Why the lack of sensitivity?

I'd aspired to be a doctor, once upon a time, because I used to be impressed by the way a doctor came out from the ICU, after reviewing a patient, to give the rundown to the relatives anxiously waiting outside for a word of hope to cling on. Every word that he'd utter is carefully assimilated and every advice adhered to in letter and spirit! It seemed as though the doctor had a special covenant with god regarding life and death and hence, his words were gospel!

Then came the awakening that the doctors were ordinary mortals like anyone and had their limitations, just like it is in any other profession. It came through experiences, case studies and numerous books - both fiction and non fiction - on the profession! But I must admit that Ivan Ilyich's 'Nemesis' helped me to understand and appreciate the pros and the cons of the profession to a great extent.

Having said all that, on a personal note and from what I've gathered from the experiences of a few friends and relatives, there're increasing cases of insensitive behaviour from some in the profession. I'd like to believe that these form a miniscule and also because of the fact that cases of errant behaviour are not restricted to this profession alone.

A patient's attendants have the right to know as to what the problem was(not so much in medical terminology), as to what's being done to alleviate the problem and a few words of consolation would go a long way in reducing their anxiety. One can't buy the theory that a doctor doesn't have the time to show sentiments when there are many of them who practice good bedside manners and go out of their way to interact with the attendants despite being hard pressed for time and are simultaneously busy, taming the problem at hand.


The supporting tableau.

The father of one of my boys was shifted from one hospital to another as he was in an extremely critical medical condition with a multi organ failure - the kidneys have stopped functioning with no output of urine and Creatinine levels exceeding limits, lungs working at low efficiency due to the combined effect of an abscess in the left lung and contraction of pneumonia and a heart that has already suffered a mild attack right at the beginning.

Time taken to carry out the paperwork in connection with the transfer of the patient from one hospital to the other - over two hours! Simply ridiculous and unacceptable!!

Is it because human lives are cheap in this country?

On a negative roll?

I'm disappointed at the way certain events seem to be taking place in our country, over the past few days. Naming just a few of them:-
    (a) The continuing stalemate in Parliament when there're so many important bills that are pending legislation. Why aren't the lawmakers assuming responsibility and carry out the jobs that they're supposed to do for which we've elected them?
    (b) The HRD minister's missive to government schools to introduce an 'all pass' examination system. Are we taking for granted that our young generation is brittle and hence can't absorb failures? If they aren't exposed to successes and failures from the early stage of their lives, when do we expect them to be exposed?
    (c) The continuing dilly dallying about the enactment of the 'lokpal bil'. Can't help agreeing with Anna Hazareji when he says that no one is interested in bringing about a strong bill on the subject because corruption has become a way of life in this country. Doesn't it substantiate the oft repeated charge that politics is a cesspool of corruption?

The list is endless. Is there a methodicity in this madness?

I'm an Indian who is sure that my country has all the requisites in terms of manpower and other resources to become a superpower. But, we need to understand that time is at a premium and that we do not have the luxury to fritter it away on pointless activities.

The need of the time is for everyone to rally around to make our country strong, focus on the issues that matter and strive to achieve our ultimate objective within the shortest time period. 

Hopelessly lost!

I've always admired men who're good at the culinary art. Probably, my admiration comes from an utter helplessness, on my part, to do something worthwhile in the kitchen. Thanks to some painstaking lessons from Lekha, I can now make a passable cup of tea!

 And there are some attendant muddles that I invariably end up with when I'm in the kitchen - like forgetting to shut down the cooking range completely(once, I'd to rush back from office to shut down the system), the normally well behaved gas lighter has a tendency to have quite a few false starts and ultimately when it does, a huge flame bursts out which could end up in a fire hazard(thankfully, it hasn't thus far) and the worst is that I end up with a burnt hand/hands simply because I'd tried to handle a utensil, that was above room temperature and I'd forgotten in the heat(?!) of the moment thanks to a misplaced, irrational enthusiasm!

My culinary attempts or the lack of it has been the butt of jokes amongst my friends, course mates and family. Quite a while back, while I was at the Academy and going through the paces of Camp Greenhorn in my II term, I'd deviced what seemed to be a novel idea to me then. Dry rations given to each cadet at the beginning of the night march were supposed to be cooked at the end of the trek and eaten before turning in for the night. While most of my friends laboured with their resources and made passable meals for themselves, I'd mixed my share of the raw rice with sugar and had the 'dry porridge' for supper giving rise to a mirthful night at the campsite, for the 'route march weary' and exhausted crowd! A few of them offered to share their meals with me seeing my efforts!! 

