Report of 19 Nov '06
Hello from the Banyan -
The computers here are markedly better than ours at home, where the moisture in the air has caused the keyboard to stick and power might or might not go down.
We are well. The week had its share of great interactions: first, I was privileged to attend the Abacus (my kids' school) Inter-House Cultural meet. This is a set of competitions in speech, art, music, dance, etc. I had a chance to watch both boys in action, and Naren was 1 of only 2 boys in the entire school who danced: a fusion number featuring Bharata Natyam, a classical South Indian dance form, and Hip Hop. Naren did Hip Hop w/ perfect rhythm, and played the bass guitar (taught 2 days before by his friend, Ritwik) for his house band's "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Both items (dance and band) won the first prize. Navin had to do a speech performance, and an imitation of George Bush ("I'm bored," said Navin, "I'm going to bomb Iraq"), and placed for both. Cassiopeia, of which Naren is the House Captain, won the overall title and we were all happy; as I told a friend, I watched Naren prance and play w/ glee, and thought to myself that I cannot lock up this talent. Should he want to pursue the arts later, let him. Where would we be w/o Mr. Hanks's life-changing performances, and w/o Dire Straits's magnificent "Sultans of Swing."
Next interaction: our friend David Gere swung by for a visit, squeezing us in to an extremely packed schedule. I love it when our friends make time for us, and David is a great favorite w/ all 4 ("Hope to see you again soon," said both boys, independent of each other when they said good night). We talked of work and family and life partners, and India and the U.S. One of the things I really value in David is his good-natured teasing, always at my expense, and laugh a lot when I am in his presence. Laughter is a great blessing to have in one's life. David has a project titled "Make Art Stop Aids," and was in India to help a local Aids-activist organisation install a PA system (through radio-ish) at the Aids hospital to carry their message, along w/ the doctor's, throughout the entire hospital. I also got to visit a Chennai friend's mother, Mrs. Menon, whom I hadn't seen in months; the late Mr. Menon used to be in the foreign service, and Mrs. M has a fantastic sense of humor, great stories, and an inspiring, optimistic outlook on life.
The Banyan is well. We've reeled w/ conjunctivitis and head lice infestations. My sister, Anu, said they (pediatricians) are taught to de-worm and de-louse every 6 months, and I imagine we'll have to follow that at the B also. Our patient w/ the butt gash, Ms. M, is becoming more interactive as her wound heals, as she is fed and clothed - and we communicate in my meager Hindi. We are getting a Bengali speaker to acclimatise her to her options w/ her leg, and I think that ultimately, I will let Ms. M decide what she wants done w/ it. Just because *I* want her to walk upright does not, by any stretch, mean that *she* wants to. Ms. M has asked for a Koran, and states that she is not comfortable exposing her leg or head as she is Muslim; enough said - I asked the social worker for a Koran and a shawl for Ms. M's head, along w/ long gowns, and all of these will be provided. The B is a nice, nice place to work.
Ms. K, our HIV+ pt, was taken to see her son, Thirumalai (w/ the eye cancer). Her husband went also, and when I asked her the following day how Thirumalai was, she said he did not want to go to his father, and that the father had consequently wept. I explained to K that the child was in an orphanage (as the parents can't afford to raise him), that he really does not know his parents, but to please, please, not let that stop the parents' visits. As I whipped up some dreadful macaroni for my sons (they really like this goo), I thought to myself how fortunate we are that we can afford our children.
Tutoring was not attended, I think because the mothers did not want the kids to get soaked yet again. The veg market had its share of patients, including some hastily summoned when the tomato lady saw that I was there. One of the patients was a 12 yo w/ a history of being operated some time ago for a heart defect, and she is now well except for joint pains after a fever. The "history and physical" (my exam) were performed on a vegetable crate, and we came to the diagnosis very quickly (already given by the child's doctors elsewhere). It then came up that the child was balking at attending school, and when I heard that, my subsequent lecture was longer than the entire exam; she's a smart kid, and I told her that such intellect absolutely could not be wasted, esp in a girl.
So let me wind up. Scott is now posted in Chennai briefly, until Naren finishes his exams in March. It is fabulous to have him here. The Board exams (in 10th and 12th grades) tend to consume the whole family, and a lot of parents are now emailing and phoning each other to share strategies. I truly love all of Naren's classmates, and to a person, these folks would be whom I'd pick as Naren's friends; they also come from fine parents.
