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Living with Multiple Myeloma in Hyderabad , India . Random musings .

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11 years of my journey with Multiple myeloma, a memoir !

Life would have been monotonous if not for multiple myeloma. It has been a life changing experience that has changed me for the better.

It’s been a fantastic journey during the last 11 years. After my treatment at a corporate hospital , my life was filled with lots of events , experimenting with different Complementary and alternative remedies, meeting angels in human form, my spiritual quests, life lessons i learned , getting to understand the laws of nature , and pursuing my passions.

It is all about the power of hope , faith, and willpower.

It’s all there in my memoir.

Here is the link to my book :

https://amzn.to/3CjOBUl

I had this strong wish to share all that I learned during the last 11 years while managing Multiple Myeloma. My wish manifested, and I hope the contents of the book will help others to lead a better life.

This book is to inspire patients and their caregivers to help each other during the healing process.


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Emotions, Hypothalamus, and Health

Our mind is constantly churning out different thoughts all the while, during waking and sleeping state too. Every thought is invariably accompanied by an emotion.

For the last few months, I have been pondering on the what , how and why of ‘Emotions’.

Emotions like fear, anger, guilt, envy, doubt, and greed are negative emotions, whereas happiness, affection, love, gratitude, confidence, contentment, peace,compassion are some of the positive emotions. Positive emotions are what nature intended us to have.

Here is what I learned from all the research that I had been doing.

The creator has created humans full of love. However, as we grow up ,due to different factors, love gets distorted.

We get carried away by these distorted and unnatural emotions.

Our body consists of 5 sense organs, different internal organs ,bones, muscle ,endocrine glands , arteries, nerves and skin. All the diseases that a human experiences are in these body parts. All modern healing methods concentrate on healing these body parts .

Now ,let’s see where the mind and the thoughts reside. It is usually assumed that thoughts are generated by the brain. This is not so, the mind exists all around the body and the brain is like a receiver, like a radio that tunes into the various frequencies. The brain processes these thoughts and sends instructions to various parts of the body. The brain takes inputs from the 5 sense organs and all the nerves running throughout the body.

Now, let’s see what is inside the brain. The brain consists of neurons, which are the main cells responsible for processing the inputs from the mind and the nervous system.

The brain also houses some of the most important glands like hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal glands. Of these, the hypothalamus is supposed to be the queen of the glands. These glands produce ‘feel good hormones’ or ‘happy hormones’. Hormones are actually certain types of chemicals. There are other glands in other parts of the body, like thyroid, adrenaline, pancreas, etc, which control various body functions. These glands are called endocrine glands.

We come across many posts on social media and other sources about how exercise, spending time in nature, laughing , meditation, etc, help in reducing stress, thereby increasing the secretion of these happy hormones.

However, not many are aware that our thoughts have an effect on the secretion of these hormones.

Every thought, along with its emotion, is received by the hypothalamus, which checks if the emotion is positive or negative. Hypothalamus produces dopamine, which is a ‘feel good hormone’. Depending on the type of emotion, the hypothalamus instructs the pituitary gland to produce other hormones. The Pituitary gland also controls other endocrine glands. The pineal gland produces serotonin hormone, which helps in controlling our mood and sleep patterns.

Positive thoughts and emotions are followed by the release of positive hormones like serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin. Negative emotions lead to stress due to which a hormone called Cortisol is released by the Adrenalin gland. Cortisol increases blood pressure and sugar levels in the body. High amounts of Cortisol in the body also affects the immune system in the body.

The creator has ensured that all the hormones are in balance as long as one has positive thoughts.

Now that we know how important it is to take care of what we are thinking, let’s observe our thoughts and manage them in such a way that we always have positive thoughts.

For the sake of our health , let’s get rid of anger, frustration, greed, envy, fear , doubts etc and be more grateful, compassionate, forgiving , affectionate and full of joy. We dont want our body to suffer because of our wrong thoughts.

That’s the whole connection between our thoughts/emotions and the Hypothalamus which in turn is crucial to our welbeing.

Let’s accept people , forgive others, forgive ourselves, ask for forgiveness, share whatever is possible, see the good in others , ignore the faults of others , enjoy the little pleasures in life, do not compare with others , bless everyone so as to be at peace and help our Hypothalamus to be happy and healthy so as to secrete more happy hormones 🙂

Continue your exercise regimen, diet, spend time in nature , laugh, and meditate, too.

