Doctors ... hospitals ... these words evoke many reactions. Some thinks of them as tools for betterment and a healthy life. For some, they represent illness, sadness ... basically depression. I have a positive outlook towards doctors and hospitals. I regard doctors as the noblest professionals ... and hospitals as holy as a temple/mosque/church. But slowly and slowly I have started to feel little repulsed and perturbed by doctors and hospitals.
A year back, I watched a Michael Moore documentary – Sicko. The documentary was on American health care system. There was on particular scene which left an indelible impression on my mind. In that scene, a guy who accidentally cut off two fingers tells his heart breaking story of how he was asked to choose between reattaching the $12,000 ring finger or the $60,000 middle finger. He was not insured ... so he goes with the ring finger because that was within his budget (and may be he was romantic at heart too). Can you imagine such horror ... if that choice is to be made by you? The hospital could have attached both the fingers ... but they didn’t because he could not pay for it. There was another scene where a doctor (works for an insurance company) confesses that he denied a man an operation and thus caused his death. Stinks isn’t it ... reeks of money and profit.
A similar case of money spinning scam happened to my uncle. He had a fever which was not going away. He consulted his brother (a doctor) and he advised him to get it checked up at a good hospital. He pulled some strings and got my uncle admitted in Apollo (one of the most prestigious hospitals in India). After a barrage of medical tests and checkups, the doctors diagnosed that his chest is filled with water and they would have to pump it out. They operated (sorta) for 3 hours ... used syringes to pump out the water. To my uncle’s bemusement, the doctors at Apollo told him that they misdiagnosed him and there is no water deposit. OK ... so far so good ... but then my uncle asked what really the problem is. They told him that he has TB (tuberculosis). Another round of tests ... and it turned out that he is not suffering from TB either. Another misdiagnosis ... goddamn!!!
My uncle is well off and he went thru every procedure that the doctors suggested. However, the tests and medication were not cheap. Even after spending all this money and going thru mental anguish, the doctors at Apollo are still clueless about his condition. He is now getting treated at some other hospital. But come to think of it ... can you imagine such incompetent doctors at the premium hospital? They were shooting in the dark ... and the hospital was minting money out of my uncle’s misery. Makes me wanna puke.
These days people are scared of falling ill ... not because they are afraid of being unhealthy or whatever ... but more because they would have to visit the hospital. People these days see the hospital as a place to extort money. They pray for their health so that they don’t have to deal with the doctors and go thru all the random tests. The commercialization on health care is absolutely mind numbing and I warn each and every one of you ... check your hospitals before you check in. Even if it’s an Apollo.
Special Mention: Ankur's Apollo Experiance
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Long weekend
4 days of holidays ... wuhu ... but they passed so quickly
7th was the election day in NCR ... I couldn’t vote because my name was not on the voter list. DAMN !!! I changed my residence 6-7 years ago and still they haven’t updated my name on the new locality’s list. I was able to caste my vote last time around (5 years ago) because my name was still on the older list. Now I guess they have re-checked the names and unfortunately my name was struck off. In fact, I applied for my name transfer to the new list ... but it somehow did not appear on it. Well ... typical of governmental work ... slow as snail. May be next time around ... in 5 years ... they will put my name back on the list and I would be able to exercise my democratic right (and duty). Its strange because I do possess a valid voter ID, an updated passport, and the all important (and mandatory) PAN card ... but still I was unable to vote because my name was not on the freakin’ list ... mind blowing. I was pissed because I was unable to get my finger blacked ... but in democracy there is always a next time. That’s why ... democracy rules. Take that all you socialist and dictator ruled countries ... ahahahaha.
8th and 9th passed by in a flash ... I have taken a paid leave on 8th because that will prolong the weekend. On 10th, I and Horny (hehehe ... actual name Honey a.k.a. Arjun) attended Mahi’s (Sonal’s newly born daughter) lunch party. Anshuman was also supposed to join us ... but he did not ... bloody drunkard. I called him at 11 a.m. He did not pick up his phone ... in fact he had it switched off (copied that from me ... ahahaha). I called him again at 12:30 and 12:45 ... still he did not picked his phone. I knew it that he must be in usual weekend super hangover ... and probably wont come. Anyhoo ... finally he called at around 1 and told me that he wont be able to join us. What a surprise ... didnt saw that coming. Actually I suspected this would be Annuman’s response to a “non booze lunch” party. He did the same when DD invited us for the clinic opening ceremony ... again no booze ... again Annuman conveniently skipped it. I can bet my last rupee ... if Sonal’s party involved booze ... he would be there. OK ... back to Mahi’s party ... met Tanushree (Sonal’s wife) and Sonal’s mother there ... they were seeing me after quite a while and both of them told me ... “you have lost SOME weight”. Felt niceeeeeeeeee ... when people comment on your health (in a good way) ... all the hard work that you put behind it ... become worth it.
Tomorrow is another boring workday ... and I am already worried. There are no official holidays for the next 3 months ... DAMN IT. Guess those paid leaves (still have 15 in the kitty) will come handy in this dry (literally) season.
7th was the election day in NCR ... I couldn’t vote because my name was not on the voter list. DAMN !!! I changed my residence 6-7 years ago and still they haven’t updated my name on the new locality’s list. I was able to caste my vote last time around (5 years ago) because my name was still on the older list. Now I guess they have re-checked the names and unfortunately my name was struck off. In fact, I applied for my name transfer to the new list ... but it somehow did not appear on it. Well ... typical of governmental work ... slow as snail. May be next time around ... in 5 years ... they will put my name back on the list and I would be able to exercise my democratic right (and duty). Its strange because I do possess a valid voter ID, an updated passport, and the all important (and mandatory) PAN card ... but still I was unable to vote because my name was not on the freakin’ list ... mind blowing. I was pissed because I was unable to get my finger blacked ... but in democracy there is always a next time. That’s why ... democracy rules. Take that all you socialist and dictator ruled countries ... ahahahaha.