Unw -
Renu
The computers here are markedly better than ours at home, where the moisture in the air has caused the keyboard to stick and power might or might not go down.
We are well. The week had its share of great interactions: first, I was privileged to attend the Abacus (my kids' school) Inter-House Cultural meet. This is a set of competitions in speech, art, music, dance, etc. I had a chance to watch both boys in action, and Naren was 1 of only 2 boys in the entire school who danced: a fusion number featuring Bharata Natyam, a classical South Indian dance form, and Hip Hop. Naren did Hip Hop w/ perfect rhythm, and played the bass guitar (taught 2 days before by his friend, Ritwik) for his house band's "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Both items (dance and band) won the first prize. Navin had to do a speech performance, and an imitation of George Bush ("I'm bored," said Navin, "I'm going to bomb Iraq"), and placed for both. Cassiopeia, of which Naren is the House Captain, won the overall title and we were all happy; as I told a friend, I watched Naren prance and play w/ glee, and thought to myself that I cannot lock up this talent. Should he want to pursue the arts later, let him. Where would we be w/o Mr. Hanks's life-changing performances, and w/o Dire Straits's magnificent "Sultans of Swing."
Next interaction: our friend David Gere swung by for a visit, squeezing us in to an extremely packed schedule. I love it when our friends make time for us, and David is a great favorite w/ all 4 ("Hope to see you again soon," said both boys, independent of each other when they said good night). We talked of work and family and life partners, and India and the U.S. One of the things I really value in David is his good-natured teasing, always at my expense, and laugh a lot when I am in his presence. Laughter is a great blessing to have in one's life. David has a project titled "Make Art Stop Aids," and was in India to help a local Aids-activist organisation install a PA system (through radio-ish) at the Aids hospital to carry their message, along w/ the doctor's, throughout the entire hospital. I also got to visit a Chennai friend's mother, Mrs. Menon, whom I hadn't seen in months; the late Mr. Menon used to be in the foreign service, and Mrs. M has a fantastic sense of humor, great stories, and an inspiring, optimistic outlook on life.
The Banyan is well. We've reeled w/ conjunctivitis and head lice infestations. My sister, Anu, said they (pediatricians) are taught to de-worm and de-louse every 6 months, and I imagine we'll have to follow that at the B also. Our patient w/ the butt gash, Ms. M, is becoming more interactive as her wound heals, as she is fed and clothed - and we communicate in my meager Hindi. We are getting a Bengali speaker to acclimatise her to her options w/ her leg, and I think that ultimately, I will let Ms. M decide what she wants done w/ it. Just because *I* want her to walk upright does not, by any stretch, mean that *she* wants to. Ms. M has asked for a Koran, and states that she is not comfortable exposing her leg or head as she is Muslim; enough said - I asked the social worker for a Koran and a shawl for Ms. M's head, along w/ long gowns, and all of these will be provided. The B is a nice, nice place to work.
Ms. K, our HIV+ pt, was taken to see her son, Thirumalai (w/ the eye cancer). Her husband went also, and when I asked her the following day how Thirumalai was, she said he did not want to go to his father, and that the father had consequently wept. I explained to K that the child was in an orphanage (as the parents can't afford to raise him), that he really does not know his parents, but to please, please, not let that stop the parents' visits. As I whipped up some dreadful macaroni for my sons (they really like this goo), I thought to myself how fortunate we are that we can afford our children.
Tutoring was not attended, I think because the mothers did not want the kids to get soaked yet again. The veg market had its share of patients, including some hastily summoned when the tomato lady saw that I was there. One of the patients was a 12 yo w/ a history of being operated some time ago for a heart defect, and she is now well except for joint pains after a fever. The "history and physical" (my exam) were performed on a vegetable crate, and we came to the diagnosis very quickly (already given by the child's doctors elsewhere). It then came up that the child was balking at attending school, and when I heard that, my subsequent lecture was longer than the entire exam; she's a smart kid, and I told her that such intellect absolutely could not be wasted, esp in a girl.
So let me wind up. Scott is now posted in Chennai briefly, until Naren finishes his exams in March. It is fabulous to have him here. The Board exams (in 10th and 12th grades) tend to consume the whole family, and a lot of parents are now emailing and phoning each other to share strategies. I truly love all of Naren's classmates, and to a person, these folks would be whom I'd pick as Naren's friends; they also come from fine parents.
Unw -
Renu
posted by Renu Weiss at
10:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home