Think the right way and heal yourself !


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Lord Ganesha and obstacles in our life..what’s the connection

Everyone comes across obstacles in their lives. In spite of many attempts, some of the tasks that we undertake or propose to complete remain unfinished. We face several hurdles, and the activities get post poned.

During such situations, our elders and wise men suggest that we worship Lord Ganesha.

Lord Ganesha is loved by people of all ages. Ganesh Chathurthi festival is celebrated with a lot of festivity. Different and creative forms of Ganesha can be seen during this festival.

There are several ways to interpret the form of Ganesha and the meaning behind them.

Hoeever, I always wondered as to why one worships Lord Ganesha or Lord Vighneshwara for clearing all the obstacles in whatever we undertake. ‘Vighna’ in sanskrit is obstacles, and ‘ishwara’ is Lord. As per Hindu custome ,during pujas, we first worship Lord Ganesha and then worship other God’s.

While trying to understand the concept of Ganesha ,I seriously pondered over the story of how Lord Shiva cuts the head of Ganesha when he refuses to permit him to go inside the house. Parvati devi ,the consort of Lord Shiva ,creates a boy using the dirt from her body and infuses life in him.This boy Ganesha is a conscious being and is blessed with free will too. Maa Parvati tells the boy to guard the main door and not permit anyone inside the house as she is taking a bath.

What i understand from this is that all creation is created by Maa Parvati, also called ‘Shakti’. Shakti is the power that creates all living and non-living things in the universe ,including the planets, the stars, the mountains, rivers,trees, animals ,insects, and humans. The creative principle of the Supreme is worshipped in the female form of Shakti, and the consciousness principle is worshipped in the male form of Lord Shiva.

Humans are the only animals that are blessed with consciousness and free will.

This boy Ganesha did not recognize Lord Shiva, who is the Supreme consciousness because of his ego and doesn’t permit him to go inside the house. The boy thinks that he is the most powerful. This is unacceptable to Lord Shiva and cuts off his head and replaces with the head of an elephant. An elephant has a big head, which symbolically implies being wise or intelligent.

The story is trying to convey that when we do not recognize the power of the Supreme Almighty and assume that we are all powerful, we will be punished. The punishment may also be in the form of all the hurdles that we come across in our day to day life.

When we worship Ganesha, we let go of our ego , become humble, and accept that there is a higher power, which is also present in everyone , in every being and everywhere. This Supreme consciousness knows what is best for us and also helps us in overcoming the obstacles in our lives.

Jai Ganesha !


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In search of Desi/Native cows..drive to the outskirts of Hyderabad

Please skip reading this post if you find this topic gross.

I have been growing plants using organic products for many years. I do not use any chemical fertilizers. Food grown using organic products is tasty, has more nutrients, and is free of poisonous pesticides. Whatever little i grow, I wish to grow organically.

I prepare pesticides at home using garlic,ginger,green chillies, asafoetida, turmeric powder, soap nuts etc. I sprinkle wood ash on pests. I use neem oil too to get rid of pests.

At times, I also buy natural pesticides and fertilizers like jeevamrutham, Ghana jeevamrutham,panchagavya, agniastram, etc. These are made with Desi cow products like urine, manure ,jaggery, Chana powder, etc. However, they are very expensive.

I also prepare compost using kitchen waste and dry/green leaves from the garden itself. This is an excellent fertiliser that takes two to three months to decompose.

Epsom salt and karanji powder also help in fertilizing the soil, and i add these once a month.

LAB, which is Lactic Acid Bacteria, helps in improving the fertility of the soil. I prepare LAB at home using rice water and cow milk.

Goat manure is now available in few stores which i add once in a while. This is expensive.

Desi cow manure is an excellent organic fertilizer but very difficult to find. ‘Desi’ means ‘local’ or ‘native’. I had this strong wish to procure Desi cow manure. Desi cow manure is the best fertiliser as it contains all the microorganisms that help extract minerals from the soil and provide them to the roots of the plants.

Plants, in turn, feed sugar to these microorganisms. They are in a symbiotic relationship. Isn’t this interesting. Only Desi cows have all such microorganisms in their gut.

A few years ago, I saw Desi cows in the outskirts of our city and decided to go in search of them. So, mom and I went with our driver.

