Yusuf Meherally (Sunday, June 1)

We started our morning early as we gathered for the buses at 8 AM. We met Mr. Shah, director of Yusuf Meherally, for breakfast that specialized in dosas, sheera, and masala chai tea. The team members ate well to ensure our energy for the day. We hopped back onto the bus for a 45-minute ride to the Yusuf Meherally - Mumbai site. Mr. Shah explained to us about the healthcare that they provided. Medical doctors and healthcare professionals that work at various nearby hospitals, such as KEM and Saifee Hospital, would volunteer on the weekends to provide service for this underserved population. A variety of healthcare is provided at different times of the month for general surgery, dentistry, radiology, opthamology, etc. It appeared that facilities were clean and supplied well. They perform nearly 40 surgeries per weekend every weekend of the year depending on the type of specialist available that weekend. After a short tour of the medical village, we were lead to a large auditorium. A large community audience (>100 participants) gathered in this room for the Duke DPT presentation on "Protecting Your Back with Proper Biomechanics" in lifting and gardening. We had an age range of 12 - 90 year olds, with the majority of participants being teenagers. Although it was a challenge to teach, due a language barrier, a translator was available. Groups were broken up into smaller groups so we could assess proper biomechanics and provide practice in different situations. We felt that each person benefited and rewarding to see students utilizing proper technique with lifting of chairs during clean-up. After an 1.5 hours of presentation, Mr. Shah continued the tour of the Yusuf Meherally plantation. We took a walk in their organic gardens to see pineapple and mango trees, vegetables, gourds, okra, and various mint herbs. We also saw the supported work operations, like the bakery (mmmm, fresh bread and biscuits), soap makers, and pottery barn.

Yusuf Meherally was a great place to visit and the relationship we have now established will benefit our program greatly. We look forward to our continued work with them over the next few years, possibly even at their other sites across India.

"Off to Cancun (of India) - Goa"

So we were very excited to have a few days to relax in Goa, as we had been very busy with business meeting/dinner, developing presentations, and preparing for seminars. We had time to sleep-in, take time for breakfast and bring down our luggage for storage. We met Neeta and Romi, as they would be accompanying us to Goa, for ease of travel. They were very helpful in navigating us through the airport and communicating for the bus/hotel. Our flight ended up being delayed about 1/2 hour with additional waiting on the plane. We arrived at the airport at 5 PM and we had another 45 minutes to drive to the Nanutel Hotel in "Old Goa."

By the time we got to the hotel, we only had a few minutes to "freshen up" before going to Martin's Corner. It was a larger restaurant found away from the small city, in which many Indian celebrities eat and partake in the activities of this restaurant. For all we know, we could have been rubbing elbows with a few Bollywood stars! We had a great dinner and fortunately we were there for kareoke night. Every few song choices, our group would sing in unison songs like "It's My Life", "Take Me Home" and La Bamba. We had a few looks from the restaurant be we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Our meals were delicious. It was the first time we did not do "family-style" eating, so people were able to share and pick-and-choose their meals. Ordering seafood in Goa was a recommendation by many people we crossed paths with during our travels. The majority of the group ordered a prawns dinner, in which veggies, mashed potatoes and 3-6" long, but thick prawns were served and shared between pairs. Only a few were brave enough to continue to eat the Indian food and try the "Goan" staple foods, such as chicken xacuti. It can be described as a red paste-based with coconut milk and spices. After dinner, although most of us were full, Neeta suggested that we stop at Amici gelato shop. Great choice! It was on our way back from Martin's Corner, but definitely in the rural parts of Goa. It was delicious and well-worth the stop at 11 PM, as many of the flavors were phenomenal. No one left disappointed.

On Thursday, many of us woke up for a complimentary breakfast. They served both continental and Indian choices, such as masala tea, NesCafe coffee, Corn Flakes, hard boiled eggs and fresh pineapple. The new Indian food item was called sheera, a traditional Maharashtrian dish served at breakfast or as a snack. It can be described as an American "yellow sweet grits."
The rest of the day consisted of a City Tour of Goa from an estimated start of 10 AM to 6 PM.
1) Historical Portuguese Village
2) Hindu Temples (2)
3) Basilica of BomJesus in Old Goa (BomJesus means "Infant Jesus" or "Good Jesus"). This church houses the remains of Saint Francis Xavier. For more information, please refer to website: http://www.goainns.com/BomBasilicaChurch.aspx
4) Goa Beaches (2)
Many of the places, we were "tourists". However, we felt more like the attraction at some of the tour stops, as many groups and families would approach the group for pictures. Although it was a bit awkward to pose for pictures, it was enjoyable to see them all smiling and happy.

After a long day of riding in a bus, we wanted to have a low-key night. We ended up enjoying 30 minutes in the pool and then ate at the restaurant in the Nanutel Hotel. Some finished dinner to have a drink at the hotel bar, the Zodiac Bar and a bowl of ice cream from Baskin Robbins. What a long day!

