SCIFREAK

I was at the Gomti Nagar Railway station today, when I saw a commotion at the platform. As I approached the group of people, I saw a man lying unconscious on the platform and a man performing CPR on him. I asked if the person performing CPR was a doctor but he was not. So I stepped in and saw copious froth from his mouth. His pupils were dilated and non responsive to light. I asked everyone to help me roll him to the side, which is recommended to prevent those secretions gett

2025, too, comes to an end. I do this exercise at the end of each year to see how much I've changed. However, I suppose it's not quite right to just look at my yearly progress by comparing the two endpoints of the year, like the two endpoints of a line. What constitutes a year are the ebbs and flows, where every curve has its own significance and lessons to learn. This year, too, was marked by both happiness and sadness. What was different, perhaps, was their percentage and h

I've been thinking about it for a while. It's probably too trivial for others, but not for me. I always found it hard to believe when seeing or hearing instances where people aren't kind. Isn't kindness supposed to be a part of human nature and, hence, easy to practice? Lately, I've been realising that this is not true. Kindness is easier to preach than to practice. Kindness is not limited to sporadic moments of being nice and empathetic to others when you're happy and conten

2024 will always be a special year for me. The amount of personal growth I've experienced in just 365 days is nothing short of phenomenal. I remember the Harsh who entered 2024. I was a solitary being who liked handling every adversity alone. Was it pride or fear? Probably a bit of both. Every month this year showed me a better way to live life. It gradually shaped a realisation that life is better with caring people around you and that it's okay to ask for help. Change never

Growing up, I always took pride in operating like a robot. Emotions felt unnecessary and, quite frankly, a waste of time. 2023 changed that. It stripped me down to my most vulnerable self. Beneath that pretentious, seemingly unaffected 'robot' was a scared child. It all made sense then. My aversion to emotion was, in fact, a cowardly act and not a reflection of who I truly was. It was easier to deal with the lack of affection than to face the pain of abandonment. Interesting

It's been a little over a week since I completed my 1st semester of an engineering degree. As a physician transitioning into biomedical engineering, people often ask me about the motivation behind my leaving the field of medicine. Well, to start with, I never left the field, nor do I intend to. During my MBBS internship, I was taken aback by our inability to cure people of their diseases in so many cases. The pathophysiology of any disease is complex, and it's understandable

Every once in a while, I meet some beautiful humans who give me a glimpse of themselves. These people are busy with their lives most days, but when they do get to interact with random people like me, it's wonderful. Sometimes it's the barber telling me about how much he misses his village. Sometimes it's an autorickshaw driver who would share his love for theatre with me. Other times, it's the owner of that little shop that I used to visit as a kid, ranting about how much the

A year ago, I made a promise to myself. Life, as I knew it, was changing. Different priorities, different challenges, and different people. I did not want to repeat my mistakes. I promised myself, whatever I do, at the end of the year, I had to be someone I was proud of. I wanted to change the narrative. What does it take to be proud of yourself? I tried everything I could. I was desperate. However, I failed at more things than I succeeded. Now, when I look back, despite ever

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