The Doc is in, fire away...get to know Dhondy- Your Questions Answered

[beetle]

Does your wife share your interest in cricket? Does she ask silly questions like ...You will watch all five days?why?:hmpf: Who is a better cricketer ...you or your son?:flute: Do you ever get depressed seeing sick people almost everyday?:(( Ever wanted to give up being a doctor? Who is your's wife's favourite cricketer?Do you get jealous of that cricketer?:P Does your wife share your passion for fitness ...if not,how do you motivate her to stay fit? Which nuts are best for people?cashew,walnuts,peanuts or almonds? Do you hate people who ask for free medical advice on the forum?:P You have to choose between a woman you love (but she doesn't) or a woman who loves you(but you don't)...which one ?:lollypop:

[PaiN_KiLLeR]

- DO you write for any Journals / Magazines / Newspapers ? - Other than medicine, which careers fascinate you? - How are Indian Docs percieved in the UK? - Are you a Parsi? - Imran Khan or Steve Waugh? - Brian Lara or Virender Sehwag? - BossBhai or CC1981? - 3 hours of a Bollywood love triangle with 12 songs or 3 Hours of Harbhajan Singh bowling to Jimmy Adams with L.Sivaramakrishnan commentating? - Back in late 2006 did you honestly expect ICF to be as big a success as it is today? - Name 3 ICF'ers who you wish posted much more often than they actually do. - You are a terrific writer. What about your public speaking skills? - Were the monkey chants against Symonds racist in nature? - What are the chances of Dhondy coming back to India (after he has made his pile in the UK) to work for the less fortunate? - Do you often skip work to watch India play?

[ludhianvi]

Some questions for you Dhondy Sir, I'll add more here - 3 people you would like to meet from history and what would you say to them -How much guess work do doctors do when a person comes in for a checkup.

[Mr. Wicket]

If you could go back in time, what's one test match you'd desperately love to watch live, ball by ball from the ground? Same question twice over, but this time substitute in a feat of batsmanship and bowling. Would love to hear Dhondy the cricket fan's take on that. If you could go back to your days of studying and switch to another profession - a) would you do so, and b) what would it be? What's your 'impossible dream' - the dream or ambition you've harboured for a long time, but for some reason(s) feel it might never come to fruition? And why?

[fineleg]

Which nuts are best for people?cashew,walnuts,peanuts or almonds? Certainly Almonds and Walnuts...oops answering not allowed...oops sorry! You have to choose between a woman you love (but she doesn't) or a woman who loves you(but you don't)...which one ?:lollypop: superstar rajnikant provides advice on this in TV and Theaters :hysterical:... The latter! Your mileage may vary :D

[King]

Here are my ones : How daunting or demanding is your profession? I have couple of mates that are GPs and every time they miss an appointment after work they blame it on time constraint they experience in their profession. Are Indians less health concious in your opinion? I've heard people say this often. If you need to treat your own do you put in extra effort or excercise more caution? Anything in particular that irritates you or annoys you to no avail? The best phase of your life i.e prior marriage, post marriage or after becoming a father? Is there anything that you don't like in your profession? If you were Mahatma Gandhi at the time India was accorded independence what would you have done? Do you reckon partition and the mess that followed was inevitable? What would you have done different if any at all? There's more but I better stop :D That's it from me.

[Dhondy]

I will need to take these questions early. That lot will take at least a couple of hours to answer. I have some time on my hands this week as I am on A/L. Won't be the same next week.

[Gambit]

Hold on Dhondy. I'm still compiling my list.

[Gambit]

What is it that you miss the most about Jamshedpur? What is ICF's biggest strength and it's biggest weakness? If you son grew up supporting England OVER India in cricket, would you be disappointed? Are you a victim of the doctor/engineer Indian routine or did you really want to do medicine? Three areas(if any IYO) where India is better than the UK. What does your wife think of ICF as a past time? 5 ICFers you would invite home for dinner.

