Prathyusha Mididoddi

Prathyusha 1
Inaugural TANA
International Internship Program
Summer 2007
Hyderabad, India
TANA IIP
Trip Reflections
Prathyusha Mididoddi
Age: 19
Father: Saibaba Mididoddi
City and State: Suwannee, Georgia
University: Emory University, Georgia
Current Year of Study: First Year (freshman)
Grade Point Average (GPA): 3.7
Awards: Valedictorian of High School class of 500 students,
Governor’s Scholarship awardee, AP Scholar with distinction
Extra-curricular activities: Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta (TAMA) Youth volunteer,
Hindu Student Council Member
Leadership Roles: President of Spanish National Honor Society, Secretary of Science National Honor
Society, Secretary, Historian of Junior Cabinet
Wants to: become a doctor and provide medical services to the poor in India.
“Live life as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
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Acknowledgements
TANA, for having the idea to create such an internship program and for going through their
plans to initiate the program.
Prasad Thotakura Uncle, for organizing the TANA IIP program and for making sure we
interns had everything we wanted during the internship period.
Dr. Srinivas, for making sure we learned about all of Medwin and for being interested in what
we all learned at the hospital. Thank you so much for listening to us and for making us feel we
were being looked after at the hospital.
Medwin Hospital, for allowing us into their institution and making us feel welcome everywhere
we went.
Vegesna School, for being our home for 40 days in India and for taking care of us so well. I will
never forget the Vegesna Foundation and all the memories I have from there.
Ramaraju Uncle, for taking such great care of us all in India and for making sure we all were
happy at all times. It was such a great responsibility to take charge of the five of us and I really
appreciate all that you have done for us. I cannot imagine all the work you must have done in
organizing all of our trips and meetings. I admire all the work you do for the children of
Vegesna.
Bala Aunty, for taking us on all of our trips during the program and for answering all of our
questions. You truly made sure we were always safe and I appreciate how you always wanted us
to learn from our experiences.
Sailaja Aunty, for staying with us during the entire program and listening to all of our concerns.
Thank you for always being there for us.
Sudha Aunty, for showing us around the Telugu Academy and Warangal and for always being
so sweet to all of us when we met.
Fellow interns, for all the smiles and memories we share – you guys made this program fun!
My Parents, for encouraging me to apply for this program and for teaching me about Telugu
culture since childhood.
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Trip Report
Monday, June 25, 2007
TANA IIP Inauguration Ceremony
Monday, June 25th marked the start
of the inaugural Telugu Association of North
America (TANA) International Internship
Program (IIP). The program began with an
inauguration of the internship in the eleventh
floor auditorium of Medwin hospital. The
ceremony was actually supposed to take
place on June 23rd, but there was a change of
dates, and all five of the interns were told to
be at the auditorium on Monday by 10:00
a.m.
Before I heard about my acceptance
in the internship program, I had already
decided to go to India for a couple months in
the summer to spend time with my family. In fact, I had already blocked my tickets, and a week
before I was about to go to India, Prasad Uncle called and told me that I was accepted into the
program. When Uncle called, I was really excited that I was accepted, for the program sounded
like a wonderful opportunity to learn in my home country. I was happy that I would be able to
spend time with my family in India before the program started as well as be able to participate in
the internship in the field of my choice.
I traveled to India by myself, which was a different experience because I always travel to
India with my family members. I left for India on May 18 because I wanted to spend time my
family in India until the start of the program. Thus, I became very close to my relatives during
the span of five weeks, and I was not completely ready to say goodbye to them, but I was excited
to start the program. I was not sure what to expect from the program, since it was the first time
the internship was being run, but I was anxious to discover what the internship would entail.
Once I came to the hospital, I met Bala
Aunty, who introduced me to Bhavana. I sat
down next to Bhavana with my family and
talked to her for a while, and then Bala Aunty
introduced us to Prabhat. We were all then
told to go to the eleventh floor to wait for the
start of the ceremony. Upstairs, we met
Saritha and Sneha.
The five of us were told to sit in the
front row by Mr. Vamsee Ramaraju, and the
program started. Each one of us was
introduced with our names, universities, and a
list of our achievements and called up to the
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stage. We were introduced by Dr. Srinivas of Medwin Hospital. We each were presented with a
bouquet of flowers by Mr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao. We sat up on stage for the remainder of
the program and heard speeches given by the guest speakers. Mr. Nageswara Rao spoke about
the importance of maintaining Telugu culture and learning the language. Dr. Kakarla Subba
Rao, the founding president of TANA, also spoke about Telugu culture and about taking
advantage of each day and enjoying it to the fullest. The program was inaugurated with the
revealing of the TANA IIP banner.
I was surprised by the large presence of the press at the function. During the program,
there were a lot of cameramen taking photos and filming the ceremony. When the ceremony
ended, we were all interviewed by reporters of different papers and news shows. We were all
pretty surprised that the press was so interested in interviewing us. They asked us questions
about our schooling, family, future plans, and lifestyles. Why did you come to India? What do
you hope to gain from this program? Some questions were funny – like what is your favorite
Indian food? Who are your favorite Telugu movie stars?
After all the press interviews were completed, we said goodbye to our families and left
for the Vegesna School in Hayath Nagar. There, we were taken to our rooms and shown around
the foundation and the temples there. Later that night, reporters from ETV came and interviewed
all of us at the school. When I called my relatives at the end of the day, they all told me that the
TANA IIP program was on the news and that we were all on TV from the inauguration
ceremony. They all seemed really happy and proud to see me on television.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 - Friday, June 29, 2007
The internship began on Tuesday. Bhavana stayed at Vegesna to do her social service
internship there. The internship times were set from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We were told that
we would leave the school every morning at 8:00 a.m. to get to Medwin in time. Prabhat,
Saritha, and I were taken to Medwin, and after we were dropped off, Sneha was taken to
Jayabheri to start her real estate internship. When we got to the hospital, we went to the first
floor to Dr. Srinivas’s office and were given a brief overview over the structure of the next six
weeks in the hospital. We were taken on a tour of the different floors and departments of the
hospital. On the first day, I was in the Out Patient Registration area observing the different
procedures as the patients are registered
into the hospital. We were picked up
from Medwin at 4:00 p.m. and then were
taken to Jayabheri to pick up Sneha from
Jayabheri. It takes about 45 minutes to
one hour to go from Medwin to
Jayabheri about about 1.5 to 2 hours to
return from High Tech City to Hayath
Nagar. Therefore, we were in the car for
about 3.5 hours every day just for the
commute to and from the internship
locations. It was a bit tiring to be in the
car for so long in Hyderabad traffic
everyday.
