Karmic balancing –2 Doing Root canal treatment

This is Part 2 of the Karma article ....CLICK HERE for PART 1

Being a past life regression therapist, I have a deep understanding of karmic replay. I get to see many suffering people who, in their past lives have done things that have brought the present misery.

Being an Endodontist, the way I do root canal treatment (RCT) for my patients is the karma I am accumulating. And so are the millions of dentists around the world. Common people hardly have the knowledge of how a proper root canal treatment should be done. So a lot of things can be done in the name of root canal treatment, which makes it possible to receive money for the same tooth multiple times.

When root canal treatment is decided for a tooth, many times it is having infection in the bone surrounding the tip of the root. The root canal is harboring millions of bacteria, which produce toxins that go beyond the root into the tissues around and cause dissolving away of bone. When we clean the root canals thoroughly, removing majority of bacteria, and give a leakage proof seal, reparative mechanisms of body take over and deposit the bone that was lost due to infection.

It looks pretty simple.

But there are two things to be considered. One is that all root canals are curved (in the patient’s radiograph, it may look absolutely straight) and the diameter of the canal at the tip of the root is much larger than seen the radiograph. This is because we are seeing just a two dimensional picture of a three dimensional area. When we take a radiograph of an extracted tooth from the other direction, we can verify both these factors.

When a root canal treated tooth fails, if we cut one mm from the root tip and examine under magnification, we get to see that all the canal walls have not been touched, cleaned and properly filled. 

 Once the canals are opened and a little bit of cleaning is done, the healing starts and the patient gets relief from the problems. But if that tooth has to remain in a healed state for the rest of the patient’s life, two factors are needed.

1. The root canal walls, especially at the tip area, should be cleaned thoroughly and filled completely.

2. The tooth structure at the neck of the tooth should be preserved, without cutting off too much of this healthy area. This region acts as a fulcrum during chewing movements and if it is weakened, the tooth will break and then it has to be extracted.

Since all the root canals are curved, these two objectives are fulfilled only with extremely flexible instruments. By using these instruments, we are saving the tooth for a life time, or for at least many many years. This type of instruments, though manufactured (looks like they may stop making them), are not sold by companies, because then they can’t make HUGE profits.

In today’s world, it is all about the balance sheet. The multinationals benefit a lot by selling the root canal instruments that they market vigorously, which are tapered, with more bulk and rigidity.

Advantages of using these instruments

1. Because they are stiff, they do not clean all the canal walls in the deeper areas, as they touch only half or less than half of the circumference. So after some time the lesion recurs and the patient comes back for retreatment. The dentist earns more, the company benefits.

2. These instruments have large taper. So they weaken the neck of the tooth, leading to partial or      complete fracture of the tooth. This necessitates further complicated treatment, or removal of the tooth and implant placement. Result: more money for the dentist and company.

3. As these instruments are rigid, their fracture rate inside the canal is very high. More cutting of the root structure is needed (further weakening the tooth) to remove the fractured instrument. For this work, different sets of instruments and microscopes are a must.

Thus, the dentist is getting more money from the same tooth and the company benefits tremendously.

Too many re-root canal treatments?

I started my endodontic work more than three decades back. I have seen many patients retain root canal treated teeth (treated just once) till their death. Now when I look around, the re- root canal treatments are on an all time high. You can also check among your relatives and friends how many of them had to get re- root canal treatments done recently and how many who got it done once 20- 25  years back are still retaining the tooth. Many patients come back with fractured tooth, even when a cap was also made, after root canal treatment.

But who cares? Dentists are earning more money per tooth, and the companies are laughing all the way to the bank!

With the availability of the flexible instruments, albeit with great difficulty to procure them, at least some patients are getting proper treatment now. Once the company stops their production, then there won’t be anything to compare with.

At the end of all this, what about the karmic debts of the dentists? Just for one patient – how is your karma of doing the root canal treatment affecting his life? Multiply it by the number of patients you do root canal treatment. How many incarnations one has to take to clear all those debts?

