Russel Peters take on India

Last week Russel Peters made his maiden appearance on Jay Leno's 'Tonight Show'. He started off with his Stand up act. As he had visited India some times ago,he chose his visit to India as theme. He described his experience when he got off the plane in Mumbai and the joke was on smell of 'SHIT'. When will they come off this stupid joke? At least those who have visited Mumbai recently should be more aware.Is it that these stereotype jokes are acceptable in US?. Compared to Jay Leno, Russel's act appeared to be wash out. I think he needs good writers in his team.

This Economics I can't understand

Come February and Newspapers are full of predictions on Taxes,especially direct taxes in Budget to be presented on 28 Feb. There are wish lists from various organizations requesting Tax sops to particular industry. Leftist would like increased tax on Rich and Tax benefits to Low income groups. This year there is tremendous increase in Tax collection.Advance Income Tax is all time high. This is considered as result of Low Tax regime brought about by our present PM, who was Finance Minister in 1991. Before 91 we were paying very high I.Tax which resulted in Parallel Economy called 'Black Money' which was bigger than official Economy. With reduction in I.Tax rate, increased vigilance and Computerisation, more and more people are declaring their true income. These days it is advantageous to declare Income, Pay Tax and Invest which will recover Tax paid in just 2yrs. Another punitive Tax was Death Duty/Wealth Tax etc. With removal of these taxes,Tax compliance is better and Peoples' savings/spendings have increased which is reflected in booming Economy.
In USA this is Presidential Election year. Now in final phase debates and focus of Candidates will be on Economy which is threatening to go into recession. Some economists fear that it will be similar to great Depression of 1930. Everyone agrees that Americans-both Govt. and Individuals- spend more than their Income and hence run up great deficit which requires periodic recessions to prevent Great Depression of Economy. Many blame Republican Presidents'-Regan & Bush- Tax Cuts and Supply side policies for this.
But this is what I fail to understand. Today US Income Tax starts with 15% at Income level of $0 to $27K. One has to file return for Monthly Income of $750.-for Self Employed $400/Yr..There is no Tax exemption limit like we have (Rs. 100K). The Death Duty has resulted in Failure of many small to medium businesses in US as they were asset rich but cash poor. President Bush has advocated marginal reduction in Income Tax-from 15% to 10% in lowest bracket and removal of Death Duty. Why this is considered as disastrous for US economy but same proposals when applied to Indian Tax laws were considered as boon to economy is beyond my understanding. When I watch Suze Orman show on CNBC-TV18, I find it appalling that people with 4-8K take home pay /month have hardly any savings to fall back on. Savings earn just 3-4% Interest(Taxable) on Deposits ,many have huge credit card debts.They cant pay back debts of $10-15K and have to file Bankruptcy which increases their interest on all loans. For families belonging to sub 100K/yr in earnings life is tough,they have high debts,pay high interest, can hardly save anything and saving fetch so little interest that there is no incentive to save. Govt. collects Tax from these marginal earners and spends huge amount on Iraq misadventures and exploring space. This finally ends up in Periodic recessions in US which has effect on all the economies of the world. What is the solution? Only God Knows as no two economists agree on given solution.

Doctor's Dilemma

An email from Dr. Ashok Sinha of Agartala, Tripura is doing rounds among Medical Fraternity. I feel that this particular mail requires wider public exposure than read by only Doctors.

