HOPE

HOPE

Hope is not blind optimism

Hope is believing in the face of adversity

We can overcome and step

Into a better world.

Never lose hope.

Never be mad.

Never be frustrated.

For progress never moves directly

In a straight line.

An adaptation  from a

U S  election campaign speech 

for Joe Biden by Barack Obama 

in Octobter 2020.

Reengineering colleagues who in your view falter or desist to act as they are mandated

 

Jesus said, “Before you try to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye, ensure the speck in your own eye is taken off.”

Man management needs tact, patience, sympathy and empathy. It doesn’t mean that the manager has to be docile or inactive. He has to be proactive. He has a job on his hands.  He has to accomplish what is assigned to him within the timeline set by his superiors or the system. There is no way out of the impasse. If you think you can accomplish everything by yourself you are in a fool’s paradise. You cannot be the lone ranger.  Everyone needs someone.

The subordinates are clever. They grow in their smartness as time progresses or as the generation shifts to the next. They take advantage of your good senses to remain idle. They know very well if they choose to do little or nothing, nothing is to go wrong for them.  They know their boss would somehow get the job on hand done without their intervention as he has no alternative if he proposes to retain his job.

Our parents had nothing when they began their life. They gave us whatever they could much beyond their means. We had something to begin with. We had means. We have ensured that our children have a better deal. But it is a global phenomenon. You are not unique. Everyone has means. Today they can chuck off their jobs on a whim and they won’t starve.

Fear was the key when we were working. Fear is not the key today.

Look at your Mummy. A fantastic woman. A multitasker. A great cook. Who loves her husband, children and her mother. She has no demands for herself. She strives for the family. But how many are like her? Very few, life tells us.

This is micro.

The macro is where you are. The environment you are in.

Just as Mummy cannot change her parents, her husband or her children – of course there are legal methods available to alter the situation that would be equivalent to a major critical surgery where the outcome would be unambiguously unpredictable – you are in a situation where you will have to manage with the resources you have. You have no choice. Perhaps you could hand over the pink slip at will, but when you do it with a flourish you have to understand that someone somewhere waits with a similar fate for you.

We have a curious mix in the banks today. The staff is well educated. They may even be better than you in every respect. As they are well off they can hit it off spectacularly without the well paid job they have.

Fact is, you need them.

Enforce discipline you must. They would have to conform and learn to conform if they shirk.

But you are not the ancient Head Master who had roamed the corridors with an iron hand and the sword, nee, the baton or the rod. We had feared him, never respected him. However modern times signify that those golden days are over.

Now, the pertinent poser.

You would have to marshal the assets you have wisely. You can laugh with them. But they have to know you are the boss. But never boss them or give them the impression you are bossing them. Never be subjective. You have to be objective. Take them into confidence wherever possible. It doesn’t mean you have to share the confidential with them. Let the confidential stay confidential.

Never shout at them even when they exceed the limit according to your perception. Never fire away at them after office hours. You have to respect their private space. Never be angry with them or shout at them in presence of others. It saps their ego. You don’t have to break their ego to get things done. You have to wisely make their ego play its part to get things done and resolve issues. It is like cricket. The batsman employs the power the bowler unleashes to hit a Six effortlessly. It is nothing but patience and talent.

Display your anger softly. I can assure when you shout it generates negative vibes.  Negativity unlocks cold anger – they cannot retaliate in the open and in turn invites subtlety in their response – that paves the way for the downfall of their tormentor who in their eyes would be the most hated person on earth.

Praise them wherever it is due. Praise them for even little or minor things. Acknowledge them.

But you have to be firm when you tell them to do their job or  to act. They have to be pushed into a slot where they cannot get away without compliance. It is delicate. Ensure you are not breaking the thin thread of friendship or normalcy when you do that. Be a good listener. Smile.

Cinema is the willing suspension of disbelief. Real life is no different. Be a sport and suspend your perceptions when the need arises. You could be wrong.

People have to learn they have to pool their resources or capabilities for the good of the organization. For, without the organization no one has any locus standi when they are within. The organization sets the sights. You have to forgo your own self respect for the sake of the organization.

You have to reengineer yourself before you set out on the expedition to reorient your coworkers or subordinates. Keep your eyes and ears open. Have the magnanimity to learn from others and in fact the lowest on the pyramid. They can teach you quite a lot. Accept that however much you know your knowledge is limited. People respect your chair, not you. You are nothing but an insignificant cog.