Karmic balancing – 1

He is an important person of the village. The main road passes through in front of his house. He doesn’t like the sound of speeding vehicles, so using his power and money, he got two high bumps made a little far from the house on either side. No white paint was applied on them. It caused inconvenience to so many people on two wheelers, cars and loaded trucks, especially at night. The owner of the house was in a position to get this done for his comfort. Do we consider it a serious matter?

It is interesting to see how karma comes back. Strictly speaking, what karmic debt may be there for such an innocuous act? Nothing of significance, right? That is what we think when we consider our karmas. But the fact is that we never get to see the whole picture.

One night, a farmer’s daughter was passing through that road at night on her two wheeler. The sudden high bump was unexpected and she fell down and lost one front tooth. This girl was engaged to be married after a month and because she lost her front tooth, the marriage was cancelled by the boy’s parents.

The girl was heart broken and went into depression, as was her family. Tears were shed in that house every day. They managed to get her a fixed artificial tooth and another boy came forward to marry her, but demanded a high dowry. The parents wanted so much to conduct their daughter’s marriage. The father agreed to give the dowry as he was expecting a good crop from his field that year.

It so happened that there was no rain that year, the crop failed and the father had to take a huge loan to conduct the marriage. Because of that, the girl’s brother, who dreamt of becoming an engineer, couldn’t continue his studies. Seeing a bleak future in front of him, a month after his sister’s marriage, he committed suicide. This plunged his parents into a life time of sorrow and depression.

The act of getting the bump made in front of the house devastated a family. No idea how many other families were affected. In the Universe, action and reaction are always equal and opposite. Nobody escapes the karmic debts and connections.

Time moved on… another life time, different roles. The influential villager was again a man of power. He had a happy family of a loving wife and a brilliant son. This boy was the reincarnation of the boy who had committed suicide. In this life, he became an engineer. On the day of his graduation, he had a big celebration with his friends. While riding back home, he met with an accident and fell unconscious.

He was taken to the hospital, and kept on the ventilator. He never regained consciousness and after five months, decision was made to take him off the ventilator and his body was cremated.

The parents plunged into an abyss of sadness and depression. The father was at a loss to understand why this happened to him. He was a religious and helpful man. A son dying in his youth is the worst thing that can happen to any parent.

The father decided to get a past life regression done and that is when he saw that in a previous life how he got the road bump constructed and that action devastated a family. The boy who committed suicide in that life was born as his son now. He fulfilled his dream of becoming an engineer. He also made his father spend all the money they had lost in the previous life, for his upbringing, education, and hospital expense. Then he just left, throwing his father into the same sadness and depression that he and his family suffered in the previous life because of his present father’s action.

When we do things in life (karma), we see it in a different light. We never get to see the full picture of how our karma is creating ripples. So when the pay back comes, we are thrown off guard. We lament, ‘Why me? I have never done any thing bad to anybody. I am always helping others. God is cruel. We are puppets in the hands of destiny.’

This is far from the truth. God is not sitting up there to mete out punishments. Whatever we experience is all a return of our karmic debts. Now, this return may take one year, a few years, one life time or many life times. By the time we have no clue of our deeds, and to add to that, we don’t get to see the full picture.

We have to remember two things. One is to do anything with total awareness and after thinking deeply. Second is to face any unpleasant situation that comes in life with strength, calmness and a balanced mental attitude.

 Core theme courtesy B K Shivani                                                                                                                                                                        Continued.....CLICK FOR PART 2 

From stretching stomachs to cutting them off -2

This is part 2 of the Article..CLICK HERE FOR PART 1

Once obesity sets in because of over eating, suddenly one day the thought of getting back in shape becomes strong. Although a strict regimen of reducing food quantity gradually and exercising is sure to bring results, there are some instances where this doesn’t work.

 For them, surgical methods are available now.