' The recent controversy regarding the village posting of doctors has put the medical community on one side and the whole world on the other side. I remember, 35 years ago, when I was selected for medical college I went to one of my elderly aunts to seek her blessing. She was not very happy about the issue, no, she was not jealous, but she expressed her anxiety very eloquently. "You are such a nice boy, but now you'll become a bad man". That, I think, sums up the attitude of the society towards the doctors. The problem possibly lies with the doctors. They work for money, they do not bother about the society, they can kill female fetuses for a few bucks more, and they can refuse treatment for want of money; they are not up-to-date with knowledge, they do unnecessary tests to get a share of the booty. Most of the complaints are probably true. I have seen ultra-sonologists giving shamelessly false report to assist another shameless gynecologist in going for an unnecessary surgery, and I have seen many more un-parliamentary linen that I should not wash in public. All are true and more. My worry is about the ways the society is trying to go about solving the problem. The society is trying to find a solution without assistance from doctors. It was the same when the consumer protection act came. Most of the sane doctors protested, some insane ones also did. No one listened to us. I remember having told one gathering of legal experts, that they were putting the patients from the frying pan to fire; from doctors clutches to lawyers. I asked them, why did they want consumer protection act for the medical community, to improve services or getting compensation, or did they want just to teach a lesson! I assured them none of these would be possible. People refuse to learn from history. Has the road accident compensation policy improved the quality of drivers? It has only raised the insurance rates and probably helped the family of the dead. If consumer protection act implementation for medical community was intended for compensation, it was good, but if it was meant to improve services, it was useless. People gave us funny looks, thought we were `so bad'. Now the great thinkers of the nation are again at it. They want doctors to go to villages, and because the anti-social doctors do not want to go to villages, they'll have to be forced. I am surprised at the cerebral quality of the people who rake up such ideas. Has any one tried to find out why doctors are not interested in going to the villages! Is it only money! By the way, one of the lowest paid employees in India is a junior doctor. As a junior doctor I was paid a princely sum of Rs. 225/- PM, while the ward boys were paid Rs 400/-. Their duty was 8 hrs, mine 24 hrs; they had one weekly holiday, I had none. They had time for lunch; I did not. I survived because the `sisters' were real sisters; I shared their food. If the barber failed to turn up, I had to `prepare' the patient for surgery; the ward boy would not even have a nightmare of doing it. If the ward boy were absent I had to `ensure' that the patient reached the OT on time, riding on the trolley, guess who pushed it through the corridors of the hospital! But I tell you; I enjoyed my stay as a house surgeon. I am still proud of what I did. Because that was when I learned. That was what prepared me for the future. That is where I learnt how to give a painless suture, how to tackle a violent patient, how to tackle grief. I do not think a Lal Bahadur Institute trained babu will ever understand that, they do not have the training. Look at the position of medical education today. MBBS is a five and a half years course. Already the longest course in the country. But an MBBS degree is truly nothing today. At one time an MBBS degree was equivalent to an M Sc degree. One could become a lecturer after MBBS, could do a Ph D, or D Sc after MBBS. But no more, now MBBS is equivalent to B Sc. MD was a doctoral degree, Doctor of Medicine, now a postgraduate degree, a three years postgraduate degree. A two years postgraduate diploma is not equivalent to M Sc. Even the MCI is trying its best to degrade the status of medical degrees. I invite the society to understand the problem first. Force should come as the last option, not the first. Today an MBBS degree holder is a pariah in society, to be accepted by the people he has to have a postgraduate qualification. `Only MBBS', or `simple MBBS', or worse `plain MBBS' are terms we hear often, but do not understand the agony of it all. MBBS entrance is one of the toughest in the country, but let me introduce you to a tougher entrance, the PG entrance. The number of seats for PG is one third of the total MBBS seats, so in any case two thirds of the MBBS shall remain `plain and simple'. This cutthroat competition has prompted the students to treat MBBS degree as a qualifying benchmark for PG entrance tests. They prepare for the test rather than trying to become doctors. This one entrance test would make or break their career. It is better to be a simple B Sc then to remain a simple MBBS. There are instances where MBBS students are paying smaller hospitals to get internship certificate without going to the hospital so that they can utilize the time studying. What is the result? They do not become a `doctor' after MBBS; they remain students. One third of them get into PG, two- thirds fail. No, not because they are stupid, because the know-all government has put a rationing in the number of seats for PG. Imagine the fate of these students, they are plain MBBS, did not spend time learning during internship, now they are out in the open, no respect, no knowledge, official quacks. This is the most serious wastage of trained manpower the country is facing today, all because of our policy makers. Who is responsible? There was one know-all TV talk show, which said if you cannot become a doctor in five years, you could never be. So cerebral! These are the people who control the society, God help us. One does not become a `doctor' immediately after passing MBBS; it takes at least 2-3 yrs of fulltime work under supervision to be able to work independently. That was what house jobs were. Earlier house jobs were compulsory before MD entrance. After 2 house jobs if one did not get in to PG one could still practice. Now house job has no PG entrance value. Practicing medicine without a House job does not prepare a doctor well. Is there a solution to the problems in villages? It is there, if our great parliamentarians bother to listen to us. By the way I have a few more proposals. I want to make it compulsory for the parliamentarians to stay in a village for one year as MP and fulfill all promises made during election campaign otherwise their Membership would be cancelled. Make it compulsory for IIM graduates to stay in a village for one year to work for betterment of rural finances, before they get their degree. I want High Court judges to stay in villages at least 2 months a year to help solve the pending cases in the villages to be eligible for promotion to Supreme Court. I want the IAS officer to be posted in a village for one year before they are confirmed in their jobs.They can all stay in the excellent accomodation provided in the villages for the doctors. Sounds funny? Who started the jokes! Here is what I suggest. The entire medical course needs to be revamped. Instead of hundreds of confusing degrees there should be one degree, MD. It should be a nine years integrated course, equivalent in status to a Ph D. All students, after four years, would get a provisional registration to work as doctors under supervision. They would select their specialty at this juncture, depending on the merit and other government policies of the time. Even a surgeon would be MD. All the diploma courses would be abolished. There would be specialties in family practice, clinical medicine, hospital based internists, surgeons, ophthalmologists, and all other specialties that we have today. One year out of this course will be a village posting where they can learn the problems of the villages and unlearn some hi-tech solutions to simple problems. There would never be a shortfall of doctors in villages, happy doctors and not frustrated ones. I do not think there would even be a murmur of protest from anywhere. No forcible "Cultural Revolutionary" tactics would be needed. The GPs that we get would be trained ones, not untrained ones as we get now. How does a patient differentiate between a physician MD and a general practitioner MD. The same way they do now, between MDs in Medicine, pharmacology, biochemistry and pathology. In any case, government can recognize certain associations, memberships of which can be made compulsory. (For example, MD, Member of Indian College of Pharmacology, or MD Indian College of Surgeons.). This way every doctor that comes out of the college would have some special skills, and have worked independently for at the least 4 years before being released to the society. There is no wastage of doctors as `simple MBBS'. The super-specialties should be limited to a few, the brightest ones. There should be no further confusing degree like M Ch, DM. The super-specialists would be offered fellowships of the college, e.g. MD, Fellow of the Indian College of Cardiac Surgeons, equivalent to postdoctoral degree, D Sc. By the way this does not solve the problem of the bad guys in the profession as mentioned in paragraph two of this article. I'll share a bitter truth with you. The patients are as much responsible for this situation as the doctors. The ratio of good doctors and bad doctors is exactly the same as the ratio of good guys and bad guys in the society, not more, not less. There is something very wrong in the way patients select their doctors. Name and fame does not depend on skill, knowledge and sincerity. Sound business tactics, sometimes not so ethical, makes one doctor more popular than the other. This article is aimed at sensible people who want a solution, not revenge. The next doctor could be your son; the next patient could be your son. '