[Dhondy]

OK folks, I had to get the answers in. There’s no way I was leaving them until next week. Sorry, I have had to leave out some questions, otherwise it would have become my facking life story. Lurker 1) Q: Lets start with a philosphical one. In the Hindu epic Mahabharta the Pandavs were asked 5 questions which only Yudhishtira was able to answer. One of the question was - What is the most surprising thing in the world. His response of course was - Everyday people die but still all of us beleive that wont happen to us, or we would live forver. (I paraphrase of course). So the question to you Doc - What is the most surprising thing in the world that you observe? A: Women are more hardworking, more honest, more empathic, more reliable and emotionally stronger than men. Why is it then that women hit a glass ceiling in practically every endeavour they attempt? If it’s because of the maternity leave they take, don’t the scumbag men realise that they wouldn’t be here in the first place if their mothers had not been gravid with them? 2) Q. And if Dhondy decides to settle down in England, would it Dhondy's loss or India's? A. Oh, undoubtedly it would be India’s gain. Numerous patients are still alive in India because I don’t practice there. On the other hand, apart from new immigrants, why do you think the UK’s population is in decline? 3) Q. Tell us 5 of your strengths when it comes to girls, one of which is a lie A. I don’t know about five, but when I was younger, the thing that worked best was making them laugh. As I grew older, I became a bit of a grump, so it’s been increasingly an uphill struggle. In one last desperate effort to regain “the touch”, I tried showing some of the ladies my son’s photo to let them know the gene pool they would be buying into. Alas, they went, “Oooooh, his mum must be very pretty!” 4)Q. You get to replace Ramadoss, the Health Minister, for a day. What are the changes you are going to bring. A. 1. Liaise with Bill Clinton and thrash out a deal with the multinational drug firms for anti-HIV drugs at knock down prices. 2. Ring up Bill Gates, and sort out several bursaries for research into tackling multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, as it exists in India (this will become the number one killer of the next decade, ahead of AIDS) 3. Screen all women with DEXA scan at age 60 for osteoporosis, and treat if they had brittle bones. (Indians have low bone mass, go into menopause early, and are very prone to osteoporotic fractures.) 4. Put an extra duty on cigarettes and alcohol and use the money to fund homes for the destitute elderly and provide free milk and eggs to all children below the age of 12 in school. That would drive up school attendance as well. 5. Advocate death sentence for men that knowingly infect their wives with HIV. 6. Screen all those with a family history of Type II diabetes mellitus for the disease, and treat, if detected (Indians have a much higher prevalence of diabetes than Caucasians) 5) Q.What is the background behind the whole Begusarai thingy? You used to mention that particular town quite a bit before. A. Oh, that’s a massive joke. On the old board, we had this character called Anu_D, who would constantly scoff at Shwetabh’s impressive academic background , and imply that he was from the backwaters, i.e. Begusarai. Since then, the place has gone down in ICF folklore. I have never been there myself. 6) Q.Of all the things that you have ever written what is your precious possesion? Need not be the best but one that has made you satisfied like none other? And would you care to share? A. Back in the early 90s, I had a mohalla acquaintance, who was like a brother. He was a promising power-lifter but didn’t have a job. As you know, TISCO have a proud record of promoting sport and sportsmen. I therefore wrote a letter to Russi Modi, who was the then chairman, outlining my friend’s case for a job. I wrote that letter as well as I’ve ever written anything, and it got him the job. Today, he has a family and is thriving. His gratitude is like gold dust to me. 7)Q. Your idea of an ideal Sunday? A. Wake up at 6:30, put Classic FM on, and put the kettle on boil. Wake up my wife with a pot of tea and croissants, lounge in the conservatory with the door ajar for the music to waft through. Soon, it would be time for my son to wake up. When he does, we go for a stroll in the garden, where I point out the freshly bloomed flowers to him. We follow that up with a game of frisbee and a family breakfast at the dining table. The day just takes off from there. 