The thought was intimidating, to say the least. Not merely because of the sheer volume of patients flooding in everyday - many presenting with atypical symptoms and the rarest diseases. 

The real challenge was the entire system - the inadequate facilities and infrastructure,the long hours of work, the short hours of sleep, inadequate remuneration.

Our books didn't equip us for anything of this sort - how to deal with spending days and nights amidst all the sickness, to deal with  trying to avert but yet seeing deaths, so closely.It is a steep learning curve and we are learning everyday by trial and error.

Why do we keep doing this? 

To us, amidst all this chaos, our daily dose of happiness lies in diagnosing your disease quickly and sending you home healthier as soon as possible. Our joy and relief only comes when your life is saved and prolonged.

Medicine is a noble profession 

It was instilled in us. We were told stories of the faith that a patient and his family puts into us, the gratitude that the ailing, who heals because of the healer, shows. We got smitten by this story to enter the field and to keep going.

But no one told us - it can be brutal and that this dream can turn out to be a nightmare!

YOU, the patients & relatives and WE, the residents, interns are not enemies.
Then do not attack us!
We try to bear the long hours, the sleep deprivation, the sub-par living conditions and the scanty pay to continue serving you.

But we will not take the violence!

Our service stops the moment you brandish that iron rod.

We stand for justice and we stand for our safety!

Of snowflakes and seashells

To me, my friends are like snowflakes - none like the other. Some with angles of enthusiasm,others fully goofy, some with crystal clear thoughts , corners of humor, yet others with practicality. I love having each one of them in my life - how each interaction brings out a different hue, of me and you.

With some, I exchange silent,exclusive smiles with the world oblivious to the conversations that just happened with just the eyes. Others are absolute essentials for a wild dancing night and for the rambunctious chatter on hikes. With some, I make future plans -ranging from when is our next cycle ride/trip to discussing our next 5 year plans. Some to jam, sing, hum, beatbox and bring out the musicality with yet others to quietly sit at Nariman point with. Friends who have got me into trouble and friends who I have relied on to get me out of it -  out of flat tyres post drive through lonely jungles in neighbouring state and the likes, of  dressing up wounds in the ER post party injuries. With some, I'd leave for a motorbike trip,Himalayan trek across states at the drop of a hat and others who I need to confirm and coordinate thrice just to meet up for a movie in the same neighbourhood. Some who know my deep,dark secrets and others who entrust me with theirs.

I've learnt a lot from all of them. About friendship,life and myself.
Disclaimer - I don't think I am a good friend, at all! Infact I wouldnt want to be friends with me if I were you!

But over time, my pals have made me more human. I can laugh at myself now ( almost! ) Some have taught me how to keep in touch, no matter how much the distance & time separating us. Some, to give them space when needed.The value of just dropping everything for a bear hug, cup of coffee( a cycle ride/ walk through the hills ) and loads of yapping,laughs and some tears.

Currently what eats me is the fear of growing apart in the process of growing up! There are friends who I meet  after months, but we pick up where we left off, feels like we met just yesterday. Yet others who get offended if I don't go out for meals with them frequently enough or text them every alternate day. Everyday, I am trying to figure out who is who!

I can sense that feeling that's lurking around. The one that grips me everytime a batch graduates from Uni. How would it be to not have my people around as we set out on life's trails, some which intersect soon or some never again?
I am sure we will all make new friends,have fun. Just that it will be  different - different faces, mixed up tempo, varied priorities.

And so I've realised I need to collect my seashells, my keepsakes...
During a stroll on the beach (life) from time to time, I will pick up a fistful of sand, open up and let the wind (time) blow out the sandgrains and leave behind a few but beautiful seashells for me to keep for good!