Chapter 72-Bonds and Vagabonds Part One

Note: The following descriptions may require a map of sorts for better readability of this post. 
Below you will find a map of the layout of the RHC. 

I am working on a map of the general area and that will be up soon. 

Jan 1998

This is a good time of the year to be posted in Ramanathpuram. While Pondicherry is usually quite a hot and humid seaside town, the 2-3 months of winter are much more pleasant, helped no doubt by the rains that the retreating monsoons bring to the region at this time. On the odd occasion, cyclones pop up and we had one particularly furious one a few years ago when the Jipmer campus briefly resembled the set of a Jumanji movie.
The mid-afternoon sun, however, continues to be as hot as ever and most of these are spent hiding in the Dorms, getting a much needed siesta after after a tough morning OPD spent in vaccinating kids and gossiping with the village folk. The dorms themselves are pretty plain and functional. The area is notionally divided into 2 sections by a wall that doesn't quite reach the middle and each section has 4 of the iron beds and green mattresses that seem to be the norm in Jipmer MBBS residences. Next to the head end of each cot, above which is a small grilled window, is a smallish 3 section wall cupboard with a single wooden rod for hanging clothes and stethoscopes. Each shelf is occupied by sundry personal stuff and in many cases, cigarettes and quarter bottles of Ramanthpuram's finest spirits. The roof of this building is made of asbestos and gets very, very hot in the day. We suspect this is a deliberate ploy to keep us Interns away from the rooms in the afternoon when all we really want to do is catch our well deserved siesta.

The evenings are a different story.Our main source of entertainment in the evenings is driving around the region with 2 principal aims:
1. To explore the place and check out the surroundings
2. To hunt around for essential supplies, the definition of "essential" varying considerably.

Driving around one day, we come across a big partially dried up river bed, the result of a small dam holding back a lake of sorts. Lake is probably a generous description of the smallish water body formed as a result of this dam but this time of the year, it's full of water. Getting here is a 10 minute drive from the RHC with the last 100 feet or so on a muddy tree lined narrow path. This leads into a clearing from where one can choose to sit and see the sunset across the river with a few beers or go down some rocks and splash in the probably full-of-fungus expanse of water.
We head out one day and spend the evening in this lake and I can feel slime and mud under my feet. I don't know what else I am feeling since the water is really murky but it's good fun and we get back as it's getting dark. The next day I discover that I am not the only one to have grown bits of fungi and everyone seems to be scratching around various body parts. The place is still however, an excellent spot to just sit and chill out. 

Our kitchen runs exclusively on supplies managed and arranged by us. Essentials like eggs, bread and milk can be found here or in the nearby villages but for mostly anything else, the designated Mess Secretary and anyone who's interested board the weekly shopping Van and head off to Pondy. I, on the other hand,head off from the RHC in spirited pursuit of paper wrapped nicotine sticks. Now, the brand that one has got used to is often a vital determinant of success and failure in such matters and I hunt for Gold Flakes (King Size). On leaving the gate, I turn Right and about 100 feet later at a T junction I find a small shack selling tea and Gold Flakes (not King Size). This shop shuts by 7 PM, a point duly noted. I then turn Right and find myself on the main road where a Right turn will lead me to the Pathukannu bridge but to the Left lies the village of Thondamantham. I turn towards the latter and discover a small general store where volia!, I find the treasured sticks. A vital discovery. This is Thondamanatham's only claim to fame.

There are no bars in this place and finding any shop which sells something drinkable is the next mission. On more than a few occassions, some grateful villager has brought some toddy which we have equally gratefully accepted. We also learn, through trial and error that toddy is best consumed in the morning when it's fresh. Not when it has had time to ferment in the fridge. It tastes different, not too bad and makes for a great alternative to the morning tea. Toddy solves the morning issues but stocks have to procured for the evening. So, from Thondamanatham, still in search of a "Wine and Beer Shop", I turn around and head towards the Pathukannu V junction where instead of turning Left towards Ousteri, I take the other arm of the V formed at the junction here and about 500 m down, on the left, spot a sign for another village, Kodapakkam. Just off the road is a shop which sells some alcohol. Nothing fancy, but enough to satisfy underworked Interns too lazy to go shopping in Pondy.
We learn, sometimes the hard way, that it is vital to be aware of the opening and closing times of these shops and shacks. One can, of course, head back to Pondy to stock up at any time of the day or night to stock up but one does cut a rather desperate figure hunting for cigarettes this way and like all smokers in denial, when the stocks run out, we abandon the pretence of the "brand" and get along with whatever is on offer, filter or not. Gold Flakes (not King Size) or Wills or even Charminar will do.
We often travel back and forth from Jipmer, since even barely employed Interns need clean clothes and a change of scenery. However, the traditional route to Ramanthpuram via Ousteri Lake, while very well defined and used, is best avoided at night, especially if one is alone. There have been tales of villagers and farmers stringing lines of wire and rope across the road beside Ousteri lake, a particularly lonely and dark stretch, with the intention of tripping over unsuspecting motorcyclists. This can also be dangerous since the wire/rope can be at head level and may result in serious injury. I have not personally experienced this and I know of no one who has, but it's still not worth the risk. We therefore hunt for alternatives.

