Dharamshala-Call of the Hills

One more of my fictitious birthdays that Amol is made to plan and execute to perfect celebrations was this trip to Amritsar and Dharamshala. It helped as the "Border-Gavaskar trophy" was to be played at the highest cricket grounds in the world at Dharamshala. Apparently there is many a slip between Mahaldar holiday plans and BCCI ground realties. The match moved to Indore over poor ground conditions but opened up five divine days of holidays for the Mahaldars

My birthday dinner was the Langar at the Golden temple. A bit of flashback here. Circa 2011,while I battled with my DM residency, long distance parenting, spurned spouse, externship in AIIMS roles, an Aamir Khan tear jerker movie called Taare Zameen Par hit me hard. I was convinced my preschool baby was definitely dyslexic. I wanted Amol to have him evaluated. Now I can count on my fingers of 1 hand , the things Amol has refused me till now and this was one of them. In this background Amol n me visited the Golden temple and in my mind I thought that if all turns out well with Adi and he reaches academic excellence, we will all make a trip back here. I did not voice this out to anyone lest it got jinxed. A good 12 years later, Adi in IIT, Amol unaware of my golden vow planned this trip. Universe always conspires to have our deepest desires fulfilled

The airBnB overlooking the temple helped us catch the Amrit Vela kirtan at the Golden temple . Crowds at wee hours in the morning, dawn at the temple to the chants of " Ik Onkar Satnam" (AR Rehman immortalised it in Rang de Basanti for the non Sikh folks) and "Karah Prasad" rich in ghee made the experience surreal.

A quick visit to Jalianwala Bhag in the morning, Amritsari lassi and Kulcha chole, shopping also factored in completed our Amritsari leg of our holiday.We thought the rest of the trip would be gastronomically this satisfying but I was mistaken on 2 counts. I came down with a stomach bug which later caught up with Adi too and we had more cyclopams than momos on the trip.And the blessed Amritsari kulche's taste apparently stays within the 10 km radius of the city. We tried Kulche at dhaba, fancy restaurant, roadside cafe, inhouse airBnB kitchen but were left wanting. I could do this 3000km trip again just to have the roadside butter doused kulcha chole at the railway station road. A road trip to Dharamsala in a car with only 2 seatbelts for 4 passengers had me anxious throughout. Our driver Mr Sonuji, as unique as the Amritsari kulche tried to assuage my fears but of no avail. But it was more than compensated with the yellow mustard blooms providing the back drop for DDLJ poses.

Amol quipped that if non availabilty of the seat belts was the only thing to complain about the entire trip, then we have indeed had a wondeful one.

Our airBnB in Dharamasala, Guleria villa was a sprawling mansion with an inhouse waterfall, swimming pool( after my Nashik hypothermia induced near death experience I vowed off non temperature controlled pools), view of the snow peaks from every nook, window, manned by nice caretakers. Adi set up his "just out of packaging" Apple Macbook Pro in the balcony overlooking the Dhauladar ranges "because he could",but what transpired was he obviously forgot to get it back in while we went out for dinner, and it had to obviously rain, and obviously with Adi's Buddha like calmness he casually slipped it in mid conversation and it obviously evoked an inversely proportional opposite reaction from us,our caretaker had to breakin to rescue "precious" and calm our frayed nerves over the frantic phone call that "sirf boonda boondi tha"

Day 1 - cycling around the Dhauladhar ranges with a part time techie, full time guide was the perfect way to break into this lovely landscape. MTB, steep upslopes covered in the lowest gears, heart rate at the highest , more vultures on 1 tree than I had seen in my entire life time,pinecone fir trees, village roads, Kendriya vidyalya kids singing the prayer song so out of tune, lots of photos, home made poha were the highlights of our cycling trip

Gyoto monastery, full of boy monks, scriptures and mobiles competing for the monks attention, big Bhuddha. Spicy Thupka made worse by adding more chilly sauce at the behest of a friendly Tibetan in the cafe did no good to my inflamed bowels.

Norbulingka institute showcasing some of the finest artwork of the Tibetan culture, another big Bhuddha - A medicine Bhuddha holding a bowl of herbs , life size paintings of Buddhist teachings and beliefs, a cafe that thankfully served soothing food like pastries and pies. I also bought silver prayer wheel earrings and felt one with the surroundings. Shopping meets Spirituality. My misplaced phyto enthusiam landed me into voluntarily picking out stinging nettles aka "bichua patti" . It burns like the sting of a scorpion and the more I yelped , the other doctor , Dr Amol gave me "gyan" rather than an antidote. After some time the poison and me numbed out.