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I kept getting phone calls that evening because apparently, the five of us and the TANA
program were not only on the television news, but also in many of the newspapers. My relatives
told me that they were saving all the clippings to show me.
On Wednesday, we were all posted on the second floor, and I observed in the new Out
Patient Department there. It was interesting to learn about the registration and billing processes.
On Thursday, I observed for a while on the ninth floor nursing station and then later on in the
Echo machine room in the cardiology department. We were taught how the Echo and treadmill
machines function and how they are used in diagnosing patients. Friday finished up the first
week of the internship. On Friday, we were stationed at the Sample Collection area where we
saw patients giving blood and learned about the different samples that are taken.
On Friday evening, we were taken directly from the hospital to the Ravindra Bharathi
function hall for the program in which
the music director Keeravani was
honored. During the program we were
called up to the stage and were
presented with flowers. We were also
asked to honor Mr. Keeravani by
presenting him with flowers as well.
Later, there were speeches about the
music director, and then different
people, including Mr. Keeravani
himself, sang songs from his movies.
The well known songs that were sung
were really enjoyable to listen to. My
family also came to the show to see
me so it was nice to be able to talk
with them for a little while.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
On Saturday, we spent the entire day visiting three schools supported by the Alpha
Foundation. The first school was the ICFAI Republic School (IRS) in Fatehnagar; at this school,
the principal took us on a tour of the
school and introduced us to the different
classrooms. The school, which is
located in a slum area, offers education
at an incredibly low cost to the students.
The books and uniforms are sold at a
fraction of the cost to the students. The
school takes into account the economic
condition of each child’s family during
its admissions process. I was surprised
by the cleanliness and the orderliness of
the school and its facilities. The
principal explained that by having a
clean school, the students were able to
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learn better and were also taught about the importance of sanitary conditions. Then we visited
another such school in Balanagar. At this school, the children gathered in an assembly for us
where they asked us questions. It was really sweet talking with these children, for they were
really happy to have visitors. What impressed me about this school was that it was really large.
The building originally housed a company, but then became the structure for a school. The
school had big windows and large fields for the children, so there was plenty of ventilation. At
the end of the day, we visited the Alpha Center of Learning in the middle of the slums. This
school consisted of a small room with
many small children. There was one
computer in the classroom that the
teachers used to teach their students.
The young children all seemed eager
to learn. We had a really fun time at
this school interacting with the kids
and singing nursery rhymes to them.
Later that day, we met Mr.
Dinakara Rao, the director of the
Alpha Foundation. It was a really
great experience speaking with him
because he is really intelligent and
seemed interested in talking with us
about the foundation and about our
lives. We all really enjoyed speaking with him that day.
That night, we went to see the Telugu movie Operation Duryodhana because we would
be going to a function for that movie the next day. Though the movie was not particularly
enjoyable, it did contain a powerful message about how individuals with power should behave
and about the importance of law enforcement.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
On Sunday morning, we
went to NTR Kalamandiram for the
Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta
(TAMA) Scholarship program. The
chief guests at the function were Ms.
Nedurumalli Rajyalakshmi, Mr.
Krishnam Raji, and Dr. Rama Naidu.
The five of us greeted each one of
these guests as they walked in and
presented them with flowers. During
the banquet, TAMA gave
scholarships to 46 merit students of
Andhra Pradesh and to 4 physically
handicapped students from Vegesna
Padmavathi School. It was great to
see the students being awarded for
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their hard work, but it was even more enjoyable to see the proud faces of the parents as their
children were being honored. Education is such a vital institution of life, and it is wonderful that
these hard working students are being provided with funds to pay for their schooling. My
parents are TAMA members, for we live in Atlanta, so I have heard of this scholarship program
before; it was nice to be able to see the end
result of all the fundraising for the scholarships
and the recipients of the awards.
After this function, we all went to Pizza
Hut for lunch. It was my first time eating at
Pizza Hut in India, so I was curious to see how
the food would taste. We all ordered personal
pizzas, and I was surprised that the pizza there
tasted the same if not better than the pizza I’ve
had in American Pizza Huts. When I visited
India before, I would occasionally see Pizza
Huts in the city, but on this visit, I saw
numerous restaurants in some parts of the city.
This shows how India is changing as it becomes more globalized.
After lunch, Bala Aunty took us to the Salar Jung museum. Though I saw the museum
twice before on previous visits to India, it was still interesting to see all the exhibits. However,
we were all pretty tired from the events of the weekend that we were exhausted by the time we
saw most of the museum. There were still a couple of rooms to see, but we simply did not have
the energy to tour them, so we skipped out on seeing those.
After the museum, we went to the Sri Tyagaraya Gana Sabha in Chikkadpalli for the
function of the movie Operation Duryodhana.
During the function, we were all called up on
stage to say something positive about the movie.
We were told to speak in Telugu, so the five of
us practiced what we would say ahead of time.
When we got on stage, we all sounded pretty
funny, and I’m sure the audience must have
been amused. I said that when I saw the movie,
it felt as if I was watching a powerful movie
because the picture’s message was really great.
The function marked the end of a really
busy weekend. We were all exhausted by the
time it was all over.
Monday, July 2, 2007 - Friday, July 6, 2007
During the second week of the hospital, Saritha, Prabhat and I were in the diagnostics
section of the hospital – the first floor. Dr. Srinivas is the head of the diagnostics floor, which
has a sample collection area and three separate departments – Biochemistry, Microbiology, and
Pathology. Patients can directly come to this floor if they want to have tests done or the tests
may be requested by a doctor in order to better help diagnose the patient.
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The three of us were separated and each was placed in a separate department. On
Monday and Tuesday I was in the Biochemistry department, on Wednesday and Thursday I was
in the Microbiology department, and on Friday I was in Pathology. In the Biochemistry
department, blood samples are taken and analyzed for their mineral, hormone, electrolyte, and
lipid levels.