8) Q. What is your opinion on steroids(lets not worry about Asif and Akhtar). Is it all bad or is it a science that is in its nascent stage but when developed has the potential to help a lot to human kind, specially aging males? A. You are talking of anabolic steroids, and specifically testosterone, which was supposed to be the next big thing to help cachexic old men with low muscle mass and possibly osteoporosis. Unfortunately, it hasn’t lived up to its promise. Anabolic steroids had a few other medical indications such as aplastic anaemia. They are now rarely used. Traditional (catabolic) steroids such as prednisolone, OTOH, are used all the time, practically in every area of medicine. Cricketics Where in India are you from? South Bihar, the bit that now has Soren memorial park standing next to Mahato gardens. -- Your biggest regret in life?? Not playing with my son enough when he was younger. He is now six, and I am determined to make up. ---- what would u rather pay to watch??15 minutez of dashing stroke play from sehwag?? 15 minz of diving, catching, classic fielding from Jonty Rhodes???A bowling speel from Young fast bowler from India(Ishant sharma perhapz) getting better of well known playerz like punter, kalliz etc?? Oh Sehwag, undoubtedly. There’s no pleasure like watching him in full flow. --- YOur fav holly/Bolly movie??? Hollywood: Once Upon A Time In the West. Its haunting score stayed with me for days after I’d watched it. Bollywood: Kaala Patthar. I don’t think Amitabh’s performance in that film, with his fierce loathing for himself at having let his passengers down, and the manner in which he pushes himself to the brink every time to punish himself, will ever be matched on screen. --- you seem to be a nature lover and also a cricket enthusiast.. If you get to chose one of them and write a big massive article on one of those two.. which one would u rather write on? On Cricket or on Nature?? Cricket. I know a lot more about it. My ramblings about nature are not well researched, slightly incoherent and send everybody to sleep. Come to think of it, my cricket articles do the same. So maybe I should target insomniac nature lovers. --- one person from ICF you really wish to meet in real life Can’t name one. There are just too many. I’d like to meet Bumper, because he’s the best friend I have on this board, Ravi, because he’s the most perfect gentleman I have known, who would willingly give his time and money for others without giving it a second thought, Gambit, because of his sparkling wit and the promise that we’d never spend a dull moment together, Shwetabh because of his massive intelligence and the humility that goes with it, Salil, because we could talk cricket all day without getting bored, and what’s more, I’d learn stuff from him that many cricket experts have no inkling of, and Pred, because we could discuss just about every nuance of football, F1, and cricket in a pub through the night while watching Real Madrid parade their skills on the big screen. Predator 1) Q. How long have you lived in the UK ?? A. Twelve years 2) Q. Do you speak English with a proper English accent ? If so, what kind (specify, ie; nothern-Scouser, southern-Londoner) A. If you have grown up to adulthood in India, there’s no way you are going to shake off that accent in a hurry. I try and speak English as properly as I can, but when I listen to myself on the Dictaphone, it’s quite clear that it’s an Indian speaking. Much as I’d like to speak English as the Queen does, I don’t think it’s achievable. 3) Did you, at any stage of your life, try doing pub crawls ? If so, how drunk did you get ? A. No, only after cricket matches with the rest of the boys, and even then I had coke. I don’t drink. 4) Name 5 things you absolutely hate about Indian people and are these the reasons why you would never move back ? A. I am Indian as well, so I guess it’s despising my own shortcomings. I hate the fact that we are morbidly curious about the fellow Indian sitting across the aisle, and if given a chance, would like to find out his annual income, and his wife’s, if possible, whether he educates his children in a private school, and whether his house is bigger than mine. I dislike people who introduce themselves as “Myself, so and so” and insist on speaking English when it’s quite clear that they’d be far more comfortable in Hindi. I have even more virulent dislike for people who pepper their English with Hindi words pronounced in an English accent, giving the impression that they are somehow ashamed of letting Hindi infiltrate their thoughts. Conversely, I greatly admire those who speak faultless, unaccented Hindi without a single English word interspersed, and then switch seamlessly to speaking perfect English, without a single Hindi word thrown in. 5) Do you have any siblings ?? Yes, one. My brother is younger than I am, and is a businessman in India. 6) If Harbhajan Singh broke his leg and hobbled into your ICU room, crying for you to administer a shot of anaesthesia, would you kick him in the nuts and turn him away ? No doctor could ever do that. I’d be tempted to remove a teeny-weeny portion of his vocal cord when he’s asleep though, in order to stop him from giving those excruciatingly self-glorifying interviews. 7) Don't you think horoscopes are a crock of sh it ? I am not sure. I have seen some pretty amazing things foretold when I was younger. 