Artificial Kidneys!!!

I am taking a break from the Abha Roadies to write about this wonderful new invention: Artificial Kidney. I was browsing the usual news websites when this article caught my attention:Artificial Kidney.

An Indian, Mr.Shuvo Roy based in US, and his team has created the first implantable artificial kidney. WOW! This is something we should have had years ago. No, I am not complaining that it has come so late. This comment stems from my experience when my Dad was affected with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). He was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure 10 years ago and due to his smoking habits, his kidney performance deteriorated rapidly.

He is not the first in the family to be affected with PKD. My paternal grandmother, my first aunt all had this killer disease which proved fatal for them. Luckily, my Dad had the courage and more importantly the will power to overcome this disease.

A fistula and 75 painful haemo-dialysis later, we were able to plan for his renal transplant. But his kidneys had been so badly damaged that he had to undergo a bilateral nephrectomy. 4 weeks later he had a successful renal transplant.

It was really bad to see 200 odd pin pricks on his hand meant for dialysis. I sincerely hope this new device from MIT will help reduce the physical pain and the cost of dialysis for all those who are suffering from renal disease!

Congrats Mr. Shuvo Roy!

The Abha Roadies Part 2 : Al-Soodah & Al-Hablalah

Never thought mornings could be cold in the Desert Kingdom. Opening the window…. Awesome sight.. could literally see mist right in the middle of the road. And slowly brightness was filling in. Had a good night’s sleep and we were raring to go.

Lol.. I was challenged by a colleague that I wouldn’t find a hotel in Abha where I could get a decent breakfast. Little do they know about Malayalis .. well.. I forgive him.. because Mallus are the only guys who can set up a tea stall on the moon! Won’t believe it? Take a look!!

:D Yeah.. I found out a proper Mallu hotel.. the eponymous Kairali Hotel. And whats more, the owner was from TRIVANDRUM :D :D Joy doubled and I marched all of them promptly in for a sumptuous breakfast… Imagine : Having a breakfast of Aapam and Kadala curry in a place like Abha.. Fantabulous!!

Guess for the first time people realized the goodness of knowing Malayalam  There on.. Yours truly was the food guide for the ever hungry lot. Finally we left for the first destination on our sightseeing map. It’s a place called Al-Soodha. The way to Al-Soodha was scenic. Mountain ranges and splashes of greenery were really pleasing to the eye.. a far cry from the cement forest that Riyadh is.

A couple of stops for photo shoot later, we reached the destination. Please don’t mind the repeated adjectives I am using because it really looked AWESOME! After being in Riyadh for the past 7 months.. this place was heaven. Brought back memories of Munnar and Vampire’s place at Kodaikanal. Hmm.. that reminds me.. Devil.. we ought to plan for that trip soon.

Al-Soodha’s attraction is the rope car that descends down the valley. It has been set up by companies that run Ski gondolas in Switzerland… got passes for all of us and we planned to go together in a single gondola. Pity it could seat only 8 passengers. It was getting colder at the hill top so Harini and me decided to get our sweaters out. By the time we came back, our group had left. Since this is a country that gives importance to families, we were given an entire gondola  Amazing climate, good scenery and just us in a single gondola / rope car … very romantic right? Not at all  .. though we wanted a car for ourselves, we found the experience a little shaky.. dropping down 3km on an unstable cable car was difficult. 10 mins later we went down to the bottom station. We spent a good 2 hours there talking, walking and photographing the beautiful landscape.

                                                                                                                                                                          

The trip back to the top station was also good, albeit a little faster.  Once atop the hill, we enjoyed the cold weather and sauntered back to your cab. We had planned to go back to Khamees’ for lunch. And I was able to reserved food for us @ Delicia thanks to Mr. George Joseph who works there!  We stopped on the way to watch a few monkeys and also had a short trek down to a water reservoir before we had lunch.

Mr. George was at his courteous best when we went for lunch. Post lunch, we raced against time to visit a historical village called Al Hablalah. It’s a totally different place as it looked as if the world ends here. A sheer drop and nothing in front for a good 1000 – 2000 meters. Pity we couldn’t enjoy it in proper sunlight. Sunset started at 5:14 PM and before I could take some snaps, darkness crept in.  Sadly, we made our way back to our shiga mohfrusha and wound up for the day.

Desert Trip : The Abha Roadies Part 1

Wow! What an amazing trip it was. After slogging for the past 7 months, finally got a break : Bakrid or Eid Al Adha vacation. We planned for an impromptu road trip to Abha, the southernmost city in Saudi Arabia which is the summer resort of Gulf-ites. 4 families on a Hyundai H1 on a 2650 KM round trip in 3 days.. you could call us crazy.. but whats life without a bit of craziness??

