Life starts after 00:00 (Engineers)

The moment you join an engineering college, you sort of sign an imaginary contract with your life to sacrifice night's sleep for all the good (or silly) reasons. Basically, you can't sleep when all your friends are thundering into the enemy in Counter Strike at 1 am in the night. Late night chats with your friends or distant mates are nothing to be compared with. Your parents have no idea that you are awake after 12-12.30 midnight for you have already turned 'Last seen' off from your whats app account ( I know right). Be it tens of Assignments or mugging for exams or a marathon of F.R.I.E.N.D.S episodes, you just can't go to bed! After all the discussions of science, religion, politics with roommates, you check the time and its 4 am and decide to sleep.  Mornings are opposite BTW as you can't leave the bed for the 8 AM class... Then you check your attendance, calculate the drop if you miss it and take an important decision whether to run to class or to keep sleeping. Its already 7.55 am!

The professors know that they suck and you attend their class for the sake of your 75% quota, so he deliberately will show tantrums like not allowing you when you are ten minutes late. In those lucky days, you might sneak in at even 20 mins past class-time but not always and the walk back to hostel will bring back all the activities you did the previous day which costed your attendance. Imaginary scenes of you pleading in front of dean to allow you to write the exams despite less attendance comes to your mind. You vow not to miss class the very next day (Too much!). 

Not to forget the exams and the all-nighters before it, studying all night and directly sitting for exam in the morning, that feeling of completion is something not everyone gets. The running back to hostel and sleeping all day without care for the world is another such feeling.

As the Second year ends, a deep realization seeps in, ' Sab moh maya hai ' and you feel like give up everything and go to Himalayas but alas that can't be! You came here for a reason- Career and degree which is still tens of exams and assignments away.  

Finally, when you get past all the hurdles, 1000 formalities, hundreds of short and long exams, and 4 years of screwing yourself up, you get the piece of paper with 'Certified Engineer' written on it. You think for a second what have you sacrificed in life for that piece of paper and wish the interviewers understand this value (Which is not gonna happen :P ). 

The habit of staying up at night keeps you up even in future when you are in job or settled and it is something like this: 

Blood Buddies

Even before birth at about 3-5 weeks from conception the heart of the foetus starts to beat and pump the most vital fluid tissue of our body that is Blood. It is responsible for transporting nutrients, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat and most importantly oxygen. It also removes waste matter and carbon dioxide from the body. The White blood cells are body's primary defence against infections while the platelets help in clotting of wounds.

 The whole point is that Blood is life but what happens when there is shortage of this life-giving fluid? What happens when there is an accident and due to heavy bleeding the victim is close to death but only one thing can save him that is blood? Where will he get this vital fluid? The solution to this 'Blood Bank' which stores and dispatches blood when emergency. Are they enough?

Let us look at some statistics:- 

• Every year our nation requires about 4 crore units of blood out of which only 40 Lakh units are available. Shocking right? No, We live in a country of 125 crore people!
• Every 2 seconds someone needs blood BUT not every 2 seconds someone donates it. Basically demand and supply ratio is never satisfied due to lack of enough blood banks/ donations.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood 
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day. It is not a large number considering our population but truth is that this number is never reached! Only 10 percent of this number is reached.

The most important fact of all is-

Blood cannot be manufactured – it can only come from generous donors

The only solution is donate more and in large numbers and become blood buddies by saving lives of others.

Let us see blood donation process in brief now-

• Blood donation is a safe and healthy process in which a sterile needle is used for each donor and then discarded. Every healthy adult can donate blood with an interval of 56 days!
• It is a four step process- Registration, Med history and mini physical checkup, Donation and Refreshments.
• Donors are kept under rest for 10-15 minutes after donation to prevent any adverse conditions.
• For safe donation a doctor does the mini physical checkup to see if the BP, pulse, hemoglobin and temperature are alright. 
• The donation time takes less than 12 minutes but the total process takes around an hour.
• An average person has 10 units of blood in the body and one donation means only 1 unit which will soon be produced by his body again.
• The donated blood is tested for various infections by the lab and sent to hospitals for treatment of patients who need blood.