Please understand nothing is permanent in the world. Everything is transitory or transient. Everything is cyclic. The one on top rides down to the bottom. He would ascend again. Employ at once dynamism and flexibility. But temper your act. Be kind.

Never be overconfident. Remember pride goes before a fall.

Finally have quality time with family. Your mind has to be clear. You have to be focused and yet you must unwind yourself as much as you can.  As you drive around enjoy the nature and its serenity. It takes a load off. It is bliss to bask in the magnificence of nature. It’d transform you. The transition would alter you dramatically into a brand new being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DENTIST DR. ANNAMMA GEORGE - PIONEER - LITTLE KNOWN YET A GREAT ACCOMPLISHER

 

DR. ANNAMMA GEORGE





Dr. Annamma George  started practicing as a Dentist in 1959. Her husband
Mr. KV George was a Station Master in the Indian Railways. She started her practice initially at Kollam and it was later shifted to Pettah,Trivandrum. Her clinic was adjacent to the Karthika Theatre at Pettah on the main road to Sanghumugham Beach.. She was clinical in her approach in a career spanning 45 years. Her health dissuaded her from continuing the  practice in the year 2004. She is now 88 and leads a peaceful retired life. She is a pioneer. When she had started her practice in Trivandrum  she was the only woman Dentist in the city.  People had flocked to her clinic from near and afar and she had a flourishing practice. She had pleasing manners. She never had fleeced her patients. She had a commitment and total dedication. Dr. Mathew Thomas, leading Physician, once remarked, " When I was boy I had visited her for filling a cavity. Though fillings done later on other cavities had to be redone several times the filling Dr. Annamma George had done has remained strong even now."




Dr. Annamma George passed away on 5th August 2020 at 10.20 AM. after a brief illness.
She was 95, Sixteen days short of celebrating her 96th birth day.  She would have been 96
 on 21st August 2020. 
The funeral was held at the St.Thomas Mar Thoma Church Cemetery, Pattoor, Thiruvanathapuram 
 on the same day, the 5th August 2020 at 5 PM.
Losing her husband in the year 1984,  it had been a long and arduous journey. Compressed into a less than five feet frame, she had been a fighter all along.  

She had been well looked after by her daughters and their families, each one of  them competing with the others to provide her the very best.
The younger daughter, Lila, stayed with her and attended to her throughout till she breathed her last.
She left all those who loved her orphaned, desolate and shattered.

She had had a good and contented life. She had never been demanding. 
She knew only to love. She knew only to give. She knew only to care.
The good soul she had been the end was very peaceful and quiet.
She simply flew away to her mentor.

CURIOSITY

CURIOSITY

Curiosity fuels your mind.

Curiosity spreads your knowledge base.

Curiosity inevitably enlarges your repertoire.

Curiosity turns you flexible.

Curiosity makes you agile.

Curiosity lets you adapt

Curiosity powers you to adopt.

Curiosity enables you to promptly respond to shifting environments.

Curiosity enhances chances of serendipity coming to your aid.

.LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP

Ever tried, ever failed, no matter, try again, fail again, fail better.

Samuel Beckett

What leaders – good leaders – do. They stay calm and resolute at a time when they face an insurmountable challenge.

They express calm and their actions would  reflect that.

They do not jump up and down and shout, “ We have a problem, a tremendous problem,” and scare everybody.

They would play it down. They would never create panic. They would show confidence and strength. They would tackle the challenge and succeed.

FLEXIBILITY

FLEXIBILITY

You have to train yourselves to be flexible all through your life to enable you face challenges or competitions squarely.

The inability to switch mid stream, when you learn your strengths are neutralized by your opponents or contenders, would be your bane.

If you are narrow in your outlook, in your everyday roles, in your career or in your skill set Armageddon would be staring at you.

You would be in an unimaginable predicament when your expertise is suddenly fulfilled by artificial intelligence or automation or outsourcing and  you do not adapt to the transformation or refuse to improvise and hit a variable..

FIGHTING CORONA IN UTOPIA

Utopia is no man's land. It exists nowhere.  But it is omnipresent.

In Utopia if you have to see a Doctor for a lifestyle disease, you have to undergo a Corona test. Interesting part is you do the test today and see the doctor tomorrow with a Covid 19 negative certificate. But what is the assurance you are not Covid 19 positive on the day you see the doctor? 