8) What is the meaning of life? The meaning of life is to retire in despair when India are 62 for 4 against Pakistan in the decider, then switch on the TV after a day and half and find that have amassed 626. To then come to ICF and find that Gambo has started another Ahahahahaha thread. Is there any other meaning out there? 9) What kind of user handle is "Dhondy" ? I don't know what that word Blue means. I used to think it was some sanskrit thingy. Is it your name ? Nope, it’s just a common surname picked up in the town that I grew up in, a bit like Bumps calling himself “Raman” or “Srinivas”. MundaPakistani - Your tip to the asthma patients A. Take a couple of puffs of salbutamol just before you do the thing that sets off your asthma, such as exercise. Use beclomethasone or another inhaled steroid twice a day if your asthma attacks occur more often than once a week. Buy a peak flow meter, and record your peak expiratory flow everyday in the mornings. When your reading dips, you are about to have an attack. And, remember, cough is just as bad as breathlessness. If possible, avoid the triggers that set your asthma off. This can be dust, pollen, cold weather, stress or exercise. If you have not improved in 24 hours, see your doctor. You may need oral steroids, antibiotics or even hospitalisation. Remember, asthma can be fatal if poorly treated. - I have noticed that you are a fan of Allama Iqbal. Among all the poems that you have read which one is your favorite? A. MP, I have only ever “heard” two of his compositions- Saare Jahan Se Achha and the beautiful poem sung in a child’s voice that I keep recommending to everybody. He had an amazing gift, this man. Do you know if he set the tune to his songs himself? That would make him even more special. - Describe Pakistan in no more than one sentence. An experiment seeped in the blood, tears and sweat of many, that went wrong, with too high a price paid for too little a gain. - You have said in the past that you don't take your forum life too seriously but with literally thousands of people (especially the young ones) reading your posts don't you think that you are making a mistake? MP, I don’t see myself as a role model on the internet. Does anybody keep track of the amount of drivel that’s posted on www? Nevertheless, I have always tried not to cross a certain line in my posts. You would have noticed that I have targeted the Pakistan cricket team itself, but very rarely Pakistan, if ever, and never the religion that’s practiced in Pakistan. Sriram Cricket - 1) Be honest Doc, Is cricket for you a) Way of life b) An Intense passion c) Frequent Pastime d) Just a hobby And why ? A. Oh, a passion, definitely. Way of life would be giving it too much importance. I can certainly survive without it, and have in the past, although it’s slightly depressing. Can’t specify a reason for this. I guess it’s a cultural thing with us Indians. 2) Your favorite Non-Indian player ? A. All time? Glenn McGrath. I don’t think anybody ever surpassed his mental fortitude and sheer determination to do well. Among the current lot, Adam Gilchrist, for his brilliance. Sadly we are about to lose him as well. 3) The single most amazing piece of brilliance that you have seen on a cricket field That spell of Allan Donald to Mike Atherton in South Africa. He still couldn’t get him out. 4) Is cricket an instrument of expression of patriotism for you ? Will you stop watching cricket if all cricket became like ICL/IPL ? A. No, not really, though I feel proud when India win. Yes, if cricket should ever comprise only the likes of ICL/IPL, I’d stop watching it. I follow cricket because of the Test matches. 5) If there was one opposition player whom you wished played for the Indian team, who would it be? A. McGrath, obviously. We’d have been world champions at least briefly. Professional 1) A Doctor is portrayed like a God sometimes, do you really see yourself as one ? A. That would be rather grandiose. Does any doctor see himself thus? 2) How of much being a Doctor is a lifelong passion, and how much of it is a 9-5 day job ? A. You cannot be a good doctor without being passionate about it. As you become more senior, your hours improve, so that isn’t a problem. The terrible thing, not just about medicine, but any job, is when people start measuring the hours and forget that they have the opportunity to make a difference. An unhappy doctor is a dangerous doctor. 3) Do you believe in non-traditional healing methods, like pranic healing ? A. No, but only because I have no experience of it. 4) Was there ever an occasion when you got the diagnosis of a patient horribly wrong? A. I have made wrong diagnoses of course, but fortunately, they haven’t ended in tears ….so far. However, many years ago, when I was a junior doctor in India, I did lose one patient with snakebite despite my best efforts, an event that could have been avoided in hindsight, had I been intrepid enough to wake up my boss in the middle of the night and ask for advice. He was a lad in his teens, and I’ll never forget his face, nor ever get rid of the feeling of shame and grief at having let him down, which I’ll take to my grave. 