Doctor Hunter

Well, almost a year back, I was doing my summers in a Pharma company. As part of my project, I had to meet the marketing managers and collect information from them. That's when I met him for the first time.

Me: Hi, I want some information from you..

Abhi: Come tomorrow and get some stuff for me..

Me: What is this stuff?

Abhi: Grass (with a grin on his face)

Well, the following day he agreed to spent some time with me without the stuff. Boy, what a meeting it was. He asked very pertinent questions as to why this project was being done and he said that until he was satisfied, he wouldnt help me out. Thankfully, he got convinced.

From then on, he was one of the persons I got closely associated in the organization. Primarily, because, he wasnt satisfied with the way the organization was growing and I liked that..his sense of positive dissatisfaction. I knew that this guy was different but never to this extend that he had such an entrepreneurial blood running in his veins..... Well, I am referring to Dr.Abhilash Tirupathy, the maverick behind HealthcareMagic.com who has been currently selected as one of the top eight finalists for the Tie (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Cannan Entrepreneurial Challenge.

There literally hundreds of doctors and dozens of hospitals in Bangalore, but if you’re new to India’s IT Capital, you’ll probably be lost if you need to judge the competence of your neighbourhood doctor or the specialty clinic some blocks away. “There is very little transparency on the data available for healthcare providers,” says Dr Abhilash Thirupathy, a dentist by training who co-founded HealthcareMagic.com with Kunal Sinha a second-time entrepreneur. The portal, according to Thirupathy, is India’s first portal and call centre to provide medical advice and referral in real time. Doctors chat with patients online and provide initial medical advice. The patients are also referred to a specialist if needed. (Courtesy: Business Today, July 13)

A few useful links:

http://healthcaremagic.com/hcm/home.jsp

http://healthcaremagic.com/blog/

So, the next time, you need a medical advice, you know where you need to go....

Kudos Abyaby..

PS: Preethi, this site might be of use for you and your org..Check this out..

GLASSMATES

Often, for a person residing outside Goa, Goa is a place of 3 B’s; beer, beach and babes. The third option is a bit elusive, the second one requires a lot of efforts in traveling but the first one doesn’t require anything. In Goa, getting drinking water might be a problem but not the ubiquitous beer.
Drinking alone is a pain; especially if you have had some great glass mates in the past. So this post is a toast to some of my favorite glass mates with whom I have had some of the best times along with beer.

The first name is always a bit difficult to choose; hence I would go the alphabetical way.

Anuj - I cannot stop laughing when I think about this incident. I think we were in a bar in Chennai when this happened. The bearer came to our table to ask for the last orders as it was time for the bar to close. As usual Anuj, though he had guzzled down a good 5-6 pegs, was still normal and wasn’t quite amused by the fact that the bar was about to close. In his quintessential manner, he replied, “ oru 15 peg rum poratte..”. I still remember the bewildered look on the bearer’s face. There was a roar of laughter when the bearer left and the banter continued…
Enjoyable moments – When he laughs at the silliest jokes you feel like laughing when you see him….

Bijoy – You never know what will happen when you are with him. At times he would be the only person who would be perfectly alright even after downing 7-8 pegs. At times, he can be the only person who really gets knocked out and then god knows what will happen.
Whenever I get back home, he would be the first person whom I call. In his usual manner, he would say, “Namukonnu koodende….vaikunneram vaa Indrapuriyilekku..”
Don’t know whether he has changed his hang out place now.
Memorable moments – Most of the times…(though I have landed in trouble at times also).

Motta – Sporting a cap, this bearded man has always been fun to be with during such sessions.
Most memorable moment – When he sings Andhikadappurathu…..

Murali – From school days, I knew that he had interest in music but never knew he sings really well. Murali has been a revelation in that aspect. The last few drinking sessions that I have had with him have been memorable. His rendition of Venugopal songs is fantastic. I am sure, even now, he would be learning some song for his next session which would definitely elicit an encore from his audience.
Most memorable moment – When he sings Mayamanjalil….

Musthafa – There was a time, when we used to have daily quota of beers. Tired of this, one day we decided that we would stop. He suggested that we should kick this habit by having a can of beer. So both of us went to Amrapali to have a can of beer together but ended up having 4 beers each. With that, we put an end to our dream of quitting drinking.
Most memorable moment – When we had Red Label in Helen Villa at 3 am in the morning while it was raining outside. The yellow lights that stood tall in the streets, against which the rain drops felt gently lighted the room that was otherwise dark. It was beautiful….

Rahul – Discussions of all sorts happen with this guy. Music, movies, work, girls..the list is endless. He has this unique thing. He will obliterate all our thought processes in a single moment with his ideas and make us think over it again. Creates a sense of positive dissatisfaction by asking, “dey, ingane irunna mathiya…rekshapedednde….cinema edukkende.. Days spent in Sai Vihar bar will always be memorable primarily because of the above mentioned reasons and also because of Fish Pulimoonji..
Most memorable moment – When he scripts a story on the spot, especially murder mysteries…

Reghu – He drank with me for the first time at our house in Bombay. He started off by saying that he has drunk only once before. The way, he guzzled down the pegs didn’t quite seem to tell the same tale. Instead it appeared that he was more of a seasoned drinker.
Most memorable moment - When he said after drinking, “Dey, fan karangana pole thonnunnu….”

Drinking is a vice. I don’t really believe it. If you have such glass mates, then I think we need to meet them to create memories and part to preserve them.

Cheers……….