Darkness And Beyond by GS. Subbu

HELLO DOCTOR – PART 1 WHITE COAT SYNDROME

HELLO DOCTOR – PART 1

WHITE COAT SYNDROME

“I suffer from white coat syndrome” my friend said.

“So why don’t you see a doctor” I asked.

He gave me a sullen look “You must be joking” he said.

“What do you mean I am joking? If you have a problem you see the doctor, don’t you?” I asked.

“That’s precisely the problem, the doctor, I mean. Every time I walk into his dispensary my blood pressure shoots up” he replied.

Well I did not understand why it should be so, till I found out for myself. That happened two years later.

I was waiting my turn with the file in my hands containing the necessary papers including the appointment letter: my appointment as a Probationary officer in the bank subject to a satisfactory report from the Bank’s Medical Officer. I watched as a kindred soul walked out of the dispensary with a look on his face which said that the death penalty had been pronounced. He was shaking his head when I approached him to ask how it had gone. Before he could answer I heard a gruff voice from inside calling out “Next candidate come in”.

I had always been used to the friendly neighborhood doctor, a rotund affable man with a laugh like the neigh of a horse, which he was generous enough to let out every time you went to him with a sore throat and couldn’t laugh back in reciprocation, or a high fever when you sat shivering in front of him. He would shove the thermometer into your mouth as soon as you opened it to say you were having fever and then continue to enquire about the well-being of the others at home. I would always go back home equipped with medicine for two days and instructions to see him after that. He would write his prescription on a sheet of paper in a language I could never decipher though I guess it was in English. The only person who could read it sat behind a window in the next room , and on receipt of the prescription would take out some tablets (in various colors) crush them in a small crucible and then carefully measure the doses as per the prescription and pack them; eight packets neatly packed in paper torn from the previous day’s newspaper. His advice to me before I left was “You can have curd rice.” Well it worked. I remember the dispensary would always be filled with patients and one had to wait for at least half an hour before your turn came.

Years, rather decades later when I went to live in the same neighborhood he was still there now old, but still rotund and affable. When I went to see him, he was sitting on his chair with his legs on the table and in front of him sat the ‘man behind the window’ also having grown old along with his mentor. There were no patients in the outside hall and as I entered his room that same laughter rang out, obviously both the friends were having a good laugh. It was that laughter that had cured many a patient; the medicines were only props.

Well coming back to our own Bank's Medical Officer, as soon as I entered the room I saw this monstrosity of a man gesturing me to take my seat and simultaneously reaching out for the file in my hand.

“Do you suffer from any medical condition?” he asked.

“No Sir” I replied.

“Well we shall see how healthy you really are” he said and grinned at me. That was unnerving – the grin.

“Go and lie on the bed over there” he said and gestured to his assistant to lead me. I had the vague feeling of a lamb being led to slaughter.

His huge figure loomed over me as he got ready to check my blood pressure. He placed the cuff of the sphygmomanometer on my upper arm and started to inflate and as I felt the pressure on my arm increase thoughts of getting strangulated did cross my mind. Removing the cuff from my arm and after packing up the BP instrument, he returned to his seat and waved me over.

“You have hypertension” he said.

“What?” I asked, his words not really sinking in.

“You have high blood pressure,” he growled.

“So what should I do?” I asked.

“Come back and see me after it becomes normal.”

Before I could open my mouth to speak again, he shouted “Next candidate.”

And I was out in flat ten minutes.

One thing I definitely noticed when I was in the room, he was wearing a long white coat. Ever since, the white coat continues to haunt me.

Well how did I really get through the medical examination (the Bank’s entrance exam in contrast was a cake walk)?

That’s another story – (To be continued)

  

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 14 HELL

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 14

Hell

I seek the secrets of the soul,

Under a shade from the blistering heat,

Stray dogs lie curled by my feet,

Seeking refuge and company,

A drop of nectar to soothe the wounds,

Burns and blisters that surface,

For in the lives of men there comes a day,

When passions push and they fall a prey,

Sink to abysmal depths of desire,

Scorched and drowned in the raging fire.

Is this what, when people tell,

For your sins you burn in hell?

