The Dental Woes, published in The Tribune on 01 April 2024

 

    This article I wrote after coming back from the USA. It was published in The Tribune on 01 April 2024. It was a personal experience of dental treatment of my daughter Kirandeep and the ordeal of my NRI friend Amarjit Singh Dhaliwal (Papoo) from my village Kandhala Jattan. The way Papoo narrated the incident, it was hilarious. On that day I decided that I shall write about it. What I forwarded to The Tribune is as under :-

The Dental Pains 

'Some tortures are physical, And some are mental, But the one that is both is Dental’, so said Ogden Nash. God forbid if you are abroad in the USA or European Country and you may have to undertake dental treatment. It will definitely punch a hole in your pocket and upset your budget for the next few months.

I recently visited the USA to be with my daughter. She had severe dental pain and it involved more than one tooth.  She had overlooked this for quite some time but I was quite concerned to see her inability to chew hard food. On my insistence, she visited a dentist who should be able to treat her under the available insurance plan.

She came home and looked quite exasperated. She said that her bill for dental treatment under her medical plan would turn out to be $12,000. I was shocked. Within this amount, she could fly to and fro India in Business Class, get her treatment done, and still save half the amount. No wonder, for most NRIs who visit India, dental treatment is usually on their cards.

A friend of mine, from school days, who had migrated to the USA, narrated his woeful but amusing tale of dental treatment abroad.  The filling of his molar had worn off and he was unable to bear the pain. He had no option but to visit the dentist. As he could only converse in rudimentary English, he took along somebody who could explain his problem to the dentist.

The dentist, who happened to be an East Asian immigrant, was told about my friend's English handicap. As he settled in the patient’s recliner and the doctor examined his teeth, the dentist asked him what he wanted. With the dentist’s examining tools still in his mouth, my friend said, “Fill”. Now the doctor, as per his knowledge of English and its accent, took it for ‘Pull’. He sought confirmation from the patient and asked, “Pull?” to which my friend nodded yes.  He quickly administered the local anesthesia to the patient and proceeded with the ‘treatment’.

After the job was done, the patient was devastated to find a gaping hole instead of an aching tooth. He started arguing with the doctor in half Punjabi and half English. Fast forward to post-operation chaos: my friend, now one tooth lighter, was fuming in a mix of broken English and sheer disbelief. His trusty sidekick rushed in, only to realize that this whole debacle was just a 'Fill' vs. 'Pull' comedy of errors. Minus one tooth, my friend vowed never to seek dental treatment abroad.

The actual article as published in the newspaper can be viewed by clicking on this link The Tribune Article    

My Own Kashmir Files Published in The Tribune on 26 Mar 2022

 

My Kashmir Files

                                           

            The recent movie Kashmir Files has brought back memories of the autumn of 1989 in Kasmir. The winter was setting in, but the political tempo in the valley was at an all-time high. Frequent strikes were leading to the blockade of roads, and anti-Indian crescendo was in the air. Army convoys were also subjected to protests by frenzied crowds. Major roads of the valley were dotted with anti-Indian slogans, anti-Army slogans, and even Pakistani Flags. The army was on wait and watch. Orders were to avoid getting into any kind of skirmishes with the protesters.

We were located near Kupwara in Kashmir. Our unit was co-located with a village where a few houses were just about hugging the boundary wall of our unit. Our unit ammunition magazine was located about three kilometers away due to the paucity of accommodation. Another village (W) was located en route to the location of the ammunition magazine. The boys guarding the ammunition were supplied rations and meals from our unit through patrolling.

The village adjoining our unit had about four to five houses of Hindus. One house of a Hindu family was next to our guard post where our soldiers were on duty day and night. Our CO on morning PT or evening stroll would often interact with locals and Hindu Families residing in the village. The locals would assure us that no harm would come to their Hindu brothers. However, Hindu families were guarded in their approach and often avoided coming into contact with Army personnel. One could guess that they did not want to be seen as some kind of informers working for the army. None of them talked about leaving their homes.

The village W also had about four to five Hindu families. Whenever I visited the ammunition magazine, I interacted with them and other locals of that village.  One particular Hindu family was rather affluent and had a much bigger house with good amenities. They were quite well-read folks. I used to assure them of the full support of the Army, not to leave their houses, and let us know if anybody threatened them.  They would nod in agreement, but one could sense their helplessness. We were not there with them all the time. In fact, the Hindu family heads would avoid being seen with army personnel and even told us not to visit them lest they be targeted by militants.

As the situation in the valley started deteriorating, the trucks carrying Hindu families with household luggage became a frequent sight on roads. The families from the village, neighbouring our unit, moved out in almost complete secrecy, and our guard did not get the wind off it. The complete guard faced the wrath of our CO.   

Later on, Subedar Majors of the units, located in the valley, were sent out to Hindu migrant camps, under central arrangements,  to contact the Hindu families of their area of responsibility. The aim was to motivate them to get back or at least point out the people who had threatened them to leave. No one volunteered to come back.

On my next visit to the W village, I found that all the Hindu families of the village had left. Out of curiosity, I went to that affluent family’s house. It was deserted. I found almost all the doors, windows, and even sanitary and electric fixtures removed.  The household items were gone, and a few broken pots were lying scattered. A book was lying on the floor;  quite ironically it was titled, ‘Scoundrels and Scalawags’. 