The Biochemistry department has several machines that analyze the samples in an
automated manner, and there are also manual methods that are performed to complete the same
tests. The manual methods are used when the automatic machines are not functioning properly,
and in some cases, the manual methods are used more often than the automatic methods because
they cost less. However, the automatic machines are much more time efficient. I learned how to
perform the glucose test manually and how to analyze the results as well. I was tested to see how
my value from the manual test compares with the value from the automatic machine. In fact, my
value was close to the machine value, so I was happy that I was able to perform the test
correctly. I learned how much time and energy the automatic methods save.
On Wednesday and Thursday, I learned about the different tests that are performed to
diagnose cases in the microbiology department. I was shown different organisms under the
microscopes, observed how tests are prepared and performed, and saw how the results are
analyzed. Doctors require these tests to be done in order to help diagnose their patient if they
suspect that the problem concerns the area of microbiology. I learned about the different
methods and machines that are used, and it was extremely interesting to gain all this knowledge
that will be useful to me in the future.
One of the most interesting parts of observing in these departments was seeing how all
the members of the department interact. In each department, there is one head doctor who is in
charge of the entire department. There are also a number of technicians within each section.
The technicians show a large amount of respect towards their bosses, calling them madam and sir
and speaking respectfully with them. I really like that so much respect is shown towards those in
charge. Among the technicians themselves, there is a great sense of camaraderie which I think is
great in a work place. They are all so friendly with each other, and it is fun being around them.
One of the technicians there told me that
being so friendly with each other makes
their work more fun and enjoyable, which is
definitely true.
On Friday morning, we left the
school early in order to arrive at the Chief
Minister’s residence in Begumpet on time.
We were informed the night before that we
would be meeting Mr. Y.S. Rajashaker
Reddy, the current CM of Andhra Pradesh.
When we arrived at the residence, we
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passed through security and were able to directly enter the residence. As we walked in, I felt
how lucky we were to be able to meet the CM while there were hundreds of other people who
were waiting outside just to be able to speak to him for a minute. When we walked in, we had to
wait for a while in a waiting lounge until the CM came in. When he came in, our group waited
until he came towards us. I presented him with a bouquet of flowers, and the CM presented us
each with mementos created by Ramaraju Uncle. He briefly spoke to our group and asked each
of us where we were from and the university we attended.
After our appointment, we went to lunch at a fancy restaurant on the ground floor of
Hotel Green Park. From there, Bhavana was picked up by her cousin to spend the weekend at
home with them. We dropped off Prabhat
and Saritha at their homes as well, and
then went to the Telugu Academy to pick
up some textbooks for the Vegesna
School. Ramaraju Uncle’s wife, Sudha
Aunty, works there, so she showed us
around the academy and introduced us to
her colleagues. We were also fortunate to
meet Mr. J. Prathap Reddy, the director of
the Telugu Academy. He spoke to us
about the importance of knowing Telugu,
and how helpful it is to learn the language
by watching Telugu movies. Then, I was
dropped off at my grandparent’s home for
the weekend.
Saturday, July 7, 2007 - Sunday, July 8, 2007
We all really wanted to spend time with our families in India, so we asked to be able to
go home this weekend to visit our families. Though I came to India five weeks before the start
of the program and spent the weeks with my family in Hyderabad, I still wanted to go home for
the weekend to see them. I really missed spending time with them all and was looking forward
to the weekend. During this weekend, I spend time with my family and was also able to do a bit
of shopping. It was great spending time with them all.
Monday, July 9, 2007 - Friday, July 13, 2007
On Monday morning, Saritha, Prabhat, and I were all dropped off at Medwin by our
relatives. On Monday, I was in the Pathology Department where I learned how blood and urine
samples are tested for different mineral and pH levels. One of the most interesting machines I
learned about in this section is the Blood Cell Counter, which counts the number of blood cells
of various types in a tiny sample of blood. I was also shown the Gross Examination room where
samples and organs are analyzed. On Tuesday, the three of us observed in the Ultrasound room
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where we observed patients being studied with the ultrasound. We learned about the procedure
taken to analyze the patients with the machine.
On Wednesday, none of us went to
our internship locations. That afternoon,
Prabhat and I helped serve the students
lunch at the Vegesna School. It was really
great to interact with all the kids and talk
with them. Later that day, we went to the
Pochampally village and were guided by
students from the Vegesna School. We saw
several saree looms and learned about the
entire saree process from start to finish. It is
amazing how the loom is used to weave the
thread into beautiful pieces of cloth. You
definitely need to have deft fingers and be
really skilled. We even went to a store where we selected a few sarees that were to be given as
gifts at later functions.
On Thursday, we observed in the Department of Radiology; we first learned about how
x-rays are taken and analyzed with the computer. We also learned about the MRI and how it
functions. At the end of the day, we learned about the CT scan. It was interesting learning about
these expensive machines and the valuable procedures that are used to study patients.
On Friday, we were introduced to Dr. Bansal, a pulmonologist who we were to follow for
the day. It was really interesting to watch a bronchoscopy being performed on a patient. We
then observed in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit; it was a little sad to be with these patients
because their conditions were really serious, but it was a part of the hospital that we had not seen
yet. It was good to learn about the ICUs in the hospital.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Yadagirigutta
Hayagreeva temple
Warangal
Sudha Aunty’s house
Badrakali temple
Warangal Fort
City Central Restaurant
Thousand Pillar Temple
Kakatiya University
I woke up at 5:00 a.m. this
morning in order to get ready for the day because we were supposed to leave the guesthouse
around 6:00. Uncle wanted us to come back before dark, so we had to leave early in the
morning. Even though getting up so early in the morning was difficult, I was very excited about
the plans for the day, which included visiting Yadagirigutta and Warangal. I have been to
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Yadagirigutta several times in the past, for my family goes there every time that we visit India,
but I had never been to Warangal, so I was anticipating the trip.
We left around 6:30 in the morning and arrived at the Yadagirigutta temple around 8:00.
The god of Yadagirigutta is Narasimha Swami, who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This
particular god has special significance to the
Vegesna Foundation because he is known to
be the god of the handicapped, which is why
there is a Narasimha Swami temple at the
Vegesna school. We waited a while outside
the temple for the head priest, who led us
into a special darshanam in the temple.
Normally, one has to wait in a long line full
of people in order to enter the room of the
god, and once he enters, he can only have a
glimpse of the god before being hustled
away by the attendants. However, since the
aunties knew the head priest, he led us into
the temple and we had the chance to bypass
the long line and directly enter the sacred room. We also had aarti at the Hanuman altar as well.
