Vatakara, Ahmedabad, Kannur
A few things I forgot to write down in earlier posts
While at Vadakara in 1969, one incident was my getting viral hepatitis. It became quite serious. I was out of work for about 3 weeks and a false news spread that I died in Medical college. Actually another doctor with a similar name had died at the Medical college. So my fate was to live (at least) till 84 as I write this! I did not face any problems in its aftermath, after the hepatitis abated.
The next year, I contracted chicken pox. One day, while washing in OT, I noted some irritation in my body and hands. When I went home, I found multiple small vesicles over the abdomen. The next day, both my forearms had thick heavy vesicles. Over a few days the whole body was affected - the most painful parts were the anal region, prepuce, palms and soles of the feet. The public started to spread a scare that I had Smallpox. When I would get laid up with illness, the public would suffer, as there was no one else to cover for Surgical work. Recovery took 3 weeks and I had scars all over, including some large ones. My face had few small ones. Actually, in the first 4-5 days, I had hyperpyrexia and the situation was quite serious.
After all of it healed, we went to Ahmedabad where Rema's parents were staying. Rema's parents lived in A1 Sejal Apartments in Navrangpura, on the other side of Sabarmati river. That area was then getting developed - which included IIT, Physical Research Laboratory, University, etc. A1 Sejal was a small one with one main bedroom, drawing room cum dining room, an office room, and an open large veranda. There was an underground large library cum storage room also. Car park was downstairs, immediately after the main gate, on the left side. They had quite a large company of friends, not only in Sejal itself, but all over A'bad, because Rema's father Prof PR Pisharoty was a well known personality not only in A'bad, but all over India and abroad. He was the World Meteorological Organisation President and had authored many research papers. Even Indira Gandhi respected him and Ex President Abdul Kalam adored him - he wrote a condolence note to Droupady his wife after his death (not knowing that she had pre-deceased him).
Vikram Sarabhai was responsible for bringing Pisharoty to Physical Research Laboratory in 1966. They admired each other very much. In 1964-65, Thumba in Kerala was being developed as a rocket launching site. PR Pisharoty used to visit Trivandrum many times and on one visit he came to meet me. At that time, our marriage had been fixed already. He also visited my sister's house once.
Rema has one sister, Dr Jaya Bhat, and one brother, Dr NK Pisharoty, who had taken doctorate in Bioengineering from US. The former is in Bangalore married to Dr MG Bhat, an endoscopic and Laparoscopic surgeon. Narayan is married to Lily and they have 2 children.
Suma was with Rema's parents for 2-3 yrs in A1 Sejal while studying for plus2, and she applied for medicine there itself. She was very bright and got selected very easily. She was there when we returned from UK. Anju and she were bonded tightly and are still so. She was practically looking after Anju in our absence. After passing medicine, Suma got married to her classmate friend Dipesh Shah from there itself. Dipesh was very enterprising and he launched his practice immediately. Both took MD - Suma in Paediatrics and Dipesh in General Medicine. Later they had their own Sreeji Clinic. It is a flourishing hospital because both are friendly and popular. Many Malayali friends are her patients. Suma has one daughter Aloka, now a successful Ophthalmologist - married to a nephrologist in Hyderabad - and son Akash, doing engineering in US, going to get married.
I remember a few friends from A1 Sejal - the opposite house Menons, the Punjabis upstairs, and a few others whose names I forget.
Ramettan - I called Rema's father that and her mother Droupadi chechi - allowed only me to take out his car - a Standard Herald, the original model. We used to move about in that car.
Now we have my niece Renjini, a Paediatrician, married to RV Pisharoty, settled in A'bad. She has a son, a computer expert.
After a stay of about 2 weeks in A'bad, we returned to Vatakara. Soon, Rema was transferred to Kannur district hospital due to the then minister's interest, so I also requested a transfer to Kannur - a little string-pulling was required, but I was successful and we went to Kannur. The municipal council in Vadakara passed a resolution not to transfer me - I was so popular. But it didn't work as it was a request transfer.
We started searching for a house on rent and got one in Chovva Mattannur road. They called that area TAR itta Road! because the main road was tarred only upto that place! We got it through the influence of one Dr Srimathi, a practitioner with a nursing home. The owner was just next door. The well there was very deep and we didn't have a pump. So, our servant Raghavan found it difficult, but persevered. He was a pleasant chap, never complaining. His place was Irikkur. He had mitral stenosis which got operated from Trivandrum medical college through my recommendation by Dr MRS Menon - he was always very grateful. Later, after our UK trip, when we were in a building opposite Maharani Hotel in Calicut, we got a servant Diwakaran who was Raghavan's younger brother.
Back to Kannur again. We got a better house for rent near the hospital, at Kanathur kav Temple. We used downstairs and the owners Purushuettan and Ammuedathi stayed upstairs. Anju was born at that time. My Amma, Kochechi and Padmachechi were with us then. The temple nearby would celebrate an ULSAVAM (festival) once a year, and huge crowds would gather. Our friends in Kannur were Drs Ramachandran (ENT), Mandakini, Kurup and Mrs Gouri Kurup, Gopala Menon and Sethulexmi, PMK Nambiar, Abdul Khader, Gangadharan, Alexander, Thomas Zachariya and many more.
When we were in Kannur 1970 to 1973, we never imagined our daughter will go to Kannur as her in-laws were there! And that too to Cherukunnu, where we had Darsanam along with my mother!
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