Ravana Is My Role Model!

Cheeniya · May 26, 2016

@PushpavalliSrinivasan
Dear PS
You may be late but you are the latest like Rajnikanth! You are right about @jayasala42 being the treasure trove of IL. It is amazing how she ferrets out information even on obscure subjects. She has made this thread quite interesting with her inputs.

This beastly weather of Chennai is responsible for all the cold, cough and fever. In fact I keep coughing all the time like the Appa Duraisamy of yore! But my Doctor never likes anyone coming to him with a cough. He is a neurologist and says coughing is beyond the scope of his specialisation. But the fact is that he is scared of catching the infection from a coughing patient. I once asked him what he would do if a patient with a neurological complaint also had a cough. He said he would make him sit facing the wall and conduct his investigation.

Apart from joking, take care of your health. This humid weather is making life miserable. Take comfort from the fact that your daughter knows what is best for you.
Sri

Cheeniya · May 26, 2016

Dreamer said: ↑

Wow! I like surprising stories and you killed it with this one!
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Dreamer
I hope that was meant to be a compliment. If it is, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Sri

Cheeniya · May 26, 2016

@kaniths
We have heard of Dr.Dolittle but mine is Dr.Doodleit! He doesn't like his patients sharing his prescriptions with others for the fear that it would affect his revenue! Thank you for shaking me off from my Writer's Block. And nice to know you enjoyed my Rambling!
Sri

kaniths · May 26, 2016

Cheeniya said: ↑

Dreamer
I hope that was meant to be a compliment. If it is, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Sri
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Generation Gap Cheeniya! Compliment it is!

Cheeniya · May 26, 2016

kaniths said: ↑

Generation Gap Cheeniya! Compliment it is!
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Is it? Really a compliment?

Dreamer · May 26, 2016

Cheeniya said: ↑

Dreamer
I hope that was meant to be a compliment. If it is, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Sri
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Of course it's a compliment!!

LakshmiKMBhat · Jun 4, 2016

Cheeniya said: ↑

My diary tells me that my next visit to my Doctor is due. At my last visit, when I asked him when I should come next, he said ‘Three months’. I gave him a naval salute and said ‘Aye, Aye, Sir!’ He gave me a hearty laugh partly because the manner of my taking leave might have tickled him and partly because my crisp, new Rs500/- note had found a new sojourn in his shirt pocket. When my Doctor’s visit becomes due, I start getting all kinds of symptoms in which he specialises. I collected all my old reports which were less than a year old. You may ask me ‘Why less than a year old?’ In one of my earlier visits, when I dumped all my reports of more than a decade on his table, he sternly told me that he hated reading the old stuff again and again and he made an exception only in the case of Wodehouse novels. Coming to know that he too was a Wodehouse aficionado like me sowed the seed of a warm relationship between us.

When I reached the Clinic, there was already a sizeable crowd in the waiting hall who could be seen mentally rehearsing their dialogues with the Doctor. He was a busy man and the patients were anxious not to forget conveying all their problems to him within the time allotted to them. There have been occasions when the patients became tongue-tied in his mighty presence and forgot to convey most of their health issues. They blurted out something about a headache and walked out with the prescription for an aspirin. Being a seasoned patient, I have perfected the art of being cogent about what I want to tell the Doctor. After waiting for quite an hour or so, the receptionist called my name and asked me to be ready to get in when the one inside came out. I had left my footwear at the door as instructed and waited. I was at a loss to understand why this ‘removal of footwear’ was insisted when everyone else including the coffee boy moved in and out without removing the footwear. I made a mental note of discussing this with the Doctor.

When I saw the shadow of the patient inside moving towards the opaque glass door, I became alert like a war-horse at the sound of bugle. I entered the room the moment he came out and greeted the Doctor effusively. He returned my greetings and beckoned me to sit on the tripod of which I have written a lot on the past. ‘First things first’ he said and checked my BP and weight. ‘At your next visit, I expect the needle in the weighing machine complete a full circle’, he said adding ‘Apart from your high BP and overweight, is there anything else that you want to discuss with me?’ ‘It is this nagging pain in the neck’ I told him touching my neck with my finger. ‘I know where the neck is! Tell me more about your problem’ he said.