One more fact-

There are four types of transfusable products that can be derived from blood : red blood cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate. Typically, two or three of these are produced from a unit of donated whole blood – Hence each donation can help save up to 3 lives. So donate 1 unit of blood and save as many as 3 lives.

Only 7 percent of people in India have O-negative blood type. O-negative blood type donors are universal donors as their blood can be given to people of all blood types. 

Type O-negative blood is needed in emergencies before the patient's blood type is 
known and with newborns who need blood

0.4 percent of people have AB-blood type. AB-type blood donors are universal 

donors of plasma, which is often used in emergencies, for newborns and for patients 

requiring massive transfusions. 

I was afraid of needles, hospital procedures, blood and treatments from childhood but got past my fear this week. I went to a Christian Medical College, Vellore blood bank and donated 1 unit of blood and the staff told me it will go to some accident victim that had arrived that day. It was not even painful and I saved one or two lives. It feels great so more and more people should start donating. I am a blood buddy and will continue donating in future too.

Are you a Blood Buddy?

PSEUDO Healthcare in India

The prefix ‘Pseudo’ in the title serves two purposes here. First it is to take our attention towards the condition of healthcare in India which is often termed one of the best in the world by our leaders. Secondly when read like “‘PSEUDO’ healthcare in India” it means this post is not only about Indian healthcare but it has a political twist too. Obviously our medical facilities are not of good quality that is why Mrs Gandhi visits US every year for health checkups spending crores of taxpayer’s money. The irony is out of 65 years of independence congress was in power for more than 49 years headed by Gandhi family. Still can’t make a world class hospital? I wonder why. This post tries to explain how petty politics have so far reduced the quality of healthcare in India despite having largest number of doctors in the world. So if you hate politics go ahead and close this post, be happy and keep suffering helplessly ignoring the facts about administration and political class who in the first place are responsible for those sufferings. 

Let me explain how politics have ruined our opportunity to be a medical superpower. World class healthcare demands four main things: 

Doctors . (India has the largest population of doctors both here and abroad.)

Medical staff. ( India have the largest pool of youthful citizens who if trained skilfully can rise up to the occasion )

Infrastructure. ( India has largest population of Civil engineers, IT professionals and MBAs who if coordinated properly can easily create world class infrastructure)

Political will. ( The only thing India, the world’s LARGEST democracy doesn’t have in this field even after  65 years of independence)

So despite having everything in abundance why is Mrs Gandhi going to US for treatment? Why do film stars rush to Singapore for treatment? Why members of parliament and top beaurocrats spend large sum of taxpayer’s money for their treatments abroad?

Singapore is smaller than average Indian city so it is much easier to develop it. This might be an excuse to justify our weakness but what about US, Canada, China? All of them have one or more shortages of the above 4 points still why are they medical superpowers? Because the fourth point is the main point and should be kept at first necessity. Political will is what those countries have and we lack. They have health as one of their main priorities. Health checkups are compulsory in many of those countries, Doctors are regularly supervised, wrongdoers are punished, med schools are regulated efficiently and corruption is kept at minimum.

So coming directly to the fourth point, Health and Education are not even in the top 3 priorities in our budget. Instead MILITARY, INDUSTRY and AGRICULTURE are given highest shares of GDP spending. Whatever mere expenditure happens in education and health is further filtered into the pockets of officials at every level due to largely unearthed corruption in these two sectors. Finally 20 to 30 percent of the sanctioned money goes into ground work and for decades now healthcare is running like this.

