My first update of my post-graduate life....
I landed in Kolkata on 16th of June,2009 to start my course in MS Ophthalmology in Regional Institute of Ophthamology(RIO),Kolkata.I landed a few days earlier than the scheduled start of the academic session to acclimatise myself to kolkata and also to find myself a rented apartment before my course starts.The first few days were terrible with temperatures touching 43 deg C.i seriously felt like running back at that time me being used to the more comfortable temperatures of Bangalore and Mysore.But the weather cooled down a bit due to the rains but the humidity remains the same since that time.Here are a few of the things i thought fit to talk about.I'm sorry if i have indulged into too much details but for the better or for the worse here it is.
I started house hunting and due to the excellent contacts of few of my relatives I found a nice little apartment of 2 bedrooms,attached bathroom and toilet and with a kitchen.Also luckily for me I got two of my colleagues from the medical college as my house-mates.It was also within our budget.The apartment is in Kalighat very near to the famous Kali temple of Kolkata.Its one of the more cleaner and better places of Kolkata.All necessary amenities are available in the neighbourhood although a wee bit expensive when it comes to food and shopping.It is only 15min travel time from my doorstep to the RIO thanks largely to the excellent Metro rail service here in Kolkata.The furnishings of this small little house has already cost me a bomb and my dad poorer by several thousands.Fortunately I hope this is the last of the numerous expenditures and I'll in all probability start getting my stipend from next month onwards making both me and my dad a little more comfortable.Still there are some loose ends to settle which should iron out in the next couple of months..
As regards to my Institute,it is one of the most premier institutes in India in the field of Ophthalmology.It is easily among the top 5 institutes for Ophthalmology in India.It has got the latest equipments including good operating microscopes,YAG lasers,DFA retinal cameras,automated perimetry,automated refaction,Ultrasound machines with biometery,inumerable slit lamps and also the OCT which is a new technology in the field of Ophthalmology.Most instruments(bout 80%) are from the company Carl Zeiss(they are the best).Clinically speaking amazing case load of 300-400 patients a day.I'm posted in the anterior segment,glaucoma and occuloplasty unit.Also fortunately it is also the head of the department's unit.So a typical week consists of one glaucoma/occuloplasty clinic day,2 OPD days,2 major OT days and one minor OT day.daily work timings are 8am to 6pm.I have one 30hr duty per week.But the best part is i'm free on 3 sundays out of 4 in a month.on that one sunday i have to do a 12hr shift at night along with the next day's work.Surgerywise too its excellent.on the two OT days we do 30-80 cataracts per day and that adds up to about 80-120 catatacts per week in my unit alone.also other surgeries like DCR,DCT,tarsoraphy,enucleation,evisceration,socket reconstruction and many smaller procedures are done regularly in the minor OT days.Though for the next one and a half yrs or so i wont be exposed so much into retina and squint surgeries i'm sure the next one and a half yrs are enough to make up for it.
As regards to working conditions it's been very pleasing to work in the RIO this last one month.all the senior pgs and the senior staff have been extremely supportive.Infact i get the feeling that i'm their collegue rather than their inferior in rank.they keep cracking jokes all the time having me in splits often so really having fun here.work is hectic considering the speciality is Ophthalmology which is relatively less busy than other surgical branches but seeing how some of my friends are working in surgical departments elsewhere in the country i should consider myself lucky.I atleast get enough time to grab a good night's sleep on most days unless i'm on emergency duty.I also get most of the sundays off which is a huge plus.the biggest thing suffering is my studies because i come back tired and i'm in no mood to study.though seniors says even they faced this problem during 1st yr and that the studies will improve in 2nd yr.but i dont want to wait until next yr to start studying and want to buck up on that front.also i'm facing a major problem regarding the language Bengali.It's absolutely essential to be conversant in Bengali since most patients dont know hindi and even case discussions in the wards and OPDs happen in Bengali.I cant understand how obstinate ppl are here against learning the national language and also i wonder how they invented a Bengali term for Tarsoraphy:-).
The people here are impressive especially since they seem to be extremely clever and talented.what with half of bollywood and the likes of Amartya Sen,B C Roy,Sushmita Sen,Satyajit Ray,Rabindranath Tagore,Kishore Kumar,Leander Paes,Mahasweta Devi to name a few who hail from West Bengal.they are extremely talkative and use 10 words when they could use only two.they are also extremely stingy and dont spend enough to live keeping with their earning status with even the middle class resorting to dirty food on the steets.Oh and the food.too much potatoes,no vegetables,too much meat and too much sugar sums up the typically varietyless cuisine.they only have bread omlettle and poori-aloo to show as breakfast items.i'm having trouble with the food but a small sacrifice for all the good things i'm getting in return.but yes the sweet department is top notch.the rosagullas,sandesh,theer kadams are mouthwateringly delicious.The city is fine.it isnt as expensive as Bangalore,Chennai,Delhi and Mumbai.food prices are very reasonable.not much night life atleast my schedule doesnt permit me to explore anything as of now.the left govt which has run Bengal since 43yrs arent doing that well.a lot of strikes which start for really silly reasons and which i think is pretty shameful.the city especially central kolkata is filthy as hell.cant imagine these people live in such filth.the lower middle class and the illiterate make up 70% of the city which of course is responsible for the dirty neighbourhoods especially due to the street side food which is quite popular.
So here it is my rather detailed report of my first month in Kolkata.until i update again.ciao.
Raghuraj Hegde