5) A doctor needs keep himself constantly updated, do you take initiatives to keep abreast with the latest updates/happenings in the medical world ? I just bless my lucky stars that we didn’t have the internet in our formative years. I have become disgustingly sloth and spend too much of my free time on the net. I still manage to get through two core journals every week and two others every month. I use books only for reference, not the least because the stuff in them become outdated before the printer’s ink has dried. I try and attend all the updates at the hospital I work in , and those organised regionally. Coffee What kind of a doctor are you? A. My specialties are Rheumatology & Internal Medicine. Are you are very impulsive person? A. On the net, maybe? In real life, I am quite circumspect. Would love to hear your psycho analysis of - Ponting, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Sehwag? A. I’ll do this properly, one day. Just not enough time here. Do powerful women intimidate you? A. What on earth made you ask that question? Of course they do. Wouldn’t you like Uma Thurman standing over you, Hatoro-Honzo in one hand, your dick in the other (hopefully still attached to its owner). Well, I feel the same way. And finally, do you love =>? A. Sure. All hate is a form of love. I actually corresponded with her briefly after we kicked her out of here, and she was surprisingly understanding. It was nice to know that she actually quite liked me. Observer why england, and not the usa? conscious decision or chance? A. Coming to the UK was a conscious decision. However, after I came here, I heard the usual shyte from Indian doctors on the lines of , “Don’t stay here. You’ll never go anywhere. It’s a racist set up where Indians end up as staff grades. So I took and passed all three steps of USMLE. However, when I went for the interviews, my heart ran cold at the sight of first year residents (disparagingly called “interns”) appearing in the wards at 7 AM and slogging till the evenings. It was a sub-human existence that I couldn’t submit to for fame, nor fortune. I wrote to my wife that I couldn’t see myself working in the US. So I didn’t apply for the match programme, refused one pre-match that came my way and was fortunate enough to get the right breaks in the UK. Blue Brigade If you ever get a chance (all over again), would you be a cricket analyst or doctor ? and why ? A. Doctor. The cricket analyst lives by other people’s achievements, and although it’s an interesting job, I wouldn’t like to have it as a career. Desi_Downunder -Whats your advise on how to avoid constipation A. Plenty of water, green vegetables and exercise. People don’t realise that vigorous exercise is one of the best remedies for constipation. - did you ever had the sapna of treating poor people in India for free (I just wanna ask this as this is the most common answer from the doctors on Tv in India ) My mother did. I had shamelessly pecuniary instincts right from the start. I was only interested in my own goals. It was only later, when I had what I wanted, that I realised that life would be pretty hollow unless you had a loftier objective to aim at. Rajeev 1) When and Why did you move to UK? May, 1996, for the same reasons as everybody else. Experience, MRCP, money, recognition, a better way of life. 2) Your actual profession Medical doctor, specialising in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine. 3) Do you have any kids Yes, one. 4) You have a real talent to express almost anything in words, does that make life easy to live I suppose it does. It’s very frustrating to want to say something, but not find the right words. 5) Your favorite alcohol drink None. I don’t drink. 6) How do you amuse yourself Internet, cricket, music, playing with my son…the usual. 7) Do you follow Parsi Rituals I am not a Parsi, Rajeev. It’s just a handle I chanced on and chose because it was familiar to me, and sufficiently uncommon. CC 1. Where have you travelled to/lived in the world? Lived- Jamshedpur, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, various places in the UK. Travelled- Various places in the US, namely San Francisco, San Diego, Cleveland, Chicago, New England, Detroit, New York, etc Within Europe- Switzerland, Holland. 2. If tomorrow was the last day of your life and you happened to be in Kolkata with only 20 rupees in your pocket for methaai- which meethai will you pig out on ? Definitely “Pantua”. Nothing beats the taste and flavour. But can I have a bigger allowance please? Twenty rupees won’t buy me nearly enough these days. 3. Chicken or red-meat preference ? Love lamb. Liked chicken tandoori, but grew out of it. My wife is a vegetarian and we don’t have meat at home, so the occasional unhealthy indulgence in red meat doesn’t worry me. 4. Wine or hard liquour or beer ? None. Don’t drink. 