Google your trip on the go had us undertake a long windy drive to Masror rockcut temple built in Nagara style architechture dedicated to Shiva n family, Vishnu and family . It is picturesque to say the least and the fact that it has withstood the ravages of nature and tourism speaks a lot about this place.

Another long drive later (distances are short but the hilly roads take an awful long time) we reached Kangra fort to have the gates shut on our faces. Tired boys and still enthu for photos me, makes a lethal combo . I quietly snuck in and the boys had no excuse but to follow. What followed was non cooperation movement launched jointly by the boys for photos. Precious golden hour minutes were wasted in arguments. The fort had endured many battles. Originally built by the Katoch Rajputs ,it changed multiple hands, namely the Mughals, Sikhs,Gurkhas and like all things Indian ,finally landed with the British. Now the mute walls witnesses wedding shoots, music shoots and the Mahaldar skirmish too.Lots of photos later (They finally relented and Amol uses a pic clcked here as his dp still) and having thoroughly exhaused the boys we called it a day

Day 2- Trek to Triund. 10 years ago Amol n me scaled the Himalyas from Manali. I always wanted to experience this with my son. The stomach bug got the better of Adi. Amol enthusiasm to trek and the love for his wife quickly ebbed by the time we reached Bhagsu Nag. Amol parked himself at the base camp citing spiritual pursuits from the Bhuddhist chants that echoed from Mcleodgunj below. Adi climbed up inspite of the stomach bug but was quick to shoot down my future trek plans (I had done 1 with spouse, 1 with son and I wished to do 1 with my grandchildren) Rhododendrons that look like roses on trees, the sweet air of the mountains,cute mountain goats, some rowdy ones too, mules that carry gas cylinders and other burden causing a traffic jam on the hills, dogs that follow trekkers to the summit in the hope of some tidbits and do it effortlessly over and over again, colourful houses of Mcleodgunj on one side and the snow peaked Dhauladhar ranges on the other makes the 10 km trek worthwhile.

It is also a lot more fun to tell fellow trekkers that they have a long way to go while we have almost descended. The thing about treks is that we suffer while climbing but reminisce them fondly once we get back home. The sweat of efforts is quickly dried by the sweet mointain air. The moments of exhaustion are flossed over by the beautiful pictures (which I like to review over n over again) We celebtrated our scaling the summit with a Cadbury silk like brand ambassadors of Modelez Intl

Amol got stung here by the same nettle sister leaves and this time I felt happy at this revenge of the sisterhood . After reuniting with Amol and garam Dal chawal, we saw the Namgyal monastery, the residence of THe Dalai LAma. The monasteries are full of boy monks that it is hard to believe there are any lady Tibetans. It is sad to see a generation of refugees who will never know their motherland. Amol always says it is better to die in ones own motherland than live a refugee. I thought it was too radical till now.

Day 3- The boys wanted a non activity day and I coulnot have agreed more.

We walked to a Shiva temple by the river and visited the war memorial and tea gardens in the evening. The roads were lined by wild peach trees in full white blossom that they look like they have caught all the falling stars in their branches.

We happenstanced into a Aghanjar Mahadev Temple . Lord Shiva is supposed to have blessed Arjun with the Gandhiva and wished him luck in the war.An eternal fire burning over a hundred years and a Gupt Shivaling under a huge boulder where we had to crawl in to enter but once in we could sit and pray.,We also braved one last round of momos with the last remaining tablet of cyclopam and with that we bid goodbye to Dharamshala, holidays, Adi and Amritsar in that order and boarded our respective flights out of Amritsar.

Nashik Nephrology Nutrition by Mrs. Nephrology

 Nashik is a holy city surrounded by 9 hills(nav shikar).

