Dr Harsh Srivastava: a physician turned neuroscientist at IISc, studying brain networks in psychosis and writing essays, stories and opinions on science, medicine and life.https://www.scifreak.com/https://www.scifreak.com/post/systematic-failure/https://www.scifreak.com/post/systematic-failure/I was at the Gomti Nagar Railway station today, when I saw a commotion at the platform. As I approached the group of people, I saw a man lying unconscious…Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/goodbye-2025/https://www.scifreak.com/post/goodbye-2025/2025, too, comes to an end. I do this exercise at the end of each year to see how much I've changed. However, I suppose it's not quite right to just look at…Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-day-after-it-all-ended/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-day-after-it-all-ended/The day after it all ended Something didn't feel right I ransacked the shelves Looking for old pictures and notes Hoping to find an answer To the…Fri, 27 Jun 2025 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/kindness/https://www.scifreak.com/post/kindness/I've been thinking about it for a while. It's probably too trivial for others, but not for me. I always found it hard to believe when seeing or hearing…Fri, 11 Apr 2025 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_3-cs/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_3-cs/If you think about it, life boils down to three Cs. The Conditions that exist, the Choices you make and the Consequences you face. Out of these three Cs,…Sun, 02 Mar 2025 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/goodbye-2024/https://www.scifreak.com/post/goodbye-2024/2024 will always be a special year for me. The amount of personal growth I've experienced in just 365 days is nothing short of phenomenal. I remember the…Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/he-who-lives-within-me/https://www.scifreak.com/post/he-who-lives-within-me/"He, who lives within me." "You mean, God?" "No, the devil." "Oh. Is there something I could do to help?" "Yes. Run. As early and far as possible."Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/goodbye-2023/https://www.scifreak.com/post/goodbye-2023/Growing up, I always took pride in operating like a robot. Emotions felt unnecessary and, quite frankly, a waste of time. 2023 changed that. It stripped me…Sat, 30 Dec 2023 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-engineering-solution/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-engineering-solution/It's been a little over a week since I completed my 1st semester of an engineering degree. As a physician transitioning into biomedical engineering, people…Wed, 13 Dec 2023 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/what-am-i-1/https://www.scifreak.com/post/what-am-i-1/I am nothing but a thousand thoughts, a million ambitions and a billion memories.Sat, 07 Oct 2023 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%87-%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7/https://www.scifreak.com/post/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%87-%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7/"कितना भागोगे हर्ष? कभी तो रुकना पड़ेगा ना? जब ये पैर तुम्हारा साथ छोड़ देंगे तब कैसे संभालोगे खुद को?" "मुझे नहीं पता। इसी उम्मीद से भाग रहा था कि जब वो…Sat, 12 Aug 2023 19:42:31 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/little-conversations/https://www.scifreak.com/post/little-conversations/Every once in a while, I meet some beautiful humans who give me a glimpse of themselves. These people are busy with their lives most days, but when they do…Wed, 07 Jun 2023 18:00:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/new-year-2023/https://www.scifreak.com/post/new-year-2023/A year ago, I made a promise to myself. Life, as I knew it, was changing. Different priorities, different challenges, and different people. I did not want…Sat, 31 Dec 2022 18:07:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_hurt-1/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_hurt-1/"It doesn't hurt anymore." "...and how do you feel about it?" "I don't feel sad or happy. I feel nothing." "Isn't that a good thing?" "Why?" "You have…Thu, 10 Nov 2022 18:08:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/forgivenes/https://www.scifreak.com/post/forgivenes/"Will you ever forgive me?" "Can you give back my life? All those lost years. Can you erase my scars? Those painful reminders. Can you take away my fear?