The New Frooti Ad spells Tamil words wrong

I do not know whether its a deliberate move so that people would talk about it or whether it was a careless mistake.
I noticed this a week ago or so I thought but was not too sure but "Valaradhe Kanna" especially "Valaradhe" reads wrong. Unable to recreate it here as I cannot type Tamil on this one..
If someone knows someone at that Ad agency please let them know - perhaps its time they got that right. Wonder who checked the Ad for correctness.

RJ Hunt

Aahaa FM is looking for RJs to join the brigade. If you think you have the voice and whatever else it takes to be brilliant with a mic in front of you and get lakhs of people to listen to you, do drop in a comment with your mail ID or mail me.

Modhi Vilayadu

And my association with this movie is that I am the voice of Kajal Aggarwal, the leading lady. This is perhaps the first movie that I dubbed in AVM Sound and Light so by the time a certain camaraderie was established with the technicians it was time to thank-you-very-much-it-was-good-working-with-you. I thought Kajal is perhaps the definition of bubbly and I loved watching the scenes that I was privy to at that time. That said, let me also tell you that it is not necessary that I get to see the entire movie and then start work. That happened with Sillunu Oru Kadhal as it was the first time I was dubbing and Dir. Krishna wanted to me to watch the movie and then start dubbing. A lot of times, we are asked to give a voice test and once the director thinks it is what he wants, then work starts straight away or on a different date. I have heard that people like Savita and Hemamalini, two of the leading dubbing artistes finish an entire movie, sometimes for both heroines in a movie like in 12B (Savita was the voice of Jo and Simran), in just one day.
Most times I get fatigued after prolonged talking so whatever is remaining gets distributed over subsequent days. Sometimes, as a lot of artistes' time needs to be adjusted such sessions might be spread over a week or so.
But one of the best things is before most of the world did, I got to hear the songs of this movie. And let me tell ya the music is super cool. It has the Colonial Cousins' distinct style, and you would know what I am talking about if you were one of those who followed their music like a mad thing, like I did, and love this song Sunita Sarathy has rendered in particular. One of the female singers that I admire. The audio releases this evening.
I know that I am going to be playing this sound track a lot on my show. Have fun listening in.

Sometimes

it is sad when some good artisans go missing. There used to be this Furniture shop in Nandanam, Sheikh's if I remember right, selling primarily Kashmiri Handicrafts and furniture. And then one fine day he shifted I guess and we have no clue where he has moved. I dont even know if he is in Chennai anymore.Their work was super good and now that we need to get some things done for the house, its sad we are unable to find someone close to their quality of work. We have checked out every other store selling similar wares, like the one near Stella Maris and some exhibitions. Somehow we feel it none of it holds a candle to the workmanship or the affordability that we saw with them.
Like they say, absence DOES make the heart grow fonder - in this case, for handicraft which is non nonpareil in Chennai

Pokkisham

Nila - This song in Pokkisham would be my latest release. This is perhaps the third time I am working with Mr Sabesh and Mr Murali. When I had gone to record, Vijay had already sung his portions. Mr Cheran happened to be present at the recording session and this was the first time I was working with him for a song. Blue Elephant had worked on translating the dialogues of Autograph into German previously.
Mr Cheran made it a point to explain this song in the movie and also what kind of an expression he expected in certain lines. It was very nice to get that sort of an insight. The song is like a letter more or less and I am told the story revolves around this theme. It was beautiful singing this song and this was one of the memorable sessions that I have been a part of. Please do give it a listen if you can

Chennai and Garbage Disposal

Following a mention by someone I know especially in Pallikkaranai that garbage is being burned there everyday - I am told it used to be worse but its comparitively better now - I tried googling about the laws of garbage disposal and waste management in Chennai and do not seem to be getting any relevant results.
Especially with Neel Metal Fanalca their inadequacy has been very clear ever since they took over from Onyx. I think the city was definitely cleaner before.
But anyway my question is this. What are the laws governing burning garbage in the city? And what are the rules that need to be followed but are not?
I want to be taking this up on Aahaa Kaapi Klub so any inputs will be really welcome
TIA

Asking

For help but for a friend of mine this time.
Someone I know is starting a non profit, non commercial venture and they have been looking for land for ages. The desire to fulfill this dream drives them enough to stake whatever they own in starting this off but they have been facing road blocks with regard to acquiring property.
I have not come across anyone who deals in real estate who could help. They have been hunting for about 6 months with no avail. I am not at a liberty to divulge even the minimum details that I know.
In case you know of a reliable property dealer or a good Samaritan who would like to sell their property at a reasonable rate, do let me know. They are typically looking at land on OMR and around.

