A V Prasanna Gopal

We are all aware of the glorious uncertain ways of life. We have also experienced its twists and turns many times in our lives. And yet, we keep forgetting it. That is human nature. 

He was a dear friend for 50 years. Much more than a dear friend. One who shared life in all its sweet times as well as difficult ones. 

Having come to know that we were in Bangalore for a brief visit, he travelled with his wife last month from his usual place of living at Mysore, to meet us. We had a good time, with other friends in attendance too, exchanging views and catching up with times. He would be usually shuttling between USA, Singapore and India. He was in Mysore at that time. That was enough.

He got a copy of the play "Madhavi" released a few days ago. He remembered that he had not given me a copy of his own collection of poems. He promised it would be sent by courier on the next day. It arrived in Bangalore in three days.

By then it was time for us to proceed to USA. The usual routine after returning to our place and pressing engagements consumed a few days. It was now time to read his collection of poems and give him a feedback.

Today was the time for the biggest twist. He left us today. 

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Early years of 1970s, was a period marked by large expansion in the banking network in India. First round of nationalisation of banks in India in 1969 was followed by opening of large number of branches by these banks allover India. Bank jobs were attractive in the job market and offered a good opportunity for the young men and women looking for employment avenues. All eligible youngsters tried to get into banks and many succeeded. Those were the days of "One Life, One Job and One Spouse". Most of them continued till retirement. Many of them made great advancements in career progression as well. There were graduates from all streams and with all backgrounds.

A V Prasanna Gopal was one of them. He entered the banking industry in the mid-70s and continued till superannuation. He did great as a banker, and trainer. His energy and drive were recognised by the authorities in the bank. Always hardworking and exuding the traits of a good banker, he was liked by one and all. A man with a big heart and willingness to respond to social requirements and human necessities, he was much sought after as a trusted colleague. 

PNB is not a bank with many overseas branches. It is extremely difficult to get opportunities to work in overseas branches. There is severe competition and openings are very few. Prasanna was a automatic choice even in such circumstances and bank used his services at its Hong Kong branch. No need to mention that he did very well there as well. 

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With his friendly approach, great communication skills and varied experience in various banking areas, he was also a natural choice for the role of a trainer in the bank. Bank used his these skills for a trainers role in the bank's training system. First at Nagpur and then at Navi Mumbai, he was a highly successful trainer and very popular among the trainees as well as colleagues in the training system. We had great days working as trainers in parallel channels during those times. 

Two of us from Bangalore (Sri Krishna Kumar, popularly known as KK, was the other) were required to spend a week in Nagpur for job orientation before taking up assignments as Senior Inspectors. Prasanna and his family were in Nagpur at that time. He came to receive us at the airport and took us home instead of the lodging provided to us by the bank. We thought it was a courtesy visit and we would be moving out after sometime. That sometime never came. Prasanna and Smt Soumya kept us for the entire time with them and our movement again was only to the airport to catch the return flight. Such was the affection and love showered on us by the entire family.

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Kalidasa's "Meghadoota" is believed to have originated in the Ramagiri Hills, which is present Ramtek in Maharashtra. Ramtek is about 50 kilo meters from Nagpur. We made a trip to Ramtek during these days and had a wonderful time remembering the great poet, his works and all. The delightful trip had yet another highlight. The transit lunch of "Puliogare" and other items prepared by Smt Soumya consumed below a big banyan tree is remembered even now. The two lovely daughters in the family, Deepti and Divya, have since made big strides in their professional and personal lives. 

Prasanna was a very successful banker, but was much more as a person. The love for music, literature and painting, runs in their family. He had a great collection of music recordings and used to share every day in his WhatsApp groups. 

His collection of poems, "ಮನಃಪಟಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು" (Photo given above) in Kannada language mirrors his and his family's outlook to life, and its pleasures and challenges. It also traces the various stages of life and is like a autobiography. Starting from a tribute to the mother, and moving through early years of married life, bringing up dear daughters and following through with subtle turns in life. There are poems about music, literature, family values and social responsibilities. 

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Thank you, dear Prasanna. For everything. You will be deeply missed.

Dil Ki Dhadkan Suno!

The couple were on their annual health checkup round. It was a once in a year routine that they had picked up some two decades ago, and continued regularly year after year thereon. Going to the designated or chosen hospital in the morning by giving up the day's ritual of consuming the regular morning coffee, waiting in the lines before each of the specified counters for registration, drawing of blood, x-ray, scanning, ECG and so on. There would be a line even before the complimentary breakfast counter (though there was nothing complimentary about it as the payment was included in the checkup package!) after the first blood sample was painfully drawn. They called it fasting blood, when actually the patients were fasting and the blood itself did not know about it. It remained red faced even after breakfast.  

He remembered his younger days sitting or standing before the humble radio and listening to the cricket match commentaries. They were indeed wonderful days when each one listening to the radio could have his own imagination of how things went on in the field, unlike todays television viewing when all the millions watching it would see the same thing, and repeat it with each replay. As soon as the first wicket fell, the excited commentator, V M Chakrapani, Balu Alaganan, Pearson Surita or AFS (Bobby) Talyarkhan or someone of the same group (one never knew whether the excitement was genuine or generated only for the listeners) shouted "Chandra draws first blood for India" and so on. Chandra or Prasanna or Venkat or Bedi would draw many more bloods during the day, but here fortunately it was drawing blood only once more. Luckily, health checkup match itself concluded with just two blood drawings. 