River Godavari originates here and blessed is this city with no traffic jam. Vehicles flow as smooth as the waters of Mama Godavari 

Lord Ram laid his fathers King Dashrath ashes here in Ram kund. That gives us reason to pollute the Godavari ghat with holy refuse of flowers, lamp wicks, mud lamps ( a man was drowning his loved one’s plastic spectacle case

 Panchavati along Godavari is dotted with temples that devotees are spoiled for choice. And insta lovers for gram worthy pictures. Amol did flex his photography muscles and the clear winter blue skies lent the photos a quality that dirty reality could not betray 

Naroshankar and Kapaleshwar were some that we visited 

Divine Spouses and children were also covered

Pagdi Ganba 

 

Karthik Swamy temple by the Nattukottai Chettiyars- we happenstanced to visit this temple drawn mainly by the Tamil inscriptions and we lucked out with Lovely Prasadam in the form of masala rice , sundal and panchamrudham

Hanuman in various sizes stood guard along the ghat

KalaRam- Black stone idols of Ramayana trio and their faithful Hanuman in a magnificent black edifice. The loud crowds outside and the peaceful and serene inside is stark and striking.This black temple sucks all the negativity and we left the place reenergised 

Kala Ram’s Kala Hanuman 

GoraRam- A teakwood marvel that houses the holy quartet in white marble and hence the name

Sita Gupha - crazy queues for an underground tunnel that sheltered Sita from danger while her men went hunting and gathering. she got abducted by Ravan here and Amol refused to let me go shopping alone citing this 7000 years ago saga of wife disregarding husband’s plea. Well I gave in and dragged my feet back to Hotel Express Inn. 

Hotel Express Inn is this big hotel with a skywalk and a spirited capsule lift that never reaches the destination floor.

It also has an open air swimming pool with icy waters. When asked the pool attendant why was the pool not temperature controlled, his pan faced answer was to write it in the suggestion book. Also when asked who can swim in this ice bucket challenge like waters , his answer was simple. People who know to swim. 

This was enough to egg me on while Amol stretched on the pool deck quoting there is no shame in quitting. I swam if only to prove a point to Mr panfaced potbellied pool attendant because the minute he was adequately impressed with my “swimming” I hoisted myself out of the pool on my hands gracefully with a jump. He was still watching. 

What followed after being underwater in single digit degrees Celsius temperatures and next 30 minutes was cyanosis, hypothermia, shivering and a real threat of rhabdomyolysi and hyperkalemic cardiac arrest, Amol’s repeated “I told you so” 

Sarafa

To recover from this near death experience I did Sarafa- Old jewellery bazaar of Nashik where I indulged in retail therapy and Amol indulged me and Tibetan market- A Kannada speaking salesman sold me a Chinese puffer jacket in a Tibetan stall. And the Alibaba Chinese food stall served noodles in large portions to resemble the nav shikhars of Nashik. 2 adults and 7 hungry yet sceptical street dogs just about managed to finish 1 special Alibaba noodles.

Pandavleni caves- Early morning walk up 205 stairs amply rewarded by the cool mountain air and picturesque views of the city. The caves are a treasure and well maintained .

Jain mandir- sandstone wonder

The Jain Mandir - A 5 km walk on the expressway and a sandstone chiseled beauty, ornate, detailed Shwetambar Jain Mandir treat awaits us. They are very prickly about photography so this serene place can only be experienced 

Scene 2- Nephrology act 1

Disclaimer- I am a Cardiac Anesthesiologist with special interest in Nephrology and in a Nephrologist 

A senior Nephrologist Dr Bharat Shah said meetings are more of family gatherings in the garb of academics. And Nephrology tribe are academic domestics. They mix both well , care for both with equal elan and families of nephrologist are always well turned out. Post Covid there was a lot of catching up to do- nephrology and otherwise. 

SRNMCON 2023 was hosted by Dr Chafekar, propelled by the SGPGI show of strength for late Dr Anita Saxena, and the academic brilliance of all the Nephrology biggies. Dr Chafekar had an event of this scale organised to the T just like him, always well turned out in his crisp suits. Ably complemented by lovely Madam Chafekar whose hospitality was larger than her farm house where she hosted 50 delegates impromptu and impeccably. Nashik’s chill, Maharashtra cultural dances, toasty bon fires, delegates dance performances will be fondly remembered in Nephro nutrition circles 

Trimbakeshwar visit- 

One of the 12 jyotirlings and a must visit. It was supposed to be enabled by the local organisers but miscommunication and unpreparedness for the crazy crowds that our populous country can churn up on Sankranti day had 14 delegates stranded in various degrees of “anger to helplessness” spectrum. With the setting sun our hopes dimmed Dr Shrimati pulled a miracle that night and all of us had Darshan of the Mahadev. A mumma nephrology, a senior citizen touched Dr Shrimati’s feet for her feat. It was magical, divine, humbling all at once- Just like Nashik 

Trimbakeshwar by the day

The night of a miracle 

Unhooking

 “As hard it is to raise them, it is harder to let go”  said Twinkle Khanna about parenting 

So true

I bid Adi goodbye on 30 October 22. The next 30 days I have been an emotional wreck. I devoured literature on how to fill my empty nest, self help books to combat anxiety 

Phone calls lasted at least for an hour till Adi complained I am eating into his study time. I am sure it is just to get me off his back that he has resorted to key words like studying, seminars, submissions. 