The unique aspect of the Narasimha Swamy room is that it is built into the mountain and appears
to be a cave. An image of the god appeared on the wall of the mountain and the temple was built
around it. Since we were with the head priest, he led us to the side of the room and gave aarti,
and we were there for about fifteen minutes. I felt really fortunate to have such a great
darshanam that few people have the chance to have.
We then followed the priest down the
mountain to his house. In front of his house, there
is a temple for Hayagreeva, an incarnation of Lord
Vishnu who represents knowledge. Hayagreeva is
known for helping create the Vedas, and he has
the face of a horse similar to how Lord Ganesha
has the face of an elephant. The temple was very
pretty and colorful, and they were getting it ready
for a film shooting that was to take place in it later
that night. The priest called us in to his house and
we sat outside with him for a while. He gave us
ladoo prasadam to take with us and we left for
Warangal.
Warangal, which is a two-hour drive from Yadagirigutta, is the home town of Sudha
Aunty, so as we entered the city, Aunty became excited and started pointing out places from her
childhood, such as the park she used to play in and the university she went to. It shows how
great of a link we have to the places we grow up in. We stopped at Aunty’s house and we
introduced to her siblings, their children, and her parents. Her father was really welcoming and
spoke to each one of us. One thing that he said really sticks out in my mind – he said that
whatever we do, we should do it with our hearts. That is such a thoughtful message to give to us,
for it is completely true.
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From there, we went to the Badrakali temple with some of Aunty’s relatives. Aunty’s
youngest niece in particular gave us great entertainment with her antics. I never heard of the
Badrakali temple, but I am so glad we went. The temple was situated beautifully next to a lake,
and inside, the statue of the goddess was so serene and mesmerizing. Once again, we had special
darshanam because someone had connections with the priest, so we were able to stand right in
front and have aarti.
Then, we all went to the
Warangal fort, which is a field that
has ruins of a fort, such as a nandi
and arches. It was interesting to be a
part of the history. We saw the
arches that have become the symbol
of Warangal. For example, the
Kakatiya University at Warangal has
the arch on its diploma. We were
told that when one thinks of
Warangal that they think of the arch.
Right next to the fort, there is an old
Shiva temple with a beautifully
carved nandi. The entire nandi was
carved from one stone, and it has
such intricately carved designs on it.
I found it amusing that the nandi was sitting with its tail under one leg.
After visiting the fort, we were all pretty hungry, so we had lunch at City Central
Restaurant. It was nice to be taken to such a good restaurant, and the food was really tasty.
After lunch, we went to the
Thousand Pillars Temple at 3:00 p.m. I was
pretty excited to see the temple because I
heard so much about it. When I mentioned
to my family that I was going to Warangal,
they all asked if I was going to see this
temple. My cousin told me that it was the
same temple that is shown in the Telugu
movie Varsham, which is one of my favorite
movies, so I was really anxious to see the
temple. I expected the temple to be in a
rural area far from the city, so I was
surprised to see that it was in the center of
the city. When I heard the name Thousand
Pillars, I pictured a thousand pillars standing separately, but at the temple, I noticed that the
pillars are so close together that they appear to form a wall rather than be separate pillars. I was
a little disappointed that the temple and its pillars were not what I expected, but the temple was
still beautiful and rich with history. It is amazing to think that a thousand pillars were
constructed in order to create the temple. Bala Aunty told us that originally, a piece of paper
could be slid between the pillars, but now, due to the accumulation of dust and dirt and poor
renovation techniques, the pillars look to be completely connected. The temple houses Shiva and
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in front there is a big nandi. The temple is beautiful, but it needs to be kept that way. Bala
Aunty pointed to one pillar where someone had put their trash. Such historic structures need to
be respected in order to be admired by future generations. Pollution around the temple will
destroy the structure. The five of us took photos in front of the temple as well as in front of the
big nandi that faces the entrance of the temple. At the end, we took a big group photo in front of
the temple.
From the temple, we drove by Kakatiya University where Sudha Aunty went to college
and where her brother teaches. The campus was really big and appeared to have many different
departments. It was interesting to see an Indian university. We all went back to Sudha Aunty’s
house where we had tea and saw some of the photos that we took that day. We could not stay for
long because we wanted to be back before dark, so at 4:00 p.m., we said goodbye to everyone
(Sudha Aunty stayed at her parents’ house) and left. I was really happy to be so nicely treated by
Aunty’s family. They took such great care of us, and it was really sweet of them to show us
around their city. By the time we arrived back at the guesthouse, it was around 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
10:00 a.m. - Dr. B.V. Pattabhi Ram – Personality Development Speaker
12:00 p.m. - Prasad’s IMAX – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2:30 p.m. - Minerva Restaurant – lunch
- Qutb Tombs
- Golconda (from outside)
- Gandipet
- Shree Swaminarayan School
This morning we all got to sleep in a little bit because we did not have to leave the house
till 9:00. We ended up leaving Kuntloor around 9:20 a.m. and picked up Sneha at her aunt’s
house, for she had gone home the night before. We picked up Bala Aunty along the way, and at
10:00 a.m., we arrived at the center where Dr. Pattabhi Ram, a psychologist, was giving a class
on personality development. We sat in the back of the room and listened to his lecture. It was
interesting to hear him speak about character and personal development. He spoke about attitude
as well as the five types of thinking: positive, negative, toxic, useless, and creative. I am going
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to write some of the points he made that stood out to me. He mentioned that it is “your attitude
and not your aptitude that determines your altitude in society.” He also said a quote that was
mentioned in the inaugural function as well – “yesterday was a bounced check; tomorrow is a
promissory note; today is cash.” To me, this means that we should take advantage of the
opportunities each day brings us. We must also learn to think creatively. In order to show this,
he asked how to draw a square with three lines; to do this, you draw a square and then draw three
lines in it. The doctor also had a quotation in his power point presentation that I particularly
liked – “the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” (Chinese proverb). He also
used Lord Ganesha as a symbol of how we should behave. Ganesha has a big head, meaning to
think big. He has big ears, meaning to listen carefully. He also has small eyes (deep
concentration), small mouth (speak less and listen to others), projected tusks (show confidence),
and a long nose (to smell the environment). It was a really interesting class, but we could only
stay for part of it. During the break, we took a photo with him and left to watch a movie in the
IMAX.