 Once I congratulated my 9^th grade English teacher after I saw in news that central budget has introduced a scheme to give laptops to all government high school teachers for better standards of teaching. He started laughing and I failed to understand why he was laughing after I Said ‘Sir now you will be able to refer to internet or power point presentations while teaching us’. So I asked him the reason for laughing and he explained ‘Kid you say they have promised a laptop? Just wait and watch it’s a matter of time we will witness for ourselves if we can even get the laptop’s outer skeleton!’ I understood that he was referring to governmental delays in India to carry on schemes which are targeted only for media as a poll gimmick but I still asked him why he says he won’t get the laptop and is not expecting even the laptop’s outer skin. He explained that the laptop will surely start its journey from New Delhi but it will deteriorate at every level. The central officials will keep the mother board, the state officials will keep the hard drive, the education board officials will take their share and finally we are not sure what the teacher will get actually at the end of this. Metaphorically he explained how money sanctioned to various schemes go into the pockets of beaurocrats and officers at each level. This is the primary reason why our healthcare and education sectors are in dilapidated state.

A recent report by an UK journal showed that in the last five years more than 1500 UK doctors were barred from practicing medicine due to the cases of medical negligence but strangely NOT A SINGLE INDIAN DOCTOR IS EVER BARRED FROM PRACTICING BY the Medical Council Of India who receive thousands of complaints on a daily basis. They temporarily suspended few doctors with serious charges like female foeticide but never have permanently barred any doctor. That’s really strange and any sane mind will be out of explanations for this. Either UK doctors are so bad, Indian doctors are so good OR the MCI doesn’t have proper powers like many other toothless Indian laws! Whatever it may be it is giving a free hand to people running malpractices in medicine (wrong to call them doctors). A report based on a survey in Delhi showed many practicing doctors there did not even know the spelling of Paracetamol still their complaint files are stashed untouched in MCI office. And innocent people flock their clinics daily unaware of the consequences. For these reasons an average middle class Indian can’t even think of going to govt. Hospitals. He would rather borrow money but will go to a private hospital with a good record for the sake of safety and better service to his family.  

 Government hospitals in India seem more like refugee camps with people all around doing all household chores in the hospital premises. The floors are an alternative to hospital bed (which are always in shortage be it Mumbai, Delhi or Kolkata). Injections, saline and medications are administered to the patient sitting on floor itself. Maternal and infant mortality is sky rocketing and what more can you expect if delivery takes place on floor. I wonder what would be the situation in the remote villages of eastern India. Irony is that homes and even small offices maintain more hygienic conditions than government hospitals. Patients and relatives make the hospital corridors their newly found homes as the treatment drags on for weeks. Doctors come once a day to give instructions to subordinates to perform all the functions of a doctor and then swiftly moves to his private clinic. In many cases drivers, cleaners and what not have been caught on cam administering injections to infants which in turn resulted in rise in stats of the IMR. Sigh! It is too much of the grim situation analysis right? But reality no matter how harsh should not be ignored.  

Here are few photos in this regard :

an indian govt hospital

UP again in news for such reasons

Uttar pradesh: 3rd such case

2 year old child died after wardboy gave wrong injection.

OLD toddlers : WHO CARES ?

Before I start let me wish " Happy New Year 2014 " Lets face a new year with new challenges with a smile and refined attitude :) SO here it starts :

“My son is currently working with Microsoft posted in California” , “ Ranbir is doing M.Tech at CalTech in Pasedena,US” , “ I have planned my daughter’s higher studies abroad”......

Am sure all of us are familiar with these sentences in our day to day life from the aunty in our neighbourhood or from a distant relative of us boasting about their NRI sons and daughters with pride. Some of us get encouraged hearing these words ad there are many who are jealous of those families too but hardly we see through the pain hidden behind the pride of those parents who sent their wards away from them for their development. The pain of loneliness which haunts them every second, the silent wails that they ignore while constantly living with the fact that hardly anyone will take care of them in their old age, skips our attention completely. Sigh! 