New Year Juhu Molestation

Reading Posts on Juhu Molestation here, and here .i wonder why Sexual Molestation in Public is treated so differently than other crimes. Saksi's suggestion for women to be safe in crowded public places is perceived as 'Blaming the Victim' for the sad, harrowing incident. But when you keep your car unlocked and someone steals your bag, or get mugged in deserted street at night in Crime infested area,or your chain is snatched/pocket is picked in suburban train, part of the blame will be yours. You cant blank it, you cant say that i will not take precaution to be safe, but perpetrator of the crime has to improve and change his mindset. If that were possible then there would be no crime in this world.There will be sexual offenders in any society. Molesting,Raping,taking women as sex slaves after defeating enemy is historical. Major wars are fought on such issues. If anyone thinks that this will be erased from the mind of the males and they will behave, than it's Utopian dream. Being drunk is more dangerous than being high on drug. Alcohol removes the moral and behavioral control that we have acquired by good upbringing. A drink too many makes you reckless and one takes more risks. Even when one is with friends, its better not to allow anyone to cross that limit.In spite of taking all these precautions, there will be cases of sexual offense, but that will be unfortunate.Time and better upbringing will reduce it but wont eliminate it altogether.---PK

Old Family Planning Fraud in New Bottle

TOI reports that Govt. has announced 'Incentive' scheme to spur acceptance of Vasectomy operation. Those who undergo Vasectomy operation will be paid Rs. 1200/-,'Motivator' will receive Rs 150/- and even surgeon will be paid incentive. Govt. hopes that this will help make Vasectomy more acceptable. Of course women undergoing Tubectomy operation will also be paid similar amount as incentive.
This news brought memory of those good(?) old days when Vasectomy had pride of Place in Family Planning Program. During Emergency Scion of Gandhi family and heir apparent Sanjay had taken up Vasectomy as part of his 5 point program. Teachers,Govt. officials, Police and all those who were in power were given Vasectomy operation targets and they HAD to fulfill the target. Result of this misplaced zeal was forced Vasectomies. Police and other Govt. functionaries rounded up people and forced them to undergo Vasectomy,even those who were not eligible for operation.Surgeons aware of this state of affairs simply gave incision on Scrotal skin and did not Tie/cut the Vas. Ofcourse he was paid off to do this.Incentive money was shared by the staff of Family Planning Dept. I remember people arriving by train from U.P./Bihar etc were rounded off and forced to undergo Vasectomy at V.T. station. After emergency was lifted, Vasectomy program was severely criticized and was held responsible for defeat of Indira Gandhi.
As Vasectomy operation virtually disappeared from the scene, incentive program was introduced. But by this time FP staff had learned the trick. As a person who had worked in the dept. then, I can confidently say that more than 95% of the cases done between 1980 -86 were fake cases.we used to call then as 'D' cases. Everyone including driver/cleaner of the Mobile Vasectomy Van of BMC had share of this loot. In city like Mumbai, Patient could never be traced if address given was in slum. Each center had a team of 'Motivators' who would bring patients for Vasectomy. Everyday 5-6 cases were done. Same people would come again n again for operation and all forms were duly filled and money distributed.Biggest problem was to give names to the patient.Here Marathi newspapers would come handy and Names were lifted from Navakal,Sakal etc. Injections,syringes,Gauze, Cotton and other material was pilfered. There was scramble to get posting at centers doing cases and on Mobile Vasectomy Vans. Vasectomy operation figures improved dramatically. There were cases which were not eligible for Vasectomy, age more than 40 yrs or spouse had undergone tubectomy etc. but those were the days of Dr. Datta Samant led Mill Strike. Many Striking Mill worker opted to get operated to get Rs. 800/-as incentive money.In 1983 this was good amount. Unemployed youth,migrant workers, teenage streetchildren were lured by Motivators to undergo Vasectomy operation. Obviously this FP program couldn't make any dent in burgeonig population. When in 1986 ,incentive program was stopped, number of Vasectomies dropped precipitously and now it is just few thousand cases.
Fate of this program is not going to be different.Crores of Rupees ,badly needed to provide Health care to poor will be diverted and siphoned off. May be this is a pay off to political party worker in Pre Election year. As it is even Female Tubectomy program is not picking up. There should be rethink on Permanant Method like Tubectomy/Vasectomy. Their acceptance is very low these days. Couples prefer to use Temporary methods like Condoms,IUCD or Pill and Emergency contraceptive pill. In case of failure Medical Termination is preferred.This new incentive scheme is invitation to fraud and new generation of FP worker will be initiated into this fraud and will stop promoting temporary methods as well. ---PK