Bariatric surgery:

Bariatric surgery promotes weight loss by changing the digestive system's anatomy, limiting the amount of food that can be eaten and digested. This helps a person with extreme obesity lose weight. Only after they have tried other methods of losing weight will they be candidates for bariatric surgery, which today is considered a "last resort" for weight loss. It is an option for people who have a body mass index (BMI) above 40, and for people with a body mass index between 35 and 40 who have health problems like type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

The basic principle of bariatric surgery is to restrict food intake and decrease the absorption of food in the stomach and intestines. It alters or interrupts the digestion process so that food is not broken down and absorbed in the usual way. A reduction in the amount of nutrients and calories absorbed enables patients to lose weight and decrease their risk for obesity-related health risks or disorders.

Surgical and post-operative risks

People who have had bariatric surgery need to adhere to a rigorous and lifelong diet and exercise plan to prevent complications and to avoid putting on weight after surgery. In addition, patients may develop excess loose and folded skin that requires further surgery to remove and tighten.

As with all types of surgery, bariatric surgery is associated with risks including internal bleeding, deep vein thrombosis, infections, and pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs). It is estimated that the risk of dying shortly after bariatric surgery is around 1 in 200.

Types of Bariatric surgery

There are three main bariatric surgery procedures that are widely used. These are gastric bypass, gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy.

Gastric bypass is the most commonly used bariatric procedure worldwide. The procedure involves re-routing the digestive system past the stomach in order to promote satiety and suppress hunger.

The gastric band procedure involves having an inflatable band placed around the top portion of the stomach. This creates a smaller stomach pouch, meaning eating less will make a person feel full and satisfy their hunger.

With a sleeve gastrectomy, around 80% of the stomach is removed to create a smaller stomach pouch. This reduces the amount of food that can be consumed.

Recovery time from these procedures varies from patient to patient. But it could take months for a patient to resume their normal daily activities following surgery, and many will have to follow a liquid diet and introduce normal foods slowly.

Life after bariatric surgery

This surgery can lead to long-term vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and patients must have lifelong supplementation as a result. Studies have also suggested that bariatric surgery may increase the risk of other health conditions.

It is generally believed that 80% of people who undergo weight loss surgery will experience weight gain of 10-30 pounds depending upon initial weight loss. It is further believed that 20% of those will relapse to their former weight and possibly gain more as the disease of morbid obesity advances. Remember, the stomach muscles are elastic. You ingest more food, it can enlarge again.

Considering all these factors, the saying ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is truer in this context than in any other. So, what are you waiting for? Take a good look at the food on your plate. Do you really need to eat that much?

Ref:

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/bariatric+surgery

http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Bariatric-Surgery.aspx

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269487.php

http://www.5daypouchtest.com/articles/art001.html

From stretching stomachs to cutting them off -1

You can eat to live or live to eat, the choice is yours. There are many aspects to the latter way of living. When we eat more than our share, we are contributing to the hunger of people who go without food around the world. Then we are making our organs overwork to digest and store the excess food as fat in the body. And every body knows obesity can lead to many chronic diseases.

If we look at the changing social scenario over the years, it is clear that food obsession is definitely on the increase. And the dinner time is getting more and more delayed. At one end of the spectrum, there are people who have their dinner before sunset and at the other end the dinner table is set only after 10 pm.  Sleeping soon after the dinner also leads to diseases.

Stomach has elasticity

Our stomach is elastic in nature. The more we eat, the more it gets stretched. And when we do that as a habit, the size of the stomach increases and then unless we eat the same amount, we feel hungry. This property of stomach also makes it possible to gradually decrease the amount of food consumed and you can come back to a stage when the stomach feels full with the ideal quantity of food you need. But this can’t be achieved overnight.

How are people increasing the size of their stomach? Let’s start from the tea and coffee that is consumed daily. I saw that our tea cups at home hold 125 ml of tea/coffee. 

When we go to have coffee at the Star Bucks, I am amazed at the quantity of coffee people drink. We buy one medium sized cup of coffee and between my husband and me, we find it difficult to finish that. And I see people around having large cups!

                              See multinational's trick to make you consume more and more.

Now this increase in size has invaded homes too. Look at the coffee cup sizes you see in TV programmes. You keep watching that and next time you go the market, you get those huge cups as you think it is the ‘in thing’ now.