As we approached a village ,we saw a cow and a calf in a shed. The cow was brown in colour.I was excited that we found a desi cow. But Srinu ,our driver, told us that it is not a desi cow but a jersey cow. It is easy to get confused between the two unless one knows the differences between a Desi cow and a hybrid cow. I looked at it once again and saw that it did not have a hump. The back was flat. I was disappointed.

We then came across a few cows grazing in the open. We looked around to see if a cowherd or a shed was nearby. We found a farm house with a shed. We drove closer to the farmhouse and met the watchman there and asked if they sold Cow manure. They did not have any dry manure and told us that they had applied all the dry manure in the fields. They had wet manure, which is no good.

We started driving further. We came across several farmhouses, cricket grounds , a few houses here and there.

We then came across big shed with several buffaloes resting. We drove closer and saw a few native cows. We saw the caretaker in deep sleep under a neem tree. We decided to go ahead with buffalo manure. It was lunchtime, and we were hungry. We decided to have lunch and hoped the caretaker would wake up. We packed lunch for the trip. The guy woke up and refused to give us the manure and told us to talk to the owners. We decided to look a little further.

Very soon, we saw lots of Native cows grazing freely. Native cows are always allowed to graze freely in the open. We drove closer and saw one guy lying under a huge tree. We saw a huge shed further up and started driving towards it. We saw another guy guiding the cows. Srinu signaled this guy to come near us. He then told him our requirements. This guy then signaled to the guy under the tree almost 200 meters from where we were.

That guy came, and Srinu discussed everything, including the price. Very soon, three bags were filled with dry manure and loaded in the car dikki. Meanwhile, we asked him a lot of questions about the cows. They looked very different from the native cows that are usually found here. Their horns were huge and thick , and their faces were short. Learned that they are kankrej cows from Gujarat,that they give 3,4,5 or 6 litres of milk per day, that one liter is sold for Rs 100.

Here are a couple of videos from the location.

Finally ,I successfully managed to get hold of Native cow manure.

Hope to revamp my garden with the best natural ferliser and reap good harvests.

Enjoyed the long drive out of the city and got some fresh air too.

I always look forward to such long drives, which energizes me.


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My symptoms before being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma

I was anemic since my teens. I always felt weak, and whenever I met a physician , I was advised to take a course of iron supplements as my Hb levels were always below normal.

My immunity was always very low, and I frequently caught a sore throat infection. Every few months, there was an episode. I was prescribed antibiotics every time.

Over the years ,I started having severe asthma attacks every time I had a sore throat infection. I had to depend on a nebulizer to clear my lungs.

During my early 40s , I began having severe pain in my feet as soon as I woke up. It was getting difficult to walk for a while before I felt comfortable to start preparing for the day.

I was 43 when I slipped down the stairs and suffered L5 compression fracture.

Very soon, I started having chills, and I got admitted to a corporate hospital. I was then diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

I have written a memoir about my diagnosis 11 years ago and how I overcame it and now leading a normal life.

If you are interested in knowing more , get your copy here:

During my journey ,I received help and guidance from several people who are god send. My wish to share my experience with others who might benefit is now fulfilled.

Change your thoughts and help your body to heal.

Take Care !


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Seasons in India , Offering to Dieties and Health

India is blessed with spring , summer, monsoon, and winter for equal duration every year.

Indian festivals, along with their traditions and customs, are entwined with health and eating healthy food, which is prepared with the ingredients available during the season. The food is called ‘prasadam’, which is first offered to the dieties on festivals and then eaten by all. These festivals coincide with the change of season , the phase of the moon , transitioning o the sun fro the south t the north or north t the south. During these change, the human body too undergoes some changes and is susceptible to diseases. Eating the right foodshelpsp the body during such times and avoid falling sick.

Panakam , Ugadi Pachchadi , Kudumulu are some of the offerings to Hindu dieties during specific festivals. These are mostly prepared in the Telugu states of India. Every Telugu home prepares these. Similarly, every state or region in India has their own set of offerings that are offered to the dieties during festivals.

Ugadi Pachhadi :

Telugu New Year is celebrated as ‘Ugadi’ and the date coincides with the onset of Summer. The offering to God is prepared using ingredients with six different tastes. This is called ‘Ugadi Pachhadi’. The six flavours are Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent and spicy. The ingredients used are jaggery, salt, tamarind juice, neem flower, raw mango and pepper powder. All these ingredients are mixed and taken as prasadam after offering to the dieties. The taste is delicious if prepared with the correct proportions. Each of these ingredients has its own health benefits.Raw mango and neem flower are available only during this season and that makes the prasadam very special.

