Satara ra ra ra

2 weeks down and I'm getting the hang of the fine art of this city.. or so I'd like to imagine. While work undyingly takes away anything resembling daytime and I now find myself getting used to the blue scrubs , it's important to point out what I've learned outside the operation theatre till date :

• My Luck : Remains God's favourite pass time. Sample this. I'm in the pre-op room looking over a case and the phone keeps ringing. Twice I attend it and twice it's for a nurse. I relay the message to her where she is only to be reminded by my superior that I'm not a P.A. and next time such a call comes, tell the guy to call on another line. So naturally, when call 3 comes, I swagger and tell the dude on the other side that I can't bother with his request to go fetch a nurse as I am ( drumbeats) the new anasthesia resident, not some bell boy. Only to be informed by 'dude' that he is the senior surgeon in the hospital and I better do damn well as he pleases OR ELSE. Long story short, I nearly carried the nurse to the phone and I have yet to enter an Ot in which 'dude' is operating.
  
• Respect : It is integral here, unlike what we're so used to 'down unda'. Everything works on the basis of respect. You treat everyone with respect, everyone treats you with respect. Everyone is 'bhai saab' and 'madam' till proven otherwise. Of course, that's hard to get used to inside the OT where I have to call even my senior Pgs as Sir and Madam. But then as surgeon-to-be Shaff pointed out, in first year Pg, we're everyone's slut!!!!
• Tea : I finally understand the whole tea vs coffee battle. Before, it was a no brainer with coffee winnin' hands down anyday. But since coming here, it's become apparent why tea is so hot ( no pun intended ).. the teas are so awesome up here. Even the local 2 rupee vendor tea is at the minimum, cardamo flavoured and great at that !!!! On a day when breakfast has to be given a miss, 2 cupsa chai just do enough to keep me standing and genuflecting till lunch.
• Scary chicks : My dream of reducing the Satara road chicken population has come to naught. Heady prices, lack of time and poor exhaustion work to save their lives. Or mine. I'm not sure, but the last time I walked past a bunch of them, they had their eye on me - and one of them slurped. I swear.
• Sour seeds : Of course, for that I move in different culinary circles . I won't mention a lot more on these high standards I maintain, but yesterday the water melon vendor mentioned that if I didn't have change, he didn't mind as he'd just put it on my tab. In my defence, fruits are good for you, I hear.
• Horrors : Spoilt for choices with movies too, every Sunday finds me and Arjun ( co -PG ) either at M.G. Road or Adlabs across town to watch some movie ( Ekalavya and 300 - bothexcellent cinematography, both slow ), while scarfing momos, the Mc Maharaja burger, the Baskin Robbins alphanso or just.. well, that's the last point in this post, so wait a while. In the mean time, Arjun awaits the opening of the 'bathroom singer' recording booth at Adlabs to make his own album. I'm looking for new ghosts.. I went to the House of Horrors. The ghosts got spooked and ran out !!! ( Ok ok. Ol' joke, but I couldn't resist.)
• Sigh !!! : How can I not mention the goddesses ? In the random surveys I and Arjun have done in our brief travels outside the hospital, we have learned this to be true - there are two types of women in Pune : the goddesses you can take home to mommy and the goddesses you can take home.. and ask "Who's your daddy!!!!" So many times, the urge to just walk up to a girl, hand her a flower and say "this is for being so beautiful. Nothing else. No strings attached" hit the two of us, it was sad. Who knows, we may work up the nerve with time. Till then, we'll suffice with just saying "I don't know about God, but there sure are divine angels on Earth."