Interesting plot. Extremely scary to imagine in real life, both as a doctor or as a patient. But greed knows no bounds, and here in the novel, the bad guys aren’t the doctors for sure. In fact they are the victims of false malpractice cases.
I watched it, twice so far, in Hindi with English subtitles. Very good dubbing. Feels very close to the original.
Genre: Horror / Suspense
Maturity Rating: A
Episodes: 10
Review: Excellent watch. Highly recommended. Brilliant cast. Gripping storyline. Picturesque location. Perfect South Indian feel. Parallel narrations beautifully directed. Immersive soundtrack. After a long time, a good Indian thriller! Next favourite in this genre after Kantara movie!
Image Credit: Screenshots from Amazon Prime Video Mobile App
Nor did I cook, neither did I bake. But I did read and still reading Books by Robin Cook and Ate and still eating Cakes! Advantage of the birthday month.
I got lucky; three more Robin Cook Books from the library: Read—Crisis and Reading—Cure and Harmful Intent.
Crisis: Gives an understanding on concierge medical practice along with in depth analysis of a narcissistic personality with interesting courtroom sessions. You get to experience a good balance and dependency between forensic medicine and legal practice. Words etched in memory: Narcissism, Perfidy and Foibles.
And applying the C&C combination to my life so far…
Long back, some ten to maybe twelve years back, I had read the novel, Coma. And then I made it a point to watch the movie. Another movie was Outbreak. Both movies based on Robin Cook Novels by the same name. Excellent plot. Excellent read. Excellent watch. And recently I got the opportunity to read Vital Signs. It was not just a reading experience, but it was an amazing learning experience. It took me back to the five and half years of medical school training and internship days. From anatomy lab to pathology, bacteriology, microbiology to forensic medicine, surgery and more, the novel was a reminder of all those classes and discussions once I had as a medical student. Doesn’t matter which year the book was published; each book is an archival of information that can be of immense significance in the present and the future.
I do not own the book as it is difficult to find Robin Cook novels in the book stores. But I got lucky that it was available in a library I frequently visit. I am glad I read. I hope I get the opportunity to read all the novels authored by Robin Cook.
Thriller + Politics + Geopolitics + Military + Security + Safety + Crime + Technology = All together weaved into an excellent plot is what you get to read in the books above. The Summer House, The First Lady and The President’s Daughter…books by James Patterson. I bought these last year post reading The President Is Missing by James Patterson and it was worth the purchase!
By the time the early 1980s born millennials completed graduation, it was sometime between 2002 to 2005 depending the course/program one had opted for. If a post graduate, then sometime between 2004 to 2008, probably the university life concluded.
2008, a time when post graduates were to apply for jobs and the graduates were to switch their first job or get appraised in their existing jobs.
I completed my Medical Graduation and Internship in 2005 and decided to go ahead with Masters in Clinical Research which got completed in 2008. However, campus placement began in the year 2007. I never got lucky during the campus placement session despite being one of the toppers of the batch. Reason: I wanted something and what was offered was something else. Hence, it was me and job application through various channels; from classified section in the newspaper to various job portals. Thanks to the Internet—it did help us Millennials in more than one way –> from finding jobs, to houses, to friends, to classmates, and in some cases, even soulmates.
I started working in the year 2007. One year before the recession debacle. However, one thing I did right, which if I look back on, has helped me in my professional life, is continuous learning. It helped me adapt and evolve with agility. Besides many other things in life, I am grateful for this aspect in life. However, the process of continuous learning comes at a cost. It is investing in yourself. Sometime after 2015 when there was a little economic stability experienced and there was some hope for better fulfilling job prospects with better packages, but once again the economy was affected, rather infected, this time by a virus. COVID-19 that took another two years of life, and there still are repercussions to be dealt with—some known, some unknown.
Have I earned as much as I invested? Yes, because I am still single with limited responsibilities.
Have I made profits as expected after any investment? Not so much. Reputation-wise, Yes. Monetary, No. Post recession, it does not matter whether the economy is in a good state or not, the jobs now just do not offer as much as was the case earlier plus the rising inflation does not help much.