We started out on a pretty cold day at 8:00 AM from Riyadh, hoping to reach Abha by day end. Little did we know that it would take us 15 hours to do so! The trip started in high spirits with rousing cries of “Ganapati Bapa Moriya” coupled with a cued cry from Anusha, a toddler.

We ate, sang, slept and finally reached the city before Abha at 9:15 PM. Much to our dismay, all the shops were closed owing to Eid. Finally, found a hotel called Delicia.. and with high spirits wandered in. Turned out to be a Malayali hotel.  Blessed are these people who will not shy from setting up a tea stall on Moon. Happily I spoke my way through setting up a special table for the 19 of us (Oh.. 7 bachelors were in a separate vehicle) and ate our way to glory.. imagine running up a bill of SAR 335 for 19 ppl when a modest breakfast for 2 types of Parathas, chicken lollypop and tea/coffee for 60 ppl @ a get together had cost us a little around SAR 900 :D  Ahem… lesser said about food .. the better..

The Road to Neverland :)

Finally we reached the place we were to stay.

It was no Hotel California but what the locals here call as “Shiga Mohfrusha” (Arabic for Furnished apartments). Honestly, I don’t know the name of the apartment where we stayed during our road trip to Abha. But it was decent enough.

Plonked on the bed and went to sleep with expectations of sight-seeing the next day. Actually, both of us wanted to see if we could really use the leather jacket and Harini’s jacket in Abha :D and not to forget the sweaters!

To be frank.. yeah it was cold.. so the jackets did come handy!

Next day… next blog.

Its Classic!!

01 November 2010. Our first anniversary.

Before we knew, we have completed one year of married life! Time has just flown!! Been an amazing, fun and tension filled first year.

Looking forward to all the fantastic years ahead, with a Classical touch ;)

Ambrosia and the CNN Hero of the Year

Ambrosia means food meant for Gods. Everyday we are blessed to choose from so many types of food which would make even the Gods envious.Have we ever thought how many of them outside have no access to hygienic food for even one time a day? Or have we ever thought of how much food we waste in a single day? In the Mumbai branch of the IT company I work for, there is a stats board that shows us how many KILOS of food we waste each day. That always brought back memories of the deeds of person I know in Madurai. He is family friend and an award winning Chef who used to work for a 5 star hotel in Bangalore. He was bound to go to Switzerland when an event changed his entire outlook towards life.

His name is Krishnan. Why would I be talking about Ambrosia, food wastage and Krishnan? It has a connection. Krishnan currently feeds around 400 odd people in and around Madurai every day, with piping hot food. The event that changed him is really a heart rendering story. How many of us will have the guts to drop sophisticated lifestyle and job to just help the poor?

Read about his story here (Source: The Hindu): Krishnan's Story

Now, why would I be reminded of him when I see the food wastage at my office? Well. 7 years ago, 3 of my friends and myself decided to celebrate our birthdays in a different manner. We decided to sponsor a meal by visiting his trust: Akshaya. We never knew that Krishnan would makes us tour with him in his Omni van and make us hand over the food parcel to the needy. It was an experience beyond words. The moment his van drove up to the designated spot, people who take food from him waited patiently for him to hand over the parcel, with an eager expectation.

Many of these people were in a state where they couldnt distinguish the food they were having. And it was his parcel of food that kept them going strong. Many of them were mentally unstable as well. It was a heart warming sight to see them trust a stranger and take the food he offered.His kitchen is impeccable with high standards of hygiene. And he personally oversees the food he prepares.

The palette might not have an impressive menu, but it filled a few 100 stomachs. Since it was our birthday we remember him making a sweet "Kesari". We promised ourselves that we should help him in any way possible when we started earning. Sadly that never happend. And all that wasted food at our office always brought back memories of the effort Krishnan makes to provide a sumptuous meal to the needy.

It made us more careful with the way we ordered food in bulk and have since considerably reduced the wastage after a party. Now, the main reason why I am presenting this story is because Krishnan has been shortlisted for CNN-Heros of the Year award to be held on Nov 25 at Los Angeles.

I request all of you accessing my blog to please vote for him and make him the preferred choice from India.

The prize money is huge, apart from the $25,000 he would get for being shortlisted, if he wins, he would get an additional $100,000. With that he should be able to build is dream home for the needy, the Akshaya Home and also medical service for them.

Please pass this story on to all of them.

Subi: I am depending on you to pass this story to all at St.Xaviers and ask them to vote for him.

My friends in IT: Please pass this on to your near and dear so that Krishnan wins maximum votes! Hope we reduce the food wastage @ our homes and work place.

To vote for him visit: http://heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx

We need heroes like him.