Back from Ecuador

I am back from Ecuador.

 

The image of the country lingering in my mind is that of beautiful high mountains, roads snaking around them, in the middle of round lakes that looked like old mouths of spent  volcanoes. The guidebook does say that the road going down from Quito to Cuenca is lined with old spent volcanoes.

 

Another lingering image is that of so many child workers, cleaning shoes, in workshops, selling by roadside.

And yet another image is of Amerindian persons wearing traditional dresses. I wanted to be photographed with them and discovered to my pleasure that they thought I was kind of exotic and they also wanted a picture with me. So when I took out my camera, they also took out their cameras!

 

Unfortunately, guys pretending to be interested in asking about me, robbed my camera. Without my digital camera, I felt as if I was missing a limb. Fortunately, I had downloaded the pictures on my computer before they robbed it so I have my pictures of Quito, and, my friend Federico had two cameras and he loaned one of those to me in Cuenca.  

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Have I bitten more than I could chew?

 

I mean managing three blogs and writing regularly on all of them, can I really do that? I guess, people will just stop going to a blog once they find that it not updated frequently so it is not a tragedy or something!

 

Any way, I am concentrating mainly on my Hindi blog these days. Rediscovering Hindi is such a pleasure. Perhaps another reason is that people seem to be reading it and occasionally commenting. I tell myself, this may only mean that there are not that many Hindi blogs to choose from and not necessarily that what I write is too interesting. If you are interested in the world of Hindi blogs, take a look at the Chitha Vishwa website that brings together many of them.

My nephew Riju is here in Bologna with us.

Day before yesterday I accompanied him to Venice. I love going to Venice but it was so hot!

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Bomb-Blasts in London - July 2005

Yesterday, when the news of bomb blasts in London came, it suddenly brought back the anguish of 11 september 2001. Except this time, I was safely at home since I had the good fortune of coming back from London a day earlier.

Just twenty four hours earlier, on the 6th July morning, around the timing of the bombings, I had travelled on Hammersmith and city line for going to Liverpool street station, passing through Edgeware road and King's cross. The picture of the geese was clicked a few days ago.

This time, I had also met my nephew Riju, who is studying in London. I hope that he is all right.

 
To see those familiar names of the metro-stations on the BBC's website and the pictures of persons walking in the tunnels after the bomb blasts in the trains was terrible. Actually I have never been too keen on travelling by underground, especially when you have to go one or two levels under ground, because I am claustrophobic, but there is not much choice since it is fastest way to get around in London. However, next time in London, I will be a little afraid of travelling by underground.

11 September 2001 was worse since that day I was supposed to travel to Lebanon while my mother was traveling to Washington.

 

My flights were first diverted to Milan and later I was sent back to Bologna while mummy had been diverted to Canada and for days we had no news about her. 

 

The global village brings with it new forms of terror and anguish.

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Bent Nail Syndrome Among Randy Men

The story first appeared about a week ago in an Italian magazine called "Venerdi" that comes out as Friday supplement of a newspaper. It was quickly picked up by the radio shows and forums in Italy. It is about a disease and it is rare for news about illnesses to get such wide publicity. So much so that people in bars, sipping the morning cappuccinos and caffes, have been reported to smile snidely as they ask each other if they have got the chiodo piegato, or "Bent nail syndrome".

It seems that the northern province of Treviso, close to Venice has the distinction of being the Italian capital of persons affected with this disease. It is also well known among orthopaedic surgeons in USA where it is also called Texas syndrome since it seems to affect the Texans more than any one else.

 

I wonder if it is known in India and what do Indians call it? 

The disease affects middle aged men, between 40 to 60 years old, especially those who are away from home, staying in a hotel for the weekend and especially those who use viagra tablets. The Italian doctor with largest experience about the disease says that it does happens mostly with men who have younger girl friends, who try to impress them that they still have the vigour of younger men and want to try more exciting of kamasutra positions. It usually does not happen with wives since there one tends go for sex by habbit, in the usual positions.

You must have guessed by now, what is this disease! A fracture of the penis. The doctor the news-story said the men affected by this disease, often ask that their wives should not be informed, though it is difficult to hide this condition since the plaster cast on their dicks is not easy to hide!

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