During parties and get togethers, when I see the amount of appetizers being gobbled, I really wonder from where the space is created for the huge amount of food that is consumed during the ‘main course’.

                                          

                                          Appetizers- usually one wants to taste all varieties 

Effect on the body

Over time, all these foods that one has consumed shows up in the body as bulging abdomen and obesity. 

Self image is also very important in the social circle. So they start looking for methods to regain the body shape. And most of us want quick fix. But the truth is that only gradual and consistent reduction will be long lasting.

The remedy?

As mentioned earlier, one has to gradually keep reducing the amount of food eaten per meal .Those above forty (or at least fifty) should start eating only salads or fruits (whichever they prefer) for dinner, preferably before sun set. Habit of drinking warm water should be developed, and never reach for that water bottle in the refrigerator!

Exercising is also very crucial for weight reduction. One can choose from yoga, walking, running or aerobics. Determination and persistence are required to achieve the weight reduction, and you are sure to succeed!

Continued.....CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

Losing your lower body?

There are many villages around our city Belgaum and we get workers from the surrounding villages. I used to be astonished at the frequency with which these villagers got hospitalized, went under the surgical knife and got long term medications. Because according to me, they were leading lives closer to nature.

They bring children with many rotten teeth, we feel really sorry to see that. For one thing, they can't eat properly, depriving the body of essential nutrients, stunting the general growth. Secondly, since they cannot chew properly, there is not enough exercise for the jaw muscles, retarding their facial growth, which affects the personality. This is because biscuits and breads are easily available in the shops and kids like to have them, with a preference over the chapatis. These stick to their teeth and they don't have proper brushing habits, leading to dental decay.

But recently I became aware of another serious problem regarding the lower part of the body, which is crippling many and causing constant pain. There was a religious meeting in an adjacent village, about a dozen chairs were arranged for some VIPs to sit in the front. It was expected that the villagers will sit on the floor in front of the dais. To the horror of the organizers, they were told that the local people can't sit on the floor and they had to somehow arrange about 80 chairs immediately. No wonder many of them get arthritis at early age.  I couldn't think of the reason why these sons of the earth couldn't sit on the floor, because we Indians are known to be able to sit in sukhasana and padmasana.

Later when it was time to use the toilet in a house in the village, the reason was clear. You can see for yourselves:

Western seat mounted on a foldable stand


The habit of squatting is disappearing even from the villages! Our grandmothers used to cook sitting on the floor and meals were eaten sitting on the floor. Sleeping on the mats necessitated bending the knees, using the hips and ankle joints. Daily puja were done sitting on the floor.Now we have raised platforms for cooking and doing puja and cots for sleeping.

Another interesting finding was the presence of a chair in a bathroom. Instead of sitting on a low stool and taking bath, now a high level chair is preferred to sit and taking bath. The bucket of water is kept over another stool so that bending is not required to take the water.

At least the Indian toilets needed squatting, but now they are also becoming obsolete. It is good for the hospitals, doctors, medical companies, because there are a lot of knee replacements and hip replacements going on. These joints are never being used in day to day life, so they degenerate and need replacement. I was looking for a maid some time back, a middle aged lady came, and told me, 'I have had a knee replacement, so cannot do anything that needs to sit on the floor. '

In short, people have stopped using the lower half of the body. I wonder whether the Nature will do away with this area of the body for humans during the course of evolution!

Dance Away!

Flowers bloom, to spread beauty and fragrance,

They never brood over the stress they had to

Undergo during the growth.

Candles when lit, pierces darkness,
To brighten the room,

They never complain about ..

The turmoil they underwent

In the making of a candle.

Strife may be a part of life,

Let it be there in the background,

To strengthen you.

Learn to rejoice, to sing and dance,

To celebrate life, every moment. 

From the lotus...

The lotus stands tall and stately, 
It never thought of running away, 
From the mud and dirt. 

It knew the power within, 
That God endowed it with, 
Which could bring out, 
The beauty and fragrance.  