The pictures are here

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=234309&id=559480005&l=e533f2e3a9
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=234304&id=559480005&l=5fa44a6508
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=234400&id=559480005&l=b9a04e2947


And some are on on Flickr.

FYI

Ladies and Gentlemen, Let it be known that I am not performing in Connecticut, as far as I am concerned, as on this date. I was told today by someone I know that I am heading there, much to my surprise, 'coz as far as I know it has not even been discussed.
If you have been hearing anything on those lines or publicity on this regard, please be informed that is not yet it in my agenda and no one has spoken to us.

Japan

has been one of my best trips so far. The people here are awesome. When I happened to mention that, they say since the community is small there is no unnecessary ego-plays or negativities. There is no one-upmanship either. Found a wonderfully integrated positive group of people. The show will be one of my memorable ones.
Once in Japan we landed at Mrs Valli's home and she is one of the most brilliant hosts that I have ever seen. Warm and compassionate. The apartment right below us is where the organizer of this show Mr.HariNarayanan and his family lives. And his wife Radhika is one of the most brilliank cooks. The warmth and honesty in these two families, I have moved with them most in these three days is amazing. their children grow up like siblings, take turns in taking care of them. Wow.
The day after we landed in Japan, Gajalakshmi, who travelled with us and works at Japan took us to have a look at Mount Fuji. She gave me a total crash course of the people, culture and language of Japan. She was also the presenter of the show here. And we were told that the Fuji does not reveal itself all that very easily and prefers being under the veil of the clouds. And we had such a wonderful view of the volcano in all its magnificence. And I have never seen such clean snow. Japan by itself is impeccably clean, no dust, no smoke, no vehicluar emissions that are visible. I am told this is near zero pollution. If one country, especially after the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki could literally rise from the ashes to be this, I do not see why India could not. Yes, I do know the reasons myself. And I wonder whether our people are really patriotic. If they were perhaps our country would have progressed far more, because in more cases that one, I think our country`s strength lies in the population. On the way back from Fuji there was a temporary halt at a lake for lunch and thereafter we proceeded to a dinner at one Mr & Mrs. Jeeva's place. he has been stationed in Japan for about 22 years +.
Day 2 we headed to a temple here Asakusa, rehearsal and dinner at Mr Mani's place. He is a Pravasiya Bharatiya Samman awardee and has been here for about 32+ years. I hear Mr Mani and Mr Jeeva somehow keep the community together and if the newcomers here feel lonely or homesick thats the place everyone has headed to.
Day 3 Day of the show. It started at 11 here with the local Indian and Japanese artistes displaying their talent and found that the children here were brilliant dancers. I also happened to sing along with Mr Srivatsan who should have taken singing seriously. He has a wonderful voice. Somehow I also feel that a whole lot of intelligent and talented population does not reside in India.
There was a one hour lunch break and resuming at 3 PM the show was wound up at about 6:45. Ever since I stepped foot in Japan, I had one agenda, of getting an acupuncture session. I kept asking around and then finally we found a place which was literally stone's throw from the civic hall where we performed. We walked up to the clinic and Mrs Chitra Govind played the interpreter.
I was amazed at the skill of the doctor and was amazed how I did not feel the needles getting inserted unless he told me. After a blissful 45 minutes I woke up new. And I have rarely come across such caring doctors. Turns out Mrs Chitra is related to me. If not for that couple, I guess I would never have gotten a session of acupuncture, at least not this time. They stayed along for an hour and a half and took us back home. Though the fact remains that one is dependant on those who know the language and the way around this has been a beautifully serene trip. All those I have moved with here, Hari and his family, Valli Murali and family, Gajalakshmi, the Govinds, the veterans of Japan and all those we met at the two dinner-dos and more importantly the audience came across as sincere people. No put-ons no cloaks. i wish I cold be more eloquent but I really do hope you, the reader, has the good fortune to come across such selfless beautiful people.
In a couple of hours I board the plane to Chennai.
They say Fuji calls you twice, if you have seen it. If that rings true - I hope it does, but for now, I wish I can store the positivity that envelops me right now, forever.