Mandates are mandates.

Now you can hoodwink Corona, visiting the doctor on the Zoom platform. The good doctor charges you double what you pay on a personal visit on the zoom consultation. You have to upload the scanned copies of the reports for the doctor's perusal. You have to be tech savy. And the commandment of the omnipotent is that you are under reverse quarantine. Venturing out is taboo.  The proclamation prohibits misadventure or misdemeanour or activism on your part. You will be severely dealt with.

The doctor initiates the consultation only after the fee is debited from your account and traverses the long or short  distance to the doctor's account. The doctor finally advises you to repeat the medicines for two weeks and sets the date for the next consultation. Long live the doctors.

In Utopia if you are Covid 19 positive, the law enforcers and the health personnel force you to pay US Dollars 5000.00 and get into the private hospital of their choice.  If you reject the offer you will be plainly told that it would be inconvenient for you if you attempt to be treated at the common man's facility. 

Say no, Utopia is Utopia and you would be quarantined for 60 days and you would  starve. in a facility that has no facilities. 

  

SHATTERED LIVES

Ammachi - Dr. Annamma George, our mother - had passed away on 5th August 2020. She was 95, sixteen days from celebrating her 96th Birthday. 

Anna Kochamma was solid gold. 

How are you all holding up?

We find the going tough. 

For Lila it's the loss of her dear mother. 

Yesterday she was telling me, "At times I wonder, did we do everything well for Ammachi." 

Has an iota of suspicion we didn't do everything right all through the years we had stayed with her

I assured her it isn't

You did everything possible.

Don't even think otherwise

I miss her everywhere I look for her. She's not on her seat at the dining table. She's not in her room. She's not on her bed. She's everywhere, but nowhere. There she is getting up in the morning, emerges from her room holding a flask close to her body, walks slowly to the kitchen. She sits there on a chair at the kitchen, swallows a full mug of hot water with glum,glum and enjoys her tea.

Returns to her room with the flask of hot water. 

She did all this routinely each day of her life till  7th June 2020. It differed on the 8th. She was hospitalised - the first admission - in the night that day. There were three admissions in as many weeks.

There was visible disorientation in the morning. The routine was broken. Later she came round. Went on as usual. We didn't think much of it as normalcy had been restored.

I am sitting on my chair observing all this while scanning the newspapers.

Where is she? 

I miss her.

Ashwin had a special relationship with her.

Anoop too.

They miss her. 

Aaron was crying aloud seeing her inert.

Little Evana was telling us yesterday when we were in Ammachi's room, "Valiyam illa"

(Great Gandma is not here), looking at the vacant bed.

LOCKDOWN STRESS BUSTER

True, Lila finds joy in stitching.

But I am amazed she's doing it when she's under a  multiple  lockdown(not the triple lockdown of the authorities)

It's the stress.

She's not growing young.

She has her invalid mother whom she cares for alone with love and affection.

Not the paid stuff where you never receive your money's worth.

She cares for everyone in the house ensuring they don't lack in anything.

She has been confined to  home since March except when she looked after Ammachi at the Hospital.

She doesn't complain.

Yet, she finds time to express herself in one of her favourite pastimes. Says it relaxes her. 

The caption in three words eloquently captures all this and much and much more.

BOY MEETS GIRL

A little bit of History. 

These days no one is interested in that. If you set out with a historical narration you can see people are disinterested. They are  impatient with you for your intrusion into their secluded egotistic life. 

November 20 1977. 

A 27 year old young man and his 24 year old sister had set out from their abode. They took the Fast Passenger to Trivandrum. They were seen off by their father and mother. The mother was recuperating. She had been critically ill and was just out of the Hospital. 

The long journey was to meet the girl and her family in  Trivandrum. There was the proposal. 

When the young man met the girl he told her explicitly that his mother was suffering from an incurable disease. He left it to the girl to choose.

The marriage took place on December 29  1977.

The girl stepped happily into a house that had been steeped in  inadequacies. The mother soon had a relapse. She was admitted in a premium hospital. Almost two months later she was discharged with the doctor's remark, 'Prognosis given.'

She was brought home. After a few days she had slipped into a coma.

The beautiful girl who had become a part of the family through marriage -   three months old - took in the crisis with a composure that astounded her husband.

