27th to 30th January

On 27th visited chamber from 11.45pm-4pm. The following line struck me and therefore placed in blog:
"What pursuades a man to take his gun upon his benefactor? In the case of Rome it was Political power. There is a more troublesome reason now: Ideology."-MJ Akbar.
On 28th visited CGHS dental unit in Safdarjang hospital for Venita's dental check-up. Three phased treatment was recommended. Visited Dental clinic at Sarita Vihar. In chambers from 12.15pm-4pm. Discussed Gurkamal's case with Raj. On 29th went to Center for Sight for check-up of my operated eye. Dr. Gupta has given two eye drops and one capsule and will again check after a month. Neha's article is published in Readers' Digest. Today is Ekadashi and a fasting day for me. On 30th we invited 3 of my colleagues living in the society for lunch. It is on rotational basis. I thought of dissociating myself from the group as we hardly discuss anything worthwhile. Rather we criticize others. Perhaps we are jealous of our colleagues in the service who have been able to achieve something due to their ability and luck.Venita had cooked a delicious sweet dish known as tart.
Retired to sleep at 11pm.

24th to 26th January

On 24th met Bablu in his office.He returned from Finland yesterday. He was quite preoccupied with meetings and could not get time to buy a pair of woolen socks. Instead he bought one from Gurgaon and gave me.Surprisingly I could not get a pair here in Delhi.Visited Ayurvedic CGHS at North Avenue and thereafter CGHS Panadara Road.In chambers from 1.30pm-3.30pm.On 25th visited Center for Sight for check up of eyes by Dr.HP Singh.It was the 2nd check by him after the cataract operation on 30th December 2010.He referred me to Dr.Gupta, a retina specialist.I have taken appointment to see him on 29th.In chambers from 1.45pm-3.30pm. Visited Precision Dental Clinic, Sarita Vihar.On 26th hoisted National flag in the society premises. Visited Atiar's place for a discussion about a case at about 6.30pm to about 8.45pm. The client was also present. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

21st to 23rd JAnuary

On 21st visited Meghalaya House and joined in a lunch on the occasion of Meghalaya day celebration.Met IAS/IPS/IFS officers of the cadre. It was a sunny day.In chambers from 1.15pm-4pm.Went to the Precision Dental Center, Sarita Vihar and later to City X-ray, Tilaknagr, to collect Venita's OPG X-ray report.On 22nd took Venita to CGHS dental unit of Safdarjang hospital.The dental surgeon prepared a plan of treatment for Venita's teeth.Later she visited Snow white in Connaught place.Sheomohan is down with severe cold attack. Dr.Khanna gave him some medicines and I gave him an overcoat which I had bought in London in 1986/87.He did not have a coat,though he was putting on a pullover. Bablu returned from Helsinki today early morning. On 23rd completed morning program with a walk in the morning and evening.The lock of the left rear door of my car is jammed and cannot be opened from inside and has to be opened from outside. Sent it to Maruti workshop, Naraina. Very reluctantly they agreed to repair.But they brought it after repair within one hour. Their driver came to take the car and later returned it after repair. They did not charge any amount for the service. DM Sharma came and discussed the Judgement in his case. Spoke to Atiar to prepare a summary of it in 2 pages.Advised Barun to go to AIIMS on Monday for check-up. It appears he is not quite keen to get him operated in AIIMS. I told him he was absolutely free to decide about it.Most probably he will get operated in Max,Saket. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

