Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts

When 90 people got H1N1, everyone is wearing surgical masks, when 2 million people got HIV no one bothers to wear a condom.

Makes sense, Eh? Very true to an extent!

Pune is witnessing an acute shortage of surgical masks these days. Thanks to the dramatic hoopla created around these masks. And not to forget, we have a fancy N-series (not to be confused with Nokia N-series, though it’s no lesser) of masks in circulation. Masks seem to be in vogue – they are selling like hot cakes and they have started becoming more of a fashion statement.

"The much hyped N95 respirators are designed to filter 95% particulates of 0.3 micron, while the size of H1N1 virus is about 0.1 micron. Hence, dependence on N95 to protect against H1N1 is like protecting against rain with an umbrella made of mosquito net."

The Dean in AFMC circulated a notice saying, "No one should be seen wearing surgical masks unless while operating on a patient." Now, can you beat that? I was quite happy on this announcement. The basic idea is that people wearing these masks is just another source of creating panic.

Why don’t the people understand that these face masks are of no help (or of very limited help for that matter) to them, if not properly used/handled and why they don’t damn understand that when they throw these used masks on the road side, they are opening another bigger can of worms for others? Why can’t they dispose their masks properly? Why do they use these masks without knowing proper guidelines of their usage and disposal?

Can you really prevent yourself to come in contact with H1N1 when it is in so much magnitude in the air (Pune has it at the highest intensity level – 6)? At a scale where it has been declared a pandemic by the WHO, it’s almost impossible to avoid coming in contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions.

बचपन में एक चुटकुला सुना था। एक गाँव में जब भी कोई बूढा गुज़र जाता था, तो गाँव के स्कूल में एक दिन की छुट्टी कर दी जाती थी। एक बार दो दोस्त सुबह सुबह स्कूल जा रहे थे, तो एक गली में दो बूढे ताश खेल रहे थे। एक दोस्त बोलता है, "देख मोहन, अपनी दो छुट्टियाँ पत्ते खेल रही हैं।"

अचानक ये चुटकुला क्यों याद आया?

रविवार को मैं सब्जी लेने गया, तो रस्ते में ऐसा ही कुछ देखा। एक प्राईमरी स्कूल के बाहर दो बच्चे बात कर रहे थे। अचानक कुछ सूअर वहां से गुज़रे। एक गिनती करने लगा। और फिर दुसरे को कहता है, "ओये देख, ८-८ स्वाइन फ्लू ! अपनी एक महीने की छुट्टी होने वाली है।" उसके चेहरे पर वैसी ही स्माइल थी जैसी की दर्शील सफारी की थी जब वो "३ X ९ = ३" लिख कर खुश होता है। जो भी है, नादान बच्चे, अपनी ही दुनिया है। पर ये तो अच्छा है की इनको ये पता है की ये स्वाइन फ्लू शुरू कैसे हुआ? पुणे की यही बात ख़ास है - यहाँ के लोग (बच्चे भी) बहुत जागरूक हैं। पर बच्चों कि बात सुन कर, सूअरों ने भी आपस में बात कि होगी - "देखो बच्चों को भी पता चल गया। ये सब साला मेक्सिको के सूअरों ने किया, और इल्जाम हम पर लग रहा है। अब भैया गेहूं के साथ घुन तो पिसेगा ही !"

माहौल अचानक बदल सा गया है।

लोग मास्क पहन कर घूम रहे हैं।

कॉलेज के छात्र ऐसी बातें करते हुए मिल जायेंगे - "अगर फलां टीचर ने मुझे इस बार अच्छे नंबर नहीं दिए तो उसके मुंह पर जा कर छींक दूंगा।"

छात्र अपने मास्टरों के मुंह पर छींकना चाहते हैं, सॉफ्टवेर इंजिनेयर अपने मैनेजर के मुंह पर और मैनेजर लोग शायद अपने मैनेजरों के मुंह पर।" इस बार अगर अप्रैज़ल अच्छा नहीं किया, तो मैनेजर जी गए।"

लोगों में छीन्कासुर प्रवृति (भस्मासुर से प्रेरित) आ गयी है। दुश्मनी निकालने का अच्छा तरीका है।

मास्क जो कि सिर्फ डॉक्टर लोग पहनते थे, वो भी सिर्फ ऑपरेशन करते समय, अब हर कोई पहन रहा है।

लड़कियां अपने सूट से मैचिंग कलर के मास्क खरीद रही हैं। अब सूट से मैचिंग लिपस्टिक तो नहीं दिखेगी, मास्क ही सही।

पहले गर्लफ्रेंड-ब्वॉयफ्रेंड मोटर बाइक पर ऐसे बैठते थे कि बस क्या बताएं (दो के बैठने के लिए पर्याप्त जगह होती है, पर न पीछे वाली सीट फिर भी खाली, दोनों के बैठने के बावजूद), अब थोडी सामाजिक स्वीकार्य दूरी बना कर रखते हैं। (Now, Love is not in the air, Swine Flu is in the air...)