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The long waits at each point ended with a short encounter with the dealing staff, technician or doctor, only to adjourn to the next point. This continued till lunch time. The final halt was with a specialist doctor, who would by then have received the final scoresheet comprising the results of the various components of the checkup. By that time the patient would have run of patience, the dealing staff running out for lunch and the specialist himself or herself exhausted with the dose of work for the day. The last available counter staff member was always ready with a helping touch. "If you are tired and hungry, don't worry. Go and have your lunch. You can go home and relax and come back later in the evening. After all, all the tests are done and it is only consultation left now". 

Now the choice was simple. Get out immediately and get in again in the evening. Or, hold on for another hour or so and finish the final painful encounter and be done with it. At the most, it can be one more stop at the hospital's pharmacy for collecting the new tablets prescribed after the new checkup. It is most likely that the pharmacist will say that some of the prescriptions were not available there, though the prescription is by their own doctors. He may even tell you, if questioned about this anomaly, that he just gave away the last strip to a customer a few minutes ago. You are welcome after two days by which time fresh supplies would have come, he would smilingly tell you. Alternatively, you are free to assume that you are the rightful owner of a rare disorder now, as the pharmacy does not have what you need. If you have the courage, try tell the doctor to first check with their own pharmacy and prescribe items that are available there, to simplify the matters. 

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At the door of the specialists cabin, he wanted to check how his wife would like it to be handled. Long years of married life had taught him that it was always "Heads I win; Tails you lose"  while dealing with wife. Better safe than to be sorry, was the unwritten remedy. "Should we go in?", he asked in the language they used at home, knowing well that the people around would not understand it, as it was not the language frequently spoken in that area. 

Before the wife could respond, the voice from inside the doctor's cabin answered in the same language. "Yes. Please come in. I will go to lunch after attending to you". It was divine intervention as the decision was made by someone else. 

As soon as the couple entered the doctor's cabin, the specialist spoke in the same language. She was smiling as they entered the cabin and seated themselves. 

"We also speak the same language at home. It is my mother tongue too"

"Oh, that is so nice"

"There is a murmur in your heart. Did anyone tell you about it earlier?"

"No doctor. I always wanted someone to hear the "Dhadkan" of my Dil in my younger days. No one did. I am glad you could hear at least now!"

"I didn't hear the Dhadkan. I only heard the Murmur"

"Unfortunately, you are professionally trained only to hear the Murmurs"

They all had a hearty laugh. Then other things relating to the consultation went on. They learnt about "Murmur of the Heart" in detail.

*****

John Milton, considered as one of the greatest English authors, talks of a "Murmur" in his famous sonnet "On His Blindness". When he was confronted with blindness during a part of his life, he wrote that sonnet. "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?. I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent That Murmur, soon replies....." he goes on. 

Milton's Murmur was in his brain and not the heart. 

"Bhanware ki gunjan hai mera dil...." sang Kishore Kumar for Randhir Kapoor and Babita for the Raj Kapoor production film "Kal, Aaaj aur Kal". The film was released in 1971 and the leading pair got married the same year. It is not known whether the murmur in the heart had a role in the events. 

But the "Murmur in the Heart" appears more for medical reasons than otherwise.

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We all know the purpose of having doors in buildings, furniture  and the like. Doors provide space for movement, getting things in and out as and when desired. Doors can also be closed when not in use and thus protect the enclosed space from unwanted interference. "Closed door meeting" indicates that only certain persons are allowed to participate and undesirable ones are kept away. We have automatic doors that open and close using sensors. This has obviated the need to have "doormen", who were once considered a status symbol. There are doors that open both ways, and the ones that open to inside or outside. There are people who spend lavishly on decorated doors for their houses and offices, though the utility value remains the same. 

There have been many inventions about doors, but the Lord appears to have every type of door in human body! As long as each of them are woking perfectly, one doesn't even remember them. With the slightest malfunction of one such door, all troubles start. From swallowing items in the mouth to keeping one's mouth shut when required, each door has to be working optimally for a healthy life. When there are unwanted deposits behind the doors, they do not open fully and thereby result in bringing down the efficiency of the respective parts in their function.

Some of these doors are in the heart. Some are called valves. Heart has chambers. The doors of these chambers keep opening and closing in a rhythm, allowing for blood to fill a chamber, and once filled push it out with force so that it can reach different parts of the body. Sometimes these doors and valves do not work properly. Experts identify many factors for such issues; ageing, life style, disorders from the time of birth itself and so on. When the doors or valves do not open fully and blood flows in the restricted space, it comes out with a hissing noise. A heart murmur is defined as a whooshing, blowing or rasping sound heard during heartbeats. 

Valve Stenosis is such a condition when there is murmur which can be heard by the doctor using a stethoscope. Experts can even identify it without stethoscope in many cases. Doctors classify these stenosis cases as mild, moderate and severe. Severe stenosis diminishes quality of life due to feeling tired with even little exertion. Modren science has provided many surgical interventions to improve the conditions.

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There were many cases of deaths of relatively young in age due to heart issues in and around Hassan in Karnataka recently. Some even went to the extent of blaming it on the vaccination during Covid times. Experts have since clarified that this is not the reason for the deaths. However, there are many sudden deaths when youngsters are working out in Gyms, and many others with apparently no clear reason. 

There is a reluctance on the part of many around us to have a medical checkup and seeking expert advice. It basically stems from the fear that approaching a medical professional leads to even more complications and wasteful expenditure. This approach leads to many more troubles. "Bhavitavyam Bhavatyeva" (whatever is going to happen, will happen!) is not a solution. Heart murmurs can lead to giddiness, fall and even strokes. Timely intervention avoid these dangerous consequences. Strokes result in serious impairment of quality of life and results in many different types of troubles for the person, as well as near and dear ones. 

*****

Listen to the heart! Dil ki Dhadkan Suno. That "Murmur" is not to be ignored.