DARKNESS AND BEYOND – A MEDLEY OF MANY LIVES EXCERPTS - INITIAL REVIEWS RECEIVED

DARKNESS AND BEYOND – A MEDLEY OF MANY LIVES

EXCERPTS - INITIAL REVIEWS RECEIVED

To say that I am overwhelmed by the initial responses received for my second book would be an understatement. As an author I feel fulfilled when the reader says he has connected with the book and totally identifies with the situations narrated therein. I thought it fit to take out excerpts from the reviews received so far and present them to the readers of my blog.

Is there light beyond the Darkness?

By Sridhar Raju

GSS portrays with great sensitivity a variety of subjects including the search for roots, the coping with loneliness, the attraction of extremist thought; the misery of child widowhood. The settings are vivid, the detailing of the characters authentic and the framing of their feelings very touching It will be a rare person who will not be able to empathize with the protagonists in each story chapter. I did wonder why it is not treated as a collection of short stories because each chapter is readable on a stand-alone basis but then there is a common thread which runs through each one of them weaving them into a gossamer cocoon.

Whether it is Sankara or Master Moshai or Rajam each one is in search of the thing which will bring meaning to their fractured existence..

What I really liked about the book is the way the author(?) gives each protagonist the space to express his/her deepest thoughts and gives each one of them sympathetic platform.

An Outstanding Work of Fiction by a Master Craftsman

By Induchoodan Menon

Subbu’s new book “Darkness and Beyond- A Medley of Many Lives” has been a revelation to me. It contains 9 short stories each one exploring a different aspect of the human existence. If in his first book “I am just an ordinary man” Subbu was exploring the art of conveying the nuances of human emotions in simple prose, in the latest book he shows that he has become a master of this art. His prose has got a lyrical quality about it which enables him to capture the subtleties of the emotional states of the characters with ease and precision. It is obvious that Subbu has now matured into a master craftsman who could describe the fever and fret of the human existence while at the same time giving us glimpses of the deeper meaning that lies beyond them.

Incredible!! Motivational read! Author's philosophical writing outshines !

By Inderjit Kaur 

Author's philosophical writing outshines and that is what makes him different from others! There's lots of authenticity in his work. I'm amazed to witness the deep philosophical writing of GS Subbu that makes him shine in the crowd, specially the detailing that's so well described and the author has successfully completed the presentation of 9 lives by adding crisply crafted words that so well describe the roots of Indian values.

REALITY MIRRORED - A MUST READ for ALL AGES;

By MOHAN

The cover in itself conveys all and makes a reader inquisitive to know what the author has now to convey --an ordinary mans' experience in today’s scenario-- a big gap in the days the author had undergone trying to find a bridge between the school of thought of the older generation vis a vis the present and future -- an ideal book that keeps a reader engrossed

Every chapter only makes the reader think back to his old days where he also has undergone similar experiences and makes one think -- darkness after light or light after darkness and what is in store.

A WELL CRAFTED WORK

By Amazon Customer

GS Subbu's second book Darkness and Beyond - A Medley of Many Lives - is a reader's delight in as much each and every situation is brought out so vividly in each of the Chapters and can be easily connected with the reader's own life bringing nostalgic feeling. The crafting of the book is so wonderfully done and in a style that is different from others. The author has succeeded in understanding what the readers expect and rose to satisfy by narrating the events in an extremely delightful manner. The language is lucid and the depiction of the situations so well connected with realism, Let me concede though I am not a voracious reader this book has endeared to me so much that I read it whole in one go

Excellent peace of work and fiction

By Rutvi Pandya

Subbu 's book Darkness and Beyond is a work of fiction and engrosses the reader in such a way that once u start reading you will not like to leave without completing the same. I like all the chapters which he wrote beautifully and given a message that there is always a light after darkness.

The full reviews can be read at

http://www.amazon.in/product-reviews/1945579072/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=recent

DARKNESS AND BEYOND – A MEDLEY OF MANY LIVES by GS.SUBBU - SYNOPSIS & BLURB

DARKNESS AND BEYOND – A MEDLEY OF MANY LIVES by GS.SUBBU

SYNOPSIS & BLURB

SYNOPSIS

As we travel through life, we learn not only through our own experiences but also from people we meet on the way. We learn not to be judgmental, for there are as many paths as there are individual lives, and to each is left the job of defining his or her authenticity. There is nothing like a better life; a life is a life and has to be lived within the constraints of each individual’s boundaries that define the circumstances of his birth, where he has had really no choice and the subsequent choices he makes, to deal with the vagaries of a life that is indeterminate.