Holy Wars--Religious Conversions

TOI in its Edit today(here) have asked Hindus to do introspection and try find out reason for converting from Hinduism. Then proceed glibly to provide the reason as " Social ostracism of Dalits and Tribal s". But does converting to Christianity or Islam remove social ostracism? It was true when Islam or Christians were the rulers and they protected converts from Hindu social discrimination. In society Converts belonging to ruling class were higher than "Native Hindoos".But in today's Constitutional Democracy conversion brings no benefit,rather it adds one more hurdle.For Hindus they are now Christian/Muslim Dalits or Tribals. Upper caste Hindus are not going to accept Dalits as equal just because they have converted to Christianity or Islam.Conversion is historically associated with defeat and conquest by other religious group and converts invite ire and hate of their birth community.Converted Dalits even loose the constitutional reservation in Jobs and Education. Thats the reason for increasing clamor for extending benefits to Converts.
The question we have to ask is 'why are they converting from Hinduism.?'It is not Caste or other Social evils like Dowry.Because Dalits are discriminated after conversion.In India Christian and Muslims are equally conscious of their Caste,and they share equally other social evils like Dowry and female foeticide. Women's Social status in Islam is worse than that of Dalits in Hindu society,but are Muslim women converting to other religion? Liberal Hindu religion should be able to get more converts from other religion which are more regimental,dogmatic and dictatorial.
Main reason for Hindus converting to other religion is not reasons advance glibly, but fact that there are no efforts to Propagate this Glorious Liberal Philosophical religion.If you want to Propagate Hindu religion than immedietally you are branded 'COMMUNAL'. Only religious organization which tries to do this work is 'Communal' VHP. Missionaries do lot of good work like establishing Schools, Colleges, Hospitals,Health Centers,Shelters for poor and underprivileged.But from where do they get the money to carry out these activities? From donations given to Churches. Hindu Temples(Churches) are flushed with money donated by Hindu devotees but these funds are managed by Govt. appointed committees as per guidelines issued by State Govt.of the day.They are not interested in propagating Hindu religion,running schools or Hospitals in tribal areas,or providing help to poor with the aim to attract/keep them to Hindu religion.Recently Shri Saibaba Sansthan spent 60Laks of the donation money on President's visit to Shirdi.Tirupati Devasthanam and Jagganath temple of Puri are not known for running School,Colleges,Hospitals or Health Centers/Shelters in nearby Naxal infested Tribal Belt of Andra Pradesh and Orissa.Sabrimalai Temple is under the control of Athist Communist Govt.Vaishno Devi temple Trust in Jammu has done nothing for thousands of Hindu refugees from Kashmir.
This great religion has now only 900Million followers-90% of them in India.If this trend continues and it will, then by next millennium fate of Hindu religion and Civilization will be same as that of other ancient religions-it will be on the brink of extinction-like Zorastrian(Parsis).--PK.

Winds of Change- Greetings

Till 3-4 years ago, during Diwali and New year I would receive 70-80 Greeting Cards from Friends, Colleagues, Diagnostic Centers and Pharma firms wishing me and my family, a year full of happiness, peace and Prosperity. This gesture would be reciprocated by me and month before Diwali I would go through the process of selecting Card-CRY, Helpage or cards from some other Charitable organizations.Then would come the matter to be printed on the card. As these cards served as surrogate advertisement, informing receiver about attachments to various hospitals, Consulting timing and New facilities being offered, lot of time was spent in drafting the subject matter. Then came printing of the cards and most difficult part-writing names of the recipient,signing the card and writing address on the envelope. It was practice session which proved very useful when there was wedding in the family. Posting was easy with advent of courier service.
This year I have received only 5 greeting Cards. 3 from the Pharma cos. and two from the relatives who always send Greetings on Post card-reminding me that Post Card still exists. But Inbox of my Cell Phone is full with 50 messages,some very simple and other elaborate, some are in Hindi. Inbox of my email has many messages and flash cards with sound and noise of the Crackers bursting.( Now I pay to receive and download!!).
With SMS and e mail, it has become very easy to select Greeting and send it. Selected email-flashcard can be sent- in seconds- to entire contact list which includes all friends and relatives who matter. As sending email and flash card is free, it can be sent to everyone by click of the mouse and receiver feels that I am still a close friend who remembers to send him greetings. SMSing Greeting is more personal and effective as recipient has to view it and then delete to make space for more SMSs. This has virtually finished the Greeting Card business except for Valentines Day cards.

Winds of Change

Today I went to Udipi restaurant in Andheri West for Cup of south Indian Filter Coffee. Person who took my order was Marathi manoos. Two waiters were North Indians-one was Bihari and other appeared to be from Haryana-Delhi. Surprise ! Nepali Boy was cleaning the Tables and other one was serving water( First thing you get as soon as you sit in Udipi Hotel).
Gone are the days when shetty boys came from Manglore and worked in Udipi Hotels of Mumbai at the bottom of the ladder-cleaning tables and serving Water-gradually moving up to finally own/manage a Restaurant. Kutchhi Shopkeepers who used to get people from their native place to work in the shops have now switched over to employing people from Bihar and Orissa. IT/BPO has definitely changed employment avenues in rural areas.

HIV Capital of the World??

Finally the Cat is Out of The Bag !!. For years India was suppose to be HIV Capital-having highest number of HIV cases. This year on World AIDs day,Health Minister has finally accepted that we did not have correct figure of HIV infected population. Pune based organization has finally done Scientific Survey of HIV infected people and brought down the figure from 5 million to 2.5 million !!. This should now help to understand how disease spreads and what should be our strategy to reduce the spread. Unfortunately awareness level is going down. Free sex without protection is acceptable. Young generation is more worried about Pregnancy than HIV infection. Multiple partners,casual sex,one night stand is again in the vogue. Are we heading in the direction of Sub Sahara Africa? There whole generation is affected by HIV and the workforce is depleted. We cant even decide what and how should we impart sex education to High School teenager. All our efforts are directed in working on Economic Miracle and Double Digit Growth rate. If HIV spreads at present rate than by 2015 we will have to spend much more on providing Health care and recent example of USA has shown that Health care expenses can drag economy down. It's time to wake up.

Good Bye my Blacki Baby. Rest In Peace.

