Going UP and DOWN

Train journey is part and parcel of life of every mumbaikar...Commuting everyday to coll, work place et al has its own share of experiences and here are few of my own local train experiences on Harbour and Central line

• This was the week after the famous 26th July 2005 and i boarded a crowded 9.28am train. Obviously couldn't find a place to sit, the journey began and at every station the train started making contact with the platform, which obviously created friction.By the time train reached vashi, by then it had become really crowded and the continuous friction and added friction at vashi due to the curve...smelt fire. There was panic and the jam packed females in the compartment raised an alarm of fire...panic struck and more than half of the compartment became empty and the train started to leave after 15secs...i got a place to sit in the now empty train....thanks to the psuedo fire alarm!

• After boarding a jam packed train at Kurla...i realised there was some place to shift for the ladies in front towards the window...but some lady sitting in the direction opp. to that in which the train was travelling, was against it; reason..."mujhe suffocation hota hai...hawa nahi aati" then there was this part of me getting squeezed, explaining her the "air dynamics" that anyways the place she was sitting "waise bhi wahan pe hawa nahi aayegi"...fellow passengers appreciated my efforts with a smile, and there was at least comfortable place to stand!

• At times i spend my train journey reading stuff; its ok if its HP or Sidney Sheldon or a Jeffry Archer it doesn't call for attention of other co-travellers. But if its a Conn n Stumpf or a Friefilder or a Kuby(or any other bio related book) you invariably will be asked, "Are you a medical student?" "What are you studying?" then a small thought process goes on in the person's mind and then they formulate questions like, "Are the hybrids available safe?Do they cause side effects?" some times an intelligent question like is some ABC syndrome genetic or sex linked? makes its way...mostly the questions are related to genetics...sometimes make me feel i m genetic counsellor!
  

• I still remember, I met my JC frnd in train a medical student at KEM and we were so engrossed in discussing Immuno...actually had great discussions through out the journey, it was just us speaking and discussing in the morning 7am train...that to immuno...co-passengers seemed to hear Greek and Latin!

• Also there was this incident, yesterday...i actually was about to miss the 20.59 ka train from Kanjurmarg so got into general compartment...in Kurla when i got down a TC asked me for my ticket... i was cool as usual and opened my purse for ticket and you wont believe it was filled with tickets all sort of train tickets...and i was just not able to find my return ticket for the day...i remembered keeping it in the purse and now i just couldn't find it...started checking in the bag and then purse again...ticket checker was like madam office mein chalo...i was like nahi late ho raha hai mujhe wait i will find it out...by the time i think he was sure...this female is doing faltu ka natak! Tension was really creeping its way...i would have almost checked my purse 10times and still couldn't find it.And then suddenly out of nowhere, in the same purse i find my ticket...i mean what! I just showed the ticket to the TC and after so much of drama of me searching ticket and telling him i have got a return ticket...he was literally staring at the ticket very carefully checking minutest detail...and to make it fast cause i was getting late...i highlighted "return journey valid till midnight of 21-09-09"

• One of a kind experience was when, it was some 21 or 21.30 hrs on clock and my train was between kharghar and khandeshwar...i was alone in the ladies first class compartment enjoying the winds and the full moon when suddenly the lights went off...and this patch of the route is a small creek so till quite a distance you don't have civilization as such...it was mast pitch dark...it was just for few minutes but ultimate experience of pitch darkness in the train.

• Vashi bridge is another heavenly experience of train journey...in night its just beautiful in the evening its soothing, during the day its a aerial view of a huge swimming pool, in the morning its fresh and in the rainy season...its the Arabian sea at its best!Listening to Robaroo and chattin with vidhi on everything under the sun, i have had best of the times in my life here!

• Train is also the place where i completed my journals, made my last hour exam preparations,read books, made friends, thought of life, science, friends ...even took some right and wrong decisions...heard my worried parents on the phone during the blasts, heard few others shouting on phone, while some others loosing it too...

It's a mixed bag of experiences here...that I cherish in life!

Leucoderma-HW

There was this study done on a population having Leucoderma in Gujarat and it was found that the alleles involved were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium...! The results were surprising because we expect selection to act against the individuals with Leucoderma...because of the so called "mate choices" . But this wasn't the case here... again a study followed to determine the reason for absence of selection! It was found that the symptoms of leucoderma i.e the white patches on the skin occurred or were visible only after the subjects got married... they were totally absent when the mate choices were made...thus selection did not occur against the trait.
(My second encounter with the Hardy-Weinberg law...was with this example and since then whenever i see a person with Leucoderma Hardy-Weinberg law marquee makes an appearance!)
These days more often... I not only encounter quite a few people with Lecuoderma but also these people are quite young! (this is in mumbai) Making my mind wonder of the allele stats...I think the current scenario points towards, selection pressure acting on these alleles cause the symptoms are evident before the mate choice...so selection pressure must definately act, ideally should act and in the future should lead to gradual dilution of this allele from the population.
It's only for someone to study the population of those affected with leucoderma and highlight the allele stats!
Looking from point of view of a science student: Day to day, current, classical example of Hardy-Weinberg law and selection pressure at work.

Luck=Probabilty

Life has its own share
Of ups and downs and nightmares

There's a stream of success stories
And a sea of uncountable worries

To some there's an explanation
Others are even beyond imagination

Whatever may happen good or bad
Luck always plays a role there

What is this luck after all
A pure chance event that's all

It's the heads that you seek
And this is the very outcome, you can't trick!