We are all lotuses,  just understand, 
The power within, 
And meet challenges of life, 
With a smile on the lips,
And a song in the heart!

Continuing Reiki miracles….

When I just finished work on my dental patient, a family of husband, wife and son came to discuss about Reiki. They didn’t have much knowledge about Reiki. The wife (35 years) was always tired and found the household chores very strenuous. The inability to look after the needs of her husband and children made her frustrated, leading to angry retorts.

How did you know about Reiki?

Her cousin’s son started getting epileptic seizures from the age of four. It was very distressing for the child and the parents and they did all sorts of treatments till the age of 18. Nothing was working and the boy was going through hell. Then they went to the Reiki Academy in Bangalore (ARTH) and got the Reiki healing done. And the seizures stopped, forever, “as if it never existed”, in her words. Now he is 22 years old. So her cousin invited her to Bangalore to get Reiki healing for her lack of energy.

The husband thought that there may be some Reiki master in Belgaum, searched the net and found me (ARTH, Belgaum). I explained to them about Reiki and how it could help her. Since she had come to my dental clinic and saw the dental chair and equipments, she thought that Reiki healing may be an invasive procedure and was very scared. I told her that I wouldn’t even touch her for the healing.

Absence of energy in all chakras

I checked her energy level at the chakras before the healing and to my surprise, the pendulum remained still in front of every chakra. Usually the pendulum moves in one or two chakras in ordinary people. This was the first instance where the pendulum didn’t move in any of the chakras. I could totally understand her lack of energy. Then I gave her a Reiki healing and I noticed the change in her breathing style, it was longer and more relaxed, during the healing.

A glowing face

When I finished healing, her face opened up with a broad smile. Her face was glowing and she felt very relaxed. I checked the energy level and she and her husband noticed how the pendulum moved in front of all chakras. And she took appointment for the next class to learn Reiki.

The illusion of American dream

 Prelude:

America has very successfully marketed their life style to lure  the best brains from India, especially the IIT graduates. Before getting into the honey trap, it is important to know what will be the scenario thirty years down the lane, of their lives, their parents', grand parents' and the children's fate.
**************         

Our friend came for a dental check up the other day. He was going for one month to USA to his son and daughter-in-law. The son had asked him to get his teeth and eyes checked  before starting the journey. If he develops any tooth or eye problem, it will be very expensive to get the treatment done there. Two of his three sons are in USA and UK. When his third son graduated, the father said," You find a job in India and stay here. Whatever properties we have, I'll give to you." 

With moist eyes, he told us, “At least one son should be there to come to us in an emergency situation.”

IIT- everybody's dream

Whatever the intelligence level of Indian parents, everybody wants their child to study in IITs (Indian institute f Technology). The preparations start right from school. IIT label is a sure shot ticket to USA, according to parents. And they grill it deep into the child's psyche.

In vegetarian families, mothers will feed eggs and non-vegetarian food to children so that they will not have problem when going abroad. Parents, especially mothers go to great lengths to see that the child gets up early morning to start his studies  and keeps an eye to ensure that he/she  hasn't dozed off.

If the child doesn't get into IIT in the first attempt, parents won't think a second time before asking the child to drop a year. Now for one full year the mother is on tenterhooks and on full duty, supervising the studies.

The life after

So the child graduates from  IIT and then he is on the lookout for the  highest paying job, usually joining one which is in no way related to the subject he has studied. And off he goes to the land of milk and honey. Parents are so proud, giving parties and telling their friends of the child's achievements. 

When the grandchild is about to arrive, the parents are called to take care of the baby.

In the US, where the public transport is non-existent, it is nearly impossible to traverse without a car, and parents are usually stuck inside – even more so if it is snowing outside. Talking to the neighbors or passersby is a strict no-no. And so the old couple remains isolated within four walls all day, until the children come home from work, too tired to spend any time with the parents.

I know one or two mothers who refused to go for the delivery of the  second child, having suffered enough the first time. And there are fathers who put their foot down when invited to spend more than a month abroad. 