5. What is the most scandalous incident in your life so far ? Why should I share that with you? :D HeadCoach 1. What is your opinion about Homeopathy, Ayurvedha and Holistic medicines? I don’t really have an opinion. I have not studied these streams of alternative medicine well enough. 2. What is the treatment for Osteitis Deformans? It’s more commonly called Paget’s disease. Treatment is too detailed to go in here, but the cornerstone is a class of drugs called bisphosphonates. Curious, why you ask though? 3. Will you take gifts (both expensive and inexpensive) from patients if offered? If somebody offers me a box of chocolates, yes. If somebody brings a diamond tie-pin, no. 4. Have you cured anyone in your life? I would certainly hope so! One of my disciplines lends itself to the cure of the ill, the other to symptom relief. Both are equally important in medicine. Beetle Does your wife share your interest in cricket? A. Sadly, no. Does she ask silly questions like ...You will watch all five days?why? A. Fortunately, she is not silly. Do you ever get depressed seeing sick people almost everyday? A. No, it’s part of the job. Do you get depressed seeing children who need extra lessons in school? Ever wanted to give up being a doctor? A. Yes, many times, when the phone or bleep rang in the middle of the night after a hard day’s work. Does your wife share your passion for fitness ...if not, how do you motivate her to stay fit? A. I have tried calling her fat, although she’s quite slim really. I stopped trying that tack after finding out from 3rd persons that she has had proposals of marriage from grateful patients at work. That sort of stuff is not really compatible with a low self-image. Which nuts are best for people?cashew,walnuts,peanuts or almonds? No idea. I’d try peanuts. They cost less, and are probably equally good as the others. Do you hate people who ask for free medical advice on the forum? A. No, I just send them invoices through PM. You have to choose between a woman you love (but she doesn't) or a woman who loves you (but you don't)...which one ? A. I’d choose the woman I love. In time, she will learn to love me. It’d be unfair to the other woman if I chose her. Pain Killer - DO you write for any Journals / Magazines / Newspapers ? A. I have written a few articles in medical journals, but not in the lay press. - Other than medicine, which careers fascinate you? A. I’d have liked to edit a medical journal. It won’t happen though. It’s a different career path. - How are Indian Docs percieved in the UK? A. Pretty well, on the whole. A lot of them are excellent doctors and offer an invaluable service to the community. - Are you a Parsi? A. Nope. - Imran Khan or Steve Waugh? A. Imran. He was my idol growing up, and although I admire Steve greatly, he’d have to take second place. - Brian Lara or Virender Sehwag? A. Nobody would ever beat Sehwag to second place as far as I am concerned. I think he single-handedly changed the face of Indian cricket. - BossBhai or CC1981? A. Boss in a heartbeat. He is a great friend, unbelievably passionate about our shared love, cricket, and together, we produced some fantastic stats articles, largely driven by his genius. CC is a really bright kid, and I am pretty sure he’ll go a long way in life, but I’m much older than he and therefore on slightly different wavelengths. - Back in late 2006 did you honestly expect ICF to be as big a success as it is today? A. Always did. We have some posters here who are the cream of cricket lovers anywhere on the internet, with diverse backgrounds, very high levels of erudition, and unbelievable enthusiasm. - Name 3 ICF'ers who you wish posted much more often than they actually do. A. Observer and Vroomfondel, both hyper-intelligent creatures, whose posts I enjoy immensely, and Newsjunkie, aka Sandeep, whose grasp of cricket is second to none. - You are a terrific writer. What about your public speaking skills? Modest, at best. Nervous at the beginning, usually get better as I warm to it. Fairly uninspiring voice. - Were the monkey chants against Symonds racist in nature? Definitely so. If our players had been subjected to this sort of thing in any other country, we’d have been up in arms. - What are the chances of Dhondy coming back to India (after he has made his pile in the UK) to work for the less fortunate? Nil, unless I lose my job. I am a creature of comfort and habit and dislike change. And, oh, the only pile I made, made me bleed all over the Johnny. - Do you often skip work to watch India play? Never. It’s not nearly as much fun as the guilty, hurried trips to Cricinfo between patients. Ludhianvi - 3 people you would like to meet from history and what would you say to them Deborah Kerr, Ingrid Bergman and Madhubala. And I wouldn’t be doing much talking. -How much guess work do doctors do when a person comes in for a checkup. Guess work is how medicine works. However, it’s informed guess work