Rewari locos lucky for movies

Almost all the films that have been shot at Rewari steam locomotive shed, namely Gadar, Veer Zara, Guru, Love Aajkal, and Rang De Basanti, have been runaway hits. The latest movie, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, also gets off to a good start.

The yard at Rewari (Haryana) is the only steam loco shed that remains in the country. A number of block busters have had it in the backdrop and used the Akbar (Shahanshah) loco engine, a WP model steam engine that served the Delhi-Kolkata main line.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was filmed in October 2012 at Rewari, and the adjoining railway colony served as an apt setting for Milkha’s childhood scenes, reports Times of India, July 17, 2013 (picture by Anindya Chattopadhyay).

Rewari is my birth-place; it was once called the metal city known for quality brass utensils; stainless steel utensils were introduced here way back in 1950s by Aggarwal Metal Works; and the district town is still known for its mouth-watering sweets, `barfi’.

All my schooling was completed at Rewari, and even my optometric career started at this place (prior to joining Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, I used to visit Shree Komal Hospital, now known as Dr. S. N. Saxena’s Nursing Home). My father, Lala Chandu Lal, was a self-made, hard-working, and respectable Petition Writer.

Dr. Narendra Kumar

OptometryToday@gmail.com

Where have the footpaths gone?

Sometimes, you do wish to take a stroll in the market with your spouse, or take an outing on foot. But, you have to walk on the road as the footpath is simply disappearing (due to varied reasons, eg, encroachment, `thelewallas’, piling garbage, or construction material etc). Authorities do widen roads to accommodate increased presence of cars, scooters and mo-bikes, but do so by keeping their eyes closed towards the convenience of pedestrians. While mentioning The New Indian Express (June 18, 2013) as the source of accompanying picture, I wish to reiterate that footpaths are an essential walking ground for pedestrians, and authorities would do well to ensure their proper up-keep!

Dr Narendra Kumar

Thanks to Deepika Padukone for starting `chashma’ fever among students

Thanks to Deepika Padukone for starting `chashma’ fever, among new college students, following her `scholar Naina’ role in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Alas, students are doing it just as a fashion statement; it would be great if those who actually need spects because of their weak sight, do it too. In any case, whether glasses are used as a fashion accessory or as corrective eyewearm these need to be selected with care (and your optometrist/ophthalmologist or the dispensing optician can help you out with the proper selection), and need to be properly cared for thereafter…as scratches on lenses not only disturb your vision but also mar the entire look!

Dr. Narendra Kumar

Ophthacare Eye Centre

OptometryToday@gmail.com

Let me remain a child

Happy Birthday Navika

A

Old habits die hard!

Mothers can still be seen applying `kaajal' to both eyes of a child or the eyes of several children with the same `suramchu' (oblivious of the chance of the passage of a disease from one eye to the other).

Innumerable persons can still be found waiting for deterioration of their vision to `counting fingers' level in the mistaken belief of the ripening of their `cataract', as many-a-times they may be suffering from an entirely different ocular ailment (otherwise, too, cataract surgery can now safely be done at any stage of the opacification of the lens inside the eye...in replacement with an intra ocular lens - IOL), and

Almost daily you can come across a person borrowing near vision glasses from someone else who may be a family-member, a friend, or even a co-worker or passer-by (forgetting that refractions mostly differ in two individuals and even in two eyes of the same individual).

Dr. Narendra Kumar

Ophthacare Eye Centre

OptometryToday@gmail.com

Assistive devices

Naki’o, a US dog, who lost all four feet to frostbite, with four prosthetic devices, goes for a run, reports Times of India, April 27, 2013.

Prosthetic assistive devices transform the lives of those suffering from disabilities.

It’s now widely known that the wheel-chair-bound former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Ajit Jogi, is soon likely to walk again with the help of the scientific marvel, the robotic e-legs.

In the case of ocular conditions, the artificial intra ocular lens (IOL) implanted at the time of phakoemulsification procedure of the surgical removal of the cataractous lens negates the use of post-operative unsightly heavy thick plus glasses of yesteryear.

The cosmetic brown soft contact lens provides beautiful matching look to the eye with an opaque/disfigured cornea.

The red X-chrom soft contact lens helps the red-green-colour-deficient person score better on the colour-blindness Ishihara’s book test.

And, the Ptosis Spectacles, with comfortable non-conspicuous nylon thread support/s, effectively lift the drooping upper lid/s in patients suffering from the disease called Ptosis (in cases where the oculo-plastic surgeon decides/advises against surgical intervention).

Dr. Narendra Kumar

OptometryToday@gmail.com