Depression and sickness

Parents who are too attached to their children (and most Indian parents are) suffer deeply and fall sick because of depression. Once or twice children may  visit them when  they are hospitalized,  but they have busy lives to get back to. 

We know a person who is so sick that every three weeks he needs to be hospitalized. He literally cries when that happens, 'I don't want to go to the hospital.  I just want my kids to be near me".  Alas! That is not possible now.

It was a mistake

In this family of two kids, parents drove into their subconscious mind that they have to go  to America to settle down. And they all pitched in their full effort to make that happen. Now both the kids are well settled in USA, earning  fortunes.

Parents, being alone after retirement, are having a tough time.  Going through depression, they remarked, ‘We think we did a mistake by sending both of them abroad.'

Suffering is not mandatory

Just because your kids are abroad, you need not fall into the abyss of depression, if you are spiritually inclined.

'Why should we expect that children should look after us in old age? Let them lead their lives, and let us spend our time understanding life and its purpose", remarked a father whose only child is well settled in America.

    

 But that is an exception

 Majority of people are not blessed with such a balanced view. So they are in agony. There are many residential colonies where old parents live, the children are all settled abroad, and passing each day is a burden for these old people.

Raising kids in the US

Now, raising children in the USA is an entirely different ballgame. Torn between Indian values and Western culture, trying hard to fit in with their peers, the kids usually go out of control. Indian parents believe in disciplining their kids. In USA, small kids are coached in school to dial '911' if they sense any aggression from the parents. Police will come and the arrest the parents straight away. This is just one of the differences in culture that rips an Indian parent up. Every so often, we come across yet another frustrated parent.

Once during our flight back from USA, a mother with two children was sitting nearby. The boy was jumping and troubling his mother a lot. When we were nearing Mumbai, the mother caught the boy's shoulder, forced him to sit down and said, “Now this is not America. If you don't behave, I  will thrash you". The agony and helplessness in her voice was palpable.   

 ADHD?

 During my Reiki class, a mother cried and told me," Doctor, I have only one son who is nine years old. When we come to India, he is absolutely fine. He is an active child, gets along well with his cousins and plays outdoors. But in the American school, he is diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) and he will not be allowed to sit in the class unless I give him the tablet for ADHD every day. Being a doctor I know its chemical structure is similar to that of  morphine. I am really worried how it will affect my child."

 No boyfriend ?

Our colleague who chose to settle in America had to face another  problem when his daughter turned 13 years. The daughter was brought up with strict Indian values. The father was called to the school one day, where he was advised to show his daughter  to a psychiatrist.

He was shocked," But she  is a normal child."

"She is a teenager now and still doesn't have a boyfriend."

He immediately moved back to India, with family.

Helpless father

 Another father was having sleepless nights as his teenage daughter was being dropped home late in the nights by her boyfriends. On the pretext of granny being seriously ill, he brought the daughter to India. The moment they reached, he tore her passport and threw it away. "You are going to stay with your granny and complete your studies." 

 Living in constant fear.

Many Indians parents live in constant fear that their kids might lose Indian values. On weekends they will wake them up very early, dress them in Indian clothes and take to Chinmaya  mission lectures (or something similar).  Their Indian counterparts have the luxury of sleeping late on weekends.

You lose your children

Raising kids abroad and yet expecting them to have all Indian values is largely an unrealistic expectation in the face of the peer pressure. We know many families where children retort if parents visit them without prior appointment. On losing the spouse, these American settled persons' lives become total hell. One lady was about to commit suicide due to the harsh behavior of her kids, and her sister had to rush to her rescue, taking her to her own house.

 The three generations

     

1.  The generation that migrated to a foreign country may still have attachment and reverence for their parents, but they can't be of help to them in their old age, which hurts them. And when they look at their kids, "American Born confused Desis", they wonder what they have gained by having kids.

 2. The parents back in India are just waiting for their last day, with  unshed tears filling up their hearts.

3. And the children - well, time will tell what type of personalities they develop into. One just have to peep into WhatsApp messages where these ABCDs are proclaiming India as an unworthy place to live in.