…Tue, 11 Oct 2022 18:10:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/burning-desire/https://www.scifreak.com/post/burning-desire/I looked into his eyes, With a distorted sense of reality, His innocent eyes, Gazed back into my soul, As if burning away my sins, His eyes glimmered off…Wed, 17 Aug 2022 18:13:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/idea-of-living/https://www.scifreak.com/post/idea-of-living/"Look at yourself. You look pathetic." "Do I, though?" as he slowly kisses the back of his blood-soaked palm. "I can't believe you did this to yourself. You…Sat, 23 Jul 2022 18:13:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/world-no-tobacco-day/https://www.scifreak.com/post/world-no-tobacco-day/I've often wondered why the horrific image of cancer on cigarette and pan masala/ gutka packets doesn't deter the consumers from consuming them. Are they so…Mon, 30 May 2022 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/internship/https://www.scifreak.com/post/internship/01/05/2021 to 30/04/2022. This one year of internship has changed my life. I did expect this but a change of this magnitude, wow. I spent my last year…Sat, 30 Apr 2022 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/is-my-brain-lying-to-me/https://www.scifreak.com/post/is-my-brain-lying-to-me/I spent my last 15 days in the department of Psychiatry. It takes enormous courage to come for a psychiatric consultation. One of the things that my medical…Tue, 15 Mar 2022 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/women-s-day/https://www.scifreak.com/post/women-s-day/"Ladkion ke zada chul machti hai" "Ladkian bas shakal dikha ke pass ho jati hain." "Tum to ladki ho, gynaecologist hi banogi." "Are wo dekh kya pehen ke ai…Mon, 07 Mar 2022 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/do-you-remember-me/https://www.scifreak.com/post/do-you-remember-me/"Do you remember me?" "I wish I was capable of forgetting." "So you remember the curse that you bear." "Yes." "And the killings of the ones you held dear?"…Sat, 26 Feb 2022 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/apology/https://www.scifreak.com/post/apology/"You taught me how to fly, then cut my wings as I soared in the sky." "I am sorry, I didn't mean to." "Your apologies. That's all I get as I bleed to death,…Sun, 20 Feb 2022 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/running-away/https://www.scifreak.com/post/running-away/I've always despised running away. Why can't I face those adversities head on? Lately, this idea seems to be flawed. Maybe I am choosing not to run away…Sat, 19 Feb 2022 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-disease/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-disease/"The disease, it's spreading." "How much?" "I am more of the disease and less of myself."Sat, 19 Feb 2022 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/attire/https://www.scifreak.com/post/attire/Every communal incident brings to light an even deeper problem. The people who support it, all across the country. Possibly, they were always bigoted but…Mon, 07 Feb 2022 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/cacophony/https://www.scifreak.com/post/cacophony/Let me dance, to this cacophony. I'll place my feet elegantly, sway my arms swiftly, arch my back gently, submitting myself to this loathed melody. It's…Fri, 07 Jan 2022 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/mercy/https://www.scifreak.com/post/mercy/"You see, my dear boy, I am not meant to be caged." "No. Wh...why do you get to choose that?" "This world needs me, don't you think? Surrender and I'll kill…Sat, 01 Jan 2022 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/grief-bonding/https://www.scifreak.com/post/grief-bonding/Pediatric ICU drowns you into a cocktail of emotions. The sweetest children, gasping for their breaths, screaming in pain. What did they do to deserve this…Wed, 22 Dec 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/medicine-research/https://www.scifreak.com/post/medicine-research/One of the reasons I keep urging the medical fraternity to get into research is that they don't yet realise that we, as doctors, are fighting a losing…Sun, 05 Dec 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/debate/https://www.scifreak.com/post/debate/I remember, back in 12th grade, my english teacher entered our class asking me to take part in the school debate. A classmate of mine shouted, "ma'am ye to…Sat, 30 Oct 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/serendipity/https://www.scifreak.com/post/serendipity/We were returning from the library when we heard someone reciting a beautiful poetry. We immediately knew we had to listen to more of this, thereby, stopped…Tue, 05 Oct 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/fallacy/https://www.scifreak.com/post/fallacy/How do I know you're not me? And when I'll be done with pulling your guts out, contorting your neck, tearing your flesh, will I be saved? Or is it all a…Tue, 14 Sep 2021 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/plight-of-a-woman/https://www.scifreak.com/post/plight-of-a-woman/"डॉक्टर साब, मै सबसे अच्छी थी, अब खराब हो गई |" These are the words of a 30 year old woman who has been admitted with 95% third degree burns. Her husband's…Tue, 13 Jul 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/where-am-i/https://www.scifreak.com/post/where-am-i/Where am I? I see an endless roof. My chest feels heavy, gasping for air. Am I drenched in sweat? Everything feels moist. Oh. It's blood. Blood and sweat. A…Sun, 04 Jul 2021 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_obgy/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_obgy/Done with 60 days of rotational posting in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 60 days of witnessing everything a female has to go through besides battling…Wed, 30 Jun 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/acceptance/https://www.scifreak.com/post/acceptance/The hardest part of coping is acceptance. The reason it's hard is that it rejects the entire narrative that you had laid out for yourself. Why should events…Sun, 27 Jun 2021 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/first-covid-19-duty-experience/https://www.scifreak.com/post/first-covid-19-duty-experience/I spent my last 14 nights looking after people with severe acute respiratory illness (suspected COVID-19) in the emergency holding area. Everyone is aware…Mon, 31 May 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_mbbs/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_mbbs/4.5 years back, when I entered this college, I didn't have the slightest idea about things I would go through. Different culture, different people.