20th January

Completed morning program with walk in the afternoon. Visited Ayurvedic CGHS at north avenue.Thereafter visited CGHS Pandara road.In the chambers from 12.30-3.15pm.Gurkamal has appreciated the legal opinion given to him in his case.DM Sharma has won the case for revision of the date of promotion.Bablu went to Helisenki on Tuesday the 18th January.He will be back on 22nd early morning. He has sent a couple of revealing smss from there.The one sent on 17th January is as follows:
"Everything is white here, except the trees. And cold, ofcourse. Zero degrees. But it is not dry as the snow is beginning to melt and mix with the soil to create a muddy slush on the roads. Finnish people prefer dry snow(or when it is really cold, -15C). Very few people on the streets. All roof tops are covered with snow. It snowed last night. I am busy with meetings and ....."
I replied to him, "I am certain, you have carried enough woolens. Keep in touch, communicating your impressions of place and people. What is the time difference between Delhi and Helisenki?"
He sent another sms on 19th January,"I have just boarded a cruise ship. It has a mall inside and it's huge,may be one of the biggest ships. We will be sailing to Stockholm and will stay in the ship till Friday morning when we come back. We leave back Helisenki for now which is snowing and where the lakes are frozen and white.The ship will cut through the ice when it sails.We will however be busy in meetings."
I replied," I went to Stockholm in 1987 and also had an hour long cruise in the Gulf of Bothnia, adjoining North Atlantic ocean, which gave a bird's eyeview of some Baltic states.Do pen down your impressions."
Bablu sent me another sms on 21st January,"Seeing outside the ship window, one does not see water,but ice; the surface is white with sheets of broken ice. The ship has slowly cruised back to Helsinki and now have a full day meeting. Stockholm was much richer and older, but less snow.Sweden has never been ruled while Finland was ruled by Russia and Sweden.But otherwise,Stockholm was like any other European city, with more historical buildings,may be.Finland is three and half hours behind India."
I replied,"During our stay in Stockholm for a week,as stated above, we visited its famous restaurants in lanes,bought a crystal (Stockholm is famous for it),saw Sun shining at 8pm(It is known as land of midnight Sun) and so on so forth.Amma does not remember where she has kept the precious crystal I bought for her in Stockholm.I would further like to add that we were lucky to have an Indian, settled in Sweden,a relation of a colleague in CBI, with his Finnish wife as our guide, who took us round in Stockholm during our stay there."
Retired to sleep at 10.45pm.

13th to 19th January

On 13th it was not that cold.There was sun shine too.Went for a walk in the afternoon.UNICEF called for a donation.Offered Rs.1100/- for 2011.As far as possible I donate this sum every year to UNICEF and the same amount to CRY on their request. Visited RC Meghalaya house. RC Assam house was not available. In chambers from 12.45pm-3.30pm.On 14th completed morning program with a walk in the afternoon.It was quite cold in the morning. Could not enter office as the approach to it was blocked by Police due to the prayer by Muslims in the demolished mosque area at Nizamuddin. Because of this,had to cancel appointment with dental clinic in Sarita Vihar.Large number of people came to offer the prayer on the demolished mosque area. On 15th completed morning program with a good walk in the morning as well as in the evening.Visited Center for Sight for Angiography & OCT of eyes.Only OCT was done and Angiography could not be done due to a snag in the machine. Now it is fixed for 19th.Wanted to go to the office. There was none in the office.All had gone to Sainik Farm, where a party had been organized in honor of two persons of the chamber who got married recently. On 16th Smt. Rashmi Luthra, whose only son died recently, desired to meet me to consult on some matters, probably legal. I promised to meet her as soon as possible.On 17th visited CGHS & collected medicines.In chambers from 12.30pm-3.30pm.Had a conference with Raj & Atiar and finalized a report to the client in USA.On 18th I walked quite slowly in the evening and covered over 4 kilometers in about 50 mins,which I generally cover in 40 mins, as recommended by my cardiologist.Visited PNB & collected the fixed deposits for entry in the Will.Visited CGHS and collected medicines. Visited Safdarjang hospital.On way back home visited Hanuman temple in chanakyapuri area.On 19th completed morning program with a walk in the evening. A gentleman in the society joined me in the walk and was complimenting me for the good work done during my tenure as president for over 6 years.Earlier visited Center for sight.Angiography of the 2 eyes was done.No further surgery is required. Some eye drops are recommended.I have to meet Dr. Hardev Singh who did my cataract operation. I have fixed the appointment with him at 11am on 25th.Retired to sleep at 11pm.

11th and 12th January

On 11th completed morning program with walk in the sunny afternoon. Venita went to Gurgaon after dropping me in the chambers. Bablu is is gone to Chennai/Bangalore for a couple of days. She will put up with Neha and in particular she has gone to play with Babua. Discussed cases with Raj and Kuber. Gave a cheque of Rs.1,500/- to Mahesh. On way back home visited Hanuman temple in Chanakyapuri. On 12th completed morning program and walk in the after noon. It was again a cold day, but not so much. Visited CGHS and collected medicines and approvals. Could not enter Jungpura area due to cordoning of the area by Police. The people were agitating against demolition of an illegal Mosque near Nizamuddin Dargah. Had lunch in car at Lodhi gardens. Sh. Jain a retired scientist joined me in walk in the park. The topics of discussion were corruption and ineptitude of the Govt. in handling various issues.But I told him that we should not be panicky. Some solutions will be found out sooner or later.Could not go to the Dental center due to the blocking of the road up to Ashram chowk. Now I have to go there on 14th at 5pm.
Retired to sleep at 11.15pm.