The above article was published in The Tribune on 26 Mar 2022 under the heading 'Reopening the Kashmiri Wounds'. It can be viewed on internet by clicking the link below :-

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/musings/reopening-the-kashmiri-wounds-380780

For how Long One Must Suffer

                                                         

        

            I wrote the following article when after having made numerous visits to see Lt Col Karanbir Singh Natt, lying in coma at Military Hospital, Jalandhar. As he continued in the vegetative state, the hopes of the family and well wishers faded. He ultimately died on 23 December 2023. 

                                                            No Easy Answers

         He lies in bed, eyes flutter, at times half shut, asleep / awake without caring about day or night. Every time I go to look up him I hope and pray to hear about some progress in him towards signs of improvement towards recovery but these have alluded so far. The improvement is negligible.

I first met Captain Karanbir Singh Natt during Operation Prakaram while we were deployed at Gurdaspur border. He was with his platoon of BRDMs (kind of armoured cars with anti tank missiles).  He was full of josh and raring to go for the tasks across the border. He often volunteered to with forward most troops and reccee the areas across. As things cooled down we all withdrew to our respective peacetime locations.  We lost touch thereafter.

It was in 2018 when I was posted in Jalandhar that I heard about him being brought to Military Hospital. I immediately remembered our days of deployment at Gurdaspur Border and went to look him up. It was simply devastating to see him lying in state of coma. I was told that after leaving army he joined the Territorial Army and was injured during an encounter with terrorists in Kashmir Valley in 2015. As he was grievously injured in his jaw the medical complication resulted in cut off of oxygen to his brain for a brief period, leading to his being in the state of coma post life saving surgery.

Despite special care and treatment carried in consultation with reputed doctors there has been no improvement. His father (a veteran himself), mother and wife hinge their hopes on the day when he wakes up from that deep sleep / coma. The family has tried all sorts of therapies and  hasn’t left any stone unturned. All kind of treatments to include, Ayurveda, Homeopathy , besides Allopathic, have yielded no results.

 I have often seen the quote in various hospitals, “I treat He cures”. Faith takes on where there are no answers found in medical science. It has been nearly seven years ; the prayers of the family , which also includes his two young daughters , have not been answered yet. How long?  When will the miracle happen? That also leads to another question as to why the family has been subjected to such long suffering. I marvel at their fortitude and their staidness. I have read the book ‘Does He know a mother’s heart : How suffering refutes religions’ by Arun Shourie where he has tried to find answers from various religions as to why Good people are are made to suffer. Simply blaming it to previous birth doesn’t stand to logic. He has not found any worthwhile answer.  Famous writer Khushwant Singh also tried looking into the same answer he could not find it. But, where does a simple man seek refuge under such calamity? Remembering God and asking for His benevolence to bless the sufferer by answering his prayers. But for how long should one wait? We often say the God is taking the  test of your patience,  but how long should it continue? There are no answers. If someone has it please shoot.

Meanwhile walk up to the Karanbir’s family to share a word of compassion, hope, empathy and of course prayer to the Almighty. 

The article was published in The Tribune on 01 Nov 2021, under the heading 'For How Long One Must Suffer' and can be viewed by clicking on the link below :-

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/musings/for-how-long-one-must-suffer-332562

Don't Pluck the Flowers

                                           DON’T PLUCK THE FLOWERS

 

              Just saw a tweet from somebody who is fed up with the theft of flowers, grown by him in pots, by strangers, for use in ‘Puja’. I fully empathise with him.  I have often got on the wrong side of people while forbidding them to ‘steal’ flowers from public places and our flower beds along the boundary wall of my home.

              My house is facing a park. There are many Yellow Kaner (Oleander) trees that keep blooming almost throughout the year. Every morning I keep seeing a few men and women plucking the flowers. I can’t help walking up to them and confronting them.  On questioning them I get the reply, “Puja ke Liye”. I confront them by saying, “Why can’t you pick up fresh flowers that have already fallen on the ground? Why to pluck those that have just bloomed?” They get annoyed as if I have committed a serious act of blasphemy. “How can you say that? How can the ‘fallen’ flowers be offered to Bhagwan?”, they retort. “But those on the trees are also grown by the will of same Bhagwan.”   I argue back. But of no avail. They carry on plucking flowers, without any sense of guilt or remorse, till a small polythene bag is full. I persist, “Will your Bhagwan be happy to receive these stolen flowers (Chori ke phool).” They have no answer. Some of them argue back by saying that it is a public place and trees do not belong to ‘me’.  I point out to a board displaying ‘Do not pluck flowers’ written in English as well as in Punjabi. They just give an indifferent look and shamelessly move on. My advice to them, to grow their own flowers and then pluck, finds no takers.  I stand helplessly.

              It is often embarrassing to see people known to you getting caught stealing flowers from your flower beds. But I can’t help walking up to them and saying,” Flowers look best on plants”. They carry on with a silly smile. Having a rudimentary knowledge of Bhagwad Gita I often sermonise these ‘thieves’ by quoting Shalok 26 of Chapter 9 where Bhagwan Shri Krishna says that a devotee can offer him fruit or flower or even a leaf or water,  but with devotion. Meaning thereby that He is not pleased by materialistic things. What matters is devotion. Buddha has said, “When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily”.

              My sincere request to ‘flower thieves’. Please have mercy on the flowers that are beautiful creations of God. Don’t try to please Him by destroying His creation. Will someone listen?   

    I wrote the article when I caught few people stealing flowers from the flower beds around our house. The article was published in The Tribune newspaper under the heading, 'Let Them Bloom' on  on 14 April 2021. Here is the link to view it on internet :- https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/musings/let-them-bloom-where-they-belong-238840