…Fri, 23 Apr 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/geriatric-woes/https://www.scifreak.com/post/geriatric-woes/There's something that I feel doesn't receive enough attention. A couple months of lockdown drove most of us crazy. To converse with just yourself can be a…Fri, 16 Apr 2021 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-walls-of-my-home/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-walls-of-my-home/The walls of my home speak to me. I grew up under their watch. Now, I only return as a guest. They know this. They know I can't stay. They're overwhelmed…Tue, 13 Apr 2021 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/beware/https://www.scifreak.com/post/beware/Beware of the system that poses as an all inclusive one, coaxing you to believe that it's okay to run at your own pace; that it's the destination that…Thu, 24 Dec 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/isn-t-it/https://www.scifreak.com/post/isn-t-it/What pain are you hiding, behind those pretty eyes? It's getting too heavy lately, isn't it? What have you left unspoken, biting those trembling lips? It's…Thu, 17 Dec 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/power/https://www.scifreak.com/post/power/What gives the men in power, the power they have? It's the people who bow down to them. Would those people bow down, if they themselves didn't have the…Sun, 15 Nov 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/abuses/https://www.scifreak.com/post/abuses/Trigger warning: Contains disgusting abuses Our subconscious thoughts find their way out, one way or the other. For instance, a lot of us don't truly…Mon, 09 Nov 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/maternity-posting/https://www.scifreak.com/post/maternity-posting/If only we were aware of what happens when we are asleep. Inside those tall buildings, someone is fighting for their life. Countless screams of pain, which…Sat, 31 Oct 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/cost-of-human-life/https://www.scifreak.com/post/cost-of-human-life/What is the cost of human life? I don't think there is any, the moment it becomes part of a statistic. How bizarre. A single death can destroy the lives of…Wed, 28 Oct 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/necessity/https://www.scifreak.com/post/necessity/I wish being strong was an option and not a necessity.Mon, 12 Oct 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/delusion/https://www.scifreak.com/post/delusion/This world reeks of so much pain, sometimes I feel like happiness is nothing but a delusion.Wed, 07 Oct 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/hardwork/https://www.scifreak.com/post/hardwork/I don't understand why forced hardwork has been normalised. "It's worth it." "The pain will pay off." Why does it have to be this way? Everything can be…Sat, 26 Sep 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/drowning/https://www.scifreak.com/post/drowning/I had been drowning for so long, I can't remember how to breathe, now that I can.Fri, 21 Aug 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-fall/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-fall/Something to hold on to. Anything to hold on to. It's slipping away. Or is it my strength, That's slipping away? What scares me is not the fall, But the…Wed, 19 Aug 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/excuses/https://www.scifreak.com/post/excuses/Beyond excuses lies an uncomfortable truth. Am I strong enough to face that? Let's see.Tue, 18 Aug 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_pain/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_pain/We tend to seek pain. Because pain has been the only constant thing. We know it inside out. Everyone leaves, but not pain. Pain is familiar. Pain knows us.Fri, 31 Jul 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/nobody/https://www.scifreak.com/post/nobody/The day you realise you're a nobody, you can start working towards becoming a somebody.Thu, 23 Jul 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_loss/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_loss/So many beautiful people are suddenly popping into my life. Do I feel happy about having them in my life or scared about the possibility of losing them at…Wed, 24 Jun 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_anna/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_anna/Anna was excited by the idea of opening up. She could unleash all her demons and no one would mind that. Paradoxically, the more she opened up, the lonelier…Fri, 