She took care of the mother in the best way possible. The girl who had just left a home of plenty and comfort had no hesitation in looking after her newly acquired mother in law. She had no inhibition in cleaning up or feeding the invalid.

There was love, love and love. There was affection , affection and affection. 

How many would replicate her? Not many, I am sure. 

Many moments came alive at once.

The young girl now is a proud grandmother. She had her own space in the world when she had been  employed.

Unmindful of whatever she had been or whatever she could not be she leads a happy contented life. She passes oñ, transmits and transcribes the quality ingrained in her. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and AFFECTION, AFFECTION  and AFFECTION. 

Some people are like that. Again not many. They are rare. They are unusual. The legacy, impossible  to replicate.

Here she is looking after and supporting four generations as her niece has rightly mentioned.

She looks after her mother and cares for her happily. 

She's Lila, our Lila.

True, the bar has been set high.

INTERACTIONS

 Actually I don't know what to pray for.

 God will bless you all 

 It is tough to go through all this now, but we have no choice.

 You said it. 

Most inconvenient time for illnesses to strike.

You know very well except in Okinawa Japan and a few other pockets in the world no one lives upto 120 years.

Just as there is a time to begin, there is a time for the end. When? No one has any idea. 

When it is your dear ones you don't even want to let them go. But,go, they must. The pain is acute.

One thing we can always ensure. They have a good and comfortable life till the very end. Painless is our wish.  Money doesn't matter. Inconsequential. 

Lila has the toughest phase ever in her life. She's not growing young either. We support her to the utmost. Not enough we know. 

Prayer is the sole solace. Man needs at least a straw to hold on to.

Ammachi is comparatively better. But the invalid status must be demeaning for a woman of her calibre, strong willed and self made as she is.

Corona does its best to aggravate and compound the problems we have. It depresses and debilitates the individual. Lethargy steps in. 

From another angle it's quite funny.There's humour too.

I am sending two photos of Lila. Casual.

Lila fires me for sending the two photos.  I said I had sent them to very few who I felt think well of us. 

Assured I'll ask them all to delete the photos if she detests my well meant but to her very unbecoming and  untoward  action. Have to buy peace. She keeps a silence, but silence is much  more than eloquent.

All the same go for deletion if you feel they are that bad. Else assure her they are the best photos of your dearest aunt.

We survive because of such major minor tiffs.

 They are kept safely. I gazed at them for more than a while and felt really good. Glad we got 'em

 This is Lila. The pics showed  a tired old lady with a weary look  - not worthy to be seen by my  favourite  niece  at U S.

 Lalchaya, you know I observe people. My neighbor on one side is my mother's age. She spends her whole day gardening. Otherwise there's nothing for her to do with her day.

 Met another lady in her sixties... Was buying 10-20 books at some sale. Said these books will let her get past more than a month. She has nothing else to do.

I thought of my mother and Lilamama..

 They don't need to look at a day and wonder how to spend it.

 My mother said Lilamama is dealing with the pressures of 4 generations. We must support her as much as we can.

 But we don't realize is this is her legacy. She has set the bar high for the rest of us. God will bless her and give her strength.

Compilation - CAN DO WILL DO MUST DO

The Post -  CAN DO WILL DO MUST DO

It was compiled on 30th June 2020

A little history on its compilation. 
Since Friday last I had been staying in the Hospital.
Ammachi was sick . 
Alone, Lila found the going very tough. 

I said we could lean on the shoulders of each other.

The day before was the 29th. Salary for June had to be disbursed. Integral duty of the Honorary  Treasurer of the KUT Seminary, Kannammoola, Trivandrum

I went there. Did what had to be done. 

There was an issue pending resolution with our Bank Branch. I had taken it up last March. The Branch Manager is a woman, an Engineer turned Banker. Very smart. Courteous. She had agreed to resolve the issue at the earliest at that time. 

When I checked, there had been no progress. 
I conversed with her. She took umbrage at the Lockdown. She had again  agreed to resolve the issue at the earliest.

I posted the Can Do,.... message to energise her.

The issue was resolved post haste.

When I revisted it I thought it may be of assistance to at least a few. 

That made me post it.

CORONA - THE BIG LEVELLER

Hospital. 

Three admissions to the ICU in as many weeks. For the hospital the patient is the moneyspinner. Bystanders, the scum of the earth. The patient is administered the finest critical care for which the bystanders pay through the nose. Those who pay are handed the short shrift.