Two months down- 3 upper respiratory infection and 2 cycle falls resulting in 2 torn shirts- distressed denims for real, bald patch on the scalp, a badly done crew cut to compensate, scars on the wrists and elbows and a cycle that looks frozen in a funny yoga pose. 

Technically in a Technical institute but mine looks like in cadet in the Defence Academy down to the sunburn, grime and uniform ( denim on denim as distressed as denim can get in every video call and visit)

After Karan Johar made K3G, every Indian mom has imagined family reunions with helicopter whirring, SRK long double breasted jacket flapping, Jaya Bhaduri’s heavily sequinned saree fluttering. I am no exception 

Reality check- Parents annoyed by waking up at 3 am for a 60 minutes ride to catch the son before he runs off for class and the ward not woken up completely and hence not in best behaviour. A hug if lucky and a smile if time permits. 

Long distance parenting sucks. I shoot 3 questions a minute and Adi doesn’t like to be rushed. End result- Love all -mostly the Tennis kinds

The umbilical cord was never cut. Now it has just been stretched 600kms along the west coast. Unhooking is my new responsibility, and I will get there gradually one deep breath at a time.

 

Doctors as ‘Board parents’

 

Doctors children have a statistically higher likelihood of turning into successful and productive members of the society. I am yet to come across an article, forget a study,  that describes the anguish of doctor parents before they launch their children in this so called successful orbit.

From the time man left the cave and started to live in civilised societies, family structure has varied greatly and in some ways been the same. Hunter became breadwinner and gatherer became homemaker in the current times. But Doctors are a different tribe. Doctor couple parents have seamless borders in both professional and homemaking departments. When the lady of the house is on duty the man fills in without hesitation. And when the man takes a sabbatical, the lady runs the family without anyone feeling the crunch. What transpires between these role reversals is one of those Ekta Kapoor's K series drama, but that is for another day.  

 Parenting is a full time job. So essentially we work 3 jobs at once.

 Doctor, Spouse and homemaker, Parent 

One spouse easily fills in for each other as much as sanity and strength in the sinews allows to keep the wheels of this 3 wheeler vehicle running smooth.

Doctors study diseases . Corollary to this should be that Doctors should be free of pathos. Our patients view us from this maxim. We need to be available for them as empathetic humanoid Doctors without need for food ,sleep or even pee breaks ALL the time.

We sign up  for love and friendship for eternity, not for internship rotation posting in each department for  6 months . But marriage lands us in one dull department of housekeeping, kitchen and transport for perpetuity.

Parents decide to have children , so they might as well work hard at it : think the children.

Self love- A new concept to keep ones happiness pot full to spread cheer around

We get no discount from any of the 3 bosses for the taxing jobs we keep. This self love just makes our guilt pot full.

Most doctor couples get by , face different challenges posed by our 3 bosses with the same bravado that we possessed when we showed up for our anatomy to surgery vivas. Just when we think we are getting better at steering this 3 wheeler smoothly the child turns teen.

Hormone and academics don’t mix well . We have gone through it, studied it and vowed that we will make it easy for our child. Society is watching us. Judging their succesful respectable peers . Can we replicate superior academic accolades  in our children? Giving into pressure is not our style. We just work harder.

Indian academic calendar from 10 standard board exams till getting into 1 year of college is so hectic that medical college rigors feel like a refreshing spa. Each year 10 lakh students answer board exams.

Lines blur, most of us are looking for a Chaurasia or a Cunningham of parenting teens 

Parents should be friendly not friends. Child will open up to friendly parents. What we end up is sharing  like friends and letting out information that can and will be used against us, when it hurts the most.

 When authoritative parenting becomes Authoritarian no one knows. Plus, giving up the authority, wisdom, and experience that comes with being a parent in order to be liked by your kids makes it difficult to raise healthy and competent kids

We come to a head when the choice needs to be made.