For the readers in Tokyo

I got a few comments asking where the show is happening

Its slated to happen between 10.00 AM and 6.00 PM at Kasai Civic Hall 4F, Tokyo 134-0083
Edoqawa-Ku, Naka-Kasai 3-10-1
Access Train: Tozai Line - Kasai Station: 5 minutes by walk
Toei Bus (Kasai number 24) from Funabori
To Nagiza New Town Iminkan Bus stop
Get down at Kasai Kuminkan Bus Stop

You could contact Mrs Valli Murali for tickets on (080-3454-2366)

In Tokyo

For a concert in about two days. The city welcomes us with showers and 6* celcius. So far so cold.
And for one of the first times I am meeting up with some of my clients here so that way, this has been a trip that I have looked forward to for more than one reason.
Alongwith me are Bosskey and his team comprising of Nanee, Prasad, Satish and T D Balu who would be keeping the audience entertained with their plays and singers M J Shriram and Krish. The VIPs of this event would be Khusboo and Mr Sundar C.
Apart from singing I am slated to chew a few lines in Bosskeys plays. Excuse the apostrophe in the previous line, I am simply unable to find it in this keyboard and I am not sure yet whether I can get my mac wired. Its been exactly about an hour since we landed and the host-s house is teaming with people.
Performing in shows abroad keeps me amazed for a lot of things and the most important among them is how the hosts find the enormous energy to organize the entire thing AND host us at the same time. Japan has a very small community of Tamils and this is hosted for a group of about 500 people alone and some Japanese. Truly if art survives, its because of such patrons. In olden days the rulers did their part, if they had an iota of art appreciation in them and now it is because of such people all over the world. And they rule our hearts. Because when on stage, they are the audience is the only thing that matters to me.　Of course it would help if the sound were good too. The energy is purely amazing. Mr Ganesan Hari has been coordinating this from the start though I have met him but once he traveled with us to make sure everything is in order
Shall be posting pictures soon. Watch this space and of course stay tuned to Aahaa FM if you are in the reception area.The show definitely does go on.

I wonder

I am noticing that in most of the talent hunts, if the judges do not praise the participants - who are beginners, definitely have the raw material, (read talent) but which needs to be honed to become proper artistes of a certain quality - if there is no praise happening from the judges if a participant is deemed unfit in one particular round, then the judges and the show (if its an online event) are criticized, by the participants and their parents as well sometimes.
Talent today is definitely dime a dozen, but I have been brought up and have had the good fortune of being in the exalted company of refined musicians and more than anything else I have been brought up by one. I have been taught that a musician should always be in the readiness of a student and more than all that, students of any art form should not be subjected to praise in the nascent stages. And somehow, encouragement and praise seems to be confused now. I wonder if encouraging a musician requires sky high praise. The words "stalwart", "genius" is used very easily to describe younglings.
Great Gurus have almost never said a word of appreciation, though that amount of stoic behaviour might even be called corporal punishment these days, the maximum that they have done is probably give a wee bit of a smile or just a "hmm". Not more. This, makes the student yearn for that word of appreciation from the Guru and other learned musicians that they strive hard to be worthy of that honour. In about the same way, I have noticed several families asking the children to clear out of the area where elders congregate to talk. Childen/young adults were perhaps allowed to be their age and the onus was given on learning and education alone. Family set-ups made sure that the youngsters of the house did not indulge or subject themselves to anything that is frivolous in nature.
And now, I wonder if also this endless complimenting is encouraging insolence. At the same time, I have also noticed that the masters are not really bothered about the goings-on and nor do they discuss this phenomenon, if I may call it that. Very zen-like, they say, depending on the path one treads, its easy to figure out where someone might end up.
I have learnt especially in the very recent past that it is very necessary to move with people who have elevated thoughts and are refined human beings. For you to want to have the highest ideals, to be an achiever, it is necessary to surround yourself with people who are that way, no matter how scarce that breed might be. To move with people who have the highest intellect.
Just felt like typing this down. Perhaps the usual cathartic post. In a way, this post is like also telling myself to be better tomorrow, in whatever I do, than I am today.
To you, reading this, may you have the good fortune of moving with wonderful people who inspire you to reach the zenith.
Tathaastu