based on the information available to you, a principle that was advocated by a scholar called Bayes, and described as Bayesian principles after him. Salil If you could go back in time, what's one test match you'd desperately love to watch live, ball by ball from the ground? A. 1999. Kensington Oval, Bridgetown. West Indies v Aussies. The atmosphere was electric, the series alive, one of the best teams in history came up against a maverick magician, who achieved the near impossible. I would have liked to have been there. Same question twice over, but this time substitute in a feat of batsmanship and bowling. Would love to hear Dhondy the cricket fan's take on that. A. Multan 2004. Sehwag v Pakistan. India were visiting Pakistan after a generation. The opposition had bowlers like Shoaib, Sami, Shabbir and Saqlain, and all Indian fans feared the worst. What happened next was scarcely credible. That triple century was scored at a SR of 82, the first ton came before lunch, and within a few hours, India had found a batsman whose self belief would shape the fortunes of the entire team for the next few years. Jo’burg, December 2006. First Test, SA v India. South Africa, banking on India’s weakness against pace, had prepared a seaming pitch, and had bowled India out for 249 in just under 80 overs. Nobody was prepared for what happened next. Seaming the ball at high speed, Sreesanth ran through SA like a bull in a china shop, scalping batsmen of the calibre of Smith, Kallis, Amla, Boucher and Pollock. That fifer defined him and sent out a loud, unsubtle message to the rest of the world, “Things have changed. You give us a juicy pitch, and we’ll destroy you”. The message has since been reinforced at Nottingham and Perth. Are Indian selectors taking notes though? If you could go back to your days of studying and switch to another profession - a) would you do so, and b) what would it be? A. Nope, Thal. Nothing really beats medicine, as far as I am concerned. We’ll never become millionaires, but the challenge of solving problems every day that make an exponentially high difference to the lives of people who are depending on you is impossible to let go off. What's your 'impossible dream' - the dream or ambition you've harboured for a long time, but for some reason(s) feel it might never come to fruition? And why? A. It’s pretty simple really. I want to learn to swim. I am pretty sure I’d make a decent fist of it, given my fitness. My next door neighbour is a national lottery winner and has offered me the keys to his swimming pool, but it involves getting out of bed on Saturday morning for swimming lesions, and lazy bugger that I am, I don’t think I’ll ever find the resolve. Ravi How daunting or demanding is your profession? I have couple of mates that are GPs and every time they miss an appointment after work they blame it on time constraint they experience in their profession. A. It’s not daunting at all. Demanding yes, daunting, no. There can be unexpected demands on your time, things cropping up just as you are preparing to go home, or go off to the club, pub, whatever. So your mates are probably being honest. Are Indians less health conscious in your opinion? I've heard people say this often. A. There’s no doubt about it. There is much higher awareness of health matters in the west, people care more about their fitness, health and appearance and don’t hesitate to seek medical opinion if they are worried, while back in India, anybody with depression is still classed as “mad”, old age is a time to wind down and die, and hypertension and diabetes are just inevitable consequences of ageing you learn to live with. If you need to treat your own do you put in extra effort or exercise more caution? A. I try and avoid treating relatives or friends except for very minor problems. Having said that, I recently injected my mum’s knee with steroids on my India trip, and she hasn’t heard as much as squeak from that knee since. Anything in particular that irritates you or annoys you to no avail? A. Lots of stuff. Rudeness, inconsiderate behaviour, excessive familiarity, lack of respect for women…the list goes on. I am sure I annoy the hell out of others as well. My imperfections would probably need a separate section on ICF to list, if my wife is to be believed. The best phase of your life i.e prior marriage, post marriage or after becoming a father? A. Without a shadow of doubt, becoming a dad. It happened relatively late, and when it did, I wondered why we’d waited so long. It’s impossible for those without offspring to appreciate how much one little person can change your life and make you a more tolerant, more patient and kinder human being, while reducing you to a state of panic at the thought of the slightest harm befalling that person. Is there anything that you don't like in your profession? A. The paperwork, the need to be defensive and over investigate sometimes, the inability to let go when it’s clear that all is lost and a life awaits