All about Root Canal Treatment

I recently got root canal treatment performed on my upper second left molar tooth. Quite an experience. Though I might share it.

First when my tooth began to hurt more than normal (usually it would on having something cold/hot. I fact it ahd been years since I had chewed anything from that side of my mouth) I went to the dentist at my institute. The fellow administered anesthetic and performed cleaning of the canal and asked me to come back on the day after. That day it was completely ( well almost) painless. The second day, he wanted to fill it in. He did not give any anesthetic and started prodding the area with sticks and pins (felt/looked like that, not sure what). It hurt like hell. He was confused. Said that the x-ray showed roots are cleared, how come I was still getting pain was unexplainable to him. He asked me to come back after 10 days. I couldn't take the risk. It was terribly paining.

So I went to a super speciality dental clinic and met this really efficient dentist. Day 1 he made me open my mouth for 30 odd minutes and cleaned the roots and canals. Probably the first one had left parts of the canal uncleaned. Took X-rays. Gave me pain killers and asked me to come back after 3-4 days. I went back. There was hardly any pain. Second day took a long time. Had to keep my mouth wide open for some 90 minutes. That hurt, but the procedure didn't. Just a few times it hurt like pressure pain, not at all the sensitivity kind of pain which I was feeling before the root canal procedure. This day he didn't even give me anesthetic. The pressure pain kind of continued for some days. He asked me to keep taking painkillers for a couple of days. I did that for two days. Also I kept gurgling my mouth with lukewarm saline water for a few days very frequently. The pain because of the inflammation/tissue damage due to the procedure subsided within at max 4-5 days. Last week I got a temporary crown put in. To take measurements for the permanent crown and file the tooth, I had to keep my mouth open for 30 odd minutes again. I will go back next week to get the permanent crown fixed.




Trust me, the entire procedure is quite bearable, pain is minimal, if not nil. Just that the ordeal of keeping the mouth wide open is a little scary. But you can always talk to your dentist about it.

Good luck

An Ant's Life

R-67 stayed with his fellow red ants in a small hole on balcony of an apartment. Like his friends R-50, R-55, R- 60, he would go out every morning in search of food for the colony. In fact, every member of his colony would venture out each day, at a fixed time in different directions. They would be divided into groups of about four and each group would go food hunting in numerous directions. Only the ailing would be spared.
They worked selflessly for the colony the entire day. No matter what amount of food each member brought in, at the end of the day, the total quantity would be equally distributed among all the colony inhabitants.  There would be absolutely peace and harmony in the colony.
One day, R-67 discovered a strange thing. He realized that he could actually understand what the human beings would be speaking. He was surprised and curious. He called his friends R-55, R-60 to him and asked them to listen to the conversation taking place between two human beings. Unfortunately, they were unable to hear or understand the human language. But they were curious too. So they asked R-67 to listen to the conversation and relay it to them.
R-67 gladly agreed to do so. He explained that the humans were discussing things like how they should only think of themselves. It makes life so much simpler and comfortable for them. R-67 and his friends gave a deep thought to it. They realized that they spend so much of their energy and collect a huge quantity of food for the colony. On the other hand, senior members like R-20, R-24 and others of the same age are unable to carry much food to their colony. Yet, at the end of the day, the amount of food that they get is not a morsel less than what R-67 and his friends get.
Honestly, that is not fair. They decided to break away from this rule. They decided to eat first and then collect the rest for their colony.
They continued doing so for the next few months. Life was so much better for them. Now, they ate more and toiled less. They were happy. No one questioned them directly, but every other member definitely wondered the reason for their sudden good health. Months passed and one fine day, R-67 woke up. He realized that he could now stand on two legs. And strangely, he had developed a well functioning set of hands. He called his father, R-42 to show him. He animatedly showed him his legs and hands. Poor R-42 could not understand a single word that R-67 spoke. He stared at his son helplessly. What was he talking about?
R-67 was too excited to bother. He rushed to his friends R-50, R-55, R-60 and started talking to them. His friends too were like him, excited with the new modifications. They kept on talking excitedly. The other red ants around them were surprised. They could not understand a single word that these red ants spoke. Human language wasn't known to them. R-67 and his friends had turned into humans.

