Chronicles of Kanjisheik

Unfortunately, it is that time of the year again to face the music. Yes, I'm referring to my University exams, that are scheduled to be in December.

But thats not the problem. You see, one of the reasons why JIPMER is considered one of the best medical colleges is that the education is really top notch, and each department conducts regular tests and monitors the students' performances. But sometimes, this policy can lead to ludicrous situations. For instance, there are 18 tests [thats right, eighteen tests!!!] scheduled for the period of September 15, 2006 to October 31, 2006. And thats not all- more tests will be announced in the days to come!!!. Then we have the Model Exams probably in the first two weeks of November, and finally the University exams in December.

So now, we are all in an extended hang over. Sitting late nights, trying to cover as much of the portions as possible, revising for the all impostant University exams at the same time, sleeping off in classes due to the sheer exhaustion, cutting down on all recreation, God! This is terrible. And I used to be a guy who seriously loved studying!!!

And yet, I know why they put up this gruelling schedule. Its because we have to be the best of the best. The medical profession is definitely not easy. Being a doctor is a full time job, it requires you to make decisions that could mean the difference between life and death. And thats why we have to go through this- to become as good as humanly possible.

Wish me luck, people. I'm gonna need lots of it. Sayonara!

Posted by kanjisheik at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, the new song by Strings is available on YouTube. Its called Beirut and is an anti war song.

Strings is a Pakistani band comprising Faisal and Bilal, who first became famous in the early 90s. They became a household name in India and Pakistan with their melodious numbers, and succeeded in redefining Indirock. With the magnificent successes of their albums Duur and Dhaani, they have managed to remain on top of the countdown charts and way ahead of their competitors, and Beirut will continue the trend.

Check it out!

Posted by kanjisheik at 12:37 PM | Permalink

Book 1: Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy
Book 2:The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Book 3: Life, the Universe and Everything
Book 4: So long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Book 5: Young Zaphod Plays It Safe
Book 6: Mostly Harmless

Does this book actually require a review? I think not.. Suffice to say that this is probably the best SF book of all time! Join Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect as they undertake the most dangerous and funniest journey of their lives- across the friggin universe!!! And the humour is "celestial", man!

This book is a must have for anyone who considers himself an SF nut.. And hey, even if you don tlike Sf, chances are you would probably end up loving this book. Three cheers to Douglas Adams!!! A 10 on 10, definitely...

Posted by kanjisheik at 07:23 AM | Permalink

AIIMS, PGI and JIPMER were set up around the same time in the decade after Independence. Each institute was located in a Union Territory, meant to be a "Centre of Excellence"- a tertiary care centre for patients in neighbouring areas. But something went wrong somewhere down the line. While AIIMS and PGI have become prestigious institutions, JIPMER has lagged behind, due to various obstacles.

One problem has been funding. JIPMER had been receiving a paltry sum of Rs 59 crores annually till 2005, compared to Rs 240 crores for AIIMS and Rs 160 crores for PGI. This has resulted in the lack of super speciality departments, poor facilities in labs, and even the existing features are not maintained well. But in the last two years, a lot of money is being pumped into JIPMER by the Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. A cancer ward, a super speciality block, an auditorium, and a nursing college are some of the high profile projects launched recently.

Another issue is the lack of autonomy. Since JIPMER is under the "direct" admininistrative supervision of the DGHS, every decision taken in JIPMER requires the sanction of the bureaucrats in the DGHS; decisions take years to be passed, thanks to red tape. But AIIMS and PGI are autonomous institutes, and hence they are able to implement their decisions faster and efficiently. The demand for autonomy has been going on and off for the past few decades in JIPMER. Ramadoss has made this one of his main objectives [for what reason, I cant fathom] and it seems like it will be achieved in his tenure.

Another curious point is the reservation of almost one third of the seats in a "national" college like JIPMER for students of Pondicherry. This is unnacceptable. Please note that I dont have a grudge against Pondy students. Its just that there are already five medical colleges and two more starting up, including the Pondicherry Govt Medical College, so there is no need for them to have a quota in JIPMER. A couple of decades earlier, the Delhi quota in AIIMS was scrapped for precisely the same reason: reservation on the basis of domicile is simply not possible in a national institution.

Now with the OBC quota coming into play, the seats in JIPMER will be increased from 75 to 125. This will put a strain on our facilities. So, autonomy will go a long way in helping the JIPMER Administration in this situation, and bring JIPMER back to its rightful place as one of the best medical colleges in India.

Posted by kanjisheik at 06:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, SPANDAN - ah, those five days of joy! , is over, and now we are back to the normal tedium of life in JIPMER. In this September issue of Expressions, we present to you "Graffiti on the Great Wall" - the magazine of Curie Day 2006 organized by our batch girls.

We also have the usual articles from the regulars. An issue that has been raging inside our campus for the last week (and also responsible for the delay of this issue's release) - the autonomy issue - also comes under our scrutiny. We present an article and pictures on the strike by the employees that have paralyzed JIPMER.

Ciao!

Posted by kanjisheik at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Good news, JYG fans! Junkyard Groove has been selected as one of the finalists for Shamal: Battle for Desert Rock Festival, Dubai.

As most of you in the Gulf will be knowing, Shamal is a search for the most talented bands in the subcontinent and the Middle East. Shamal intends to act as a launchpad for bands of the region into the international level.

The finalists are:
DAVINCI - Egypt
Point Of View - Dubai
Pin Drop Violence - India
Junkyard Groove - India
Gorthall - Dubai
Hydrophobia - Dubai
Wasted Land - Saudi Arabia
Whimagon - Iran

The winners will get
- a 3 year World Wide Recording Contract with Creative Kingdom Records USA
- a reality TV show with Zee Arabiya
- a music video to be made by Zee Arabiya
- the opening slot on both days for Desert Rock Festival 2007 on March 9th and 10th!