On Friday, it was a very relaxing day. The only thing on our itinerary was our departure flight from Goa to Mumbai. We had the entire day to relax, sit at the pool, walk around "Old Goa" to buy "Tiffany cracker biscuits (which taste like animal crackers) and having a very late lunch at the resturaunt at our hotel. We left the hotel around 5 PM, but our flight got delayed, so again we had to wait around the airport. Finally we returned to Mumbai around 11 PM with little in our stomachs. Many people were feeling nauseated, tired and exhausted.

KEM Hospital (Monday, May 26)

This morning we had the opportunity to see the other side of health care in Mumbai. Previously we had been introduced to Saifee Hospital, which is a cutting edge private hospital. However, according to our guides, only 10-20% of people in Mumbai could afford to come to a hospital such as this. The rest of the people go to government-run hospitals such as King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. We arrived and three of the therapists gave us a tour of their facilities. They had six physical therapy wards divided into areas for neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and pediatrics physical therapy. Compared to the amenities seen at Saifee Hospital, the facilities here were in stark contrast. The patient-load was significantly higher for the physical therapists, and the equipment they were given to complete their jobs was significantly less. However, they loved their jobs. In fact, working at KEM was a very prestigious position as it was associated with the best medical school in the country. Besides seeing the areas where physical therapy was performed, we were given a tour of the pediatric intensive care unit. There we spoke with the lead doctor and he explained how the ward was run. We also had another chance to run into our acquaintance, Dr. Chlaga, the neurosurgeon that works at both KEM and Saifee Hospital. Finally our tour guides took us to their physical therapy school, which was attached to KEM, where they attended classes. This included a tour of their anatomy lab, cadavers and classrooms. After finishing up at the hospital, our tour guides surprised us by taking us to “Natural” Ice Cream shop, which probably is one of the best places to buy ice cream. We were most grateful for their kindness. After visiting KEM Hospital, we were the guests of honor at a ‘thank you’ lunch hosted by the National Association for the Blind. We met up with Asha and her NAB constituents at Samrat, a wonderful veg-tali restaurant. It was nice follow-up with their organization and solidifies the relationship with them. Asha and her colleagues were amazing hosts during our visit in Mumbai. We were very happy to meet up with them for a final farewell. We hope that we will have an opportunity to work with them in the future.

Our final adventure for the day included a trip to Elephanta Island. We took a 45-minute boat ride from the Gateway to India to the island. Once there we climbed the hill to the Elephanta temple. This is a Hindu temple carved into a rock wall. It was massive! There were several large rooms and intricate carvings depicting the Hindu god of rebirth. Not only did we see the caves, but we met with the other inhabitants of the island…the monkeys! They were very friendly and even posed for a few pictures as can be seen below. Our return boat ride was very relaxing and we had the opportunity to see the sun set over the skyline of Mumbai. It was a wonderful ending to a very adventure-packed day.

Sincerely, Chris

Addendum: We finished up the night by having a birthday dinner to celebrate Shefali's 25th with her parents at Mehesh, a great seafood restaurant near Mocambo.

Duke DPT Farewell Dinner

Saturday evening was the last evening that the entire Duke DPT team and our Mumbai hosts would be together. Therefore, we declared this our Farewell Dinner Night. Since the group had been such troopers with the local cuisine and heat, the dinner was arranged at an air-conditioned, quiet hotel restaurant that served continental food including steaks, chocolate cake and ice cream.

The evening was to both honor our new Duke DPT Alumni who have worked diligently for the past 2 ½ years to arrange this first Duke DPT Global Health Outreach Initiative effort and our very special hosts in Mumbai who assured our successful trip. The guests of honor were Aarti and Kapil Mathur who went above and beyond to ensure that we had transportation, clothing, food and water at all times. They invited us into their home on numerous occasions and included us into their family. For this we were extremely appreciative. The group arrived for dinner at 8:30 PM in their finest attire. The restaurant was small but had a beautiful ambience. The staff was very attentive to our very large and enthusiastic group. Choices included vegetarian and non-vegetarian fixed menus and most people ordered the grilled fillet since we had not had this option for the past 2 weeks. We sat among our guest hosts but even though the room was small, we could see almost everyone and could hear those not in sight. The room had great acoustics, as the tables were positioned underneath a circular ceiling. Everyone had a great time and the evening went quickly. Following the dinner some night owls decided to go to a local bar to continue celebrating and met up with some of the professional crickteers who were in the area for the championship. Since we now have a sense of how to play cricket and have been watching it on the local channels, we are beginning to appreciate the individuals who play and recognize who is on what team. The dinner and evening was a nice finale to our closure in Mumbai and we look forward to moving onto Delhi and Agra to see more of India and its culture and history.