Choose the boss-career/housekeeping and spouse/child

   And no one has it all or gets it right. We just go through the motions. There are as many doctor couples who chose permissive parenting over authoritative parenting. Robert Frost to be quoted, “The road though as for that the passing there, had worn them really about the same.”

   Doctors put their careers on hold for the 2 + years and channel all their energies into cracking the academic behemoth. Some move closer to better institutes to maximize chances of better results while minimizing all avenues for adult sanity as distance from comfort zone and home increases. Self love is just a myth now. We relive our boards experience and are left wondering if it is worth it. All Doctors can vouch for peace and quiet only in their OPD or OT (in my case). We give it up in the name of Board Parenting. Child care leave granted for the government Doctors is diligently availed and utilised. Others  work around this too.” Take your child to work”, was our modus operandi.  

    Having done professional courses ourselves we set ourselves on the path of action replay, only this time 3 decades later. Late nights, long hours on the desk, mugs of Maggi and coffee indulgences all become part of the “accompany the child while he studies” regime. Our social circle expands to parents who have gone through this before. All help and every help is sought . Eat healthy, Exercise to keep mind sharp and look good when you eventually land in college, Drink lots of water are advice we dole out in copious amounts to be met with equivalent disgust from the exam going party. Internet and electronic device policing turns us from Amma Daddy to Fallen Angels  and finding nefarious activities from Doctors to Detectives. Spiritual , Grandparental , Psychiatric help buckles before the joys of world wide web for the child. All we have in defence of our excesses is the lame ,”you will know when you have a child of your own”     

   There are numerous helplines for children and career counselling. No one to address the angst of a Doctor parent who wants to just be good at all 3 jobs. When a Doctor parents child does well it is just a line in the news paper and a under –the- breath mumbling of the child at congratulatory events. If you read in between the lines there are tomes of unread pages of grit, grime , guilt. \

    This article is my tribute to all the Doctor couples before us and after us who choose this path of Board parenting. My heart goes out to all of us. We have run the 1000 days marathon , all the while saving lives, posting happy Facebook pictures and making memories sometimes too scared to share. My gratitude to the help that always streamed in when in a tight spot.

 

 

 

 

 

A Road trip & JEE results

Sajjangad- Swami Samarth Samadhi

 After a 1000 days of JEE penance we were granted a travel boon by Amol . Like all travel plans , we started big and to far off lands- USA-Ladakh-Sikkim-and finally landed up taking a road trip to Maharashtra . The wish granting Amol had a rider - the farthest point had to be 6 hours drive from Goa as the JEE penance was over but the fruits were yet to be reaped aka results were to be declared.

Adi and me were skeptical, hypercrtical and voiced our displeasure but Amol promised that this curated road trip would win us over. And boy! a mini paradise just 6 hours from home was found.

After the first day of Ganesh Chathurti welcome home lunch , we 3 joined by Shiva, with snacks stuffed to the boot sped off on Mariamma ( A white BMW christened JOY drove herself from the showroom into a tree-  so she became a blue BMW, now Mariamma) 

Amboli Dattatreya temple

We drove through Inuli ghat with a drizzle and reached Amboli before nightfall. Other than waterfalls( which we were stricly forbidden from entering by Amol) and annoying monkeys(1 even climbed over Mariamma and tried to get in through the sunroof for some chakna and proceeded onto loot another 3 cars under our watch) 

Monkey on Mariamma's sunroof @ Amboli

 Amboli has not much to offer. 20 years ago I have been gastrnomically traumatised by misal in Amboli. I wanted to turn things around this time . But only masala Maggi and anda Maggi was on offer ,and, this Maggi took a good 10 minutes to make. While waiting for the sous vide Maggi I found a leech on my leg. Though Amol insisted it was not a leech, and Adi snubbed me for wearing my shortest shorts, others sat up with legs folded on the chair, just in case. I gave out the ," this trip was a bad idea and I told you so "vibes. Amol desperate to please lit up a tissue paper bonfire in our Air B&B accommodation. A couple of gramable photos and rounds of playing Uno , we set out to check our first results of the night.

Tissue paper bonfire

NEET had put out their answer key and A had scored a decent score to get into GMC. We were pretty chuffed and went to bed hoping for similar results in JEE.

Early morning we set out for Kolhapur Mahalakshmi, only after a sumptuous brekie prepared by Adi and a dozen photos at the MahadevGad viewpoint.