Ammachi was in the Emergency and later in the critical care. One bystander is directed to wait in the lobby to carry out the instructions from the CCU, ICU or HD as they define it. The beauty is another has to wait beyond the front door in the open braving the elements. 

While I sat there in the open on a plastic chair I could observe the people walking in. Patients in various stages arrive. They are put through the Corona desk and the fever desk where the receptionists  are invasive and never gentle in their probes. The security personnel shout directions. Wheel chairs or trolleys are brought out and the patients are taken in, where to I wondered.

I could see the staff getting in. The guard  opens the door for them mechanically. They are efficient. They don't permit haphazard parking. 

When the Doctors or the top hierarchy drive in,  there is a big commotion. The security men run around to assist them park the vehicles. 

They salute them smartly.

But corona is a big leveller.

Like the people who seek alms, the High and the Mighty of the hospital pause before the guard. They bow and stretch out both hands in a manner similar to the ignominious who stretch their hands for alms. The guard pours the sanitizer intò the hands like amrith.  Rubbing their hands together they enter the portals.

The security personnel are among the lowest paid in almost all the organisations. The higher echelon never respect them. They are ignored contemptuously.

But Corona has made them come of age. They now command. The high and the mighty have to bow before them. 

Little EVANA and 10000 reasons

I was listening to 'one day at a time' - Cristy Lane just now.  Little EVANA  awake, got up, walked out of her room heading straight to Adukkala (Kitchen), her usual routine every day where she'd blurt out 'Ayyo,Ayyo' till she could jump on to Lila's or Ann's shoulders. She braked and fell back upon the mobile. 

Knowing her I shifted to Lynda Randle - Live, 'one day at a time'

It energised her. 

Then I switched over to 10000 reasons, Steven Samuel Devassy.

As the song came on she looked at the singer beaming. There was a radiance on her face. She touched her heart and shouted, "Ummm, Achacha, Anaanna Achacha" smiling.  She stood there transfixed, the song and her Achacha, holding her.

The rendition over she clapped and went on with her interrupted foray into the kitchen and her cutomsary theatrics.

As I watched Steven closely, I could sense she was right. The boy strikes a conclusive similarity with our dear Kunju Aaron.

Thought of sharing what I saw and what went on here  on a lazy Sunday 

morning as I reclined on my favourite seat at home, wondering where the sedate,sedentary lifestyle  would lead me.

Dr Annamma George TRIBUTE

    Dr Annamma George

Ammachi passed away at 10.20 am on  5th August 2020

Service at home at 4 pm

Funeral at Pattoor St. Thomas MarThoma Church Cemetery, Thiruvananthapuram at 5 pm

Praise the Lord for her life

Who was she?

She was perfection personified.

A wife, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a mother in law, a grand mother, a grand grand mother, a doctor of great quality, a fighter all rolled and compressed into a less than five feet frame. 

Love was the hallmark.

She laughed all the time.

Stress never stressed her. 

She was compassionate to the core.

Knew only to love.
Knew only to give.
Knew only to care. 

Never displayed her emotions openly.

Hate was anathema to her. 

Reticent. 

Religious to the core.

Never shouted from the top of the world her faith and belief. 

But she loved God. 

Knew His power sufficed for her arduous journey.

Proud she was my mother.

Sad she is gone.

MAJOR DISEASES LOSING THEIR PREEMINENCE

BusinessLine of July 28  2020. Highlights, "Several major diseases have lost their pre-eminent position in the fear of this pandemic(COVID 19)" 

CATCH  22. 

Either one or the other will get you. 

The mortality rate among members of our Church - CSI Christ Church Trivandrum is galloping. The Pastor is kept busy through out these days of agony, anguish, desperation and the finality of the inevitable, the indefinite and the unknown.

While this is the micro the  macro must be  unfolding itself with a severity locking us up in a vicious and  stragulating hold. Redemption or salvation  are beautiful words, but they  seem so near yet far away. 

QUARANTINE

‘Quarantine’ is defined a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease. It is a state, period or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.

The first time I had heard the word was at an impressionable age when I was young and growing up. I heard it from my father. We were in Munnar. I was in the Lower Primary School where the medium of instruction was Malayalam. I am speaking of a Munnar still ruled by the English even after the independence where no one could ever dream of an education in the English Medium.