At 11:40 a.m., we left for the IMAX, which only took us ten minutes to get to. We went
inside the IMAX theater on the first floor and our seats were in the second row from the front.
We had to crane our necks up during the entire Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
movie, which is two hours and eighteen minutes long, but it was definitely worth it. The five of
us were really excited to see the movie, for we all love the Harry Potter series of books and
movies. The last twenty minutes were in 3D, so we put our 3D IMAX glasses on for it. It was
great to be taken to the movie and to see it in such a nice theater.
After the movie was done around 2:20
p.m., Sneha left with her family to go back
home, and the rest of us went to Minerva
Restaurant to have lunch.
From the restaurant, we went to the
Qutb Tombs to see the tombs of the various
Muslim kings. We walked around from one
tomb to the next and walked inside the tombs as
well. It was interesting to see all the beautiful
intricate designs on the tombs; Bala Aunty
pointed out that each tomb had different designs
because each king wanted a tomb that was
unique from the rest. The tombs are definitely
stunning in their intricate designs, but the
structures were not in their original condition.
They appeared to be deteriorating due to neglect
and pollution. For example, all over the walls
of the tombs, visitors left their marks by writing
on the walls. Also, there is trash all over the
area and the marble is turning black. More care
needs to be taken in order to preserve the
monuments.
From the tombs, our plan was to
go to Golconda Fort, and we arrived there at
5:20 p.m. It was pretty interesting because the fort has an outer wall that we drove through.
Prathyusha 15
Inside that outer wall, it is like a city with houses and towns. On top of a mountain, the fort
continues. We were going to go inside to visit the fort, but we learned that they will not let
visitors come in after 5:00. Also, it was very crowded in the area, for there were so many
visitors. Everyone was pretty excited when they heard about the specialty regarding Golconda –
that if you clap from the entrance, it can be heard in an area of the fort on top of the mountain.
We drove through Gandipet and saw the
famous lake where Hyderabad receives its drinking
water. My mother told me that the lake is famous for
its water and visitors used to come and take some
water away with them. There were a lot of picnic
areas around the lake and we drove across the bridge
that crosses the lake. It was such a beautiful scene to
see the lake in the evening, and there were a large
number of people there with their families spending
time near the lake. We stopped by the Shree
Swaminarayan school near Chilkur and spoke with a
man who told us a little about the school. The school
offers education to the poor boys in the area and is planning to open another school for girls as
well as a university. The buildings of the school are magnificently built and there is a temple
that looks like a lotus flower next to it.
Monday, July 16, 2007 - Friday, July 20, 2007
On Monday, we were able to follow Dr. Bansal on his rounds in the hospital. We met
him on the 9th floor of the hospital and followed him into the different rooms in the private
rooms and in the general wards of the different floors. The private wards have two patients in
each room and the general wards have smaller rooms. We followed Dr. Bansal as he made his
rounds to check his various patients of different ages in the hospital. When he visited a patient,
the doctor would first look over the patient’s medical records that are given to him by a nurse.
He would check the results of any new tests that were performed and then start to question the
patient on his health and symptoms. He would also check over the patient; for example, he
would ask a patient to breathe deeply while he checked his heart rate. He made sure that an
elderly woman could use her inhaler correctly. It was really interesting to be able to observe the
patient – doctor interaction so closely.
After the doctor finished making his rounds in the morning, we were able to observe him
as patients consulted him in his office. Some patients had already seen him before and were
coming back to the doctor for check ups, and other individuals came to see the doctor for the first
time. Some of these patients were admitted into the hospital for further tests and screening. It is
interesting how in this hospital appointments to see a doctor are not compulsory and that a
specialist can be visited easily without the recommendation of a general physician. The doctor
told us that he has about fifteen consultations a day from various patients.
For the rest of the week, we were posted in the Jaya School of Nursing on the sixth floor
of the hospital. There, individuals are trained to become nurses in a three and a half year
program. After those years, the students have a two year bond with the hospital, so they are
required to stay and work at the hospital for those two years. Then, they are free to work
elsewhere. The students take courses during the three years, but in the third year, they spend half
Prathyusha 16
the day interning at either this hospital or at another maternity hospital. Each day, the first years
and the second years spend a few hours gaining experience by working in the different units and
wards. Tuition is one lakh rupees per year for the students and this includes room and board.
On Tuesday, we were given a tour of the school and the hostel where the students live by
one of the teachers. Out of all the students, there are only four males, and they are all first years.
I was informed that this year was the first time that males were accepted. The male students and
a couple of other female students are day scholars while the rest live in the hostel in the hospital.
The students spend their entire day in the hospital, for they attend classes there and live and eat
there. They are allowed to leave the hospital only with permission from the principal and usually
only if they are going out with their parents.
During the week, the three of us sat in
on a general medicine on midwifery class.
The class only had eight students and the
teacher was teaching about the placenta.
These students in the class are interested in
becoming specialized in midwifery. On
different days in the week, we also sat in on
different English classes where the students
are taught how to speak in English. The
English class is a course that the hospital
thought was important to the students and
staff; it is not a class under the nursing school.
One teacher comes in and teaches both student
and staff nurses how to speak in English. We
sat in on three separate classes throughout the week. The idea of an English class is great
because knowing how to speak in English allows the nurses to communicate with the doctors.
Most of the nurses are from Kerala and speak Malyalam, so they must be able to speak with the
doctors and the other staff who do not know Malyalam. A nurse acts as a link between the
patient and the doctor, so the nurse must be able to speak freely to the doctor regarding the
patient’s health.
I was also able to interact with
the first year and second year students
during their study periods for several
hours. These periods were my favorite
times during the week because I was
able to interact with the girls and learn
about their lives. All of the students
were incredibly friendly and sweet to
me. They made me feel really
comfortable and were very curious
about my life. For example, on
Wednesday, the vice-principal took
me to where the second years were
studying and told them that we were
there to learn about the nursing school
and to make us feel comfortable. I
Prathyusha 17
walked into the room and sat down at a desk. All of a sudden, girls started sitting in desks
around me, and at one point they formed a circle around me. I asked them about their ages, their
families, and about the school. I was curious to know why they were all from Kerala, and they
told me that in Kerala, being a nurse is a respectable occupation. They wanted to know all about
my life and asked me about my family, college, food, and lifestyle. I tried to tell them
everything as well as I could and they appeared to understand my English. On Thursday, I went
with the first years to their hostel during their lunch break and went to their rooms. I sat with
them and talked with them. They were really excited when I showed them my photos, and were
happy when I asked to take photos of them. Some of the girls are really fluent in English while
others do not know as much. I truly enjoyed interacting with the girls, for I got a peek into their
lives and was able to learn how friendly they are. On Thursday morning, I was also able to
follow the first years into the wards and observe their duty there. I went to the Intensive Cardiac
Care Unit as well as the private wards to watch them. The student nurses do jobs such as making
beds, creating medications, and filling patients’ medical charts.