All the best, Junkyard Groove!!!

Check out Shamal's website and MySpace profile for more information.

Posted by kanjisheik at 12:55 PM | Permalink

I wanted to express my thoughts on an issue that is relevant to the college that I am studying in- the autonomy of JIPMER. The demand for autonomy has been sprouting up often in the last couple of decades, but protests from the employees have always led to this issue being put on the back burner. Until now. On the 7th of September, the Union Cabinet took an extraordinary decision. This article came in The Hindu the next day.

Seems like the perfect deal, right? But then the employees began their "spoiler" act. Until now, these employees had the privileges of being Central Govt employees, and reaped huge benefits without working at all, because the Director is at best a lameduck, who cant even hire or fire anyone, without the sanction of the DGHS. But now, with all that to change, the employees played out their last ace- STRIKE!

For the last 6 days, the entire Staff, with the exception of professors, resident doctors and students, has been on a complete strike, thus paralysing the working of JIPMER, and rendering it incapable of providing treatment to the thousands of poor patients who enter the hospital each day. We students try our level best to assist the doctors, but its an uphill task, and so we have asked all the in patients to go to the neighbouring hospitals for treatment.


And what comes in the papers? Long articles sympathising with the "plight" of the hospital employees, who "will be fired for no fault of theirs", and denouncing the "tyrannical measures of the dictatorial Administration to break up this movement for justice", etc.. Leaders from CPI M announcing their "solidarity" with the hospital employees, and God knows what else! And worst of all, very few articles showing the other side- how the strike is affecting patients.

What do we do? Wait patiently. Cos we are no match for the fanatical party supporters who have been holding the Institute to ransom for the past few days. But we cant watch the situation unfold passively. This issue will have a bearing on the college. Autonomy is a dream that JIPMERites have wanted for the last three decades. And it is almost within our grasp. Let this opportunity not fly away!

Posted by kanjisheik at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

There has long been a vacuum in the Indian comics market, one that has, till date, been inadequately filled by static reproductions of mythology and history by Amar Chitra Katha on the one hand, and mass marketed but culturally alien reprints of popular American comics by DC and Marvel. For those comic book fans who find themselves vacillating between these two extremes in search of a product that combines the best of both worlds, the newly formed Virgin Comics might come as a welcome change.

The basic idea behind Virgin comics is reinterpreting classic Indian stories and making them relevant to today's youth. Virgin promises to utilise classic tales as a springboard for the development of newer, more contemporary versions of myth — representations of "the Indian ethos of seeing everything in grey rather than black and white".

But in a world mainly dominated by American themes, one might ask, "why pick Indian stories now?" The Company believes that in the next decade, Asia will become one of the largest producers, as well as the largest consumers, of entertainment products. Virgin Comics intends to look to Asia, and India in particular, as both a growing market for consumers of entertainment products and also a source for unique, innovative content to be brought to the world in comics and licensing into movies, animation, toys, video games and consumer products.

In that sense, the company has a lot of models to look at and learn from, the most successful of which have been the Japanese forms of manga and anime. Reportedly, the worldwide market for manga stands at somewhere near $5 billion. Indeed, manga represents some of the best lessons for Indian comic makers, with the need for authenticity topping the list. And what will set Virgin Comics in a league of its own is the authenticity of the tale and the myth.

Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra, the principal architects, are spearheading the new Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, in collaboration with Deepak Chopra, Shekar Kapur and Richard Branson. In this pursuit of authenticity and quality, the company is working on creating a platform for indigenous artistes and writers. Thus, although some of its first collaborations boast big names such as John Woo and Guy Ritchie, it is working on going the long haul with Indian talent that has had success creating content, like Samit Basu.

And so you have it — the voice of the new Indian generation, in the form of "organic stories from modern urban cities," as Gotham put it.The comics that are being released in the Indian market now are Devi, The Sadhu, Snakewoman, and Ramayana Reborne. Right now, after the spectacular sales of these comics in the USA, Virgin Comics is on a high. All that remains to be seen is if young India likes the way Virgin Comics says it sounds.

Posted by kanjisheik at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Junkyard Groove is one of the finest bands in the Indian rock scene at present. It consists of Ameeth on vocals / rhythm, Craig on bass, Jeremiah on the drums and Siddharth on lead. They had been invited to play on the 1st of September in JIPMER as a non competitive entry in Western Music. And they played with a lot of exuberance in their typical style, and had a considerable crowd [including yours truly!] dancing to their music at 4 in the morning!!!

Luckily for us, the JIPMER Executives had invited them to play as the opening act for the next day's Rock Show. And Junkyard Groove played some of their popular compositions, and effectively upstaged the more famed bands like MotherJane and Moksha , that played later.

What I [and a lot of other people, I'm sure :~)] like about Junkyard Groove is the way they play their music. They seem to genuinely love playing, and they build a rapport with the audience. And the best part is- their own compositions are just AWESOME. Be it Folk You, Its Ok, Twinkle Twinkle, Say Goodbye or Let You Go, each song rocks and has a lot of fans in their regular audience.

To conclude, Junkyard Groove is a bunch of exceptionally talented musicians, that is creating sensational music at the moment, and is extremely popular among the rock loving college students of South India. I hope that they go places. Who knows, lets wait till their CD comes out!!!

Check out their website here. Sound clips of some of their popular songs are also available!

Posted by kanjisheik at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)