Mahadevgad point -Amboli

 Kolhapur had so many sarvajanik Ganapatis and in such vibrant colours. We reached in time for a fuss free darshan and mahaprasad for lunch. And I had the first brush with the spicy food of this part of culinary world. It was more of a skirmish but I survived . I also concluded that their water is also spiced and made sure we gave a heads up to all the stays from here on, to keep the food bland. With this standing instruction food only singed the tongue but rest of the oropharynx and nasopharynx was spared. Shiva our MBA graduate pointed at how 'Kolhapur' is used and overused as a brand label. Kolhapur chai, K - bhel, K-mutton....K was prefixed to all and sundry. K was actually was a detour for us, I was too nervous about the JEE results( I am speaking for myself here because the boys hid their fears very well), so I thought paying obeisance to the divine mother of fortune will be a good sign before we check THE results. 

Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple

K-Ganapathi

Amol planned the sunset from Ajinkyatara fort. The climb was cobbled and steep. Lots of marathon runners scaled the fort with ease but our German engineered marvel was left grunting and groaning. When we finally reached the views were sublime, washed sepia with the setting sun but the anxiety about getting Mariamma down that murderous fort safely, did spoil the moment for all of us. But technology more than covers up goof ups by technology. We got some great photos and the smiles did hide our fears well. Sab Maya Hain.

Sunset @ Ajinkyatara fort

We reached Khaas plateau by night fall. Khaas plateau has been on my bucket list from the time Facebook has been influencing our holidays. Some hotel booking goof up landed us in this overpriced , understaffed shanty of an accommodation. Amol let off some steam by firing the person responsible but it was more out of the anxiety of what was to unfold that night on the computer screen.  A quick bite on that deserted plateau was made remotely bearable by Adi's ingenuity with food and Shiva's gift with people The weather also turned a bit weird and it started to rain adding misery to the musty rooms and 4 kindred JEEvathamas.

There was a chill in the air and in my spine. My finger tips were frozen. Adi and me decided to sit out on this one( while watching Koffee with Karan)  and asked Amol and Shiva to check the results in the other room. In a blink Amol was back and said the results were no good and Adi had scored 1 in the Maths section. The first reaction as expected, I started mouthing words of pseudo encouragement and said it would all be ok. But I could feel different parts of my body kind of collapse into a heap. while the head and neck was just about to cave in, Shiva stormed in and said that the option in Adi's paper and the answer key are in a different order and we have to match them to get the score. I picked myself up and slumped in front of the computer in the other room. Shiva and me began the count now by properly matching the options. We got a grand total of 4/60 in Math paper 1. Now IITB that set the paper had a qualifying criteria of minimum 10% in each subject including both paper 1&2 and a total aggregate of 35% . So we had to score 12/120  ie a minimum of 8/60 in paper 2. While I am bad at numbers I dont know how I computated this so fast. Under pressure my brains works to autodestruct faster. All the while, my logorrhea was if it was so bad for Adi it would be bad for all too. Paper physics and chemistry was ok and for paper 2 we decided to check math last. Manhoos Math. Math in paper 2 had 3 section. Adi had scored 8 in section 1, taking the total to 12 already. We did this mini jig that we have scored the qualifying marks. Section 2 was a -1. Words cant describe what cortisol and norepinephrine was doing to us. If I had been held at point blank range maybe this is what it would feel. Section 3 unfolded like the first 5 minutes of any bond movie. High octane scenes, many building and bridges razed to the ground but Mr Bond walks out hot in  his tux with small cut lip. Math totalled to 15/120 and JEE advanced score totaled to 138/360. . When I announced to Adi that we have qualified and we may still go to IIT he just had a blank stare. I think more in his sleep than out of shock . Senior  A just said we will go to BITS Pilani to do computer science. I slept soundly because my sympathetics had completely emptied and I felt nothing.

Next day my logorrhea continued. I kept asking A how was he so brave to go in for paper 2 when in paper 1 he scored only 4 in Math. He only asked for no further discussions on THE paper. Senior A drew his flow charts. I am yet to find some use for these flow charts but they are comforting for sure. Amol's flowchart always ends with a happy ending.

