Dr.Balakrishna M. Ramaraju : Me Krishna My Smoking Start to Finish January 1955 - November 1970 : I pause , I think , I ponder , I yield to the wish of my nephew and reminisce about how I started smoking my first cigarette and how I ended with my last cigarette . Why now you may ask , I say because I promised my nephew , a nice boy who is at the other end of globe enjoying Arab hospitality while I am on my side of Mother Earth savoring Ame...rican bonhomie with my family all over the world . Here it goes - my first cigarette , I take full responsibility , I can not blame my room mate , it is me who is to be blamed , the buck stops here with me , how I ended the credit goes to my children , about that you have to wait for a while . Now first things first - It was midnight of December 31st 1954 and we just rung in New Year 1955 . For me New Year starts with Sunrise , but I have to go along with the current and should not swim alone . We had a good sumptuous vegetarian feast and waiting for the first moment of January 1st 1955 . I was offered a Goldflake Cigarette , a fashionable one in those days . It was fun . I put it between my lips and my roommate lit my cigarette . I inhaled , coughed , let out smoke through my nostrils and felt an uplifting of my mood ; I must say I enjoyed that First Cigarette . Next morning I had my second goldflake after breakfast , then one after lunch , one more after dinner as new year being a holiday and I was in my hostel . Then onwards I used to lit a cigarette in a movie theatre ( in those days there was no ban on smoking in movie halls ) . The habit caught on and I thought Cigarettes are good for studying well , and for better performance during examination period . I am away from home and no one to say I am doing something wrong . I graduated from 3 cigarettes a day to 20 cigarettes a day by the time I completed my MBBS in June 1957 , MS General Surgery May 1962 , FRCS Edinburgh October 1968 . Me a constant feature with a box of cigarettes , a cigarette lighter , a cigarette between my lips with fire at one end and me the fool at the other end . By 1970 my lips , my fingers were stained cigarette color , my clothes smelling of cigarettes and me A Smoking Chimney . Now how I gave up that wretched habit after an indulgence of more than 15 years . My children , bless them started constantly complaining of smell , my setting a bad example and informing me it is not good and one day early November 1970 I promised them I will soon give up smoking as soon as I return back to Bhaarath ( India ) as I am still in England so far away from Motherland . I landed in by Air India Kanishka in Mumbai ( Bombay ) on 27th November 1970 , and the first thing I did was to light a fresh cigarette ( in those days smoking was not banned on board aircraft ) . As I started smoking my children reminded me of my promise to give up smoking after landing in Bhaarath ( India ) , I thought I should not let them down , felt ashamed at my own failure , so I threw away that last cigarette . Now I need to do something to wean me away from that habit . So I said let us all go to the Buddha's Place of enlightenment Bodh Gaya in Bihar . We all journeyed forth by Train to Bodh Gaya and I approached Buddham SaraNam Gacchaami , sought out the Peepal Tree , sat down under the shade of That Holy RAAVI ( Peepal ) Chettu ( Tree ) and took A Vow Bheeshma Prathijna on That Day Glorious Day 28th Novemebr 1970 not to smoke again . I stuck to that vow , fulfilled the promise I made to my children , Bless Them and Thanks To Them , now it has been 43 years and nearly 3 months that I am rid of my Smoking Habit to which I had been addicted to since 1st January 1955 for more than 15 years until 28th Novemeber 1970 . If not for anything else in my life I am always proud of my own achievement in giving up that addiction and the entire credit I lay down at the door of my children and now it is my nephew who takes the credit for making me recall my achievement - me I hope you do appreciate and give me some credit in my life a small thing may be for you but for me a giant of accomplishment - me AnasooyaAthreyaSeshaAnjaneyakrishna.ANASOOYAATHREYASeshaAnjaneyakrishna doctor balakrishna murthy ramaraju . Mala Singh "excellent writing..... Dr.Balakrishna M. Ramaraju..... Hari Om....." Bhrigu Vamsa Samjaatha Bhaargavasya Vidmahey , Jaamadagneya Dheemahi , Thanno Bhagawaan ParasuRaama Prachodayaath . Best Wishes & Divine Blessings.Bhagawaan ParasuRaam Bless You. AnasooyaAthreyaSeshaAnjaneyakrishna. anasooyaathreya-SeshaAnjaneya