सब एक दुसरे को "स्वाइन फ्लू" भरी नज़रों से देख रहे हैं। इंसान इंसान से डर रहा है। पहले भी डरता था, पर पहले सिर्फ आतंकवादियों या ससुराल वालों से डरता था, अब हर तीसरे इंसान से डर लगता है।

लोग जप रहे हैं कि हे भगवान् इससे बचा ले, बस कुछ दिन और, फिर तो २-३ महीने में अपने होनहार डॉक्टर लोग इसकी दवा बना ही लेंगे।

अगर थोडी देर के लिए इंसान भूल भी जाये कि ऐसा कुछ हवा में चल रहा है, तो हर १०-१५ मिनट में एक मेल आ जाती है कि भैया इतने इत्मिनान से काहे बैठे हो, थोडा डर बनाये रखो चेहरे पर - जाके हाथ धो कर आओ, खबरदार! अपने आँख-नाक को हाथ मत लगाओ, खुजली करनी है तो हाथ से नहीं, बाजू से करो।

पर सब बीमारी का एक घूम-फिर कर एक ही इलाज दिखाई दे रहा है - अच्छा भोजन और अच्छी सेहत। जहाँ भी पढता हूँ, प्रोटीन खाओ, बी-१२ खाओ, खूब पानी पीओ, व्यायाम करो। एक्स्ट्रा ये है, कि सफाई बरतो, सार्वजनिक स्थलों पर कम से कम जाओ, ट्रैवेल कम करो।

After all, "Precaution is better than cure..." बचाव में ही सुरक्षा है। बाकी ये किसे पता है कि कब चाँद कि तरफ पैर हो जायें? मैं भी बस यही मना रहा हूँ कि सही सलामत बंगलोर पहुँच जाऊँ फिर आगे वहां से लिखूंगा। पर ये भी कहाँ लिखा है कि बंगलोर बचा रहेगा। बंगलोर वाले मुझे बोल रहे हैं कि हम तुझे यहाँ घुसने ही नहीं देंगे। :(

हैल्थ मिनिस्ट्री का लिंक:

http://mohfw.nic.in/SWINEFLU.htm

http://nicd.nic.in/Tdr_CDA_Swine.pdf

I had stopped writing in this space because of some unpleasant reasons. Now, those unpleasant reasons are far more pushed back by the recent incidents in Mumbai.


Let me admit, I had never ever surfed the newspapers so comprehensively that I have done in the past 3 days. Seldom do I watch TV. But this weekend was a change. I got my back hurt while diving into the swimming pool, but do I really feel the pain in my back? Nah! I am not even thinking about it.


Things have been written, articles printed, discussions held, rage published. Everyone who gets his hands on any kind of communication media is expressing his anger, rage through his own means. Staying in the sister city to Mumbai (Pune), I can sense what is going on and what people are going through.


Events, persons that were outshone by this horrendous attack:


1) Cricket: India leading 5-0 in the series. Surely would have been the headlines with interviews of shining cricketers. England team has returned to its homeland. Hope to see them back in (now tentative) test series.


2) Economic Meltdown: All media was flooded, stocks dived, people lost their bank balances, lost their jobs and what not. But lives definitely are much more important than money.


3) VP Singh: The man who dethroned Rajiv Gandhi from the PM’s seat is no more. The news surely deserved to hit the headlines, but remained almost unsaid (tacit, I guess).


4) Raj Thackrey: Where are this guy and his “brave” sena by the way? Why did he not come up to save hundreds of Marathi Manoos killed at the railway stations? Why did he not stop the NSG commandos (most of them from UP and Bihar) from entering the city? Won't he want them to learn Marathi before saving our lives?


Now picture this: Few of our NSG commandos were killed by terrorists’ bullets hitting in their heads and chests, though they had the helmets and bullet-proof jackets ON. Can't you smell the corruption here?


Things are not going be so “rosy” from now on. Not for the politicians, not for our security forces, and not even for us – the citizens. Shouldn’t we be the world leaders in fighting against terrorism? Is there any other nation holding more experience than us in this field? We should be helping others to overcome this evil, but we ourselves are not equipped enough to fight against it. Why are we not learning from our past? We can't afford to be pigeons shutting our eyes looking at cats.


Indian Army says, “Forgiving terrorists is left to GOD. But fixing their appointment with GOD is our responsibility”. Amen!

Two bugs: [1] Traffic [2] Festival

I can’t believe I am saying this and I never thought that I’ll be saying this so early:

Whoa! Unbelievable! For the past two weeks, I am spending 2 hrs or more in Pune traffic from office to my home. And it never took me this long even on the worst days of traffic in Bangalore (I agree that I didn't live so far from Electronic City, but still).
Distance b/w Hinjewadi and AFMC ~ 25 km.
Time taken (at least) = 2 hrs.
By simple algebra, Average speed of my commute ~ 3.5 m/s
That is slower than a normal man's walking speed.