One obsession. Three generations doomed.

July 2018

OOps! I was wrong. It is not three generations, but four generations. I have seen that the grand parents of many who have left India are still alive here. In old age, they look forward to the company of their kids (who are retired now), especially when they have to undergo surgeries or if they are bed ridden. But sadly, they have to go to USA to help their children look after the kids, and are not available to their parents.

The Vietnam saga

Vietnam reminded me so much of my native state, Kerala, "The God's own country". The paddy fields lined with coconut trees, jackfruit trees laden with fruits, the canals and boats, it was really nostalgic. We love travelling and roam far and wide, but this visit to Vietnam - THAT WAS ONE TRIP - the brightest spot in my life! Can I pinpoint one reason why it is so? No, no way. There were too many things that made us happy, sad, exhilarated and frustrated, experience peace and wonderment, that made us fall in love with Vietnam and its beautiful, kind people.

                                                           Just like in Kerala.......

My childhood memories

I was a school girl when the Vietnam war happened. The newspapers and magazines carried pictures of violence against Vietnamese people by American soldiers. One particular picture  never left me - two American soldiers taking out the liver of a live Vietnamese man. I recoiled in horror on seeing that picture, my heart bled for those suffering innocent people. While visiting the war museum in Ho Chi Minh, I saw the tunnel where three children hid. They were drawn out by American soldiers, the smallest child ( 6 years old) was disemboweled and the other two stabbed. Oh Humanity, where were thou?

Bye to the past

With all those memories, I was expecting a heavy atmosphere, laden with sadness and depression while landing in Vietnam. To my relief and surprise, the atmosphere was so light, I could sense the peace, joy and grounding of the population. The people were kind and helpful. They are very hard working, with a pleasant countenance always.

We got friendly with a  staff in the tour agency. Vietnam war veterans in America suffered for years, in spite of best medical facilities and psychiatric counselling.  Then how come the Vietnamese people left the trauma and tragedy behind and moved ahead, we asked her.

" Oh, we just leave our past behind and look towards the future and work hard to make dreams come true. We have opened our land and hearts to people from countries that had oppressed us. War is no solution for any problem. Nobody wins in a war. I hope nobody suffers in future like our country suffered." Now, that is real wisdom!

For them, work is worship. Majority of people wake up by 5 am and others by 6 am. In the Ho Chi Minh city of ten million population, there are seven million two wheelers. So you can imagine the sea of two wheelers on the road. But you don't see the impatience as we are used to in India. Patience is a real virtue of these people, I wish to imbibe some of it.

The bus journey

The speed limit for buses in the city is 50 km/hour and in the highways it is 70. We took an overnight sleeper bus ride from Hue to Hoi An. The seats were at the level of the bus floor, and almost totally fully reclinable. When we arrived Hoi An, there was no tiredness at all, which is always there during our overnight bus journeys in India. We concluded that sleeping position on the floor and the slow speed of the bus didn't cause any jerks and it was almost like sleeping on a bed at home.

View inside the bus

Hospitals are hard to see

In Belgaum (which is not a very large city) where we live, when one walks, every five minutes we see a 'Multispecialty' or a 'Super specialty' hospital and all of them are thronged with patients.

In Vietnam, I hardly got to see huge hospitals, when we have traveled almost the entire length of the country. This set me to thinking. Their life is slow paced, they have a proper family life, which is considered a great stress buster. There is no compartmentalization of family life and business. In majority of the cases, the business (whether it is  a shop, hotel, or tour agency) is done in the front portion of their houses.

Many street food vendors are  house wives, trying to generate some extra income. In the evening, you see their kids sitting near them, either helping them, playing or doing homework.

They can squat on the floor for extended periods of time, which is very good for the health of the hip and knee joints. Their food is large bowls of non-vegetarian soup, with a plate heaped with a variety of fresh leaves. We could hardly find obese people there.