It is important that these students become educated well and that there continues to be
more students who are interested in becoming nurses because educated nurses are vital to the
hospitals. Similar to the United States, there is a shortage of nurses in India as well, so it is
essential to educate more students to become nurses.
This week, we were all taken out to a restaurant called Swagath in Dilsukhnagar for
dinner on Wednesday night, and on Thursday night, we went to Dadu’s for chaat (snacks). It
was really nice to be taken out to such good dining places during the week.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Saturday was spent at the
Vegesna School, where Bhavana
showed us around the school. In the
morning, we spent time in the
vocational unit where the students
learn different arts and crafts. The
room had sewing machines and
displays of the projects that the
students created, such as clothes,
garlands, paintings, stuffed animals,
and needlework. On Saturday
morning, there were two groups of
students in the unit making garlands
that would be used in a function later
that night. It was great seeing the
children make the garlands, and it
was fun learning how to make the
garlands from them. The kids enjoyed teaching us, and I must say that they had a lot of patience
in teaching us to make the garlands. The teacher explained that learning such crafts not only
improves the children’s motor skills, but also gives the children a sense of accomplishment as
they perform their crafts and also teach others.
Prathyusha 18
During lunch, we enjoyed helping serve the kids water and food. Though we live in the
newly constructed old age home adjacent to the Vegesna school, all of us except Bhavana have
little interaction with the kids, so it was really nice
to be able to speak and interact with them. After we
had our own lunch, we visited all the classrooms
from first class to tenth class in the school. It was
really fun spending time with all the students in
their classrooms. They were elated to see us come
in to their classes. We also went to the
physiotherapy room on Saturday and learned about
the area from the physiotherapist. It was interesting
to see all the machines that are used to help the
disabled children, but what really caught my
attention were all the photos in the room. All
around the top of the wall, there are before and after
photos of the students who were given
physiotherapy. It is incredible to compare how the
children were before the therapy and how their bodies changed after they were given the therapy.
These children are forever positively impacted by the therapy they received. I was shocked by
some of the photos – some children came in crawling because of their disabilities, but in the after
shots, they were standing upright. I respect the Vegesna Foundation for helping children in such
a great manner by performing these small miracles. Later, we also visited the vocational college
where the students learn to become physiotherapists or preschool teachers.
That night, we went to a function honoring Mr. Venugopala Rao, an Emory University
physics professor, for his achievements. It was nice to meet a professor from my own university.
After the function, we went to this really elegant Chinese restaurant called Haiking in the city.
Sunday, July 22, 2007 - Monday, July 23, 2007
Early Sunday morning at 9:00
a.m., the five of us, Bala Aunty, Sailaja
Aunty, and Madhu, the physiotherapist
from the Vegesna School, left in the
Qualis for Puttaparthi. I visit Puttaparthi
every time I visit India, and I had just
visited Puttaparthi a month earlier with my
family, but I was still looking forward to
the trip. Fortunately, our driver drives
with speed, so we arrived in Puttaparthi at
4:30 p.m. We checked in to our rooms in
Hotel Sai Sadan, and I was surprised at
how large and clean the rooms were. We
were pretty lucky to have such nice rooms
to stay in. That night, we went to
Prashanti Nilayam and visited a friend of
Prathyusha 19
Sathya Sai Baba’s who gave us permission to sit closer to the front during the darshanam the
next day. We did some shopping after the meeting, and we were surprised to find copies of the
seventh Harry Potter book. We all wanted to read the newly released book, but copies could not
be found in Hyderabad because they were all sold out, so we were happy to buy them in
Puttaparthi.
The next morning, we woke up at 5:00 in the morning to go to darshanam. We waited
quite a while in Prashanti Nilayam, and then were permitted to enter the ashram. Because of the
permission notes we had, we sat close to the front. We sat for a long time inside, but it was all
worth it because when Sathya Sai Baba came in his car, he drove by right in front of us. It was
one of the closest darshanams I have ever had. Usually Baba drives around and then stops in
front of the building to go inside, but this time, he did not want to stop and drove back outside.
Therefore, he drove by us twice in the same darshanam. I felt that we were really lucky to sit so
close up front and to have Sathya Sai Baba drive by twice.
We also visited the museum on Sathya Sai Baba and the stadium. One of the best facts I
learned at the museum was about the drinking water supply project organized by Sathya Sai
Baba. With Baba’s efforts, water will be brought to more than 700 villages and 900,000 people
in Andhra Pradesh. It is amazing that what the government was not able to do, Sathya Sai Baba
was able to accomplish. Water is essential to life, and it is great that drinking water can be
supplied to all these villages. It is amazing that the Sathya Sai Baba organizations have so many
service projects all around the world. Earlier during my visit to India, I was able to volunteer at
this Sai Baba water camp in Hyderabad with my grandfather. During the water camp, volunteers
pour hundreds of glasses of fresh drinking water to thirsty people in the middle of the city during
the summer. It is great that the Sathya Sai organizations do so much volunteer work.
Then, we visited the Super Specialty
Hospital – we were fortunate enough to have
permission to visit the inside of the hospital. I
am always mesmerized by the beauty and
greatness of the hospital as I drive by the
hospital on my way to Puttaparthi, but this
was my first time inside it. We were all
surprised by the cleanliness and orderliness of
the hospital. It is amazing that such a large
facility can have order and provide such great
medical services at free of cost. After our
hospital tour, we had lunch and left for
Hyderabad.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 – Friday, July 27, 2007
On Tuesday, the three of us went to Medwin and observed in the academic block of the
hospital. The academic block provides a variety of classes for training to become technicians
and assistants in different departments. We sat in on an Anatomy and Physiology class that is
required for all first year students.