Finally it happened.
After week of treating my baby Blackie with IV fluids,Lasix,Rantac,Dextran,Sucralfate. We felt that he is improving. His tongue was regaining pink colour. He was weak but could move around in the room. we were force feeding him and he was retaining it. He was passing good quantity of Urine. Stools were of normal colour. His Blood values were not increasing. He would recognize us and would wag his tail. we were getting hopeful. it was taking heavy toll on me. Giving just 400 cc. in 3 hrs to a dog is real effort and to do it twice a day , more so. we had to lift him and take him down so that he could pass urine. If he cant then I had to Catheterize him.
I had started his Iv drip and gave Inj. Lasix. after 100 cc he got up and started making cooing sound to indicate he wants to eat something. He drank about 300cc Water mixed with electral solution. We were overjoyed. His Iv drip was discontinued. He was taken downstairs where he passed good amount of Urine. We put him in his room and with much releif sat down to watch 'Main Hoon Na' on cable. After an hour or so he walked out of his room and came to his usual place in Drawing room. He stood there swaying a little. I took him back to his room and made him to sit in dog position.
After the picture was over K wanted to sit there for a while. We were feeling at ease. Blacki has started taking feed and passing urine on his own so now things should get better.There was glimmer of hope.We sat there for an hour or so,planning for Diwali.Before going to sleep K went to see Blacki. He was standing and his breathing was fast. She called me. i tried to make him sit. I was wondering whether i should get oxygen cylinder to ease his breathing.
Suddenly he ambled towards K. put his head on her lap. She started patting and baby talking to him.I was stroking his back and could feel the very rapid breathing and fast heart rate.He sat down and K called out to me that he is going, i felt that breathing had stopped and heart was going into Fibrillation(Flutter). He slowly lied down, Took 2-3 gasps and it was all over. I felt more pain and sorrow than ever before. More than what I had felt when my parents,close relatives died. There were no thoughts about what future holds for me-thoughts I had when my parents died. There was only sense of very very deep loss. He had demanded/wanted nothing from me but always gave me lots of love. No conditions were attached to that love. i didnt have to reciprocate. His love, affection and joy on meeting me were always there.Everyday,every hour,every minute. This memory of unconditional love will always remain with me. we will always miss him and remember him.
Good Bye my Blacki baby. Have a nice higher life. Rest in peace.

Pet Problem

For a month now I am busy with my Pet Blackie's treatment. He is 12 yrs old Pom, and in these 12 yrs I never had to visit Vet except for his Vaccination and occasional check ups. Two yrs ago he developed a Cystic Lump below Anus. It was not troubling him and Vet was not sure about the origin of the lump- it was not Malignant tumor. Last May the cyst burst but healed on its own. Last month the Cyst burst and there was lot of bleeding. Vet advised that the cyst be removed. So Blackie was admitted in Parel Vet.Hospital. At his age there were risks and we were worried. His Blood reports were normal but Heart was enlarged. His operation went off without any problem and next day he was moving about, eating milk and bis.,passing Urine and stools. But his stools were Black and Sticky. His recovery was fast and on 4th day Vet at Parel gave permission to bring him home. We found him little weak, wouldnt go for his daily rounds in Soct. and stools were still Black. we suspected that this is altered Blood and he may be Bleeding in Intestines due to Operation stress Ulcers. Now he had developed cough and would sit down after walking a short distance and had stopped taking feeds. We took him to Vet in Juhu(near Pratiksha) and he felt that it was 'Kennel Cough'. Blackie was treated with usual mix of dext-Saline,Antibiotics,etc. He was going down. We could see that he was getting weaker by the day but his Vet or Vets. at Parel Hospital couldnt diagnose the cause . They continued to treat it as Chest infection-Bronchitis- and we gave Nebulisation,Asthalin,Higher Antibiotics and IV fluid.Our repeted suggestion that this cough can be due to LVF ( Left Ventricular Failure) were ignored. By this time he had stopped eating completely so we started force feeding him with milk. Then we realized that his Tongue had become very pale. He was loosing Blood somewhere( Most likely from Ulcers in Stomach or Intestines). We were desperate. My baby was very very sick and these Vets cant even diagnose the cause. We decided to go for Blood Tests and new Vet. Blackie was taken to Vet. Swali and he felt that Blacki is in Renal Failure.Urgent Blood Tests confirmed this. His Haemoglobin was just 4 Gms(30%) S. Creatinine was 9 mgs and BUN 63mgs.
He was still passing Black stools. he was put on Sucralfate (which covers the ulcers and stops bleeding), Inj. Rantac,Lasix and Iv fluids. He had Post Op. Acute Tubular Necrosis or Low GFR due to Anaemia and LVF. At last we knew what was wrong with him and can now focus on treating the cause rather than just shooting in the dark.Now we are giving him IV fluids and Lasix and hope to get his Creatinine down,stimulate the Renal function. Luckily he doesnt have Pain. He is not breathless. His stools have become normal.He still not taking feeds and we are force feeding him. But prognosis is not very good.We are late by some 10 days. Had his Vet. diagnosed the problem earlier,Vets at Parel Hospital( who are teachers/Proffessors at Vet College) listened to us and been more proactive than he would have had better chance of recovery.We can only pray for his recovery and treat him and give support so that he can give his best shot at recovery.
I feel sorry, when I Google Searched his problem I find that we are so much behind the West in treating our Pets.We dont have decent hospital or equipments.Our knowledge is inadequate and most important there is feeling of Deja Vu.Its just a Dog! When humans are not getting proper treatment who can advocate better treatments for Pets? Even commercial interest is not stimulating better facilities for Pets. Huge stray population has increased the negligent attitude of Vets and ordinary people. ---PK

