Agneepath ( with translation)

One of my favorite pieces of hindi poetry and probably one of the most famous and inspiring ones ever written by Late Harivansh Rai Bachchan (Father of Amitabh Bachchan):-

Vriksh ho bhale khade, 
ho ghane ho bade,
Ek pat chhav ki mang mat, mang mat,
Agneepath Agneepath Agneepath.

Tu na thakega kabhi,
tu na thamega kabhi, 
tu na mudega kabhi,
Kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath,
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

Ye mahaan drishya hai, chal raha manushya hai,
Ashru shwet raqt se lathpath, lathpath, lathpath,
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath. 


Translated by me - I am not very good with words so this is all that I could come up with trying to keep the essence and punch of the hindi version intact:


There may be trees all around 
Standing proudly dense and tall
Don't seek for the shade of a single leaf
Walk on the Path of Fire, the Path of Fire

That you will not tire
That you will not halt
That you will not retreat
Take this vow, take this vow
On the Path of Fire, the Path of Fire

This is a noble sight, 
that of a man marching forth
Swathed in tear ,sweat and blood, he moves forth
Walking on the Path of Fire,  the Path of Fire

Antihypertensive Therapy may Slow Cognitive Decline

As published in Nature, therapy for hypertension resulted in lessened rate of cognitive decline in 321 subjects studied in France - a result that was not expected in the hypothesis. The following is the abstract for the same.

Effects of Antihypertensive Therapy on Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease

Emmanuelle Duron¹, Anne-Sophie Rigaud¹, Delphine Dubail¹, Shima Mehrabian¹, Florence Latour¹, Marie-Laure Seux¹ and Olivier Hanon¹

¹Department of Geriatrics, University Descartes- Paris 5, Broca Hospital, Paris, France

Correspondence: E. Duron, (emmanuelle.duron@brc.aphp.fr)

Received 24 September 2008; First Decision 6 November 2008; Accepted 3 June 2009; Published online 9 July 2009.

Abstract

Background

Therapeutic trials concerning the effect of antihypertensive therapy on cognition have produced controversial findings. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of antihypertensive therapy on the cognitive function in subjects already diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods

We conducted an observational study in a memory clinic assessing outpatients suffering from AD. A total of 321 patients were included. Cognitive function was assessed yearly by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; score/30).

Results

The mean age of patients was 78.1  6 years, 54% of them received antihypertensive therapy and the mean MMSE scores were similar in both groups (patients taking antihypertensive therapy and patient without antihypertensive therapy). The mean follow-up was 34.1  6 months. MMSE means were significantly higher among patients using antihypertensive therapy compared to those without antihypertensive therapy (MMSE scores = 21.9  4.9 vs. 21.2  5.1 at 1 year (P = 0.001); 20.8 5.5 vs. 19.4  5.7 at 2 years (P < 0.001); 19.0  6.7 vs. 17.5  6.4 at 3 years (P < 0.001)), after adjustment for age, gender, education level, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at baseline, MMSE at baseline, coronary heart disease, statins, and antiplatelet agents' consumption. Furthermore, the use of antihypertensive therapy was associated with a lower estimated risk of cognitive decline (as defined by a decrease of at least one point in MMSE score over time) (hazard ratio = 0.61; 95% confidence interval = 0.45–0.81) after adjustment for the same factors.

Conclusions

These results suggest an association between antihypertensive therapy, a lower decrease in mean MMSE and a lower cognitive decline over time in AD.

American Journal of Hypertension 2009; doi:10.1038/ajh.2009.119

Evaluation of antihypertensive therapy in diabetic hypertensive patients

Evaluation of antihypertensive therapy in diabetic hypertensive patients: impact of ischemic heart disease


Waleed M. SWEILEH, Ansam F. SAWALHA, Sa’ed H. ZYOUD, Samah W. AL-JABI, Eman J. TAMEEM, Nasr Y. SHRAIM.


Macrovascular complications are common in diabetic hypertensive patients. Appropriate antihypertensive therapy and tight blood pressure control are believed to prevent or delay such complication. 

Objective: To evaluate utilization patterns of antihypertensive agents and blood pressure (BP) control among diabetic hypertensive patients with and without ischemic heart disease (IHD). 

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of all diabetic hypertensive patients attending Al-watani medical center from August 2006 until August 2007. Proportions of use of different antihypertensive drug classes were compared for all patients receiving 1, 2, 3, or 4 or more drugs, and separately among patients with and without IHD. Blood pressure control (equal or lower 130/80 mmHg) was compared for patients receiving no therapy, monotherapy, or combination therapy and separately among patients with and without IHD. 


Results: 255 patients were included in the study; their mean age was 64.4 (SD=11.4) years. Sixty one (23.9%) of the included patients was on target BP. Over 60% of the total patients were receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/ angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), followed by diuretics (40.8%), calcium channel blockers (25.1%) and beta-blockers (12.5%). The majority (> 55%) of patients were either on mono or no drug therapy. More than 55% of patients with controlled BP were using ACE-I. More than half (50.8%) of the patients with controlled BP were on combination therapy while 42.3% of patients with uncontrolled BP were on combination therapy (p=0.24). More patient in the IHD achieved target BP than those in non-IHD group (p=0.019). Comparison between IHD and non-IHD groups indicated no significant difference in the utilization of any drug class with ACE-I being the most commonly utilized in both groups. 