I take a philosophical stand on such occasions to hide my deficiency and stand rooted to the saying, "one must eat to live and never live to eat".

Lekha's off for a couple of days to attend a family function and I'm already feeling helpless! 

The Chinese checkers.

The Chinese are at it again in brow beating India but this time, thankfully, our response has been appropriate and laudable. On a personal level, though, I wish our honourable President and Prime Minister had also attended the function and bestowed upon the conglomeration the sanctity that it deserves. But, I suppose, the government has followed its decision of following diplomatic niceties even while their Chinese counterparts have acted nasty by calling off the border talks, scheduled this week!

And why did the Chinese play dirty this time? It objected to the participation of the Dalai Lama at the Global Buddhist Congregation currently being held at New Delhi. It also fears the break away of Tibet from their area of influence if the Dalai Lama were to be given a free run.

One of the aims of this conference is to bring together the three streams of Buddhism viz. 'Theravada', 'Bodhisattvayana' and 'Vajrayana' on a common platform and the participants are going to debate the finer points of Buddhist Philosophy while touching upon their ideas of right living. And the Dalai Lama will give the valedictory speech on 30 Nov.

   

On the highway.

It was a trip that I was dreading as my experience, made last a couple of months back, was not entirely memorable. The 23 km stretch between Mannuthi, soon after Thrissur, and Vadakkancherri was a mess with unimaginably big potholes and many a time, I was looking for the road to get to drive. That stretch happens to be through hilly features and hence has a gradient that gives the added difficulty!

And to add to that, one has to reckon with obnoxious drivers who lack etiquette. They simply do not believe in being nice to their fellow drivers as they overtake at points where there's no space whatsoever, blare their vehicular horns to momentarily stun the other and at times, lean out smirking at the momentarily dazed and hapless victim of their uncouth behaviour! When would these guys ever understand that driving is not only an activity to derive pleasure and enjoyment, but it is also meant to ensure that other fellow travellers have pleasant experiences when they pass you?

Today's trip was much better though I must say that the condition of that 23 km stretch leaves much to be desired. The road repairs have been reduced to patchwork, with substandard material, that have already started giving way at numerous places. When will these guys ever learn and it's high time that the contractors, who've presented such shoddy work, along with the officials who've cleared the quality of work are brought to book and pay for their sins!    

At random.

1. Now it hurts them!

It can only be seen as double speak when the Maoists say that their leader, Kishenji, was killed in a fake encounter. The guy deserved the death that he met with because of the violent ends that he'd imperiously bestowed upon innocent civilians and the numerous security personnel, over a period of time. Kudos to the Security forces on their success; may reason and maturity prevail and it's hoped that all the concerned parties would sit across a table, mull over the fundamental problems that incite terrorism and bring about a lasting solution to tackle the situation.

The economic backwardness of a region coupled with the perception that there's no one to guarantee their legitimate rights spur the people to latch on to such pressure groups which are led by unscrupulous guys who're in search of their 15 minutes of fame - and boy, these guys can go to any lengths at that! The element of fear is also an important aspect that forces the common man to follow them.



2. The Brits still rule us.

65 years after having attained our independence from the Brits, it's amazing to know that we're still ruled by them! I mean, we still follow blindly a slew of rules and directives established by them and naturally, quite a few of them reflect an occupant's perception of his subjugates! To cite just one example, while the Indian Railways has laws that guarantee protection of its stock and material(and rightfully so) it has none that covers the rights of its customers - the passengers!! On the flip side, I'm also aware that there are many rules that are sound and relevant to the present times and beyond - real 'monuments' that have withstood the test of time.

It's high time that the concerned people reviewed the archaic laws that are prevalent and substituted them with new ones that suit the times.     

Nice to be remembered!

24 Nov happens to be my birthday. This year it has an added spice that my day, as per the Malayalam calendar, falls immediately the day after! But as a friend had remarked, both the days coincide once, every 19 years!!

Wishes and messages came in many ways thanks to the many options available for communication. Every word uttered, every sentiment expressed and every gesture communicated, reinforced the bonds nurtured over time. And I must confess that I'm fond of receiving gifts making me look forward to my next b'day even before this day becomes history!

It was also an occasion to catch up with people with whom I've not been in contact, on a regular basis. But what I sorely missed, this time, was the call from Leela kunjamma who used to make it a point to call up early in the morning and wish me happy returns.

I'd like to believe that she's with me this day!