Panakam :

Panakam is a jaggery drink made as prasadam for the’Sri Rama Navami’ festival, which falls nine days after ‘Ugadi’. This, too, is a very delicious drink prepared with jaggery , water, pepper powder, holy basil leaves , cardamom, and a few drops of lemon juice ( optional). This drink is offered to Lord Rama , Sita , Lakshman, and Hanuman on this day. Again, all the ingredients help the body transition from winter to summer.

Kudumulu :

‘Vinayaka Chavithi’ is celebrated by worshipping ‘Lord Ganesha’ , the remover of Obstacles. ‘Kudumulu’ are prepared on this day and offered to the diety made with clay. ‘Kudumulu’ come in different varieties . Basically prepared with Rice powder and jaggery which are mixed well by adding water. The dough is shapped into balls and steamed. This festivals coincides with the onset of monsoons. Steamed food helps the body in transitioning from summer to the rainy season.

Nuvvula Laddu or Til Ke Laddu :

This is made with Sesame seeds and jaggery which are powdered and mixed well to form round balls. ‘Sankranti’ is a harvest festival that coincides with the Sun transitioning from south to north. This is winter season in India. Seasame seeds generate heat in the body and hence consumed to keep the body warm.

It is our responsibility to incorporate these customs into our lives and hand over these healthy food recipes to the next generations.


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What should we bless and why. Blessing and Healing.

What is a blessing ?

A good thought for the good of others, to wish well for others, to be happy when others are happy , to accept people as they are, and not see any intention in their behaviour is what constitutes a blessing. Unless we forgive and forget what others seem to have done to us we cannot bless. Also, it is very important to love and accept yourself too before you can bless others. Forgive yourself and start fresh.

Why should we bless ?

When we bless ,we are sending a message to the universe that all is well. Only when we feel the abundance does the universe provides us more. Complaining and dissatisfaction leads to further lack in life. This is how the universe works. Visualise all good around you and all good happening to you , and you will be blessed with more.

Your relationships may be bad, your work may be unsatisfactory, you may be suffering with ill health , however continue to bless with your choicest blessings and soon you will attract what you blessed.

Not just blessing by using thoughts , thoughts should be followed by emotions. We have to genuinely feel the positive emotions while blessing. Bless with a lot of love and truly feel the emotions. Mere thoughts will do no good ,but it is a good way to start.

Positive emotions create happy hormones by the glands that help the body heal.

We don’t lose anything by blessing others ,we stand to gain.

What ,who or how should we bless ?

Bless the people who work for you. Bless all those who make your life comfortable, your employees, your driver, your household etc.

Bless your place of work and the facilities,infrastructure. Bless your colleagues. Bless the work you do.

Bless your relationships. Your family, neighbour’s, friends  , relatives.

Bless the electrician, carpenter , plumber, municipal workers ,vegetable vendor, the courier boy who are providing all the comforts.

Bless your sources of income.

Bless your body , all the parts of the body, the different organs that carry out different tasks without our intervention.

Bless all the wise people who guide you and inspire you during your bad times.

Bless the sun, the moon,the planets, the stars.

Bless Mother earth for all the beauty and resources that she provides , like the mountains, the oceans, the forests, the seasons, the flowers ,the fruits..

Bless the food that you eat everyday. Bless all the farmers who grew the food and cooked the food for you.

Bless your place of stay, your home, your heaven.

Bless all the technology which makes our life so much easier like the electronic appliances that we use, the communication equipment, the transport vehicles etc

So, let’s start blessing and experience the shower of blessings from the creator of this universe.

Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavanthu !!


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How to reduce unnecessary thoughts and be in the present moment

I continue to listen to spiritual knowledge and talks by wise people on various topics.

After many such sessions , I now seem to have a solution to stop all the unnecessary thoughts that keep bombarding with each other in our head.

Usually we are constantly observing what others say, we try to decipher what they are actually trying to say but say something else, we try to counter what others say, we comment on what others do, we recall some old stuff that happenned long ago, we plan our next move , we are unable to let go , unable to forgive others and so on…

Most thoughts revolve around such unnecessary stuff which blocks our creativity, creates stress and anxiety and leads to disease. Our innate nature doesnt like these thoughts but we get stuck and unble to get out of the non-stop chatter in our head.

