RAIN GOD’s KOLAVERY……………………

Kolavery is the buzz word these days and it means "Murderous feeling or blood lust""and it seems that even the rain god has been infected by this. It has been raining quite heavily in Tamilnadu and in Northern Indian states. Been pouring in Chennai from 24^th Night till now which is 40 hours and there are signs of more rains in the offing. Earlier records of the amount of rainfall in Chennai during this month have been broken and we are pretty sure that this year a new record would be set.

Due to this incessant rain the roads are flooded and commuting within the city has become a nightmare with potholed road jammed traffic. Larger vehicles such as government buses and SUV’s cabs travel at high speed on the flooded roads sloshing dirty water on the pedestrians and other vehicle leading to flaring of tempers and fights. 

Yet I had to travel to the Central station to drop my younger daughter going on a school field trip to Amritsar, Punjab yesterday morning. Being early morning (5.15 am) we did not encounter much traffic however the time taken was double the normal travel time.

Because of the prevailing conditions of the roads I decided to take the suburban train to my sister’s place near Avadi, a suburb of Chennai. My first trip on a suburban train here at Chennai and I was pleasantly surprised for the cost of ticket to Patabiraman Military siding was just Rs 7.00 one way compared to call taxi charge of over Rs 500.00 and also the time taken to reach the destination was just a quarter of the time taken by road travel. Chennai suburban trains have dirty compartments with stained wooden seats, jammed doors/windows and are not to the standards of the compartments of Delhi & Kolkata metros yet a life saver of many people who use this service on a daily basis since it is very cheap compared to bus travel and time saving too. On my maiden travel most of the persons traveling in the same compartment with me were engineering college students and their conversation and their actions during the brief 40 minutes travel transported me back in time of my days at college reminiscing those carefree days.

During my return journey it started raining quite heavily and the water was streaming into the compartment through the open door and spraying the passengers sitting in the first row just after the door. Some passengers tried closing the door half way and since it was jammed the door did not budge at all and the passengers sitting there were getting drenched. One of the passenger had a brilliant idea and she opened up her umbrella within the compartment preventing further drenching. All the passengers had their laugh during the gloomy afternoon.

One step forward and three steps back

Common man in Tamilnadu is shell shocked hearing the news of the a steep increase of prices on few of the basic necessities of life such as Milk, power and local bus tariff. A liter of toned standard milk has gone up from Rs17.80 to Rs 26.00, Half Kg Butter from Rs 100.00 to Rs 150.00, Electricity charges up by 30 % and so forth with immediate effect ie 18^th Nov 2011. In addition to the announced increases the ripple effect of the weakening Indian Rupee is seen in the increase of fuel prices thereby increasing the cost of transportation of good is passed on to the end consumer…common man. These increases does have a serious impact on the household budgets of the people and with no increase in the income of the family only way these additional expenses could be met by reducing the consumption of all the affected products. 

Today I heard an interesting conversation between three persons in a tea shop and the topic was the increase in costs as announced yesterday and it goes like this

First person: such a steep increase by Jayalalitha’s government is not correct especially on milk and bus travel and because of this my child will not be given milk at night

Second person: yes what you say is correct…the increase should have been done gradually over a period of time so that we would have got some breathing space.

First person: even if it was gradual what is the use as our salaries remain stationary for years together.

Third person: yes if the salaries are also increased then we would be able to still afford the increased costs without sacrificing the necessities of our children and also ourselves. But then dreaming of salary increase is a waste since it would never happen in private companies.

Second person: we made a mistake by electing AIADMK since Karunanidhi would never have passed such a bill for steep increase as he is more caring about the welfare of the people. I am sure that this party will not retain its power in the next election

First person: Well we have a long wait ahead of us because Amma has just come to power and god only knows what else she is going to do further to make more money for themselves.

Being educated I do know that any government would look for various means of reducing their budget deficit but then spread the increase on to various items instead of increasing price of few items so drastically. Well we are all in for much more cost increases in the coming days with spiraling oil cost due to weakening Indian currency  and I hope that we would be able to provide the basic necessities to our children for their growth and studies ……….most families would have to forego something else to take care of the needs of children. For a common man it is now “One step forward and three steps backward” instead of “two steps forward and one step back”. We are sure going to see a definite change in the society because of the inflation in near future!!! 

God help the common man for he is the worst affected for the rich will still continue their lifestyle without flinching about the increases and the people below poverty level are not used to such luxuries so would not care either way.  

My Rant of the day.........

It  is said that “Idle mind is devils workshop” and with so much free time with me there has been a constant flow of thoughts in my mind but then when I sit down to jot these my mind goes totally blank. I know that I have not been cut out to be a writer and hence may be missing the tricks of the trade when it comes to pen these thoughts. In addition to the random thoughts there few issues with has been always on my mind and those are….getting a suitable employment at Chennai itself, finding a cook/housemaid to be based at home and the third is the operation of my wife who is suffering from some bone related issues.  

