Dear Friends,

Greetings from (Tirunelveli) Kanyakumari,

I do not know what brought the Wandering monk Swami Vivekananda to Kanyakumari and what made him  end his quests and settle down there itself, but you have one good reason to break your routine and come to the Cape during 6-8 Feb 2009!. ISN SC CON 2009 is round the corner and the count down has begun. The 'Lands End' is getting ready (groomed) to host the great event and receive each and every one of you. Tourist crowd is waning and the weather is getting ideal. I am sure you have made your travel plans.

Again, let me remind you to be here by 5th Feb to have a day for your local sight seeing and to be in time for the Interventional Nephrology Workshop on the 6th morning. Workshop has been arranged with lot of effort and planning.  Live demos of procedures and hands on practice on mannequins are something new to most of us. I would be happy if students and young colleagues make use of this rare opportunity.

Final schedule of the scientific program has been charted out. The scientific committee has done a great job to get the best mix of topics to bring out the current concepts and developments in Nephrology. Good numbers of quality free papers have been received. With three awards (one for each category) for the free paper and one for the Tanker Award, at stake, the presenters, judges and the delegates are likely to have a great academic feast.

Vivekanandapuram, our venue by itself is a place to visit and you would be struck by its serenity. You would imbibe a good amount of spirituality by the end of the conference. Vivekanandapuram is a no smoking, no alcohol and no meat zone. This, you will agree, augers well with the modern trend of healthy living. But of course sumptuous dinners at exotic sites are there to compensate. Note that breakfast will be available in the venue on all days, our way of ensuring good food to our delegates and of course early assembling for the sessions. Having gone through the previous brochures, I am sure you have already planned your sightseeing selections from the long list of Temples, monuments, beaches, water falls, wind mills, palaces and forts.

With so much to experience inside and outside the conference, I am sure your visit to the 'Lands End', is going to be a great experience. As far as I am concerned, my year long endeavor to make a good show out of this conference will soon come to an end. Irrespective of the outcome, it has been a great experience and I thank every one of you for giving me this opportunity.  Looking forward to see you all at Kanyakumari.

Looking forward to meet you all, at Kanyakumari.
J.Balasubramaniam
Organizing Secretary, ISNSC CON 2009.
Isnsc2009@gmail.com
www.isnsccon2009.com