I explained to him that turning my head was becoming painful and how it resulted in my losing the balance at times. He said that most of our kings of yore had this problem and that was the reason that they turned half the torso instead of the neck whenever they wanted to address someone in the side. That was news to me and I felt immensely grateful to him for this valuable piece of information. Talking of royal necks led us inevitably to the mighty Ravan. ‘We all knew he had ten heads’, he said ‘but Valmiki is silent on how many necks he had’. He immediately tore off a page from his prescription pad and drew two Ravans, one with ten heads connected laterally to a single neck like what we saw in Ram Leela and TV ads. The other had ten necks sprouting from his shoulders like a Travellers Palm Tree each carrying a head. ‘Do you know the botanical name of Travellers Palm?’ he asked me suddenly. ‘Ravenala madagascariensis’ he said. He pointed out that the name of Ravenala could have been named after Ravan and it was most likely that he had ten necks like the Travellers Palm.

We went on to discuss how he could have managed his ten necks if he had neck pain and vertigo like me. He made use of his sketch to explain the various options available with Ravan to defend himself against neck pain! ‘Don’t turn your neck. Be like our old kings! When you need to turn your head, turn it with the shoulder’ was his advice. ‘The old kings would have given a bag of gold for this advice. You pay me the usual Rs.500/-‘ he said when I asked him how much I should pay. He carefully folded the paper on which he drew the picture of Ravan and gave it to me asking me to consider him as my role model!
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Your doctor seems to be a very interesting person

iyerviji · Jun 5, 2016

Cheeniya said: ↑

My diary tells me that my next visit to my Doctor is due. At my last visit, when I asked him when I should come next, he said ‘Three months’. I gave him a naval salute and said ‘Aye, Aye, Sir!’ He gave me a hearty laugh partly because the manner of my taking leave might have tickled him and partly because my crisp, new Rs500/- note had found a new sojourn in his shirt pocket. When my Doctor’s visit becomes due, I start getting all kinds of symptoms in which he specialises. I collected all my old reports which were less than a year old. You may ask me ‘Why less than a year old?’ In one of my earlier visits, when I dumped all my reports of more than a decade on his table, he sternly told me that he hated reading the old stuff again and again and he made an exception only in the case of Wodehouse novels. Coming to know that he too was a Wodehouse aficionado like me sowed the seed of a warm relationship between us.

When I reached the Clinic, there was already a sizeable crowd in the waiting hall who could be seen mentally rehearsing their dialogues with the Doctor. He was a busy man and the patients were anxious not to forget conveying all their problems to him within the time allotted to them. There have been occasions when the patients became tongue-tied in his mighty presence and forgot to convey most of their health issues. They blurted out something about a headache and walked out with the prescription for an aspirin. Being a seasoned patient, I have perfected the art of being cogent about what I want to tell the Doctor. After waiting for quite an hour or so, the receptionist called my name and asked me to be ready to get in when the one inside came out. I had left my footwear at the door as instructed and waited. I was at a loss to understand why this ‘removal of footwear’ was insisted when everyone else including the coffee boy moved in and out without removing the footwear. I made a mental note of discussing this with the Doctor.

When I saw the shadow of the patient inside moving towards the opaque glass door, I became alert like a war-horse at the sound of bugle. I entered the room the moment he came out and greeted the Doctor effusively. He returned my greetings and beckoned me to sit on the tripod of which I have written a lot on the past. ‘First things first’ he said and checked my BP and weight. ‘At your next visit, I expect the needle in the weighing machine complete a full circle’, he said adding ‘Apart from your high BP and overweight, is there anything else that you want to discuss with me?’ ‘It is this nagging pain in the neck’ I told him touching my neck with my finger. ‘I know where the neck is! Tell me more about your problem’ he said.