Papa had served the British at Singapore. He went there in search of a job. The foray preceded the Second World War. He was happy when he was selected for a job at the Naval Base. Soon the War began. The Japanese took over the Naval Base. It was forced labour under the Japanese. There was no escape. Somehow he survived the hardships and when the War ended he managed to reach India. He was forced by his parents to stay back. He was dissuaded from a  return to Singapore for employment. Sentiments ruled over reality. I believe he rued it till he passed away in 2008.

Papa relished recalling stories of his life at Singapore. The stories gave us a much bigger and more than life size image of him. In one of his stories, he exposed us to ‘Quarantine’ and what it meant. It was harsh.

With the relentless onslaught of Covid -19 ‘Quarantine’ has surfaced once again. It is ‘Quarantine’ anywhere and everywhere. The initiated and the uninitiated into the English Language, the language of our much hated oppressors of the past, have learned the hard lesson what ‘Quarantine’ is in the hardest way.

Well, today I am afraid to reveal if I suffer from even a cold. I am afraid to sneeze or cough. I could be quarantined. That too for a lengthy fourteen days coupled with an extension of yet another fourteen days. It is all for the good of humanity and for my own safety, I am told. I am already under reverse quarantine. I understand I would come off it once Herd Immunity is developed. When it would be, no one knows. People like me aged over 65 and children below 10 are locked in. My fundamental rights remain suspended on that count.

Posters proscribing the entry of the reverse quarantined into shops and public spaces are displayed prominently. The guard at the entrance closely scrutinizes all who attempt to enter and forbids the reverse quarantined.

When the Lockdown was initially implemented in March 2020 we were discussing what we would do in case someone at home fell ill and had to seek medical intervention. We learned many Hospitals were literally dissuading patients from approaching them unless it was an emergency. The pandemic had ensured the closure of some hospitals with limited manpower.  

Life went on smoothly till the 8^th of June. It was a tornado that had hit us on that day. Our Mother, 95 years and 96 to be in August suddenly developed breathlessness. She was in good health till then. We had ensured that she had periodic medical attention. She had been on drugs advised by the doctors.

As her condition worsened we took her at once to a private hospital.  They looked after her well. Little did we know that it would be three admissions to the hospital for her in as many weeks. There were complications. She was finally discharged on 3^rd July on abatement of the original disorder but with a severe disability. She was totally bedridden. She still is.  The Doctor assured us that the disability would wear off as time progressed.  He said it occurred since she had been totally confined to the bed for a fortnight. With the knowledgeable, one cannot cavil nor lampoon.

While we stayed in the Hospital attending to the patient we could hear persistent alerts on the P A System on Novel Corona Virus. They left no stone unturned in the combat. No one was allowed to enter the Hospital without approaching the Corona desk where the Receptionists were at once aggressive and invasive to prise out information or recent history of the entrants.

The strong arm measures enlightened us Corona is a vicious adversary. Fatality becomes a distinct possibility if it is ignored. We did some research on the pandemic and the cost of treatment. We found to our dismay the cost was prohibitive and unaffordable to the average Indian.   If the three or four members of a family are unfortunately struck by the virus it would cast a very heavy economic burden on the family no matter if they survive or succumb. They would lose everything they have.

Here is an insight into the pricing of the medicines to counter Covid-19. Hetero has priced Remdesivir at Rs.5400.00 for a 100mg injection vial and Cipla at Rs.4000 per vial. A five day treatment with Remdesivir would work out to Rs 24000-32000 per patient. Glenmark has priced Favipiravir 200mg tablet at Rs.103.00 with a course of treatment costing Rs.12566.00 per person. Treatment with Itolizumah, basically a drug for psoriasis that reportedly shows therapeutic effects in severe Covid-19 infections progressing to acute respiratory syndrome costs Rs.32000.00 per patient.(The Hindu, July 22, 2020 - Why are re-purposed medicines expensive? The burden of a pandemic will have to be borne by Governments and pharmaceutical companies alike)

Let us return to our mother admitted in the hospital for severe breathlessness. As she developed complications   she had been referred to a host of specialists. They were all considerate. The Cardiologist discovered a Cardiac issue. The Gastroenterologist found that she had Clostridium Difficile an infection promoted by the high potency antibiotics administered to resolve breathlessness. The Orthopedic Surgeon discovered a slightly dislocated shoulder. The Neuro Physician said she suffered from Senile Chorea. Both the super specialists opined she would be better off without medicines from them at the advanced age. A senior doctor from the Department of Medicine too had a look at her. There were regular blood checks, Xrays, ECGs , Echo Tests and an  Ultra Sound Scan. Then it was the turn of the Physiotherapist. He visited her for two days at the fag end of her stay in the hospital.  Though I have no experience in the medical field I personally feel Physiotherapy could have been initiated a little earlier as our Ammachi (Mother) retains the invalid status even after three weeks from the discharge.