I have finally found a few ways to handle our mind :

  1. When others say or do something that you cannot tolerate , do not attribute intention . People are a product of their circumstances, they should not be blamed for their behaviour. They too are victims. Just accept and ignore. Just go ahead as if nothing has happenned. If required just laugh it off. This will keep you sane and your mind will have better things to think about.
  2. Bless all the people you come across. They could be your help at home , the milk vendor, the girl/boy at the supermarket counter, the trash collector , your colleague , the cab driver etc. They may appear to be troubling you in different ways but know that they are also going through different problems in their life. Just have good thoughts for them and go ahead with what you have to do.
  3. Be grateful for even the little things in your life. The wonderful bed in your bedroom, the water supply , the home delivery services , the weather , the Sun , the birds and bees etc . The more grateful you are the less noise in your head
  4. Charity is another sure way to keep your mind energetic. Having been blessed with many wonderful things in life , it is our responsibilty to help whose who are less privileged. When the mind is busy thinking of ways to helps others, there is no time for cribbing. Donate online , or an orphanage in your neighbourhood, donate to a Goshala , donate whatever you are not using in your home to your household help.
  5. Speak from your heart , which is natural and inocent and pure. Speak less.
  6. See God in everyone you come across. Everyone is pure at the core of their heart. Very loving towards their own family and close friends. They are made up of love which gets covered with insecure thoughts due to circumstances. Try to see their hidden true nature and the superficial behaviour will have no meaning. We are dependent on everyone directly or indirectly. The whole of humanity is one big machine or one huge organism where each of its parts has a role to play to keep the machine moving.

These are some ways to stop your constant chattering mind. They will surely help you have a clear mind which is in the present moment and not swinging between the past and future. Once you start practicing these you will soon notice that there are very few thoughts in your mind and these are productive and creative thoughts. You will also be in the present moment and at peace.

Not easy initially but keep practising. Continue to watch your own behaviour and responses and keep correcting yourself.

Very soon you will be more at peace with yourself and those around you.


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March 2023 : Myeloma Awareness Month

March is declared as Myeloma Awareness month.

Indian Myeloma Academic Groupe (IMAGe) is a research oriented group that studies plasma cell disorders in patients from the Indian Sub continent. It is a forum for patients, caregivers, and doctors. It was launched in 2018.

IMAGe ,in association with Myrloma Support groups ,Yoddhas and Myeloma Friends Trust, has been conducting an online session every Monday from 4pm to 5 pm. The event includes panelists from IMAGe and other experts who give answers to the questions by the participants. They also have subject experts who speak about the different complications experienced by patients, the latest treatments like Car-t etc

Every week, one patient who has successfully battled Myeloma for more than 10 years is invited to share their experience.

This year, I, too, was invited to share my experience. This is the first time I got to speak in an online session where around 50 participants attended.

There is not much awareness about Multiple Myeloma among the public. The most common symptom of this disease is low Hb count ,bone fractures, and frequent infections because immunity is low. As the plasma cells ,which produce the white blood cells , are affected , the immunity is low.

Other factors like stress can aggravate the disease, and hence, one should take care of their mental health too.

When I was diagnosed, there were no forums for Multiple Myeloma in India. It is good to see a lot of developments to educate people and carry out further research.


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What should we do when others hurt us

Very often we come across people or situations which hurt us. There could be several reasons for peoples behaviour towards us. One reason could be that we may have done something to them in the past (this life or past life) which is coming back to us now. Another reason could be that people say or act from their perspective , based on their experiences.

Either way we have no choice but to accept the situation. In situations like this just continue to love yourself. Be nice to your yourself and do not expect others to love you. Respect yourself.

People who hurt us are in pain.

We have three ways to deal with the negative energy that comes towards us. Absorb , reflect or transform the energy.

If we absorb the negative energy we get affected. More Karma gets created.

If we reflect the energy by countering them ,we will be increasing their pain which then creates further problems. We will be accumulating more Karma.

The best option is to transform the energy by telling yourself that you are protected by the universal power. Thus past karma is dissolved. Create good thoughts for them.

Forgive and forget what others have done to you.

Apologise to them in your mind for having done something to them in the past.

From today let there be only love and respect for each other.

Thus no further karma would be created and you can be light in your mind.