I explained to him that turning my head was becoming painful and how it resulted in my losing the balance at times. He said that most of our kings of yore had this problem and that was the reason that they turned half the torso instead of the neck whenever they wanted to address someone in the side. That was news to me and I felt immensely grateful to him for this valuable piece of information. Talking of royal necks led us inevitably to the mighty Ravan. ‘We all knew he had ten heads’, he said ‘but Valmiki is silent on how many necks he had’. He immediately tore off a page from his prescription pad and drew two Ravans, one with ten heads connected laterally to a single neck like what we saw in Ram Leela and TV ads. The other had ten necks sprouting from his shoulders like a Travellers Palm Tree each carrying a head. ‘Do you know the botanical name of Travellers Palm?’ he asked me suddenly. ‘Ravenala madagascariensis’ he said. He pointed out that the name of Ravenala could have been named after Ravan and it was most likely that he had ten necks like the Travellers Palm.

We went on to discuss how he could have managed his ten necks if he had neck pain and vertigo like me. He made use of his sketch to explain the various options available with Ravan to defend himself against neck pain! ‘Don’t turn your neck. Be like our old kings! When you need to turn your head, turn it with the shoulder’ was his advice. ‘The old kings would have given a bag of gold for this advice. You pay me the usual Rs.500/-‘ he said when I asked him how much I should pay. He carefully folded the paper on which he drew the picture of Ravan and gave it to me asking me to consider him as my role model!
Click to expand...

My dear Anna
Like Pushpa Mami I am also late here , I had seen your post and there was already fbs. That time I did not know what fb to give. I did not want to just say that I liked your rambling . Like Satchi I was also thinking how much is true, glad to know 90% is true. Though your Doctor does not want you to have any health problems but he must be waiting for your visits. When your post is so humerous can imagine how the Doctor must be enjoying your humour. I think you forgot to ask about leaving the footwear out. Now in many clinics and hospitals they ask to remove the footwear outside. I cant imagine Ravana to be RoleModel.

We go to the doctor only when it is serious otherwise manage with medicines available. Since long time my husband was not able to hear and my chidlren were telling him to get a hearing aid. Two weeksback I was surprised when he told me he is going to get a hearing aid, this was through his friend who knows the Doctor. Glad finally he decided to have hearing aid. On 31st May I also went with him. First it was difficult in putting the hearing aid. now have learnt it. But he is not using whole day. The doctor also said to use for sometime in the beginning.

Our family Doctor is also very friendly and doesnot charge much and with her medicines our health is ok in two days.

Enjoyed reading your post

Cimorene · Jun 5, 2016

Ogden Nash wrote:

The ostrich roams the great Sahara.
Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs,
I'm glad it sits to lay its eggs.

The other had ten necks sprouting from his shoulders like a Travellers Palm Tree each carrying a head. ‘Do you know the botanical name of Travellers Palm?’ he asked me suddenly. ‘Ravenala madagascariensis’ he said. He pointed out that the name of Ravenala could have been named after Ravan and it was most likely that he had ten necks like the Travellers Palm.
Click to expand...

I thought Ogden's Narra was the most phantasmal description of any neck only to be ousted by your Ravenala madagascariensis. A long neck pitted against a laterally pronged neck. I know this post is also about "ravana" what! you are telling me it is only about "ravana" and nothing else but Cheeniya that grotesque neck takes the stars and stripes of this post. I'm enamoured with the ravanesque neck and its implications. Old Kings may have swirled their bodies to suit their spines but all I care is if this Grizzled Gent would obviate the need to exert any neck movements if he found out that his jerky readers would revolve around him in the direction he dictates rather than let him twist and turn his fragile neck. Would this racing, almost knocking over ojantrik ..get out of my way OJ ... constitute the rabid urge to align with your neck?

Cheeniya · Jun 5, 2016

@LakshmiKMBhat
Dear Lakshmi
You said it right! He is a very interesting person, so interesting that I look forward to falling sick! I forgot to add in my Snippet that if he had been Ravana's Doctor he would charge ten times his normal fee as a lot of work is involved in diagnosing which head is the culprit!
Sri