The discharge summary mentioned 19 tablets per day for the patient. One of our relatives is a Neuro Physician in the USA. He had a look at the list of medicines. He enquired whether the list was consolidated by a GP. He said it was the system there. He said it limits the number of medicines.

As the practice in India widely differs from the practice in the USA it is apparent Covid-19 patients would be prescribed quite a large number of medicines in India. I am not blaming our medical fraternity. It is the protocol.  However the escalation in the cost for Covid-19 treatment makes it prohibitive for the common man.

Though it is apparent Quarantine is inevitable for survival the confinement within four walls too is equally hazardous. It would invite Vitamin D deficiency. Calcium deficiency may cause deterioration in bone density. One may even go into depression.  Devoid of exercise and physical activity you could attract severe health issues that could be lethal. Children would grow up deprived of social skills.

It’s a Catch 22 situation. To put it satirically either you hang or you would be hanged. You have no way out nor salvation.

(Catch 22 is a novel by Joseph Heller)

THREE MEN IN A BOAT - ENTRANCING HUMOUR

The book published  in 1889 is a masterpiece resplendent in the  quaint, cold and yet lively Britsh  humour. The beauty is, it retains its relevance and significance even after almost one and a half centuries.

Elevated and entranced by it's quality and appeal I  recently wrote to the appropiate official of an organisation.

1. Have a copy in the library, if it is not available there.

2. Bulk purchase it and let everyone have a copy where they have to meet the cost.

3. Nothing comes free in the world. Nothing should be free. Else it becomes a gift                      valueless, meant to be discarded.

4. Once you pay and buy, you'd certainly read it because you have paid for it.

5.Humour is an absolute necessity in life. Today, it's not in evidence anywhere. You find           grim  or glum faces wherever you put your eyes on. It's essential people  are exhorted to       bask in  humour too. (My view. You don't have to concur))      

LOCKDOWN EFFECT

We have been in an incessant Lockdown since the middle of March 2020. Corona is all over the country with  vehemence. The Governments are doing their utmost to combat the deadly virus. No one can accuse them of lethargy, inertia or inactivity. They are focused. They are determined to see the pandemic through.  When a sworn enemy or a known enemy strikes everyone knows what or where to look for or how to encounter the intruder. The word ‘encounter’ however has by now acquired a number of connotations though. What baffles the whole world is that this is an invisible invader who strikes at will with no discrimination for caste, creed, colour, place,  the rich or the impoverished. Though man has carved   the earth into hegemonic segments holding suzerainty within their borders and at times even across the world, the virus has the world with seamless borders at its command. The tiny adversary has brought mankind to its knees. It seems the monster is monstering or bamboozling, laughing all along with the decimation of the successors of the Neanderthals from the face the earth its sole objective.

While obliteration of the virus is critical for the survival of people the administrators have resorted to very strong and innovative measures.  It necessitates suspension of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution for a brief interregnum. There is no alternative and people have to willingly or reluctantly subscribe to the law in place for their own good. Here is the catch. Who implements the law? Obviously, it is the law enforcers. Everything goes haywire at this end. It is perplexing how innocents are subjugated into submission by the enforcement of brutal force.

 ‘The Hindu’ has the status of a national newspaper in India. The language is terrific. It has a distinct style. It presents unbiased news. It relies on truth.  I am relying on the issue of July 18, 2020 for substantiation.

1.    The editorial says, “Deaths remain low, but India must fight the virus, not manage data.”It continues, “With a 9.1% test positivity rate, Gujarat has made no attempts to greatly increase daily tests but instead appears to be disingenuously limiting the number of daily tests to keep fresh cases per day under check. Telangana too, with a test positivity rate of 18.4%, has made no great effort to increase daily tests. Telangana defies the trend of rising cases during the pandemic, raising serious concern about its numbers.”