Also a comment - the other side

Hi.. I'm a young doctor working at GH and am an avid listener of your show, which coincides with the time I'm driving to work, every morning.
This discussion about the state of our Government Hospitals is a very valid & interesting one. While on one hand I agree with the things that have been said especially with respect to cleanliness and the ward boys' asking for money, I would like to point out a few lacunae, which may be the reasons for the woes of GH.

1. The moment our bigwigs begin to come to GH, the things are bound to change. A few decades ago, when the top politicos fell ill, they were brought to GH and consequently the facilities improved and new equipments and a clean premises was maintained. My suggestion is that if our ministers/CM get admitted in GH (where, believe me, the quality of doctors and nurses are on par with outside) the whole place will automatically get a facelift in terms of cleanliness and equipment. Like how our PM goes to AIIMS, similarly our CM and others should admit themselves in GH. I am asking them to trust in the same system that caters to majority of their people.

2.The ward boys are employed through a contract basis. They have awful working hours of 12 hours a day and have to do work such as transport patients up the buildings when lifts aren't working, clean up the wards and toilets (which the patients & their relatives dirty indiscriminately) and sundry other things. Most of them are married and have families to look after. And for all this they are paid Rs.1500-2000 per month. The point I am making is that these people deserve a bit more for their hard work. I am sure that they would not ask for money from patients if they are better paid. Some black sheeps exist though and inspite of repeated warnings from doctors they continue harassing patients and have been thrown out on our insistence.

3. Our patients themselves are a difficult lot to deal with. Just come to the new tower blocks and observe the way they look after the public property. As usual, they spit everywhere, urinate in public (even when there are clean toilets maintained by the Corporation, within the compound), eat inside the wards and dirty everything around them. The latrine is a dustbin for them and very often in our daily rounds,we docs inspect the toilets and admonish patients who dirty them beyond scope of any clean-up. And it is left to the ward boys to clean up after the patients have dirtied the place. These people smoke in the ward and occasionally a few of them have misbehaved with the nursing staff too. Any number of requests/scoldings/threats don't seem to work for these rowdy elements amongst the patients (though most patients are very simple, trustworthy & lovable people).

4.There are few more ails affecting out system of healthcare. Though it must be said that TN healthcare is amongst the best managed in India. Obviously, there is scope for improvement, as we can see.. I hope you will take note and highlight issues from the other side of the fence as well.

5. I guess, we need accountability in our society. In every aspect. Surety of punishment and not its magnitude is the only deterrent to indiscipline.

How I almost lost my mother

July 2007 will definitely be the most harrowing time of my life. In Canada, mom seemed to have developed a lactose intolerance, which she usually does not have and she developed a fever on Day 2 of the 10 day sojourn in Canada. She brushed it aside, as she usually does and until we come back from Canada, she has fever, chills and severe headache.
Once back in Chennai, I go to work, come back and mom says its time to go to the hospital. We get her admitted there and as usual we list out what she is allergic to.
She seems to be recovering after 3-4 days in the hospital. She asks for juice, I go about hunting and realize there is no departmental store in Nungambakkam and instead of heading to Chetpet I head to Dr Radhakrishnan salai. 45 minutes later, juice carton in hand, I head to mom's room to see major commotion. Mom's body is swollen thrice the size, her face is puffed up and she is gasping for breath. That day, the hospital's lift did not function, they carried the oxygen cylidner by hand over two floors, to find it was empty. The crew ran back down to get another and they had started pumping oxygen. And then, I saw the look in mom's eyes that I had seen right before my granddad died. And thats when I started shouting at the doc asking what in God's name he was doing. And kept telling mom not to leave me and go. Turns out she had been given an IV injection, which contained exactly whatever she was allergic to.
Mom is wheeled into the ICU. I am asked if there "is anyone else in the family, any male member" and I knew then these are questions that I would not have to face in normal circumstances.
Once in ICU mom recovers and we bring her back home straight from there.
It took mom an entire month to become normal. We had a nurse at home to attend to her. But on that day, I would have lost her and been orphaned.
But in this whole thing, my mom had an out of body experience, knew what it was to be out of the body, not feel any attachment to any of the human beings around and how it feels to get "pulled in" to the body again.
So maybe its time to file a PIL.
If someone like Traffic Ramaswamy can, I don't see why we cannot.

