In an academic institution, a large part of progressing through a career is having enough publications to get to the next rung. It’s a battle I was aware of when I joined, but have not been motivated enough to fight well. Maybe I’m not equipped, maybe I’m not a battler, maybe I’m just plain lazy. “Not enough publications” is a yearly ordeal I hear every June as I settle into a stagnant life in my C grade quarters and I find myself unable to remove the Asst. in my designation. This is also an easy excuse for not being allotted a car park at work. But it hasn’t impacted on the joy factor in life thankfully. Only my overall impact…

I have a small balcony garden that has made it to my blog on a couple of occasions. Summers in Vellore are harsh and the plants don’t like it since the sn sun shines directly on this side of the building through most of the day. I usually water the plants in the morning before I go to work. However, there are days when I can’t and by evening a couple of them start to wilt and droop. What surprises me is how they revive soon after I water them in the evening! I tried a time-lapse video over an hour or so and you can see how they perk up: Now there are some downsides. By allowing it to…

The layover trilogy series has 3 parts and must be read in this order:The K terminal layoverThe D terminal layoverThe H terminal layover Dejavu? The return from Kodaikanal was different, yet so similar (Oh! The paradox of it all!) The plan was finalised a few hours before I left. The starting point was Kodaikanal and the destination was Vellore. The first leg was in a taxi and the second leg was a train. The journey had a stopover at a place called Dindigul – lets call this the D terminal. We planned it to be a 20 minute wait after I got off the taxi. It should be OK! The ride down the hills was scenic and beautiful. We stopped…

The layover trilogy series has 3 parts and must be read in this order:The K terminal layoverThe D terminal layoverThe H terminal layover At the outset, it was a complicated but simple plan (Oh! The paradox of it all!!). The starting point was Vellore and the destination was Kodaikanal. This route had a junction called Krishnagiri where I had to change buses. There were dozens of buses for the first leg and a handful for the second. I booked a combo that gave me a one hour ‘layover’ at the famous Krishnagiri T Junction terminal. We’ll call this K terminal. My first bus was a little late and after a short interim halt, I reached Krishnagiri at 10.30 PM. My…

Time certainly flies and I can’t believe that in 2020 I’ll be due for my job confirmation as I would have completed 3 years since doing my DM (Neonatology). This will ensure a permanent career in Neonatology  I’ll have to ensure I tick the correct boxes so the confirmation happens easily. So here is a list of things I’ve done or plan to do. If I don’t get this job confirmation I may need to hunt for a new job across oceans and maybe even over a wall. 1. I got my friends to make a movie about me called DM Benji. My childhood friend played ‘me’ and the guys promised to just call it coincidence that it was released…

You’ll need to know the history of my cajon to understand this wish… and if you don’t, well it’s too long a story to blog.

I looked at my phone today and questioned my existence. I had no Pokemon Go app to explore the world. There were no new friend requests on Facebook. The news was depressing – violence, rape, hatred, disasters and accidents. The internet connection was slow and frustrating. The streaming audio skipped and paused. My friends were last on WhatsApp 8 hours ago – no messages. The filters on Pixlr looked dull and boring now. The battery was down to 20%.As my five year old son threw the ball at me, I ducked and discovered my existence. We ran out of the house together past little lanes to explore the park as we kicked the ball around. Three new kids joined us…

Remember, God looks at your heart …… not at your Facebook profile. So honour Him in all that you do…. not just in all that you post. — Benji (@a2jesus) August 13, 2016

We’ve got a narrow balcony behind our home on the fifth floor. This was my second attempt to grow some plants there – the effort included dropping into a nursery and picking up whatever JJ thought looked good. Pots, some soil, some vermicompost, some accidents and they mostly survived (My previous success rate was 17%). I know one was a rose plant, there were a couple of cacti and the rest were mostly green with one which was a fancy shade of purple.So when a friend dropped in and excitedly said, “Wow you have a desert rose!” She stared at it like it was a pot of gold and said, “This will survive. Water it once a week. Blah blah……

I had to wake up super early this morning to work on a deadline and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. Vellore comes across as a dry, crowded, dusty place and moments like these are a precious reminder that beauty is there – you just have to look for it!