Pujor Golpo (পুজোর গল্প)

ষষ্ঠীর ভোরবেলা। টাক্সি ছুটে চলেছে এয়ারপোর্ট থেকে আনন্দীর যোধপুর পার্ক এর বাড়ীর দিকে। আজ ৫বছর পর সে তার প্রিয় কলকাতায়। চারিদিক কি দারুন সেজে আছে। প্রতিটি বাড়ী নতুন রঙ করা। পার্ক এর রেলিঙ, দোলনা সব কি রঙিন। রাস্তায় লোকজন মর্নিং ওয়াক এ বেরিয়েছে। সকলের মুখে কি সুন্দর হাসি লেগে আছে। সিগনালএ ট্যাক্সিটা দাঁড়াতে ও শুনতে পেল এক বৃদ্ধা আরেক বৃদ্ধা কে বলছে, “জানো আমার এই পুজোতে ভারী আনন্দ, আমার নাতনী আসছে আমার সাথে সপ্তমীর দিন ঠাকুর দেখতে যাবে বলে।’’ ওর মনটা খুশীতে ভরে গেল।

এরপর ট্যাক্সি চলতে লাগলো। ওদের বাড়ির মুখটায় ট্যাক্সি থেকে নেমে গেল। দেখল পাড়ার চায়ের দোকানের ছেলেটা, কি জানি নাম, পল্টু বোধ হয়, একটা নতুন শার্ট প্যান্ট পরে হাসি মুখে দাঁড়িয়ে।ওকে দেখে এগিয়ে এসে বলল “ দিদি ভাল আছ? দেখ আমি নতুন জামা পরেছি। ক্লাব এর কাকুরা আর দাদারা আমায় আর বস্তির সব বাচ্চাদের পুজোয় দুটো করে জামা প্যান্ট দিয়েছে”।

মনটা আর ভরে গেল। সত্যি, এইতো আমাদের সবার খুশীর সময়।

                                                                       

                                                         

Buju

Animals are a favourite with my parents as well as me. So stray cats are always welcome at my home. Once a stray turned pet cat of ours delivered two kittens. To be exact, the date was 2nd January 2009. One of the kittens, a female survived only 13 days. The other one, a male became the apple of our eyes. We named him Buju. He was such a playful creature; always up to some mischief. But one day, he fell into the bucket full of water that had phenyl in it (the maid was wiping the floor) and from that day onwards he became a patient of epilepsy. We took him to the vet, consulted t2 for opinion on his condition, but no medicine could cure him. Although he was not a so called "normal" kitten, yet he understood us perfectly. On days that we would stay at home, either me or my mother, he would be so happy. On those days, after having his food, he would go off to sleep peacefully. And someone rightly said once, to watch a kitten sleep peacefully is one of the best scenes in this world. The days when we would not be at home, he could somehow sense it from our conversations, he would become so restless and would keep pacing down the room. He would get so afraid to stay at home and would make a mess in the room. Either me or my mother would come home and had to clean it. We would get so angry at times, but then Buju was so helpless. He was so dependent on us. He could not eat or drink by himself. We would make him eat from his plate, drink from his saucer. Unlike any normal cat, he could not even drink from his saucer or bowl. I had to feed him milk and water, and sometimes even medicines in the liquid form via a syringe. Buju took up so much of our time. But he was so lovable. Whenever we would be out of home, on returning, when we opened the door, we would find him waiting for us at the doorstep. The poor soul would often go off to sleep while waiting for us.When my mother would be getting ready to go out for work, he would walk all over the floor, on Ma's saree, as if to ask her not to go. His eyes would plead for our company. We tried our best to be with him for as long as we could. We could hardly go out on vacations all three of us together. Either my father or my mother had to stay back to take care of him. We spent sleepless nights over him when he gradually started falling more ill. I would frantically search the internet to see if I could do something to make him feel better. Buju was like family to us. Families with differently abled members would understand our situation. At every moment we would feel bad for him, but our love for him and his reciprocation was a wonderful feeling. He passed away on 18th April, 2011 in the afternoon. I could not bear to see him go. Even when he was dying, I gave him water to drink and he had it from the syringe. He waited for my mother to return home from work. And then he was gone. Buju left us with so many happy memories. We miss him a lot. Even now I have a couple of stray cats at home, but no one can take his place. He was and will always be, THE BEST.

trip to south sikkim (published in The Telegraph on 28th November 2008)

South Sikkim’s solitude
SUCHETANA GUPTA
My favourite holiday

Recently, I visited south Sikkim with my parents. Our first stop from New Jalpaiguri station was the picture-perfect town of Rabangla.The journey was wonderful, with the Teesta giving us company for some time. We reached Rabangla by 3pm, greeted by the beautiful view of the Kanchenjungha, Narsimh, Pandim and Kabru peaks.