Blaaze's open letter

MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2008
My mother's ordeal... 'open' letter to hospital


Rajesh Raman
Son Of Mrs. Sathyabhama Raman
Abhiramapuram
Chennai – 600 018
Date: 15th December, 2008

To
The Management,
Chennai Meenakshi Multispeciality Hospital Ltd.
148, Luz Church Road,
Mylapore, Chennai 600 004


Respected Sir,

It is with utmost disappointment that I am compelled to write this to bring to your notice the complete inadequacy and disrespect shown to my mother and fellow patients at your hospital.

My mother, Mrs. Sathyabhama Raman was admitted to the hospital on Friday, December 12th 2008. Having been under the care of Dr. GS Kailash, she is being discharged today, thankfully. Please note the following and do ensure the services are improved so as to help other unfortunate patients who may have to suffer the added pain of your services alongwith the illness already diagnosed. A copy of this letter is being given to all concerned departments.

Saturday December 13th 2008 - Room 211

9.27 pm – 10.00 pm

3 times was attended for medication / reports / drips
Nurse left patient on all three occasions half way…

(hospital excuse) – shortage of sisters

9.00 pm – previous 48 hours (since admission)

Patient has acute bronchitis alongwith other illness, and had been administered nebulisation – ON A BROKEN MACHINE !
Complaint in the form of a doubt was raised by the patient’s daughter-in-law, Nandini Raman, on first nebulisation, as it seemed to not work.(i.e. no trace of smoke from machine mask during nebulisation). No positive response from nurse who was attending and mentioned it is ..as is.
Second day of nebulisation, I, Rajesh Raman, was present in the evening, and being a severe asthmatic patient myself, knew the nuisances of the nebuliser, and this time when complaint was raised by myself, to the sister on duty, she AGREED that the unit being used since her admission to the hospital, was and still is…BROKEN.

(hospital excuse) – as a patient, you should have complained earlier, says the nurse!

Emergency Bell kept at bedside – response time - 7 minutes - after three rings and patient walking to desk to ask for attendance !

(hospital excuse) – there was nobody at the desk to attend to bell call.

10.12 pm

3 injections through intra-veinous (IV) was administered to patient in 21 seconds. Am curious as to whether this is common practice as my mother was in tremendous pain.

(hospital excuse) – this is the way it is done.

07.15 am Monday, December 15, 2008

After being in room 211 since Saturday, 13th December, the bedsheets of the patient have been changed only now, and that too after polite requests to do so by myself. 3 days later? A bedsheet change?

(hospital excuse-overheard) – lack of sheets

09.15 am

Dustbin changed and replaced WITHOUT removal of the bin liner inside, with cotton swabs and tea stains etc still in the new change. Complained to head nurse about some basic sense of responsibility required and prompt replacement was made.

09.30 am

Had to request for toilet to be cleaned … as it has not been cleaned since admission.

(hospital excuse) – not sure …


Am truly appalled by the further stress and pain an admission to your hospital may bring to fellow patients like my mother. Please do take action.
For God’s sake, if not for humanity.



Regards

Rajesh Raman
(15-12-08)

Comment (from a doctor who served at Government General Hospital)

dear chinmayi ,
I am one of those people who constantly draw inspiration to rise to greater heights, from your blog.

I was a medical student who interned at the GGH , Chennai.
The list of things the place needs is endless, can be attributed to lack of funds , mismanagement , theft etc.
i am not going to talk about that.
I am here to tell yourandom incidents/ sightings that apalled me :

The Assistant professor in my ward , casually asked us to indent expensive drugs under patients ( its for free)and made off with them to use for his private clinic.