Second and third opinions has been taken regarding the operation and the final conclusion is that operation of the left leg is a must and it can be done within next 6 months or so provided my wife is not facing any discomforts. But each day being a pain we have decided to go ahead with the same end December in spite of various suggestion from persons to try out alternative medicinal treatment such as Unani & Ayurvedic  and so forth. The decision about the hospital also was being debated for various factors such as cost, patient care and the expertise the doctors & facilities of the hospitals. Finally we shortlisted three hospitals at Chennai…. MIOT, Apollo & Bone and Joint clinic where we plan to get this surgery done. While browsing the net I came across very bad reviews of experiences by patients at MIOT hospital and there were over 15 recent reviews of knowledgeable patients writing about the bad experience they have faced during post operation treatment and the rude behavior of the doctors and other personnel there. Some reviews painted Dr Mohandas in very bad light which had an negative impact in our minds about the hospital..Like I had mentioned in my earlier post Hospitals are similar to hospitality industry where all concerned needs to be courteous and that instance I decided to go ahead with Apollo hospital though it is costly.

Apart from my personal issue there is quite a lot happening around me and once again there has been a storm warning in Tamilnadu with heavy showers for next 4-5 days….we have been having showers form this morning and this definitely disrupts the traffic in Chennai because of the flooding and pot holed roads……..it would be a total chaos to travel about. The other news making waves in the media and internet is the birth of a girl child to Aishwaraya Bachan…media went berserk with this news while I am sure that all over India at least 70,000 births would have taken place yesterday which has gone untold. So many controversies floating around about this baby just because the child is born to famous personality ….phew it good not be in the eye of the media!!!!!

I sure love to write more but then my mind has gone blank now ………………………

Healthcare….Do the doctors and hospitals care about the patients??

Going to a super specialty hospital at Chennai was quite sickening for it looked more like a government hospital with hardly any space to walk nor sufficient seating arrangements for the patients in various counter due to very large crowd of patients and their attendants. Most people I saw yesterday in the hospital are from Bengal and to cater to their needs the hospital authorities have even employed a Bengali to be seated in the help desk. Medical tourism is not only for foreigners but also for Indians staying in other states and generally Chennai and Vellore draw huge crowd from various parts of India and from the Middle East.

 Hospital is a hospitality service industry but then the way the secretaries and the other hospital personnel deal with the patients are much to be desired for since they carry out their service as though they are doing favors to patients. The said hospital does charge hefty fees for their services but they hardly bother about the hardship the patient is undergoing…..we were in the hospital from 10am to 3.30pm just for a 10 minute consultation with the doctor. But then if you have a friend or a relative working in the same hospitals then all rules are broken and they get preferential treatment and are able to meet the doctors even if they do not have an appointment. There have been various movements in India to curb favoritism /corruption in all walks of life and the recent Anna Hazare movement galvanized the population of India to fight against all sorts of corruption but then unless all of us have a common goal the root of corruption will never get uprooted for ages to come.

Another thing I noticed is that a doctor would suddenly leave his cabin while examining the patients and inform the secretary that he would be back in a short while but would not come back for over a hour or even longer and the usual excuse given is that there was an emergency either in the ward or in OT. The out patients waiting for the doctor has no other option but to wait in vain for the doctor to return and finish their consultation. It is understood that going to a hospital means that the whole day needs to be written off for but what irks me is that I have found the doctors to be chatting with other doctor friends elsewhere while the patients are waiting desperately to see the doctor. An incident occurred few years back in another super specialty hospital in the city….I had gone to meet the specialist in connecting with some gastro issues and were waiting in the reception for the doctor to come to his cabin but alas he was in the opposite cabin chatting with another doctor and a friend for over a hour. On approaching the reception and asking her to inform the doctor that we are waiting to see.. She tells us that doctor is busy in a technical discussions and he cannot be disturbed whereas we could hear the conversation and the laughing the cabin and they were engrossed in casual talks and jokes!!! That was the last straw and I walked out of the hospital much to anger of my wife and to this day I refuse to go to that particular doctor.

It is sellers market in health sector because of the reputation and brand image each one has created in their respective field. When we or our relative has fallen sick or have recurring health issues we tend to go to the hospital which has famous doctors in the field and doing so we have to bear the brunt of lousy service, hefty charges and so forth. There are so many doctors who are good, quite humble and approachable but then their brand image is zero or zilch and hence they are not preferred by the general public and they languish in small time polyclinics plying their practice or set up their own clinics. 

The views written above are purely my views due to the experience I have had in hospitals and in no way a negative thought against any hospital or a doctor. But the final conclusion is that healthcare in India is for privileged few who are wealthy or famous or having a relative working in the hospital!!!

A week since i left Oman ...R&R

Leaving Muscat...taken from air just after take off

Relocated to Chennai from Oman after working for almost three years now and am currently in my sabbatical break between jobs which I plan to take up in Chennai itself after couple of months. A welcome change from the day to day stressful times I had there. My return coincided with Diwali or Deepavali round the corner and it was good to be back home among the near and dear ones for this occasion. 