E Pill-Emergency Contraceptive pill

I am really pissed off with the TV advertisement of Cipla's Emergency Contraceptive pill. Don't get me wrong. I have no cultural or moral objection to this advertisement. On the contrary I feel its very very effective advertisement, and there lies the problem. Since the airing of these films I have had patients who had used these pills and were pregnant. There are girls who are sexually active and want to use this pill as contraceptive method. Now this pill is meant to be 'Emergency' contraceptive and one should not have emergency every month or 3-4 times in a month. Inadequate knowledge, easy availability in Chemist shop without prescription and lack of supervision by medical personnel can result in complications. If one is Sexually active on regular basis then Regular,more effective Contraceptive methods under Medical supervision should be preferred.
First of all , it's Emergency contraceptive pill, so it should be used only in an Emergency.That means that if you suspect that contraceptive method used by you may not work( Condom broke or slipped off or semen entered the Vagina. or you missed to take the pill or safe period was calculated wrongly. In the case of Rape it should be routinely given.) It is not as effective in Preventing Pregnancy as regular contraceptive methods like Condoms, Birth Control Pills or IUCD-Copper T. Its no more effective than 70-80% ( There is no good Clinical data for this as well). It contains Hormone Estrogen and Progesterone and will alter Hormone Balance and period can be delayed. multiple use may make period irregular. Besides there are side effects like Nausea and Vomiting, Venous Thrombosis etc. Though these side effects are not usually serious.
Finally my pet grouse. E-Pill does not protect from Sexually Transmitted Diseases like Candida and other infections, Herpes and fatal HIV and Hepatitis B & C. This is more dangerous then Pregnancy! Most effective Emergency Contraceptive is to Carry good quality Condom in your purse and ask the Man to use it properly if he wants Sex. If he refuses then walk out for your own good.

Media coverage and frenzy of the fans seen for last 1 month during Court Judgement,arrest, their stay in jail and finally release on Bail and homecoming in the case of Sanju and Salman, makes me wonder what makes Film Stars such a celebrity. Their fans are from across the Class and Caste, Religion and Social Status, Industrialists & Politicians to Dons.Highly trained professionals to humble daily wage earner. Its not Bachchan or Khans, even chhota mota filmstars/TV actors,Anchors, item girls with 2 dances to their credit and even 'Kallumama ' has fan following. Anyone working as an actor in Film or TV becomes famous and has fan following. Sometimes it is short lived-from few months to few years- but for other Lambe Race ka Ghodas, it is lifelong. They even get elected defeating political leaders with years of experience in Politics. If Amitabh or Shahrukh were to stand in an election against even Soniaji and Rahulbaba, no one will predict the outcome. Unfortunately many of them are petty,megalomaniacs with inflated egos and self worth. Uneducated,ill mannered, uncouth and habitually they throw their weight around. In a Public functions they are given more importance as guest then performer or person in whose honor the function is being held.
I fail to understand why this particular community -Actors-are given such a high celebrity status. Directors,Music Directors,Writers,and all other professionally connected/Creative people don't find even mention in Media and are virtually unrecognized. Is it something to do with our inability to come to terms with and accept concept of 'Film',where you can see a person doing everyday things on screen?. Is that the reason for amazing success of 'You Tube' and hundreds of clips-many absolutely useless and bad- it receives daily. It is excellent subject for research.
Similar to this is our fascination about Aeroplanes and Flying. Most of us would look up to see a plane when we hear their Engine sound. Few years ago when 'Air Deccan' came out with Tickets in Rs. 500/- ,my car driver wanted to fly in plane. He wouldn't believe that flying in plane is one of the most boring experience. Pilots are held in very high esteem. I can understand about Fighter Pilots but Commercial Airlines Pilots receive so much help from technology that flying in most of the cases is made simple and safe. Compared to them Drivers of ST/BEST and Blue Line buses have real difficult task. Is it that after 100 yrs we have still not come to terms with and accept that we/Machine can fly.--PK.

Salman-Jekyll & Hyde

After a week long drama,which received widest Media coverage, Salman Khan got Bail in Chinkara Case and returned home from Jodhpur jail, a tumultuous welcome from 3 F's, family, friends and fans. His family and friends have suggested that Salman received this harsh(!) sentence from court as he is a Celebrity. His image as Spoiled Brat is because of undue coverage given to his drinking binges, Brawls in the party, Midnight calls to Vivek, Banging door of Ms. Rais home for hours, his alleged links with underworld etc,etc..... He is in fact suppose to be really nice person,helping friends with tips on acting and Body building, giving presents to friends, helping unit hands with money and he even gave money for treatment to Mr. Dhasal.He still resides in modest 2 BR flat -a floor below his parent's home. If this is true then his behavior is typical of Dual Personality and he needs psychiatric help from competent person. If people like Salman-forget everything else but he did go hunting with his co-artists and killed Chinkara knowingly. At that time he was filming for Rajashri film and his cherector in that film is very soft spoken,non violent one, who doesnt get angry or raises his voice ! If after pack up he changes to a person who picks up gun and kills Hiran-Chinkara,then it calls for probe in his personality and behavior. I am amazed by the frenzy of people( And Media as well) in Jodhpur and Mumbai, who wanted to have glimpse of their favorite star and idol. If for todays youth-this is not youth which is in TV studio- but one which takes part in College Elections, is present in large number in protests and venting anger on Professors and VC's. by breaking furniture- Salman and Sanjubaba are the idols then fate of "Rising India" of UPA will not be different than 'Shining India" of NDA...PK

Reading news item about ms. Mallika Amar Shaikh's efforts for Financial help for her husband Fiery Dalit writer/poet Namdeo Dhasal brought back memories of 70's when Dalit Panther movement took off and had some relevance. But to my mind it brought memories of Mallika's autobiography, which I had read then. Mallika who is daughter of Leftist Shahir Amar Shaikh had vividly described her experience during her first pregnancy and particularly-her delivery in B.M.C. run Nair Hospital. She wrote about behavior of staff in labor room, where she was made to lie on dirty delivery table and at the height of unbearable labor pains, she was slapped, pinched on thighs and buttocks and taunted with most sexually explicit remarks.