Their chairs and stools are so low, so when they sit, it is very close to the ground. I think this definitely keeps the people grounded, apart from the second important factor, making bonsais.

Bonsai galore

In Vietnam, you see bonsas everywhere. It is such a feast to the eyes. Tending to these trees, bringing structure and grooming the growth, must definitely be influencing their mental attitude too.

Agriculture

One of our tour guides who was a war veteran, told us that after the war, Vietnam was subjected to sanctions and trade embargos by much of the western world. There was a severe famine, which took millions of lives.

"We were really hungry, and there was nothing to eat. One family got five kgs of rice a month. A family usually has at least six members and rice is our staple food. So we got down to farming. Now 90% of the population are farmers."

And they have taken long strides in the field of agriculture. Today it is one of the largest exporters of rice, cashew, fruits and many other things.

The bamboo theory

During the day tour by bus and boat in Hue, we had a nice tour guide who was very knowledgeable. He told that there are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is easy for foreign invaders to divide and rule. Remember what happened in India? Chenghis Khan, the 13th century warrior in central Asia who founded the Mongol empire, one of the largest empires in history, tried to overpower Vietnam four times, but he had to retreat. How did it happen?

Vietnam had a clever leader in Minh Mang. He did two things:

1. He told the people that all Vietnamese people originated from same parents. There is the temple of mother of all Vietnamese people, 'Hon Chen' temple, commonly known as Goddess of Vietnam temple, located on the banks of the Perfume river. People from all over Vietnam come here to worship the mother.

2. All school children are taught the 'bamboo theory'. They are given chopsticks and asked to break as many as they can, with their hands, in a given period of time. Whoever breaks maximum number of chopsticks is then given a bundle of chopsticks, tied together. As the child finds it impossible to break the chopsticks bound together, the lesson " United we stand, Divided we fall" is driven deep into their psyche.
The base color of their national flag is red, to remind them that 'We got freedom by shedding our blood. Don't do anything that can take away our freedom."

Street foods

Street food is available everywhere. We had an equivalent of 'pazham pori' ( a Kerala preparation made by deep frying banana sliced covered in batter). The steamed rice cakes with slices of plantain in the center and served with sabudana kheer was awesome.

The street foods are costly as compared to the pricing in good hotels, we just couldn't figure out why.

Coconut candies were delicious. Spring rolls made by wrapping in rice paper and either frying or steaming were worth the try.

Food problem

For vegetarians, Vietnam may turn out a nightmare. Getting a fully vegetarian meal is like walking on thorns, like we suffered every day. But one can manage by doing some homework. Everybody cannot speak English.You got to learn some Vietnamese words and be on your guard when they are cooking.

Beef and pork are widely eaten. In a hotel where we entered for lunch, when we saw huge frogs and snakes in glass boxes (customers can point to whichever they want to eat and it will be cooked and served), we just turned around and fled. They even had rat dishes on their menu.

No milk and milk products

We saw lots of cows and buffaloes during our journey. While talking to our taxi driver/ tour guide, he told they are not milked. Beef they eat and buffaloes are for ploughing the fields. When we told that we drink buffalo milk in India, he was amused and started laughing. Condensed milk tins are available, which they gave us to add to the black coffee.

Marble mountain

The highlight of our journey was the visit to marble mountain . Marble Mountains is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngu Hanh Son ward, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam.These mountains are dotted with caves, several of which have Buddhist pagodas.Marble mountains are of spiritual significance to the Vietnamese, and they were a base for the Viet Cong fighters during the Vietnam war. As you walk through the narrow spaces in the mountain, suddenly you come upon a huge space, with very large statues of Buddha and you are so humbled!

Memorable home stay

Home stay was arranged for us for a day at the Ba Hung Homestay in Binh Hoa Phuoc - Lonh Ho in Vin Long Province. They prepared awesome vegetarian dinner for us and gave cycles to go around the village.

The cabin where we slept

                                          Spent some time at night relaxing on these hammocks

There were many fish in this pond, they will come to the surface and flip when we stand nearby. Got to see mudskippers here for the first time