A watchman in the septic ward charges RS. 10 to let visitors/ attenders in. Ive seen this exchange several times and chided him.

In this septic ward, the ward assistant (deputy to nurse ) "offers " to do the dressings for patients. Since it takes a long time for us Interns to finish All the patients, And we do the septic ward last , some patients unknowingly agree to take up the "offer " . After the quackish dressing , they are charged rs 50 to rs 100

In septic ward ,to shift a patient from the OT post op , anywhere from rs 100 upwards.

To wheel a patient for investigations ( ex: to take him from ward to x ray room , Around RS 50). When i was new i used to sit and wonder why the hell an urgent investigation was not done. Ans : patient didnt pay the ward boy.

While i found that one doctor corrupt , i must say the others who i worked under were exceptionally good ,genuine and caring.
The nurses are like sloths / slugs, they hardly move, make a lot of noise , weigh above 65 kg,and believe their sole job in life is to sit and draw lines on registers. and are somewhat benign in compared to the lower rung of uneducated employees.

The ward boys are incorrigible , hateful , lecherous bastards.
As someone on the bottom most of the hierarchy of doctors , there was nothing much i could do besides listen to patients grievances , console them , and TRY to check these lechers.
but theyve done it for forty fifty years . one little student , posted in their ward for a couple of weeks could not intimidate them , try as much as she could.

Im not defending myself and saying i did everything in my capacity , but i tried .

And yes , ministers generally admit their aged parents ( reason :cheaper , and they're going to die anyway + public admiration for using GH ). ITs hell when they come , ppl stand in attention or bend double in fear / respect. I tried to resist that and go about my daily work.im proud that i didnt stoop to say good morning to some godawful minister.

And in the maternity hospital, if the mother gives birth to a girl , they 'Gift' Rs. 300 to the Ayah. Boys bring Rs.500. Saddest part : the ayah takes them aside and says " ulla doctor amma/ ayya vangi vara sonnanga". This i came to know only after i finished my posting in maternity !!

Oh and worst of all they charge a couple of thousands to hand over a body from the morgue. or so i hear.

Im sorry/ ashamed to say i couldnt do much more than what i did as an intern.
But it has been cathartic to write about it here . Thank you.



So people, can something be done about these ward boys/nurses/ayahs?

Liked these posts

on another blog. Thanks to, yup an anonymous commenter. I usually do not take anonymous comments sending me links, seriously. Anyway, have a read of these posts
http://bawandinesh.name/inconvenient-questions-i/
http://bawandinesh.name/reservations/
http://yespluschennai.blogspot.com/2009/03/know-your-world.html

Very apparently anonymous belongs to a spiritual movement going by his comment. Please note that this does not mean I am supporting or subliminally asking you to join up with a spiritual organization. With all due respect to them.
Just happened to come across these, as I have mentioned already, thanks to an anonymous commenter, found them to be good reads and that which we need at this time. Just attempting that at least those who come to this blog, who are valid voters, go about voting on the said dates. Please do not waste your vote and encourage bogus voting. Its heresy, but I have heard that those who do not cast their votes actually do a major disservice to those who take the trouble to go and vote. The votes of those who do not land up at the polling booths become "kalla votes" I hear. So whether you land up or not your vote is being used. So make sure, if you haven't voted before, make sure that your vote is used by you and not someone else.