Taking in the chill, we climbed up some 450 steps to the local monastery. As evening turned to night, I looked up at the sky to see a huge cluster of glittering stars against the darkness. We soaked in the silence as evening prayers were being offered at the hilltop shrine.

The next day, we travelled to Legship, some 13km from Rabangla. Legship is known for its temple, situated by the river Rangit. Its hanging bridge is another attraction.

We headed for Borong next. On our way, we stopped at the ancient Ralong monastery. Built in the 12th century, it now has a newer building, recently opened as a branch of the Rumtek monastery.

Borong is a hamlet situated amidst greenery. There’s just one hotel there — the lone Wildflower Retreat — which has a few cottages located amidst lush vegetation and wild flowers. The first thing that strikes city slickers at Borong is the absolute silence — broken only by occasional birdcries and the murmur of the breeze blowing through the trees. The aroma of wild flowers fills the air. Our stay in this resort proved to be memorable. The cottages, set against the dramatic peaks, surrounded by greenery, made for a really pretty sight.

We moved to Namchi next — the district headquarter of south Sikkim. The view of the Kanchenjungha from Namchi is splendid — be it at sunrise or sunset. From Namchi, we visited the shrine of Samdruptse, where a 135ft statue of Guru Padmasambhava stands tall against the skyline. The statue is quite a sight in the pristine surroundings. Namchi is fast gearing up to become a tourist hotspot, given the panoramic views of the Kanchenjungha and Samdruptse it offers.

If you’re looking for that perfect week to spend with family in the solitude of the hills, I would strongly suggest south Sikkim.

My Calcutta,my Pujo

It is that time of the year again when the sky is a lovely shade of blue,white fluffy light clouds struggling to stay afloat.Yes,it is autumn,the season of festivities.
The entire city of joy is done up beautifully with brilliant decorations.The mood is such a joyous one.Everywhere there is an air of happiness.People are intentionally lenient on the offenders,there is no temper running high.The city is all decked up for THE pujo.

Durga Puja offers a magnificent grandeur to the city.People dress up in their finest and celebrate.Even the poorest of the poor rag picker girl looks so cute wearing the new dress given to her by the 'parar pujo',her toothless smile is worth a million dollars.
When my driver goes out pandal hopping with his highly shimmering 'silk' saree clad wife and an equally sparkling shirt clad lad,engrossed in his toy gun,they don't look garish.In fact,they look so happy,so good.Even when her sandal strap comes off and she ties them with a safety pin,she doesn't look out of place.
She easily gels with the teenager who's busy ordering ice cream for her grandmother in the car while texting friends with her Galaxy.

This is my city,my Calcutta who's so homely,who embraces one and all,who gives a damn to social status.This is the Pujo in my city where everyone belonging to different strata of the society come together to queue up to appreciate marvellous artwork in the pandals,push and shove in the overcrowded metros,enjoy fuchka and candyfloss.This is my city,my Pujo where friends catch up over endless adda at Maddox Square,where lots of unspoken sweet nothings are exchanged between two pairs of eyes.This is my Pujo where all the jethimas and kakimas and Ma welcome the Goddess with their beautiful 'borondala',where all the dadus and thammas attend the 'pushpanjali' with their grandchildren in tow,where all the tweens participate in antakshari and sit-n-draw competetions,where all the dadas and kakus dance with dhunuchis..
This is MY pujo at MY Calcutta

Teachers' day

Today is 5th September.teachers' day..
The morning started with texting a couple of teachers from college.one of them replied immediately.the other person called up in the evening.i'd called up my favourite teacher,my Biology Sir.every year i give him a call on this day to thank him.he has been a wonderful teacher.he has instilled the love for bio in me.i'm forever grateful to him..
In the evening i spoke to another teacher of mine.and in between,wished the teachers from my school and university on facebook.mailed one from college.
Interacting with teachers brought back so many fond memories..
I'm really fortunate in having had such a fabulous set of teachers.
Thank you to everyone..hope i can live up to your expectations..