Each chapter is a slice of life, in search of a meaning that would define existence; in search of the ‘Beyond’ of this ‘Darkness’. This book is a journey, an exploration of life in its many facets, bringing one closer to a better understanding of what this life is all about. It is written in an Indian context for the different scenarios explored are in an Indian setting.  However, this does not in any way take away the universality of the situations or the message that is sought to be conveyed.

Our emotional response to darkness has always been one of insecurity, the fear of dissolving into an eternal darkness. We go to bed every night with the hope of waking up to the dawn of another day.  For a man of hope, he finds it perfectly logical that just as there is light at the end of the tunnel or like the darkness of the night which dissolves with the dawn of the day, there is also a beyond of this darkness of death. One does not know what really exists thereafter, but it is the ‘hope’ that takes man forward in living an authentic life, for without hope the prolongation of life itself would be absurd.

‘Darkness and Beyond – A Medley of Many Lives’, touches all those who have passed through the darkness of living and found the light of fulfillment giving an authenticity to their existence. Whether it is the revolutionary who finds his calling in taking up the cause of the downtrodden or the savant in search of that ultimate truth to everlasting happiness, it is the light that would dispel the darkness of suffering and ignorance which is their ultimate goal. The process of understanding and acceptance is in itself the way to overcome suffering.

Just as we understand medley as a musical composition consisting of various tunes arranged as a continuous whole, so also is life and the world in its entirety are about - A Medley of Many Lives. –

These are stories of faith, loyalty and the belief that life is a succession of darkness and light. When darkness descends there is always a beyond, there is ‘Hope’.

BLURB

Whether it is a journey to the native village ending in the discovery of one’s roots, or the old man who awaits his end with equanimity in the hope that there is always something beyond the darkness that would soon engulf him, GS.Subbu delves deep into the lives of people who we may have met sometime, somewhere and left their imprint on us. The old woman totally immobilized, slipping into dementia; the revolutionary who believes that violence only begets more violence; the young man or the middle-aged woman’s search for an ideal relationship; a visually challenged boy; the patriarch who fights his way back from an abused childhood; the savant’s search for that secret to ultimate happiness and bliss; or the ordeals faced by a young widow, these are nine stories of ‘Hope’; nine slices of life!

About the Author

An Engineer, from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, by qualification and a Banker by profession, GS.Subbu retired from the State Bank of India in 2010 and settled down in Chennai. An avid blogger, he has been writing regularly for the last five years on his blog Sublimation. His writings range from deeply philosophical meditations to depictions of inherent humor present in our daily lives, from appreciation of art to writing poetry. His other interests include painting and music.

Darkness and Beyond – A Medley of Many Lives is GS.Subbu’s second book. While in the first book I am just An Ordinary Man, a fictional autobiography, he dealt with the process of growing up and aging. Darkness and Beyond is all about being part of the larger process of understanding through the lives of others that it is Hope that takes us forward in order to live an authentic life.

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 13 AMONG THE CAVERNS

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 13

Among the Caverns

I seek the secrets of the soul,

From within the crevices of the caves,

As Minotaur prowls within the labyrinth

Among the remains of discarded bones,

Amidst all the grovelling and the grime,

In the darkness, marking time,

While I search among the caverns,

For the ruins of discarded relationships,

Waiting for the resurrection, to rise again

From within the chillness of the grave,

To traverse the long and lonely road,

Whilst the ghost keeps me company.

SECRETS OF THE SOUL 12 - MURMURS

SECRETS OF THE SOUL 12 - MURMURS

Murmurs -12

I seek the secrets of the soul,

As I listen to the footfalls on the pavement,

Winding my way through the dark alleys,

Keeping pace as the pulsations rise,

And fall with the beating of my heart,

Wondering what secrets lie undiscovered

Among the huddled figures in the shadows,

Passions long forgotten, stories long dead,

Still, under the gaze of the benign moon,

I walk away to the murmurs within,

To my undiscovered passions,

To the stories that remain to be told.