I ran out of Bangalore cribbing about the same thing, but the traffic seems to be following me. I actually felt a little comfort in my initial days in Pune but the situation worsened gradually and now I won’t hesitate in handing over the “Poorest traffic” trophy to Pune.

The jams seem to be a result of “Ganesh festival” going on and the situation is hoped to be improving from this Monday. Festival is OK, but people just don't have traffic sense.

We in India, have a many more seasons except the regular summer, winter etc. We have a season of weddings that goes from October to April in North India. Then we have a season of festivals. Two festivals, I have seen, seem to be very state specific. “Durga Pooja” in West Bengal and “Ganesh Chaturthi” in Maharashtra! These states seem to have a copyright on these two festivals. People collect funds to celebrate. The disciples of these Gods collect the funds from their respective societies in order to have huge celebrations on these festivals. On the contrary, I have seen people consuming alcohol on the money raised for these events (the very evening after Durga Pooja). Yesterday also, I saw some groups of people taking Ganesha idols for Visarjan, but the people were dancing drunk and they were smoking while carrying Ganesha. What is all this? Do people raise funds to celebrate or to feed upon it?

I don’t believe in God(s) but I am not even against those who have faith in them. But I appeal (to those who believe) to at least show some respect to the almighty, the one you fear the most. I had been much happier to see people collecting funds for “Bihar flood victims” and investing it there only. But “raising money for celebrating a festival and then spending it on uncompromising things” is just unacceptable. This is something “We Indians really need to learn”.

Please get the information from any of the following links and get going to do your bit:
[1] http://biharflood.wordpress.com/
[2] http://biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com/
[3] http://removing.blogspot.com/2008/08/bihar-floods-how-to-help.html
[4] List of Medicines required: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pXkYURrkCSy7Cd6zB4VmMQg

Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Mumbai, Gorakhpur, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad ... they are everywhere now.
Watch out! you never know when you are going to step over a ticking bomb!


Friday - 8 serial blasts in Bangalore.
Saturday - 17 well planned blasts in Ahmedabad plus a live bomb found in Bangalore.
Sunday - Live bombs found in Surat and several more threats received by various regions of the country.


The moment something like this happens, our police starts finding who is behind this? Same now. Security agencies, intelligence agencies have started finding the similarities between the two blast events. Some of the key similarities found are:

>> Both the blasts were low-intensity blasts - the aim was just to create panic among the masses.
-- Who said? The fact is that the intensity was loud enough to take the lives of around 50 people. People are dying, panic is history.

>> Bombs in both the blasts contained the same explosive - ammonium nitrate.
-- Obviously, it's so cheap (even cheaper than milk) and available in bulk.

>> Both the blasts were done in BJP ruled states.
-- And so, people are assuming that Bhopal is the next in queue. Why?

>> Both the blasts used bicycles as carriers.
-- Since beginning (and especially after the fuel prices' hike), government has been asking people to use bicycles wherever possible. Terrorists seem to be more vigilant than our citizens. They are finding a big hit in bicycles for their purpose.


I have a few more similarities. Who knows they might be pointers to something very important?

>> Both the cities host the most prestigious IIMs of the country.
>> The names of both the cities contain 9 alphabets.


But what is the point in finding the similarities, when a group has already taken the ownership of the blasts - "Indian Mujahiddeen". And you know, they are daring enough to send an email even before the blasts. They are so sure of themselves that they won't be traced and caught. Are they so confident about themselves or about our security agencies?

So, why are we counting similarities - just to find the link between the two events? Yes, there is a link, very strong link. Not between these two blasts only, but all the blasts that have happened so far. The link is that they are done by people called terrorists - someone against humanity. And congratulations! we have a new group on the floor (Indian Mujahiddeen).

You know, India seems to be the softest target of terrorism.
Indian population is increasing, so the terrorists are also increasing their count (new groups are being created and more people are added to the old groups), but what is happening in the POLICE department? The ratio of police force to the total population in India is almost zilch. Someone needs to look at this aspect.

These kind of news add to the panic when Independence Day is just round the corner. In such kind of situation, people need to be more alert and more patient. I think its high time when we, citizens be on our toes. Be extra vigilant, extra cautious! Raise an alarm with the police whenever you suspect something / someone.

कुछ दिन पहले मैंने तस्लीम भाई के ब्लॉग पर यह पंक्तियाँ पढीं जो दिल को भीतर तक छू गयीं ।
मुझे ये पंक्तियाँ इतनी उपयुक्त और वास्तविक लगीं की मैं इन्हें यहाँ लिखने से अपने आप को रोक नहीं पाया । और जब से मैंने इन पंक्तियों को पढ़ा है, मैं इन्हें १५-२० बार पढ़ चुका हूँ, और हर बार ये मुझे उतनी ही सच्ची, उतनी ही ताज़ी और उतनी ही दर्दनाक लगती हैं ।