Having worked in labor wards of Municipal hospitals, I know that each and every word was true-no exaggeration. Patients are left on Delivery table with no one around them, If she shouts in pain ,she is abused, shouted at and even slapped. Sometimes hours pass before resident doctor in charge ( busy with other emergencies) realizes that particular patient has not delivered and then she is re examined and future action carried out. Usually there is no feedback from the Nursing staff to Doctors regarding progress of a patient. What surprises me the most. Nursing staff,Ward boys and Ayahs come from the same 'class' as patients. Many of them stay in the same locality.Even then why there should be such an animosity and poor behavior and treatment with no compassion? In case of Medical needs they patronize the same BMC/Govt. hospitals. Doctors who usually belong to higher(Richer) class have better attitude and are more compassionate. People belonging to same class should treat them better, instead reverse is true. Is it because of the frustration of their lives and daily grind they face, force them to take it out on people who cant hit back?

I hope situation must have changed now but I doubt it. BMC/Govt. has no money, desire or expertise to run Maternity Homes or Hospitals. They would gladly hand them over to Pvt. parties in the garb of Charitable trusts, if they can navigate the deal through political minefield of BMC. If this cant be done than they are allowed to get dilapidated by willful neglect and then discontinued as in the case of Cooper Hospital or many Maternity homes,to be rebuilt and run by Pvt. Charitable trusts. Besides only those who cant afford services of Pvt. Nursing Homes or Hospital patronize BMC hospitals. These hospitals could provide one with best of treatment at almost no cost,provided Paramedical staff can give service with compassion and authorities have will and desire to infuse much needed funds and resources.---PK

New IT Return

Finally last week I could manage to file my Income Tax return.Though everything was ready in April but new IT form had not come. Last week I had appointment with my Tax Cons. Gone are the days when one could sign the return,give all relevant challans and papers and let consultant file return at his convinience. Now everything is online and this year no enclosures,so you have to be present when he fills in details,computes your income,tax payable,tax paid and refund -if any -and take print out and then sign it.
TC checked everything on his computer screen,cross checked with me and then clicked 'print'. HP printer got into action and in minute or two print outs were in the tray. TC collected the bunch.
I asked him: "How many prints you need?"
"Three".t th
"But these are lot of papers"
" Yes,but this is one copy. From this year IT return has 30 pages. From last year's one page SARAL form now we have 30 pages Improoved,Taxpayer friendly return."
and he called in his peon and asked him to get 2 sets of Photostat copies.
From next year onwards when you apply for Loan, Visa to travel or even credit card, you will be asked to submit last 3 yrs. IT retuns with computation. You will have to submit almost 100 pages of IT return and sign each and every page. Dont be surprised if your application is rejected! Because it will be difficult to asses what is your income from this confusing return. What Fun!!---PK

A Game of Rummy

Friend called in the morning.
"What are your plans for the weekend?"
"Nothing in particular."
"OK. we are meeting on Saturday/Sunday for card session.One day at my place and next day at your place."
"Sure. Will you contact everyone?."
"Yeah."
"see you on Saturday, 5 pm."

This is the usual conversation on Thursday for last many yrs. Majority of weekends are spent playing cards-Rummy. we are 11 people in the group so dealing 13 cards to everyone is a painful task. Game takes time and those who have packed indulge in small talk on Politics, Markets,Family matters etc. Stakes are low so there are no opportunities to win significant amount. We tried out other games. We played Bridge, Tin Patti with various variation, but nothing would be attractive after 2/3 sessions and we would go back to playing Rummy. Agreed Rummy doesn't need level of skill and intelligence of playing Bridge nor it requires aggressiveness,false bravado or financial strength and ability to take risk as in Tin Patti. Rummy is slow game and gives you time to socialise, converse and interact with other players. Ideal game for group of old friends. But more than this, it is the nature of the game which attracts people.
* You have cards where everything is ready. Suits(Sequences), Jokers, you have to just show your winning hand!
* You have good cards. 2-3 Jokers, chances for sequence but no true Sequence. one card and you can win! but... you don't get the card and you pay highest amount.
* You have 2-3 Jokers,a sequence but you are waiting for that one final connecting card( 4th card). Its not your day so you don't get that card,you loose.
* You have a sequence,1-2 Jokers, you are progressing slowly. Next pull and you can show and win. But.... you loose.
*You have one True sequence,1 Joker but your game progresses with each pull and .. you win!!
* You have 4-5 Jokers but rest of the cards have very poor connection. No way you are going to get that true sequence. You pay the highest amount. Its punishment game. You know you cant win but you have to play.
* Same scenario as above but luck favours you and you get the true sequence. You don't win but don't loose much.
* Some days your Luck has deserted you. You don't get good cards. You pack up more games than you play. Ones which you play goes nowhere and you steadily loose small amounts.

Yes. Attraction of Rummy lies in these similarities to our everyday life situations. when you look back you will find numerous occasions which resembles various scenario described above.As in life, LUCK plays major and important role in shaping your Progress and Destiny. Your education,intelligence,connections and every thing is second to the element of Luck.If you can play the game of Rummy with equanimity than you will be able to handle triumphs and disappointments in your everyday life.

After the evening walk in Mountain View Park, We sat down on the bench next to barbecue . I realised that there was a Cell Phone lying in the corner.My first thought was that someone forgot to pick up phone after his sojourn in park. But years of staying in India had made me weary of picking up unattended items in Public places. It can be a IED-we are always warned. I hesitated. Best thing, do nothing and wait for some time.Owner will show up.But if it rings? Then should i answer the phone? How insecure our life is in modern times !! Waiting there, I thought about the owner of the phone. If he cant get this phone back he is going to have tough time.I remembered the amount of time & effort it took to put in all the contacts and other data from my old phone to new phone. Poor guy is in for lot of trouble. I hoped that he had not put in his favourite songs or photos in the phone.
After waiting for some 30 mts or so, I decided to take risk. This is US and not India. Probably less likely to put IED in cell phone. So I picked it up,it was Nokia phone.Unlocked the keys.Nothing happened and then Screen lighted up,From menu went to contacts. Few American names-so this doesn't belong to Desi or Asian. Next in the list-Dad,Home,Mom ,work- ah ! this is no IED. Now confidently I selected the Call log-received call-and called the first # in the list.After few rings a lady answered the phone.
Me: "Hello, whose number is this?"
: Dan, my Boy friend's. Hey... did you find the phone?
Me: " ya, I am in Public park in Mntn.View. Come over and collect it."
: " Dan, someone found your phone in park." to me" He will be ther in 10 minutes"
Me: "Sure, i am sitting opposite car park"
I disconnected the line.
In 10 mts Dan was there with his Dogs. Visibly relieved to find his phone. Thanked me for my effort.
But I wondered. Would I do the same thing in India?May be not---PK