From my observation on the millennial lives, the impact of recession…
Pros:
Adapt to the constant changes from telecommunications to consumer behaviour.
Evolve to survive.
Learn to be a success story.
Grow to be a better version of yourself.
Expand to have parallel career options. You did not like a job or the way things went at a job or some other reason and you left the job; ok. But there are still bills to be paid. And debt, mortgage and credit card are not permanent solutions. Hence expanding your presence in more than one profession helps in constant flow of income – it cushions the not-so-good-phase in a person’s career graph.
Cons:
Instability; some days rich, some days not-so-rich. Some days affordable, some days credit cards dependency. Some days fighting, some days depressed. Some days with a job, some days struggling to find one.
Insecurity or dealing with insecure people. It is obvious and expected in a constantly changing environment where everyone is struggling to survive.
Failure; dealing with disappointments with a smile. Every job lost or opportunity vanished or client lost is a setback. Overcoming any of these is no joke.
Competition; healthy competition helps you grow. However, unhealthy, which usually is the case, is absolutely depressing especially if you are a person who is not meant for politicking but stuck in a toxic environment.
Aging; you grow old not young with every passing day. Retirement seems too far ahead, but is very close considering the time lost to the ongoing sessions of recessions.
Way Ahead…to each his/her own.
Because the way ahead depends on the choices you have made in every decade of your life. Did you take care of your health – Physical and Financial, or did you ignore health? Did you choose to grow or did you choose to stay static? Did you learn from your mistakes or do you still continue to do so? Many did you and do you questions to be asked and answered.
Professionally, I think I got the chance to grow because I did not rest in the recesses and not let the recession takeover my journey in life.
Sixteen years of experience and counting has resulted in acing various roles, that of a Brand Head, a Corporate Communication Professional, Creative Content Lead, a Journalist and an IT-Project Team Lead.
Presently a Consultant in Marketing Communication, projects majorly revolve around conducting Market Research, understanding Business Intelligence acquired from Data Analytics, setting Business Strategies, drafting Business Models, managing Brand Image, constructing Creative Strategies, crafting Promotional and PR Campaigns—to sum up, Design Thinking with a holistic approach towards Integrated Marketing for Brand Management.
A Medical Graduate from Mumbai and A Qualified Expert in Clinical Research…
A Trained Management Professional from IIM Indore…
An English Literature Postgrad and A Mass Communication Faculty…
…All together adds immense value to the organizations associated with. And with a belief that knowledge, the source of wealth, when shared grows exponentially–the journey in my life to gain and share knowledge continues…
That’s my journey so far. It was not easy at all as I chose horizontal instead of vertical career ascension. I got to learn a lot, but earn, not so much as I was considered a beginner at every job I took, irrespective of the series of qualifications that occupy a significant space on my resume.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Am I successful? Am I rich? Am I doing it right? Am I…??? I am working on the answers to these questions and more. Maybe in the future, I may have answers to a few.
And I don’t have a credit card. Nor do I plan to get one. Nothing against credit cards, but a lot against debts and dependency.
Until next, Just A Thought: Recess is still your time. Life is time and the vice versa. Make the most of it.
That’s the recorded voice, which self-destructs post giving instructions to Ethan Hunt, in the film series Mission Impossible. Or your boss talking to you. One and the same. Which makes you Ethan Hunt. Nothing to be happy about. You too are now supposed to hunt or get hunted. I don’t enjoy either.
Dead Reckoning Part One was interesting. Some scenes, the dangling train ones specifically, were very well directed, acted and shot. Excellent execution. Worth watching on a big screen. And you can’t forget the bike, the jump and the fly towards the train…thanks to Benji’s technical system issues. It is just like any IT department of an organization. When you need it the most, that’s when it stops functioning, and in the worst-case scenario, it crashes completely. What do you do then? Same thing as Ethan Hunt—run or ride or jump or fly or swim or dive or all at once!