10th January

Completed morning program & walk in the afternoon.In the last Sunday issue of Indian Express,it was mentioned that too much exposure in cold could cause heart stroke/attack to elders & children.In fact my principal cardiologist advised me not to go out for a walk early in the morning from mid October to mid March.He advised me to go for a walk when the Sun shone.Visited PNB & SBI Vikaspuri and deposited Venita's income tax refund cheque.As the account number mentioned in the refund cheque was of SBI Vikaspuri,PNB returned it.Visited CGHS & collected medicines.I have to submit a claim for over Rs.1000/- for reimbursement.I had to buy these medicines after my cataract operation immediately. I could not take them from the CGHS as it would have taken sometime & these were required immediately. During my next visit I will have to collect forms for the purpose. In chambers from 12.30pm-4pm.During a casual encounter with KTS, he mentioned on inquiry by me that his experience on Palace on Wheels was much better than Alaska Cruise.My batch mate had recommended earlier that I should go on Alaska cruise. Now KTS tells it is nothing compared to journey in Palace on Wheels. I discussed it with my wife. She said Palace on Wheels experience cannot be better that Alaska Cruise. On being asked the reason, she said Palace on Wheels is just living in a 5 star hotel and visiting some tourist spots in Air condition buses with tourist guides.In Alaska cruise you are in the lap of nature. It is an altogether different experience and cannot be compared to journey in Place on Wheels.When I told that I would like to undertake a journey in Palace on Wheels and that each one of us would have to pay Rs.2,00,000/-, she said that she would like to take her share of money on the journey and would rather buy some jewelry. Another journey which is in our itirinary is a visit to Kailash Man Sarovar in 2012.
Retired to sleep at 10.45 pm.

7th to 9th January

On 7th Completed program without walk. It was quite cold today also. Visited Center for Sight for routine check-up after the cataract operation. Now they have recommended angiography of both the eyes. Venita went to Dutta Jewelers shop. In chambers from 1.30-4 pm. Visited Subba's place to give Amolikaa's gift and card to Misti, who is going to London on 10th. Visited Dental center at Sarita Vihar. Dr.Kumar recommended scaling and partial denture to Venita after seeing her teeth. On 8th it was quite a foggy and cold day. Visited Safdarjang hospital to collect endorsements of prescription from Dr.Lalwani and Bansal. Venita visited Dutta Jewelers in Green Park area. At Safdarjang hospital met Dr. Mukesh Verma, who appears to me a prodigy in computers. I have requested him to come to our chamber and give a talk to trainees.
Politicians are not accepting the fact of corruption in public life. They are blaming each other for it. Corruption will never get controlled that way. On 9th spent the day at home reading magazines and newspapers. Read the review of the latest book Sh.MJ Akbar on Pakistan. I noted the following line from the review below:
"Pakistan is in danger of turning into a toxic jelly state that will neither collapse nor stabilize".
Retired to sleep at 10.45 pm.

6th January

Completed morning program. When the sun came out I went for a walk in the afternoon after return from the chambers.It was quite cold today also. Visited PNB for Thapa's work.He is in Nepal on leave from 20th December, for a month. Visited CGHS and collected some medicines. Visited Assam house, but the RC was on leave. Spent 11.30 hours to 14.30 hours in chambers. Discussed Gurkamal case with Raj Kamal. Shanno rang up requested for arrangement of Police band on the date of marriage of Anand. Retired to sleep at 10.15pm.