We visited Ramoji Film City on Wednesday. I had already visited the film city before
with my family, but it was nice to see it again. We all had fun on the tour and took pictures in
the scenic areas. Unfortunately, we did not have time to see the entire film city. We also had the
Prathyusha 20
opportunity to speak with Mr. Ramoji Rao in his
elegant reception room in one of his office
buildings. It was great to speak to an individual
who has so many accomplishments.
On Thursday, we observed in the
operation theaters in Medwin. It was an
incredible experience to see the operations. First,
we saw a hernia operation and then we saw the
removal of a uterus. The doctors were really nice
and told us
about the
procedures
that they were
performing. Few people have the opportunity to watch such
operations so close up – we were standing right next to the
operations tables! We were really lucky to have this
experience. That night, we went to Central Court Restaurant
for Ramaraju Uncle’s grandson’s birthday.
Friday was spent visiting all the floors of the hospital
again. We said goodbye to some of the people we met and
took some photos. Then, we went to Osmania Hospital to
see what a government hospital in Hyderabad is like. In
comparison to Medwin, the conditions in Osmania were pretty bad. There were just so many
people that needed to be treated there. The facility was not clean and did not appear very sterile.
However, it is incredible that the hospital provides free services to its patients. Since the hospital
is free, it is reasonable that not as much money is available for the upkeep of the hospital. I’m
glad we had the chance to see the hospital. That afternoon, Dr. Srinivas took us to City Center, a
shopping mall, because he felt that we should visit such a center to see how much India has
modernized.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
I spent Saturday at my relatives’ home in Hyderabad because there was a bund in the
city. It was a good chance to spend time with my family.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Since we did not have a chance to
see all of Ramoji Film City on our first
visit, we went back and were able to see
many of the shows and programs there.
We all had a pretty fun time watching the
shows and riding the rides. We went to a
function at the Ravindra Bharathi, and
from there went to the train station at night
for our Venkatadri Express train to
Prathyusha 21
Tirupati. I was glad that we took a sleeper train because instead of wasting a day traveling, we
saved time by traveling at night.
Monday, July 30, 2007 – Wednesday, August 1, 2007
We arrived in Tirupati at 7:45 in the morning. We went to our rooms at the Pushpagiri
Mutt at Tirumala. Then, we spent the afternoon visiting the various holy sites on the hills. We
went to the Rock Garden where we saw the famous Silathoranam arch, Akasha Ganga, and saw
the site with the stone feet where Lord Venkateshwara first stepped on the hills. The weather in
Tirumala was cool and we all had a great time visiting the scenic sites.
At 8:00 that night, we went to the temple for our darshanam. We were fortunate enough
to have permission to participate in the VIP darshanam. Because of this, we were in and out of
the temple within one hour. Normally, when we go to the temple, it is really hectic and we only
have a few seconds inside, but because we got to go with the VIPs, we were able to walk slowly
in the temple and even had aarti inside. It was nice to have such a great darshanam.
We had the same type of darshanam at 8:00 on Tuesday morning. After, we checked out
of the rooms and went down to Tirupati where we had lunch and went to several sites, including
the Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, Chandragiri Fort, and the Tirupati Shilparamam. We
also had the chance to meet Mr. Ramanachari, the E.O. of TTD. We met Bhavana’s cousins who
took us around to the different sites, and we later went to their home to freshen up before the
train ride back to Hyderabad.
We got on the train Tuesday evening and were back in Hyderabad early Wednesday
morning. We all went back to the Vegesna school where we all packed up all of our belongings.
We helped serve lunch at the school and then
said bye to all the kids in their classrooms.
Then, we were all dropped off at our relatives’
homes in Hyderabad.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Saturday was the day of our final
function – “graduation ceremony.” We all
Prathyusha 22
arrived with our families at the NTR Trust Bhavan that afternoon. It was nice to see everyone all
dressed up in their fancy clothes. We decided to dress in sarees for the program. The five of us
sat in the front row of the meeting room. It was also nice to see Dr. Srinivas from Medwin there.
When Mr. Chandrababu Naidu
walked in, he greeted us and I had to
pin a TANA IIP badge on him. Then,
we were called up on stage where we
presented him with flowers and a
trophy. In return, he gave each of us a
plaque as we were called by Mr.
Murali Mohan. We remained on stage
for the entire ceremony, and each of us
was called to say a few words. I was
pretty nervous because I had to go
first, but I tried my best and tried to
speak a lot in Telugu. I spoke about a
little girl asking me whether I liked
India or the U.S. better. I described how I told the girl that I like both. Though I grew up in the
U.S. for 15 years, I was born in India and I am Indian; therefore, I like both. I’m not sure if
anyone understood my Telugu, but I’m glad I at least tried to speak in it. People in the audience
were happy that I spoke in Telugu. (Luckily, people told me later that they did understand me!).
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu gave a speech in which he spoke about Indian culture and the progress
India is making. Throughout the ceremony, there were cameras in front of us, filming and taking
photos. When the ceremony ended, there were a few interviews and more photos that were
taken.
That day, the program was on many news shows, and the next day, our photos and
descriptions of the program and the ceremony were in many newspapers in Hyderabad. There
was a lot of media coverage at the initial and final ceremonies. I was a little nervous about
speaking in front of the camera and having such a large press presence, but I think that the media
coverage was good. The coverage allowed more people to learn about the program and about
TANA, which is great because more people should be aware of the program. It was a wonderful
way to publicize the program in its first year. Best of all, my family was really happy to see me
on the news, and I am sure the families of the other interns felt the same way.
Prathyusha 23
Reflections
I am so glad and honored that I was a part of the first TANA IIP program in Hyderabad.
I am sure that the internship entailed numerous responsibilities and risks, so I appreciate all the
hard work that was done to carry out the 40-day internship.
When I look back on this trip, I feel that it was definitely worthwhile. I am so glad that I
heard about the program and decided to apply for it. I heard about the program from a friend
who was told about the program. I feel as if the program could have been a little bit more
publicized so that more people would have heard about it, but I do understand that it was the first
year that the program was being run. If the program was more highly publicized, then there
would be more applicants for it. The application consisted of a form and an essay. On the form,
there was a list of internship areas that could be done in Hyderabad, which included Medicine,
Social Service, Entertainment, and Media. There were a wide array of internship areas to select
from, and the applicant had to number their top choices from the list. I selected Medicine as my
first choice because I am interested in the medical field. The essay portion should remain a part
of the application because an essay gives insight into the applicant. Out of all the applicants,
TANA selected 5 students for the program. We heard about our selection in May, a few weeks
after the deadline for the applications. I remember getting a phone call from Prasad Uncle, who
congratulated me on my acceptance into the program. I was really excited about being accepted,
for it sounded like a wonderful program.