Ilsa, she was my favourite character after Julia.
The White Widow is an intriguing character.
Ethan-Luther-Benji make a good team.
And the Entity…hmmm…more to know on the same next year now!
I have tried to summarize #VirginRiver in five hashtags. Yes, Season 5 was worth the wait.
Some new introductions. Some old relations end.
Some new wounds. Some old wounds healed.
Some new spots. Some old spots burnt.
Some new twists. Some old secrets out.
Some new associations. Some old ones renewed.
Some new full moon memories. Some old full moon memories erased.
This time instead of a song, the thoughts that stayed with me were the words of Lydie while discussing life and age in #LittleGirlsTripToTheSpa in Episode 4: Never Gonna Be The Same.
“You know I always felt pressure to hold tightly to my youth. And then, one day, I woke up and I thought – Why am I torturing myself? Everyone gets to be young. But not everyone is lucky to grow old.”
Yes, well said Lydie.
As always, I plan to watch the season for at least twice again!
As a teenager and even as a young adult, I had struggled but fought against the crippling effect of stage fright. Real bad fright…increased heartbeat, uncontrolled knuckle cracking, shivering, anxiousness, and the whole adrenaline rush effect. After years of practice alongside overcoming several mental blocks, and indeed guidance received from the best mentors and trainers throughout my academic and career journey, today addressing any audience on any stage, planned or impromptu, isn’t a problem. If I can conquer this phobia, then anyone can.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. So is the idiom. I had seen one side. And Nanavati School gave me a chance to witness the other side by being one of the judges on the jury panel for the AISM Debate Zonal Round which had participants from the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) Schools, hosted by Nanavati School, Vile Parle, Mumbai on the 18th and 19th of July 2023.
It is only when you have experienced being on the stage, facing a huge audience that you have to address, sensing all eyes on you, memorizing the topic and related content you are expected to focus and speak on while ensuring you make no mistakes, then you would know how relaxed it feels to be on the other side of the stage. As a judge I was relaxed, but eager to learn the ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments presented by the GenZ contestants on the very interesting debate topics.
The topic for Day-1: AISM Debate Zonal Round ISC Section (ISC Grades 11th and 12th contestants) was ‘Virtual Influencers And The So-Called New Age Digital Careers Are A Mirage, Here Today Gone Tomorrow.’ And the Day-2: AISM Debate Zonal Section Junior’s Section (ISCE Grades 9th and 10th contestants) topic was ‘In This Era Of Super-Tech, Our Imagination And Creativity Are Not Just Inspired, But Also Blatantly Plagiarized And Compromised On Privacy.’
Well, I won’t debate here on the topics. Readers can do so in the comment section. It would be interesting to know various diverse views on these topics as technology now is an integral part of our lives.
I am glad and grateful for the opportunity to be on the Jury Panel of the prestigious AISM Debate. Thank you Team – Nanavati School! An excellent host! Congratulations to the winners and every participant, with or without stage fright! Best wishes to the winners for the upcoming AISM Debate Maharashtra Regional Round!
The AISM Event experience hosted by Nanavati School is well described in the words of one the esteemed AISM Judge, Mr. Soumitra Sen, Past President – DDB Mudra Remedy and Present Co-Founder, Thinker, Mentor – Storytellers, “It was a soul churning experience for me. Got to meet a bunch of kids who are being prepared so well by the principal and her team of teachers who are so dedicated to the cause of building lives and careers. I could see that the students of the school are well on their way towards becoming amazing global citizens. The debating competition was also so well organized. Meticulously organized and wonderfully implemented. My interaction during the day filled me up with enthusiasm and energy which I needed to give me the impetus to carry on with my life’s journey. The debating was of a very high standard and the students showed immense maturity while communicating their ideas to their peers. Last but not the least were the well-choreographed and coordinated cultural extravaganza that really took my breath away. All in all, this was an experience that I secretly wish happens to me again and again.”
And what more can I add…well, let’s say this…grass is greener on both sides!
PANORAMAA 