Alaska Cruise

For almost 2 years, I was planning to take cruise vacation. Star Cruises from Singapore and now Mumbai was always an easy choice. But visiting Penang, Phuket,Goa, Cochin etc was no fun as i had already visited these places and they offered same shore excursions/activities that one can have by visiting Goa. Alaska was ideal choice. It was very different from the all the places i have visited earlier. But Alaska Cruises are costly and one is not sure of weather conditions in Alaska. There may be severe cold or rain and fog that can spoil your trip completely. But big Cruise ship was an added attraction and those on Alaska trip are best of the lot.

For Alaska cruise one has to start preparing from Nov. for next June cruise. Cruise calender is out in November with all the sailing for the next season-Mid May to October. Its a difficult task to choose a cruise that is good but not very costly,and visits places that interest you. Normally cruises start from Seattle(US),Vancouver(Canada) and go north and return or it starts from Seward ,Alaska(US) and travel Southward. Usual port of call are Seward,Janue,Skagway,Kitchikan and Price Rupert among other. I had selected round trip from Seattle with halts at Januea,Skagway and Prince Rupert. One requires Visa for both US and Canada (Single entry).By March one should have Visas ready as its time to make full payment which is non refundable.

My cruise sailing was from Seattle in may end.Cruise Liner was Royal Caribbean. We reached Pier. Our luggage, tagged with special tags with my name and Cabin No. was screened and checked in.Now we had to wait in long que for our check in. As everyone had done e-check in,the process was quick and soon we had our Plastic cards which would work as our Cabin door keys and as Credit card for all the transaction on the cruise. Since our luggage would take some time to arrive, we decided to explore the Ship. Unfortunately Cruises are hyped up vacation. Though the ship was big, facilities were on par with any good resort on land. Rather Five star resort would score highly on every count. Our ship had two main Dining areas.On 9th floor deck was Self serving buffet which had something for everyone. There were Fruits, salads, Veg and Non Veg. main courses, special Dish for the day, soups and Deserts. Sodas and juices were available a plenty.But menu was same everyday,very few changes. Other was Main Dining area, where one can have sit down four course dinner with Salad, side dish, Main dish and desert. The choices were good for Non Vegetarians -especially Sea food lovers as Salmon,Cod,Shrimps were always on the menu,and Lobster and crab alternately- but for vegetarians , it was really tough.They hardly liked anything -except desert. For them Fast Food at Solarium on 9th Floor deck serving Fries,Pizzas,Burgers, Cookies was heaven. They survived on them. Then there is 24 hrs Room service. There were number of well stocked Bars. As one is not allowed to take Alcohol on board , if you want to have drink you have to visit bar.Many bars were located at vantage location and one can really have good time in the bar. There was Disco. after 10 pm. Shows in the afternoon and Evening. Bingo sessions, Magic shows, Culinary ,Yoga, Dancing classes.One can read in Library -though their collection of books was poor.- or play Cards in Card Room. There was well equipped Gym. and Spa. Two heated swimming pools and 6 Jacuzzi or Whirlpools.There was Casino with slot Machines,Poker,Roulette Table. For Children there was special Playing area. On board shopping was Tax free and Duty free-but their inventory was not great. There were speciality restaurants.
But it was confined space. As if one is under house arrest in 5-7* Resort.On the day of cruising there was nothing to do. With sea all around you as far as one can see and waves which makes you sea sick as you walk about unsteadily, after a while it gets boring. To top it, The cabins are really, really small. Though I was prepared for Cabin size after my experience with Nile River Cruise in Egypt- i expected little bigger room in such a big Cruise liner. Room and bathroom were compact and small. It makes one Claustrophobic. So on Cruise ship feeling of Isolation and Claustrophobia is always there. You don't like to go to your 'small' room. On the Decks vast sea all around gives you the same feeling. If you are prone to Sea Sickness then only God can help you. Nausea and Drowsiness makes your life really miserable. You long for Terra Fir ma-Land-under your feet and when Ship docks at port you are impatient to get out of the Ship and on to the land, where you feel at ease. Unfortunately this Cruise vacation comes at pretty high price-never less than $150/per night per person.Cost of Shore Excursions are extra(Say about $500-700 p.p.).
So Is it worth to go on Cruise vacation? Well, I am not sure. One thing I am sure of 'It is not very good Value Vacation for the Money spent.'

It's pleasure to be in cool Bay Area after very hot and humid Mumbai.In the evening, went to the Public park in Mountain View. There were about 70 people enjoying the cool evening. Soccar was played in central area.There were elderly people taking their walk, young couples with Baby in the pram. Children cycling, toddlers on the slide and swings under the watchful eyes of Grand parents.It reminds you of your park in Mumbai/Delhi san the heat.
What surprised me the most was that most of the visitors were Asians-( South Asians (Desi) and East Asians-mainly chinese) and Maxicans. White Americans-may be couple of them jogging,but no African American. May be this walk in the park is legacy of British rule in India, which Indian middle class has adopted and transported to US.--PK