It turns out that there are many ways to get to Ramanthpuram. Shyam and I start from Jipmer one evening and turn Right on the main Tindivanam highway. The road is trafficked and single laned, dotted with the odd building and lined by many trees. A few kilometres down, there is a left turn which we duly take and then the road winds around many isolated green fields and patches of barren land before joining the original road just before it hits Ousteri. This is a very pleasant drive, with no traffic at all and just a couple of roadside factories interrupting an otherwise endless view of rural Pondicherry.  Alternatively, one can also turn Right at one spot and then a much smaller back road winds around Ousteri and enters Thondamanatham from the other side. This route, we think is also probably not a good idea at night and this is confirmed one late evening when a tyre punctures and it takes half an hour of hunting to locate a puncture repair shop. Being a Sunday just complicated matters. 
Back at the Ramanthpuram end of things, one exits the RHC and after a short hop across a small canal one reaches the Pathukannu bridge where the road diverges into a V.  The left arm of the V is the road around Ousteri while the right one goes past the village of Kodapakkam and it's booze joint and joins Vilianur, a small village which some massive temples. From here one can take the State Highway, with it's constant traffic and unmarked speedbreakers, or zig-zag through Vilianur and enter Pondy at one end of the 100 feet road at the other end of which lies Muruga Theatre. This Vilianur route is a favoured one when returning at night although on more than a few occassions, I forget the potential dangers of head high wires and ropes and go via Ousteri anyway.
This other arm of the V, past Kodapakkam, is a lovely completely unlit stretch of road and on this road at night, my heart starts beating just slightly faster than normal. It's a deserted but a very cool and silent road and just driving at night under a brilliant rural sky, with only the sound of my 2 stroke Yamaha for company is chicken soup for my soul. After exactly 2-3 minutes, a  small yellow light appears, getting bigger and bigger as I approach Kodapakkam and the Pathukannu bridge. 

This whole area, largely devoid of traffic, noise and shops is only 15 minutes from Pondy but it seems like a completely different world-a world I am blissfully happy to be in.

One night, driving back along this Vilianur Road, with Ravi my co-Intern as pillion, my bike sputters a few times and then stops. My bike, a 2 Stroke Yamaha RXG, is barely 18 months old, has enough petrol and has never given me trouble before and so, standing in the dark, with the RHC at least 10 minutes away and with no way to contact anyone, I can do nothing except try to kick it back to life. Amidst growing uncertainty and the seed of panic, I kick and kick and 50 kicks later, the engine comes back to life. We rush to the RHC before something similar happens and no one there can shed any light as to what might have happened.
The next day Ashley, my ex-room mate decides to drop in and discover that he is also a victim of this unique bike problem no one else seems to know about. He, however has a solution.
When the bike engine stops, take the key out of the ignition, open the petrol tank, count to 3, close it, insert the key back and turn it on. Then kick the starter and it will come back to life. All of this is done while the bike is moving.
The bike problem still happens on and off but Ashley's solution works beautifully and I almost forget that the bike actually does have a problem I should let a mechanic check out.

The Dept of PSM, with it's Senior Residents and Consultants pop in regularly and organize some village meet-ups and projects to keep us occupied. One of these is a reported Cholera/Typhoid outbreak in the area and we will be tasked to find out the point source.
The Pulse Polio program will be starting in a few days and we will be designated to various villages as the drop administrators.
Pongal is approaching and by tradition, the Batch posted at Pongal time will be invited over to the Village Chief's house for dinner.
Dr Rajan, our CMO drops in to the Dorm with some food and a chess board. He finds Reddy for company while we sit around just doing nothing.
A patient walks over and one of us on Call saunter across, unlock the OPD and do whatever needs to be done.
My first salary, all of Rs 2340, is due on the 31st.

6 of us are forming bonds that will be strongest here and will, unfortunately, become looser with time, space and distance.

It's a peaceful existence. But Internship is just starting.