There are times when you realize that you have probably always known something but you needed to hear it from someone else for it to affirm within you, it had to come from a source outside of you and find a resonance or reflection from your being, and that is perhaps, surreal.
And today I heard that something which I have already heard from mom. Sometimes it almost feels like mom and I share a soul. We say the same things, sometimes chorus whole sentences, thought processes are the same but she is elevated in most aspects while I am still learning the ropes.
I happened to go for a meeting where this gentleman happened to mention that he spends 15 minutes meditating everyday during which time he thanks every person that he has come across. Starting from his parents to spouse to children to colleagues, everyone. Including the enemies. Or instead of saying "enemy" let me say people who have wronged him. And whilst he was saying these words, I knew that more, much much more than thanking God for the good people or the good circumstances that we have come to face, we need to be thankful for the trials and tribulations, for times that try us to no end, sprain our brains and wring our minds, curdle our vision and buzz our hearing. For these are times, as the age-old adage goes, the trials by fire that cure us.
And it is perhaps imperative that we thank those who wrong us, for if not for them, we remain unchallenged. Unchallenged to push ourselves, stretch our horizons and increase our vision. We would probably be in the Garuda Sowkhyam mode. Sprawled out happily like a cat on her favorite cushion.
And here I am reminded of that final line that Mr Prakash Raj said in my interview (I have mentioned the entire verse in one of my earlier posts)- .... do not poison me for I shall become Neelakantha.
This verse from that day on has become the silent mantra of my life. Yes despair does happen. Tears do well up and I do sometimes feel like going on top of a mountain and scream my sorrow, probably imagine myself on some Himalayan peak where the scream that I so wish to express, that which would rent my being will escape its confines and get engulfed by the mountains and I would be offered silence and tranquility in return.
But in what could perhaps be regarded oblique, I experience the sorrow in its entirety. No postponing there or believing its cowardly to feel sad. Living sorrow then and there, getting it over with and moving on is easier. That said, if there is a point in time when I come to believe otherwise and come to contradict these very lines, there will be a valid reason to do so. And these thoughts are what I believe in at this point in time. And completely.
So what I wanted to share with you, now is this. Thank God for the wrong-ers. For they make our lives more exciting. Challenging. The moment you prove that person - who once said you cannot do something - wrong, that moment, I promise you, will be one of those you'll treasure. Enjoy it and of course, once that has been lived, its time to move on.

The plight of Hospitals in Chennai

Aahaa Kaapi klub today was quite a revelation. Today's topic was triggered by a TOI article on how the ICU patients in KMC hospital had to use the stairs, Cardiac patients and burn victims inclusive, as the lift has not been functioning for 4 days.
Based on that I asked the people in the city of Chennai to call in with what they had faced. And I had absolutely no idea this was happening. Whenever the important ministers land up all the general hositals are cleaned and then they go back to the same crappy state.
Visitors of the patients dump garbage within the wards which leads to the breeding of mosquitoes. What would they do they ask, the wards are already full of crap.
Post delivery, a mother and her new born were brought to a ward, where nightfall brings a horde of dogs inside. The mother had to hold her child on her lap through the night for fear that the dogs would take away her child.
People who come in for fractures and related issues at the GH - the ward reportedly stinks beyond compare.
A man brought in his friends who had faced an accident at OMR to the GH. The ward boy demanded 300 bucks and because the man who had brought the victims had no cash on hand, he 'dumped' the patient, who had been bleeding all along at the back of the hospital somewhere and disappeared. By the time they figured out what happened, the victim had died. The ward boy is happily going about doing his job somewhere
Royapettah hospital - some of the famous specialists of Chennai who practise there apparently work out of "thatched roof" buildings as reported by a caller, and Royapettah housing some of the biggest politicians of Chennai is in this state.
Patients there, post operation have to wheeled across the main road, facing all the infection dust and traffic to go to the General ward.
Most of these general hospitals have issues with the Electricity board which means no electricity. Thats the case with the GH as well.
CGHS tells patients to get their medicines afterr 10 days.
Ward boys and other attendants bargain with the relatives of patients in lifts on how much they should be paid.
Hospitals like MIOT have more or less the same issues as far as these attendants are concerned. More than anything else, nurses and doctors apparently have mouths as foul as the GH itself.
I wonder what those people in GH are being paid for. As all the callers said, the employees are cocksure that nothing can happen to them since they are all government servants. How come the Union Minister has no clue about all this beats me. And more than anything else I wonder what salt the doctors working at the GH are made of.
Anyway, there was a lot more that was said by the callers today. Some of them have slipped my fingers right now. But what you have read is as said by the callers. I intend to post the inputs on the blog soon. Maybe a Podcast.

Just like there movements for cleaning religious areas, I wonder if there are movements that clean the hospitals.
Now that you have read all this, do you have a solution?