Flowers of Khaas

Not so Khaas , Khaas plateau flowers had still not bloomed. Like all things on FaceBook , reality looked like the Adhaar card photo. Most flowers I had seen on our Dabolim  plateau in our backyard. Shiva clicked some photos, Amol feigned enthusiasm, Adi surprisingly was unperturbed( he was still planning on best meal plans)

Khaas plateau

Thorseghar water fall was just as disappointing as Khaas but we had some of the best pics here.I think it was the law of averages working here.

Thousands of windmills, slowly moving, eerie up close but spectacular from far just like all things beautiful in life. Chalkewadi windmill farms drive was the highlight of this road trip  

We drove to Koyna dam through bad roads and worse emotions. But Koyna changed all that. We had this room with an eye level view of the dam, shimmering sun on the dammed waters(we couldn't capture its magnificence in a cam), food that didn't burn, bon fire by the night, early morning walk to the waterfall that Amol actually  let us in, A thousand pictures  by our really sweet guide who called rainbow "rambo" and birds "buds".

one of the 1000 waterfall pictures

Khaas was washed over with expectations while Koyna unexpectedly lifted our spirits. Expectations are always a bummer. Buddha and Vedas and Amol have been preaching it. But when did I listen to anybody.

Mariamma jostled for space with big trucks on big 4 laned dusty roads to take us to Panhala. Panhala was my first brush with Maratha history 15 years ago and the guide then made an impact with his passionate rendition of the Baji Prabhu Deshpande's valour ,it left me with goosebumps. Many Maratha forts later, Panhala remained my first M-fort love. This time the guide could speak only Marathi, and our only Marathi speaker Amol couldn't make  much of  it. He was mouthing Shivaji like Alia's Shiva in Bhramastra. When an experience is extraordinary never reattempt to recreate it. Also Shiva landed in fresh dung and before we found water to clean it , it started to rain and we did not even get a decent pic of my favourite character BPD.

Panhala fort

A hasty photo with BPD 

To make up, we saw Paavan Kind, the narrow gorge where BPD stood guard till the canon shots were fired, signaling Sivaji's safe arrival . Goosebumps were back again, partly with the ergonomics of the gorge and how brave he was, partly with the wildlife we encountered on the Amba Ghat. Thick fog where visibilty was zilch, an overzealous Maruti 800 who honked Mariamma down to overtake, a Gaur grazing in the wild who could take both of us down put together and no network meant we could be circling these Ghats forever.

Pavan Kind

Gaur- wild bison

By the last few photons of sunlight we did find our accommodation and network returned to bring us some cheer. Adi's coaching institute was asking names of students scoring above 140. Bar was dropped from 200. We all hugged and breathed a small sigh of relief. Rounds of snacks, Uno, Ludo, pandra rassa. bakri n mutton later Shiva and me again checked from the official answer key. But only Math. Why? IDK. It was tedious to match answers, disappointing to relive those horrible chapters like surface tension, collision, to give away marks to negatives because  Adi had marked 1 extra option correct in multiple correct questions etc. So our calculated total was unchanged at 138. Return of network brought in fellow students marks too.

See sawing emotions and a 4 hour pee holding, non stop drive belted us back to Goa in good time for Ganpati Visarjan. I prayed fervently to the good Lord to have Adi visit him next year Chaturthi from an IIT

Ganpati Visarjan

We headed back home and for the first time Adi matched his answers with the official answer key and with some bonus marks the score came to 142. Not all was lost, there still was hope. I attributed it to Boomer prostrating in front of our Gods while Adi was at it into the wee hours of the night. We had atleast made the cut off set by the coaching institute. The trip too exceeded expectations .

Post edit- 

September 11,Sunday 10am

JEE advanced results were to be declared. We were all plastered to our beds just hoping the moment would pass. Finally Amol’s breakfast bells in his stomach could not be ignored anymore and we all ate previous night’s Mohan’s leftovers. Adi and me quietly exited while Amol started to punch in the details to fetch the results. Shiva stayed on to help as always. I could hear Amol curse like Captain Haddock downstairs and then a loud cheer. Adi & me ran down the stairs together and Amol said we were CRL AIR 1734. His next words while hugging Adi was “WE ARE GOING TO IIT BOMBAY”

Our total went up to 150( 🙏 to K - Mahalakshmi, Ganba, boomer, hills of Satara)

IITB- 2022 JEE advanced paper setters had dropped qualifying marks to 4.4% & aggregate to 15.8% , it was historically the toughest paper till now and the marks vs ranks were skewed the most but Adi walked out of it like Mr. Bond dusting his tux, shaken not stirred, dapper as ever.