Our high school textbooks gave us the very obvious reason for over-population i.e our ancestors produced more children so that even if few of them die in wars, famines or other calamities then at least the rest can take care of them in their old age. In the quest of modernisation the idea of population control made a cosy place in the minds of city dwellers owing to the high costs of living, lack of jobs and other such reasons. Another such reason is the quality healthcare we have today which can cure majority of those diseases which were termed fatal a century ago. Infant mortality rates have also decreased sharply in developed and most developing economies. The fear of losing children has thus reduced and the slogan “Hum do, Hamare do” (We two and our two children) have gained popularity, much credit to the awareness created. However better living standards and low risk of deaths have not ensured that our senior citizens are taken proper care of. Why ?

Read the first line of this post again and there is the answer hidden. It’s great that more and more people are choosing places abroad for their wards’ higher studies, the main problem starts when the sent off person settles there forgetting their duty to their Parents, Community, and Nation at large. Better job prospects and good lifestyle convinces them to stay there and mint dollars and all their parents get is a sentence to be proud of. “My son xyz is earning this much dollars with this MNC” is said with a nice smile but when asked “ when will he return”, the face turns pale and the attempt to divert the conversation is not good enough to hide the pain, confusion and love. “oh he will come when he gets time” or “don’t know she doesn’t have plans as of now” are few answers I often heard. The few well offs who still have money after this luxurious expense on education can hire a domestic help or two but most will live in loneliness they die. Of course the NRIs return but only to see the worsening condition of parental home, make meagre arrangements and go back to their exotic life. The old are children alike and need support which the solitary home, costly furniture, imported vases won’t provide. The dearth of old age homes add to their miseries as it was their last hope to live with a smile.

Old age homes are scarce in the country in comparison to the population pyramid’s number of grandmas and grandpas in the country. Hardly anyone has time to look into this problem and the lack of support from government is a primary reason for this scarcity. The hope of keeping the senior citizens in an environment of care with people alike them is what many NGO’s are working on but lack of participation is leading to shutting down of such homes rather than creating new ones. Many think that a domestic help is all they need at their home but have you ever thought how such people can make use of the situation to harass the old employer for money or other facilities instead of taking care of them. National crime records indicate that old couples are most vulerable to murders by servants for money and such crimes are increasing rapidly. WE youth must pledge to make the world a much better place of love and care for the old toddlers rather

than leaving them on their fate.

A Different issue under the same heading : 

Another issue worth mentioning here is the brain drain that these people are causing to the country. Government is spending billions on the higher education subsidies for engineering, and other higher studies and instead of returning the country with human resources they work for another economy’s development which is not healthy for any economy. I will be writing another post on this issue in future.  Till then Goodbye, happy new year once again 

*all pics from net.

As Tough As Iron

She is no ordinary activist with some bizarre craze for fasting on day to day issues like we see many these days catching headlines. A committed follower of Mahatma Gandhi in true sense and in actions, Irom Chanu Sharmila of Manipur is on an indefinite fast for the last 13 years!

Yes she has not taken any food voluntarily since the year 2000. Yet most of us don’t know the story of struggle of Irom and other activists of the same cause much because of national media's reluctance to focus on NE states. It is just a strange world record of fasting for the common public but the ground realities are way more disturbing. Irom’s only demand from the central government is to repeal the AFSPA( armed forces special powers act ) of 1958 which gives special power in the form of immunity to armed forces operating in sensitive regions of J&K and Northeast India in an unjust way. The political class of 1958 failed to visualize the draconian nature of the law. The law basically gives immunity to armed forces personnel for their unlawful activities. They can order ‘shoot at sight’ of  any person they suspect, can arrest anyone without warrant and none of their activities can be challenged in courts as they can’t be prosecuted  by judiciary even after doing crimes like murder or rape. For their prosecution written order from Home ministry is required and rarely this happens. The flaws of the law are enough for them to escape trial. Since the enactment of the law the criminals in the face of army or paramilitary forces have been abusing the law for their crimes in Kashmir and northeast. Most of their crimes don’t even feature in media. They have been killing innocent unarmed citizens, raping women and children of the region in the backdrop of the controversial law. 

