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As soon as my Chief Surgeon took up his ultrasonic probe and started pushing it into my cornea, I felt my fists clenching. And my calf muscles stiffening. And then I told myself to relax and that it would be all over in 8 minutes.
This is an instance of autosuggestion and it worked. And my mind was off from my eye and took off in its usual wandering.
And I was wondering if my Chief knew anything about his ultrasonic machine.
Of course he didn't.
And that is as it should be since otherwise he would be worried if the quartz crystal was doing its job and if that 555 timer was getting burnt out.
It is good as it is...if everyone wanted to know everything there would be no specialist and everyone would be a gas bag like gps.
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As soon as my Chief Surgeon took up his ultrasonic probe and started pushing it into my cornea, I felt my fists clenching. And my calf muscles stiffening. And then I told myself to relax and that it would be all over in 8 minutes.
This is an instance of autosuggestion and it worked. And my mind was off from my eye and took off in its usual wandering.
And I was wondering if my Chief knew anything about his ultrasonic machine.
Of course he didn't.
And that is as it should be since otherwise he would be worried if the quartz crystal was doing its job and if that 555 timer was getting burnt out.
It is good as it is...if everyone wanted to know everything there would be no specialist and everyone would be a gas bag like gps.
This led me to reminisce about my University years at Andhra University at Vizagh. When I was passing out from my third year to the fourth of B.Sc. (Hons) in 1961, I was attending the Farewell Function to my seniors, presided by our HoD. And I was sitting on the back bench and gathering wool.
Suddenly our HoD announced my name and asked me to come up to the dais to receive a prize that was newly instituted by an alumnus. This chap wanted to encourage third years since the only official prizes were for outgoing students after 4 years. And it so happened that I was the topper in the local exams of our Physics Dept that year. The prize amount was a whopping Rs 200 (equal to the salary of a Lecturer).
I was transfixed and walked to the dais in a daze. And the HoD gifted me a parcel with a brown paper wrapping. And I walked back to my pavilion and my friends sitting by my side tore up the wrapper. And it revealed a hardbound copy of the book Theoretical Chemistry by Glasstone. And I was as happy as a lark in the morning that got its early worm...for I would never have been able to buy that book which was the prescribed text book for our Stat Mech those days.
As I was leaving the auditorium, I was accosted by my senior, the Secretary of our Physics Society (a post reserved for the final years). After congratulating me duly, he snatched that book away then and there since it belonged to our Central Library...he showed me the rubber stamp on the 3rd cover.
I was perplexed and he explained that the book was a placebo for the nonce till the Rs 200 arrived by money order as promised by the donor.
All my enthu faded away.
And since the G Sec was in the hostel and I was in the town it was tough for me to contact him...he was my senior and seniors didn't like to be disturbed by their juniors in their hostel rooms.
But I made bold after a month and went to the hostel and was looking for the guy. He was found chatting and smoking in the room of one of his buddies and when I told him the purpose of my visit...to retrieve that Rs 200, he looked at me as if I was an imposter and asked me not to disturb him and he would himself get in touch with me as soon as he received that M.O.
Of course he never did. And I was too wise to bother him anymore...he left after his M.Sc... and I forgot him but never forgave him.
As it happened, I topped in the Final Year as well and was made G.Sec. by default...there were no elections then for the Phy Society at AU.
I initially tried to refuse the honor but was afraid that our HoD would take it amiss.
Those days there used to be a Guest Lecture of Phy Society at the end of the academic year. And it was the job and privilege of the G. Sec. to arrange this lecture and see that it was a success. There was this unwritten rule that the honored Guest Lecturer would be a fluent speaker from another department in the University, like Dr D.V. Ramana from Economics or Prof. Achari from Eng Lit.
I decided that I would cast my net wider and invite Dr. Brahmayya Sastry, a renowned Professor of Physiology from our Andhra Medical College. Since my MD Uncle was in the AMC and my sister and a couple of my friends were doing their MBBS there, it was easy for me to get an appointment with him. When I explained the purpose of my visit, Dr. BS was immensely pleased and agreed to give his lecture. And he asked me if I had any topic in my mind.
And I told him that it would be nice if he could give his lecture on:
"Physics in Physiology"
He jumped at the suggestion and I promised to pick him up in an Ambassador Taxi that would drop him back at his place on the D-Day.
His lecture went well enough...the backbenchers were ogling at the couple of girls in the front bench, the girls were constantly adjusting their sari pallus, I was composing my Vote of Thanks and our HoD was thinking of his next year's budget.
After the default clapping at the end of his lecture and the usual sweet nothings by our HoD (who was invited then and there for the Guest Lecture in their Physiology Department), I was escorting our honored Guest to his taxi.
Then Dr BS asked me if he could meet one youthful Dr. Abhirama Reddy, our Demonstrator in the Electronics Lab with whom I was sort of friends.
And I arranged their meet then and there.
And found that Dr BS and Dr AR were chatting cozily and Dr BS was asking Dr AR to please visit his Physiology Lab as early as possible. And Dr. AR agreed with infinite courtesy...he was all of 30 years junior to Dr. BS.
And after the taxi left I asked Dr AR what went on between the two.
And Dr AR told me that Dr BS wanted to modernize his lab and dispense with the good old battery and the induction coil which have been ruling the physiology labs since Galvani's time to twitch their frog's legs and record the output on a revolving smoked drum. And he bought a hi-fi pulse generator and an oscilloscope which was supplied by the ECIL without any service contract which was beyond the budget of Dr BS.
Apparently whenever the pulse generator conked off Dr BS was at his wits' end and discovered that Dr AR of our Dept was a wizard in electronics and available easily. There flourished a beautiful friendship between the two and whenever Dr BS sought the help of Dr AR, he would oblige.
I asked Dr AR what exactly he did while traveling to the Andhra Medical College on his specialist mission.
And Dr AR smiled and said:
"Oh, nothing...most of the time the front fuse blows out and I pocket a couple of cartridge fuses costing one rupee each. And also a couple of nine-pin valves as a standby for replacement."
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