Cancer, Christmas, me and you....

Being someone who had been a science student all through her school days, Cancer was not a new term to me when i first met a cancer patient. She was a relative with Blood cancer. I didn't give her much of a thought.

Then in 2004, a lump appeared in my left breast. A quick check up and the doctor feared it might be a cancerous growth. Many sleepless nights and endless trips to the hospital confirmed it otherwise and it was put down as an arbitrary muscle growth. It got solved by itself.

Last month, Papa called up.. "Can you call amma and talk to her?? she just came out of OT" he said in a worried voice. i was like WTF! what happened. Few calls later, i came to know, there had been a cancerous growth in her breast and she had to be operated given her age. But second opinions and second tests revealed it wasn't malign but just a random duct blockage in her mammary gland.

Anyone in Adyar or crossing Adyar would have seen this building once you cross Madhya kailash signal. If not the building, one would have noticed at-least the many number of people sitting scattered in that area. Well it is the Mohandevi Hirachand Nahar Rajasthani Dharmasala situated in the old Cancer Institute Premises at Canal Bank Road, Adyar, Chennai. Started in August 2000 following a request from the Chennai Cancer Institute, it is run by the Sri Matha Trust handled by five retired and experienced Trustees.

The building accommodates around 100 patients  and provides daily food to the patients and their attendants, free of cost. This includes a breakfast and 2 vegetarian meals along with milk twice a day. The trust folks say that a 1000 rupees feeds one patient for a month.

Now why all this??? Well connecting all the above paragraphs it is only sensible to say, Rat wants to help someone in a big way this time. Save for my random acts of kindness, i never tried to do anything big. May be fear may be laziness. But this time my dear friend Java sowed this seed of though in my mind and i have nothing else running in my mind now.

So this is the scene... # Java, Wired, Idlee and Yours truly have joined hands so that we collect a considerable amount by Dec 22, 2009.. the plan is to celebrate the Christmas by helping the patients there with what-ever money we collect... Even a 100 rupees from each of you will be of a great help. Not in Chennai, never a prob.. With pay-pal accounts, account transfers, checks, all can contribute what ever they wish too.

Thinking of doing something bigger?? always you can drop into the Trust anytime and treat the folks with a meal or a dinner. Any kind of help will be a great gesture... Kindly take some time to check the website...

P.S - Twitter handles given so that you can know, that we are real folks and this is a genuine request...
P.S - Look out for this space in upcoming time.. Meet-ups, Sales where the contributions goto this cause all coming up shortly...

Thanks in advance folks..

Missing in action, Ratzzz

And Definitely no one missed me this time.... :-\

on the other hand... this break wasn't planned or purposeful.. it just happened.. to all those who felt that, that my last post was a random tantrum.. u wr absolutely right, NOT!!!! my whole diwali weekend was a disaster.. spent the whole diwali on bed, with heavy migraine... cudnt even drink a draught of water without feeling nauseatic.. got up around 10 pm with a client calling to check my work progress.. yeah right!! puked violently at around midnight and went back to sleep blissfully... sad part, i was so sick to even inform The Boy or in that case my parents back home.. :( next day was okies with me dilly-dallying in bed and having a lunch date with the great girl, Me Myself... but i know so many ppl that i get recognized everywr i go...

At a coffee pub, met atleast dozen who wr like "u are Ratzzz? right??" Grinzzz.. ultimately a friend came to the rescue after that we went "coffee-hopping" :-) food hopping and ice-cream hopping has become a regular event thanks to The Boy and the mentioned friend.. Both are big time foodies... :-)

if i am not on a Holy Grail, then the time is spent writing or sleeping or reading, but never in any order... the grail being the Food here.. chennai never had been better than this...

yet have to decorate my "bachelorette" pad.. DV and Soph are playing there part perfectly, reminding me every day :( only i got no motivation.. all the wall paper and paint are staring at me blankly :(

went for the Save Tada - Clean up trek yday.. was shocked to see so much litter in such a remote place... happily plonked into the pool to clean it all up... separate post later.. never realised that it had so many glass bottles before i woke up today morning... both my legs have cuts and scratches at multiple locations :-| and not to mention a tired body...

230 dustbuster, 2 tons of garbage, enuf blood and cuts... later, we were still raring to go... 

not to forget the various new folks i met... from naughty guys to Down to earth photographers Hari and Makka(Karthik Ramalingam) every one made my day... d trek was as usual super fun with all of us jumping into the pool, without even knowing how to paddle o_O ok no comments abt my non swimmer self :P

Nemesis, my cam had a field day though.. as usual forgot to click the people and concentrated on wild flowers and algae... :P thats that.. tired body needs more sleep as of now..

and hey, yesh!!! on other news, i got PUBLISHED!!!! yay...  i toned down version of my last post.. go check out here ... It is an upcoming Mag and this is our first publication... and ahem! u can be nice and demand a print of the mag... this is a demand on print Magazine... now shoo, off u go to Thebanyantrees... :-)

 The Banyan Trees..

P.S # 1 : Gils.. hate u.. wont talk to u or comment on ur post till u make up for making me cancel my evening plans so as to meet u and not turning up at time :-| no chocolates wont help!!! nor will Vadai!!

P.S # 2 : Speeling and Grammr nazis... off u go.. i turned dyslexic for today... but then again, i am like that only :P