The monsoon rains this time did dampen the festivities in Chennai as it was pouring cats and dogs early morning and also late afternoon and hence there was no bursting of fire crackers around the city. The rains eased out in late evening and immediately the skies lit up with array of colorful burst and yes we also had some fun on our terrace. Yet I do have a feeling that the fervor of the celebrations did not match that of the times when I was young. I still remember my grandmother waking us all at about 3 am in the morning and go on with the ritual of nalang (vermillion paste being smeared on the legs) and then oil the hair for the head bath. Then after the bath we take blessings of the elders and adorn new clothes …burst fire crackers till about dawn and have breakfast of hot idilis & sambar. Fond memories and I do miss those times when the entire extended family be together and celebrate this festival.

 Few photographs taken from my balcony

Dawn with dark clouds looming

Hawk Owl

Pair of colorful Kingfishers

 

I keep myself occupied these days by reading books, or browse the net or by taking photographs of the nature from my balcony without thinking about the uncertain future ahead of me. I know that life is tough and I would have to face the challenges as they churn out and I am steeling myself accordingly.More notes will follow in the days to come. Have fun friends Season greetings to one and all !!!!

Yadon ki barat…… (Memories flooding)

I am not talking about the famous multi starrer Hindi movie of early 70’s but the rush of memories that invaded my mind while watching old Hindi songs on TV yesterday. A string of songs featuring Neetu Singh from the movies Khel Khel Mein and Deewar transported me back in times while I was very young for my connection with her starts way back to 1961. Now don’t get me wrong for there is nothing romantic about the connection as she was my playmate there (a brief encounter) 

My father was posted in SriGanganagar- Rajasthan from 1958 to 1962 and the early memories from there is slightly vague for I was too young, but then I do recollect two servants who were at my beck and call, our Alsatian female dog named Sheba, my father’s double barrel 12 bore rifle, making of manja and flying kites from terrace during the late summer and so forth. It was in Sriganganagar that I met Neetu Singh when was a 3 year old child and me just about 4 years old. I hardly have any recollection of the meeting but then my father and mother had stated this and when my father was transferred out of this town we gave our dog Sheba to Neetu Singh’s father as it was not possible for us to take her along with us to Bangalore which was about 4 days travel by train.

After leaving Ganganagar I never gave a thought about this till such time I was reminded by my mother while watching the movie Yadon Ki barat …wow she looked great and I can surely say that she was the fantasy girl of millions of young Indian men for I was one among them those days. I have watched most of her movies which had released from 1972 onwards till such time I completed my college in 1979. Thinking back it makes me smile that I was so besotted by her just because she had been my playmate when she was 3!!!!  

The beauty of the human brain is such that memories last a life time but then like in computer if you do not browse the correct section of the grey cells you do not get a clear picture even though you could have a deluge of unrelated incidents popping up in your memory. I will surely share some of the interesting memories of mine as and when I am able to piece it all together.

Back from future or is it back to future ???

Last three years has been amazing with all aspects and quality of life I have been living here in Gulf while on Job assignment. With my relocation date nearing which is just a week from now I am steeling myself to the life back home in India for there is immense change between here and there in the basic amenities such as infrastructure, power, water and so forth. Indeed it is a pleasure to be back in India for all the near and dear ones are there, but then I would really miss living here.

Potholes on roads a common thing seen in India

The first thing that comes to my mind is the sorry state of Roads in most parts of India which is pocked with holes which magically appears during each monsoon because of poor quality of materials being used while construction of the same ( each year the roads are rectified by the municipal corporation in bits and pieces..How else would they be able to earn their share of the bribe if contracts cannot be awarded year after year?). Another common scene you come across in India is that roads are dug up for some utility and then there is no repair carried out by the company or the municipality for a very long time creating chaos to traffic. One incident I would like to share here is that the roads in front of my house was done using concrete and all was well but four months later we had an excavator digging up this road in the center for laying drainage lines to the locality and now they have laid the pipes and filled up this trench with the excavated material..So either side of the road is concrete and in the center it is just mud ,and this settles down during the rains making the roads unusable. No amount of complaint to the local municipality is heeded and the residents are suffering the consequences of development. 

Roads in Gulf countries

At Chennai  when I think of driving 38 kilometer through the pot holed roads with unruly traffic to go and see my father , it gives me jitters… this drive would take me around hour and half to reach destination and would be totally mentally and physically exhausted in spite of an air conditioning in the car. Here in gulf this drive would just be 15-20 minutes because of good road conditions and orderly traffic (though you do get few unruly drivers on the way here in Gulf.)

Next thing is constant power cuts which make life quite unbearable at home especially while at home (Most offices have backup generators running during power failures). Here in Gulf in the last three years I have witnessed only one power cut and that too a scheduled one for maintenance just for 30 minutes…..Further i have never had my taps run dry during my entire stay of the last three years here...

I guess having lived there before I came here made me appreciate the benefits of working here but then most of us would have to turn back one day or the other to our country. Well I need to recalibrate my thinking as I return back to India and I am sure it is going to take a while to adjust to the bustling life there with all these shortcomings.