During the 40 days, the interns lived in the newly built old age home of the Vegesna
Foundation in Hayath Nagar. It was great for each intern to have their own room and bathroom
for the internship period. Downstairs, there was also a small dining room with a fridge filled
with all the food that we were used to – juice, cookies, cereal, and ice cream. If we wanted
anything else to eat, all we had to do was ask and we would be given it. The program truly tried
to make sure we felt at home. We were even taken out several times to nice restaurants to have
food that could not be made at the school. Our living accommodations were about 45 minutes
away from Medwin, so the commute just to get into the city was pretty long, but we all felt really
safe in Hayath Nagar. There was even a security guard at the school who made us feel even
more secure. Also, there was no pollution in the rural Hayath Nagar, and the atmosphere there
felt cool compared to the city. The daily commute was pretty long because interns had to be
picked up from Medwin and High Tech City and because Hayath Nagar is pretty far from these
areas. However, it was nice that all 5 of us interns were housed in the same place. I was
satisfied with all the amenities that were provided for us. There were a couple of restrictions that
were enforced, such as we could not walk on the main road or leave the school by ourselves, but
I understand that all these rules were for our own safety. I am really thankful to Ramaraju Uncle
and the Vegesna Foundation for all the work that they did for us to make our living
accommodations comfortable.
A driver was hired especially for us, and this driver was with us for the entire internship
period. It was nice to have the same driver the entire time because we got to know him over the
period and we felt comfortable with him, especially since we were in the car with him for hours
everyday to and from work. At first, a car was hired, but when it was realized that the car was
too small for 5 members, a Qualis was immediately hired to drive us.
I, along with Saritha and Prabhat, was at Medwin on Monday to Friday every week. Dr.
Srinivas had our internship at the hospital planned out, and he made all the necessary
arrangements for us at the hospital. We all felt welcome at the hospital. I had a good experience
Prathyusha 24
at the hospital learning about the different departments. The best part was being able to watch
the operations being performed.
On the weekends, we were taken to all the weekend places, entertainment sites, places of
importance, and rural areas that I described. All of these weekend trips are essential to the
internship program, for it is important to visit all these places. It was really nice that we were
able to meet all the influential people on the internship, and I really appreciate how we were
given special permissions at the places that we visited.
I am glad to say that my Telugu improved over the summer. My parents speak in Telugu
at home, so I can understand it well. Because I lived with my family in India prior to the start of
the internship, I was able to practice my Telugu with them. Therefore, I was able to
communicate pretty well in Telugu. Once the program started, I tried my best to speak in
Telugu, so that I wouldn’t lose practice. My familiarity with Telugu definitely improved. Even
if there was a problem in which I couldn’t speak in Telugu, I could communicate in English, for
most of the people we encountered knew English well. Also, my parents create an atmosphere of
Telugu culture at home and I visit India every few years, so I am well acquainted with Telugu
culture.
This internship was a great opportunity for me to spend time in India. Not only was I
able to spend time with my family, but I was also allowed to learn about the hospital in India. I
also enjoyed spending time with my fellow interns during the summer, and the memories we
share will last a lifetime. I am thankful to Prasad Uncle and TANA for organizing this program
and Ramaraju Uncle, Bala Aunty, and Sailaja Aunty for taking care of us throughout the
internship period.
This program is definitely useful and should be continued in the future for other students.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, I would give the program a 4. Because it was the
first year of the program, there are a few improvements that could be made. If the suggestions of
the interns are listened to, then the program has the potential to score a 5.
TANA created a wonderful program for Telugu youth. So much work went into creating
this program. I am so happy that I was an intern for this program this summer. I hope the
internship is continued in the future.
Prathyusha 25
Suggestions
The applicants should be informed on time as to whether or not they were accepted into the
program. That way, students can make the appropriate plans for their summers.
A schedule of the entire internship period should be created ahead of time and given to the
interns once the program starts. The schedule should list all the trips and events of the period.
Student input should be taken in creating the schedule to see if there are any places the students
would like to see.
Students should be told well in advance about the first ceremony. This summer, the program
was supposed to start on June 23. However, none of the interns received any information about
it. Only when I called on the night of the 22nd did I discover that the date of the program had
changed.
I think that a 6-week internship period is right, but more trips should have been taken. There is
so much more to see in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. If more trips are taken (even if they are
small ones), then the 6 weeks will not seem so long and there will be more fun.
The trips themselves should be more organized and structured. For example, we went to
Puttaparthi and only stayed there for about half a day. We spent more time traveling to and from
Puttaparthi than we spent in Puttaparthi. The time could have been arranged better.
It was nice to meet the important individuals, like the CM and Mr. Ramoji Rao, but I think the
interns should know a lot about these individuals and all their accomplishments before the
meeting takes place. If the students know about the person they are meeting, they will feel more
prepared and more comfortable. That way, intelligent questions can be asked in the meeting.
Work structure should also be planned so students know what to expect. At Medwin, there were
some days in which we were really bored of being in the same area of the hospital for so long.
At times, we had nothing to do at the hospital. I think that each day should be structured to make
sure the interns are occupied. Maybe we could have followed more doctors around or maybe we
could have been given small jobs to do that would have kept us occupied.
Shorter commute distance. During the work days, we were in the car for around 3.5 hours every
day just to get to the work places and back. It is really tiring to be in the car for this long. The
internship locations and the guest house should be a little closer together to limit the commute.
Opportunity to learn Telugu – speak, grammar, write, read. I think that it would be great to have
Telugu classes during the week, so that the interns can improve their Telugu.
Cultural classes. If the commuting time was decreased, interns could have time to take some
Telugu cultural classes to learn singing, dancing, the tabla, etc.
This year, only 1 boy was selected for the program. In the future, more than only 1 boy or just 1
girl should be selected. I think it would just be more comfortable this way.
Interns should be informed ahead of time about the format and guidelines of the final report.