its last passage. These are minor irritants though. Overall, I wouldn’t trade it for any other profession. If you were Mahatma Gandhi at the time India was accorded independence what would you have done? Do you reckon partition and the mess that followed was inevitable? What would you have done different if any at all? A. Gee..! I would probably have headed for the first westernised country that would accept me and escape the mess. :D No, to be perfectly honest, I simply can’t imagine myself in such mammoth nation-shaping roles. You need to be a very special person to be the founding father of a nation. It’s difficult to envisage for a bloke who is loath to give up his Saturday afternoon for a good cause because he is so bone-lazy outside of his work. Gambit What is it that you miss the most about Jamshedpur? A. My family, obviously. They are still there. But outside of that, I feel really nostalgic when I pass through the Beldih area. Here is the temple that my dad took me to when I was a toddler. I have heard so many retellings of how the retired Pujari-ji came over and offered to say the prayers just for me. Here was the school that I spent many happy years at, the elite club that I always thought I’d go to when I grew up, but never did, the fields through which I had cycled home along with my cousin, who’s now grown up and in the army. What is ICF's biggest strength and it's biggest weakness? A. ICF’s strength lies in its posters, who come from diverse backgrounds, are incredibly well read and can bring forth their expertise on a stunning array of subjects besides sharing their passion on the one thing that’s close to all of their hearts. Our strength lies too in our dogged belief in freedom of expression, even if it should offend some, to stay away from censure and rebuke until the point that repeated profanity is practiced. Weakness? The refusal of some to acknowledge that every man and woman who visits this place has a right to be respected, and neither he or she, nor his or her affiliations to his religion or nation should be attacked because of the blind bias that may exist in some hearts. If you son grew up supporting England OVER India in cricket, would you be disappointed? A. No, he is English in every sense of the word. He was born here, he’s receiving his education here, he knows no language apart from English, and some day, God willing, he might make a living here. I’d strongly urge him to support England. Are you a victim of the doctor/engineer Indian routine or did you really want to do medicine? A. We did have limited choices when we were growing up. Finance, IT were just beginning to enter the lexicon of students. I still think I’d have gone for Medicine though. My parents so wanted me too, and I couldn’t hurt them, so I never considered anything else. Three areas (if any IYO) where India is better than the UK. A. There are many. Only in India would a poor farmer walk up to your car and lend a shoulder to help you out of a ditch and expect nothing in return. Most Indian children wouldn’t think of shunting their parents out to an old people’s home once they became infirm and would not look to the government for the cost of their care. Parents would meet the burden of their children’s education even to the point of bankrupting themselves. Quite apart from all this, there’s more help available at very low tariffs, letting you have the precious gift of freeing up time. What does your wife think of ICF as a past time? A. A perfect waste of time. She feels that time is better spent in playing with my son. 5 ICFers you would invite home for dinner. A. Difficult. It’d have to be Bumper, Gambit, Shwetabh, Ravi, Pred and Thal. Oops, that’s six- but Pred and Thal, being kids, relatively speaking, count as half-each.:D

[Ram]

Great Read Doc, many thanks.

[Dirty_South]

OMG ! I'm getting some stuff to eat ...and then will read ur Answers :D

[Cricketics]

Good honest answerz mate.. thanks for replying..

[Mandrake]

Candid answers there:two_thumbs_up: didn't know that you were from Jamshedpur....I grew up nearby in Ranchi!

[Gambit]

Lovely read Dhondy. Witty and engaging as always! Well played.

[kumble_rocks]

Good read again !

[King]

Cheers Dhondy, some very interesting and insightful answers.

[ludhianvi]

I find these interviews are so interesting. Was nice to read

[vroomfondel]

Wonderful Dhondy, and great questions -- pretty much every question I would want to ask. Except this one: Are you one to be moved by art or life on a regular basis? Please interpret 'moved' any way you want, but I see it as having a sudden, and more than usual sense of empathy and connectedness with the rest of the world. If this does happen/or has happened, could you tell us what usually triggers it? Reading Dostoevsky, or Borges, or listening to Nikhil Bannerjee perhaps? Or something in life? Maybe nothing, perhaps none of this senti nonsense for the modern-day practical healer?

[beetle]

Very interesting answers dhondy.....