2.     The article, “Telangana’s COVID trials and tribulations” is interesting. It begins with the story of a 34 year old techie with complaints of nine days of fever and shortness of breath who had to wait outside a hospital from 8 a.m to 10 p.m on June 27, 2020 for admission there. Still more interesting is the first case of Covid in Telangana. The State Ministry of Health announced on March 2,   that a techie from Telangana with travel history to Dubai had tested positive for Covid- 19. The Chief Minister spoke of the techie in the State Assembly on March 7 and tried to allay fears. Quoting some of the doctors, he said a paracetamol tablet was sufficient to fight Covid -19. He called the techie a “sannasi daridrudu (unfortunate nincompoop).”

3.  The report zooms in on Police highhandedness when Lockdown was imposed in Telangana from March 23. Police personnel chased people on the roads and beat them up mercilessly. The IT Minister intervened and directed the District Superintendent of Police to personally meet and  apologise to a 12 year old for the assault on his father in front of the child. On the first day of the lockdown several journalists were roughed up by the Police despite showing their identity papers. In Khammam, a woman doctor who was on her way to the hospital was abused and assaulted by an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

4.     Police officers told ‘The Hindu’ that they had received instructions from their seniors to use force and create an atmosphere of fear.”Our men were told to any situation using batons. We were very confused. Our men used batons to keep people inside. Many were injured in the process.”

5.   In a recent counter affidavit filed in the Telangana High Court on allegations that the Falaknuma police personnel had damaged vehicles parked outside homes in a residential area, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner submitted, “ The police had checked the vehicles using police lathis in order to see whether corona virus was present or not.”

Telangana is not unique or isolated. Excesses by the law enforcers meant to protect the citizens never differ in the wide spectrum  all over the country. It is nothing but, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Stepping off from 'The Hindu' the experience in Kerala is no different. Here are some incidents.

1.    The pickup auto of a supplier of eggs to retail outlets with full load was confiscated and kept in the open at a Police Station for two days. The SHO had told him people do not need eggs for survival. The poor man went round and round and when the vehicle was finally released the eggs were all spoilt.  

2.  The fish vendors who tried to sell fish in the open – the markets were all closed – were beaten up and driven away.  They too were told man does not need fish for survival.

3.     The SHO singled out a perfect gentleman who got down from his two wheeler to purchase fish. He was abused with choicest expletives in front of all the people in the vicinity. The poor man couldn’t sleep for a month.

4.   A shop keeper driving to open his shop supplying essential articles – a permitted activity – was roughly poked on the face with a baton by the sentinel on the road and was questioned why he was travelling.

5.     Another shop keeper had to proceed to the wholesaler to draw supplies. As the roads were all blocked supplies to the retailers had become a thing of the past. A sentinel stopped him. He showed his papers, including the affidavit mandated by the authorities. Sentinels are sentinels. The shop keeper was told he could proceed only if the affidavit was approved by the local Police station. 

Imagine the plight of a small time wholesaler. His delivery truck was seiized when it was returning to the store. The driver was admonished  for driving an empty vehicle.  The vehicle was released  several days later. Of course the owner had run helter skelter for the favour.
II    
  .    It was midday. A Police vehicle with headlights switched on and the horn blaring  crawled at a snail’s pace. It stopped abruptly. An Officer jumped out. There was a loud smack. It was the  thud of the lathi landing on a  poor man. The Officer shouted at the people around. “If anyone has no mask, go home and put it on.” People surmised that the capital crime committed by the poor man was that he was mask less.

7.    An SHO was the happiest when he could raid shops and abuse people if the shutters were not downed  at the appointed hour itself even though business had been closed for the day. and the gates were locked to prevent the entry of people. In God's own country the law was supreme and the  law did not provide any additional moments for closure of the accounts for the day. was the  perception of the exalted official.

   The common bond that binds Telangana and Kerala is the articulation of might by our  saviours. As in Hyderabad. they strike at the vehicles at will with the lathis.to keep Corona away. They believe in the affordability of the poor vehicle owners to level the dent and immerse the vehicles with a fresh coat of costly metallic paint or the less costly ordinary paint. 

Well, Corona is here for a long innings. Corona is not an excuse to beat people up. Corona is not a justifiable cause for misbehavior. Putting fear in the minds of law abiding citizens is not the key. Lockdown is to keep Corona away. Lockdown cannot drive Corona off.  The long and relentless stretch of confinement may finally end up in driving people crazy. Guess what will happen to the country in that event.