Conclusions: Patterns of antihypertensive therapy were generally but not adequately consistent with international guidelines. Areas of improvement include increasing ACE-I drug combinations, decreasing the number of untreated patients, and increasing the proportion of patients with controlled BP in this population.

Reference: Sweileh WM, Sawalha AF, Zyoud SH, Al-Jabil SW, Tameem EJ, Shraim NY. Evaluation of antihypertensive therapy in diabetic hypertensive patients: impact of ischemic heart disease. Pharmacy Practice (Internet) 2009 Jan-Mar;7(1):40- 46.

Full Text Article: You can download the complete text at http://www.pharmacypractice.org/vol07/pdf/040-046.pdf

RahMania – the Versatility of the Maestro – IV

Alright, this blog entry has been long pending and so I’m back after a big long break. It’s half past midnight now and I don’t feel like sleeping so I am just gonna sit down here to finish what I had started a couple of weeks back. This is the final of the installments of my take on Rahman’s soft romantic numbers and here we will focus on the songs in the post 2004 era. The reason I have separated this era from his earlier music is because during the late 2003 and early 2004, this phoenix rose from his ashes. Rahman was back with the music that this generation appreciated – they were more hip, jazzy and used newer talent.

I will start the discussion with one of my favorite soundtracks – “Yuva”. In this song, Rahman finds a new talent in Sunitha Sarathy, who sounds a tad similar to Sunidhi Chauhan in her rendition of the line Eh Khuda Hafiz. She is accompanied by the extremely talented Lucky Ali. My personal favorite moment in the song is when he adds the piano to accompany Sunitha’s rendition. The song flows smoothly sounding as whispers throughout with peaks at "Anjaana Anjaani" as if riding on a high rise wave after a smooth float making the song such an enjoyable experience.

Ae Khuda Hafiz – Yuva

In certain movies Rahman renders a song in his own voice and it almost always turns out to be a chart buster. Rahman, by his own admission in one of his interviews, finds it easier to sing at a higher scale and  difficult in the lower notes. So he chooses to sing those songs that fit his scale and works wonders with it.'Rehna Tu' from Delhi 6 isn't an exception. A wonderful orchestration of voices between Rahman, Benny Dayal and Tanvi gets you addicted to the song with simple beats. Don't miss the instrumental (Flute and strings) part at the penultimate part of the song; they're awesome.

Rehna Tu – Delhi 6

I continue the list with another song where Rahman himself lends his voice and as is always the case, the song is arguably the finest one in the album. Tere Bina from Guru is one haunting melody which possesses the prowess to adhere to the memories of the bollywood music listeners for years to come. Murtaza Khan and Qadir Khan’s ‘dham dara dham dara’ refrains are addictive to the core and purely musical bliss! Reverting to a semi-qawwalli landscape in the backgrounds of this subtly beautiful piece, Rahman impresses tremendously with his vocal prowess, and Chinmayee’s support is honorable, as she serves as a pleasant foil to Rahman’s smooth rendition.

Tere Bina – Guru

The next one is from one of my all time favorite movies ( and I believe it would rank highly in the favorite list of most bollywood movie goers of my generation) – Rang De Basanti.The romantic number 'Tu Bin Bataye' maintains an amazing tempo in entirety with not a note getting wayward at any point of time. There are no ups and downs and has a plain simple melody with a constant flow that works marvelously due to Madhushree's vocals. The Maracas and Tambourine used for the rhythm work wonders. The violins and the saxophone in the background and interlude ornate the simplicity and melody of the song aptly. By the time Naresh Iyer as a male voice is introduced and the song is about to reach its end, you realize many more nuances about the track. A good amount of credit should also go to the amazing lyrics of the song.

Tu Bin Bataye – Rang De Basanti

Stardom comes immediately with the next track, the quite wonderfully composed Tu Meri Dost Hain. The music, starting on a simple note, is eerily soft yet ever so alluring eventually developing into a blissful tune that will undoubtedly mesmerize you upon repeated listening. In particular the melodious cello play just takes the track to another level and the accompanying symphony effects are fabulous as are the dovetailing beats. So harmoniously is each portion of the song woven that it can easily rank as one of Rahman’s most melodious numbers. Benny Dayal (who also sang in Jaane Tu..) who lends his voice as the male lead alongside the maestro himself does an admirable job. But it’s Shreya Ghoshal’s entry midway that forms the icing on the cake.

Tu Meri Dost Hai – Yuvraj

The next song comes from an epic saga – Jodha Akbar and will be the final one on my list of soft and romantic numbers. Since this category needs to have a distinctive element or two, it is Javed Ali’s affluent voice in the song “Jashn-E-Bahara” that does the trick along with the tabla and a Persian string accompaniment which flow smoothly into your ears as if to ease your soul. But it is the flute that takes away all the credits among the instruments.

Jashn-E-Bahara – Jodha Akbar

With this I end my take on the magical soft romantic numbers of Rahman. In the next blog, I will continue my discussion with Rahman’s rhythmic numbers.