In an incident of the year 2000 more than 12 people including children were shot in a bus top of Manipur by the military/paramilitary forces. Those citizens were merely waiting for the bus. The murdered persons included a teenager who earlier had won national bravery award too. Anti human activities like these moved many human rights activists to struggle against the law. Irom sharmila followed the non violent path of protest by not taking food which forced the authorities to feed her forcefully through her nose. Her health deteriorated and instead of taking steps to review the law the authorities started a case against her for attempt to suicide and the case still continues in courts.

One famous incident is the Kunan Poshpora village incident (1990s) of kashmir army raped the whole village! They spared none and they were brutally kicking and mutilating according to survivors yet no trial has taken place till now. Thanks to AFSPA ! All government documents and army press releases have termed it conspiracy but many NGOs have investigated and found the FIRs filed by those women. Clearly so many women filing FIRs against the stigma wont be lying. Recently Home ministry extended AFSPA in Assam for one more year despite protests and minutes after its extention the news report came " two school boys of class 10 and 7 were killed by Army in a joint operation with paramilitary as they suspected them as terrorists". this case wont have any trial too but there is pall of gloom in the homes of those two innocent kids.

 The UN also declared the law to be against human rights and against international laws. In the words of Iron lady of Manipur “ I love life and have no intention to die but I won’t end my fast till the government repeals the law, I am a follower of Gandhi and am doing a peaceful protest, I will keep working against violence and towards peace”. Even after repeated assurances by various political parties, government including prime minister, no steps are being taken to consider her plea to modify the law into a more humane one. As the trial proceeds against the brave heart, the world just beholds the proceedings but her fight goes on...

P.S I have included some links for further reads on the topic -
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in Manipur and other

Controversy over Assam deaths: army, cops deny killing schoolboys

PASSION is the key

We all have some special talents if not many. We all have certain capabilities beyond which things are almost impossible. Now if we judge a FISH by his abilities of FLYING in air then we will always be disappointed. Even if we train the fish, influence him to fly, to start flying because of the benefits of flying , the fish won't fly. Simply it will die once it comes out of water. The point is he might have been a terrific swimmer but that is not taken into account.

Parents spend thousands of rupees in nurturing the talents of child up to class 12. Art classes, dance classes, cricket coaching, singing classes are all filled by great talented students. Many win national prizes in these fields. It means talented individuals among us can master their fields quite well. The point here is suddenly after giving 12th exam almost everyone is following only two narrow paths with the signboard engineering and medical. MOST of us loved the movie 3 IDIOTS but very few grasped its meaning and true value. Even an enthusiast  wildlife photographer is trying to get a seat in medical. Due to this reason MANY other challenging departments like Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Planning and architecture, Economics, Statistics are NOT getting talented individuals. Test centres for Engg-Med are so crowded as if every Indian kid was born with the dream of becoming an engineer or doctor (which is not bad but many are aiming only quick money/job and not PASSION for that field). We have the largest population of engineers and doctors in the world but there's lack of DEDICATED and TRUE research in in this country. REASON: after getting the degree nobody's interested in the subject anymore! (The same subject for whom they have spent nights without sleeps and gave many sacrifices). The money mindedness of youth attracts them to the MNCs and they work like robot and mint money till they die.

Guess what would have happened if Einstein, Raman, Edison, Habib contractor etc had followed the same path. We would have missed out so many things which can be discovered through passion itself.

“At the end of the day we all need to remember to keep going. However, just making it another day doesn’t get us where we truly want to be. We must move with vigour, passion, and fixed determination to achieve our goals"

A recent news item showed 40% of Kota's students suffer from HYPERTENSION at this young age due to the Extra pressure given on them to crack entrances. Research says such students will never be satisfied in their professional lives and will suffer hypertension and other heart diseases. The same study also outlines the fact that they have been turned into robot like mindsets and will fail to have a good life in most cases ahead even if their bank balance will be high.

“Life is all about making choices. Right choices at the right time will be rewarded and life will give a chance to convert the wrong ones to right. Now it depends on us whether we can make the right ones or not. Same choice may be right for someone and disastrous for his friend so we have to think wisely while making choices"