5th January

Completed morning program without walk. It was again a very cold day today. Visited Precision Dental Center, Sarita Vihar. Again I have to visit the dental center at 6pm on Friday the 7th Jan. In chambers from 1pm-2.30pm. Visited SBI to discuss modalities of taking a car loan. I find that after Bablu takes his Scorpio car to office, Neha is left without transport. In Gurgaon you need a 2nd car and more so when you have a young son to care for.Markets are quite at a distance. So are the hospitals. Babua's school itself requires a transport to go to.I suggested to Bablu to buy a car for Neha. He said that he was still to pay off the EMIs of loan, taken by him for buying his Scorpio.I offered to give him a loan to buy a car for Neha, which he could pay after his EMIs for Scorpio were done with. I have collected data about Santro Xing Car, which I have forwarded to Bablu to peruse.Bablu said that he would discuss with Neha & come back to me.At present Neha is utilizing her father's car which is left at Gurgaon as he has gone to Mumbai with his wife to stay with his elder daughter who is working there. The AGM SBI said that there would not be any difficulty in getting a loan against one of my fixed deposits.But if I wanted to take a car loan it is to be processed and may take about 8-10 days.
I noticed that tea/coffee were not suiting me. I have not taken any tea/coffee today. I now take only Chamomile or Tulsi tea. I am feeling much better after quitting tea/coffee. I recommend it to all to experiment and then decide for themselves. Chamomile tea is a herbal tea and available in the market now, being marketed by Twining.Dr.Khanna also suggested me to restrict taking tea/coffee or completely quit them as they were not conducive to the stomach.
Retired to sleep at 10.45pm.

4th January

Completed the morning program without walk.It was quite cold today also.Visited August Kranti Bhawan & dropped Munna there. He is to appear before the Central information commission on behalf of Cotton Corporation of India.The applicant's petition before the information officer & the appellate authority was rejected.He appealed to the Chief Information Commissioner,who also rejected it after hearing the arguments of Munna. Visited Safdarjang hospital and tried to meet Dr.Bansal for endorsement of my medicines.I was told he was on leave.Visited SBI & discussed car loan.Visited Paras Dyes.Attended chamber from 2pm-4pm.On way back visited Hanuman Temple in Chanakyapuri.
Retired to sleep at 11.15 pm.

3rd January

Completed morning program except walk. I am advised against walk in chilly weather. Visited Meghalaya house and met the Resident Commissioner to update myself with the latest in the state,where I served for a long time. Visited CGHS and spent time in chambers from 12.45pm-4pm. Munna came and had lunch in the chambers. He accompanied me to my residence and stayed with us for the night. We had a long chat about the family. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

29th December'10 to 2nd January'11

On 29th had a long talk with my neighbour Mr.Roy,while both of us were walking.I told him about what care he had to take in regard to his children so that they pick up the right kind of values and are not affected by the general atmosphere wherein they pickup bad habits such as drugs etc.Visited Safdarjang hospital along with Venita.On way to chambers dropped her in the emporia.Mr.SS Sharma dropped in and we had a frank chat for over one & half hour.On 30th could not complete morning program. I reached center for sight at 8.15am & underwent PHACO-PCIOL cataract surgical procedure in left eye. They placed IOL(Teemis I)lens in the left eye. I had to pay an extra sum of Rs.11750 for the lens. It took about 15 minutes for the laser operation.It was almost painless. At the time of fixing of the lens there was sensation of little pain. Neha also joined Venita in the center for sight. One attendant is compulsory. We returned home at about 12am. The whole day I took rest and slept upto 6pm after taking lunch and medicines. At 6.30am I took half tablet Calmpos(5mg) & one tablet of Diamox(250mg)& the same on the 29th night also. These also gave good sleep. In the post operation period I have to avoid touch of water to the operated eye for 3 weeks.However I can continue my daily life as usual. On 31st went to center for sight for checkup as called by them at 8.15.am. Now again I am called after a week.This time we will go to center for sight at Rohini. The center for sight at Safdarjang hospital where cataract operation took place said that we could go to Rohini center also for checkup. It is nearer to our house. A number of friends and relation rang up on the new year's eve as also to inquire about the cataract operation. Bansal rang up and wanted us to join in the New Year celebration on the eve in the society. Venita informed that it was not possible because of my operation.I observed ekadashi fast today. It is safal ekadashi. Slept after the New Year dawned. On 1st skipped walking but completed Pranayam and exercises. It is quite cold. Barun came with his family and had lunch with us. A number of smss came for the New Year greetings. On 2nd spent the day inside home.It was quite cold. Madhurima called from USA.Spoke to Sh.Sood, who had been ticked off by me on 31st December for parking vehicle in front of my vehicle, thereby blocking it and apolozised to him for being harsh to him. Retired to sleep at 11.30pm.