19 Jun 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/look-closely/https://www.scifreak.com/post/look-closely/Look around. Look closely. Do you see it now? Can you see the agony that surrounds you?Thu, 18 Jun 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/do-mothers-care-more-than-fathers/https://www.scifreak.com/post/do-mothers-care-more-than-fathers/Do mothers care more than fathers? The answer is not so simple. It's something that has multiple levels to it. To understand this, let us begin from the…Tue, 19 May 2020 18:30:00 GMTarticleshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_hurt/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_hurt/Do I get excited too soon about good things finally happening? Yes. Does it enormously hurt when I realise that good things never stay with me? Yes.Thu, 14 May 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-fanatics/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-fanatics/𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑟 : 𝑆𝑒𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟. The telephone rung all of a…Thu, 23 Apr 2020 18:30:00 GMTstorieshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/scars/https://www.scifreak.com/post/scars/A health crisis birthed a humanitarian crisis. The health crisis will eventually go away but what about the scars that these inhumane acts leave? They won't…Tue, 21 Apr 2020 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/when-this-is-all-over/https://www.scifreak.com/post/when-this-is-all-over/When this is all over, The religious will fight again, The ministers will fool us again, The capitalists will loot us again, The doctors will be the…Sat, 04 Apr 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/burden-of-the-dead-a-50-words-composition/https://www.scifreak.com/post/burden-of-the-dead-a-50-words-composition/Leave your broken dreams behind, you say. How can any man leave behind his dead child? The moment I leave my dreams behind, I am no longer the person I…Sun, 29 Mar 2020 18:30:00 GMTstorieshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/_numb/https://www.scifreak.com/post/_numb/It only hurts until you go numb. The problem with that is, once you go numb, you'll keep walking right into every thing that cuts you and you wouldn't even…Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/quarantine/https://www.scifreak.com/post/quarantine/Perhaps a good way to use quarantine would be to stitch those torn off pieces of yourself back onto you, so that you can finally look at yourself in the…Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/choices/https://www.scifreak.com/post/choices/In the darkest of days, not the happiest moments come to reminiscence but the choices that never should have been made.Sun, 22 Mar 2020 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/well-being/https://www.scifreak.com/post/well-being/It's ironic, rather sad, that the community medicine department that teaches the concept of well being, itself does not care about it in practice. It's…Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/what-am-i/https://www.scifreak.com/post/what-am-i/What am I? Am I a prisoner of thoughts or the master?Fri, 20 Sep 2019 18:30:00 GMTmusingshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/erotica/https://www.scifreak.com/post/erotica/Mr. Joseph’s sleep was broken by constant knocks on the door. The 30 year old hastily put on his pants, combed his messy hair to the one deemed more…Tue, 30 Jul 2019 18:30:00 GMTstorieshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/14th-march/https://www.scifreak.com/post/14th-march/On this day, Albert Einstein was born. On this very day, Stephen Hawking died. This day also happens to be pi day(3.14). Do you know what this implies? Not…Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/chambal-archives/https://www.scifreak.com/post/chambal-archives/Hidden in the streets of Etawah is a gold mine named Chambal Archives. We had no idea about the extent to which we were about to be amazed. This archive is…Sat, 16 Feb 2019 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-parasite/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-parasite/"This is the last time I'm saying it. You reach that passageway and turn the dial of your watch to the right. This'll generate an infrared signal tuned to…Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:30:00 GMTstorieshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/the-alternate-reality/https://www.scifreak.com/post/the-alternate-reality/Every night I travel to a different world. Once in it, I can't tell what's real or what isn't. Until I wake up, I have to live a different life. Same people…Mon, 26 Feb 2018 18:30:00 GMTstorieshttps://www.scifreak.com/post/beauty/https://www.scifreak.com/post/beauty/On the basis of observation, technically males of a species are more aesthetically pleasing and talented than the females of the species. Males have to bear…Sun, 26 Nov 2017 18:30:00 GMTopinionhttps://www.scifreak.com/post/death/https://www.scifreak.com/post/death/Surprised, stunned and scared, Death came to me. "What's the matter death?", I asked. "What makes you so afraid?" "I am supposed to take you. But you…Mon, 31 Oct 2016 18:30:00 GMTmusings