8th and 9th passed by in a flash ... I have taken a paid leave on 8th because that will prolong the weekend. On 10th, I and Horny (hehehe ... actual name Honey a.k.a. Arjun) attended Mahi’s (Sonal’s newly born daughter) lunch party. Anshuman was also supposed to join us ... but he did not ... bloody drunkard. I called him at 11 a.m. He did not pick up his phone ... in fact he had it switched off (copied that from me ... ahahaha). I called him again at 12:30 and 12:45 ... still he did not picked his phone. I knew it that he must be in usual weekend super hangover ... and probably wont come. Anyhoo ... finally he called at around 1 and told me that he wont be able to join us. What a surprise ... didnt saw that coming. Actually I suspected this would be Annuman’s response to a “non booze lunch” party. He did the same when DD invited us for the clinic opening ceremony ... again no booze ... again Annuman conveniently skipped it. I can bet my last rupee ... if Sonal’s party involved booze ... he would be there. OK ... back to Mahi’s party ... met Tanushree (Sonal’s wife) and Sonal’s mother there ... they were seeing me after quite a while and both of them told me ... “you have lost SOME weight”. Felt niceeeeeeeeee ... when people comment on your health (in a good way) ... all the hard work that you put behind it ... become worth it.
Tomorrow is another boring workday ... and I am already worried. There are no official holidays for the next 3 months ... DAMN IT. Guess those paid leaves (still have 15 in the kitty) will come handy in this dry (literally) season.
Labels :
Workaday
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Rain and chaos
After sweltering weather for about 2-3 weeks, yesterday Delhi-NCR region got some much awaited rain (and hailstorm as bonus). The day started normally ... heat and dust ... but by 3‘o clock, the skies turned dark and grey. I was sitting on my chair ... working (hehe ... really I was) ... and when I looked out the window ... the dark clouds brought a smile on my face. I don’t like summers ... specially Delhi’s summers. It’s hot ... humid ... sometimes absolutely inhospitable. The temperatures can touch 48-49 degrees (hot enough ... ahahahaha). And I am talking about Celsius ... not Fahrenheit. For all those who count in Fs ... it’s nearly 120 degrees (whopping). April experienced an unprecedented heated weather ... breaking 50 years records (stupid global warming ... d’uh). I was hoping and praying that things calm down a bit ... and yesterday rain gods heard my prayers. It rained ... and at some places ... hailstorms.
But something’s gotta give ... with every good thing ... how can bad stuff be left behind. Rain bought chaos ... the traffic went for a tailspin. The roads were chockablock ... traffic was as slow as snail. When I reached ISBT (to catch Metro), I was told that the Rithala (my train) route is not functioning. Due to rain, the line developed some fault (I guess short circuit in some transformer) ... and the line is completely closed. Ufff ... what a bummer. I still got to the platform and ... boy o boy ... the platform was a sea of people. They were still waiting (hoping would be a better choice of word) for the train. The clock kept on displaying 6 minutes as time for arrival (next train). Ahahaha ... I guess to provide false hope ... what a herd. Funny thing ... no body seems to care that whenever the time for the next train becomes 1 minute ... the clock starts showing 6 minutes (reset).
I asked the Metro staff and he told me that the line is closed for the past 3 hours. He then received some information on his walkie-talkie ... the train is coming. Wuhu !!! Finally the train came ... but I could not got inside. You have to be a superman to get past the huge crowd ... so I though that I will wait for the next train. I kept on waiting ... 15 minutes ... 20 minutes ... but the next train did not come. I lost my patience and got down ... went straight to the underground level and caught the Jehangir Puri metro, which dropped me at Azad Pur station. Its 15 minutes drive from my place ... and my Mamaji (maternal uncle) was already waiting for me (I called him from the train).
One rain ... and the entire city get crippled.
But something’s gotta give ... with every good thing ... how can bad stuff be left behind. Rain bought chaos ... the traffic went for a tailspin. The roads were chockablock ... traffic was as slow as snail. When I reached ISBT (to catch Metro), I was told that the Rithala (my train) route is not functioning. Due to rain, the line developed some fault (I guess short circuit in some transformer) ... and the line is completely closed. Ufff ... what a bummer. I still got to the platform and ... boy o boy ... the platform was a sea of people. They were still waiting (hoping would be a better choice of word) for the train. The clock kept on displaying 6 minutes as time for arrival (next train). Ahahaha ... I guess to provide false hope ... what a herd. Funny thing ... no body seems to care that whenever the time for the next train becomes 1 minute ... the clock starts showing 6 minutes (reset).
I asked the Metro staff and he told me that the line is closed for the past 3 hours. He then received some information on his walkie-talkie ... the train is coming. Wuhu !!! Finally the train came ... but I could not got inside. You have to be a superman to get past the huge crowd ... so I though that I will wait for the next train. I kept on waiting ... 15 minutes ... 20 minutes ... but the next train did not come. I lost my patience and got down ... went straight to the underground level and caught the Jehangir Puri metro, which dropped me at Azad Pur station. Its 15 minutes drive from my place ... and my Mamaji (maternal uncle) was already waiting for me (I called him from the train).
One rain ... and the entire city get crippled.
Labels :
Metropolis,
Workaday
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Hmmm.... fried rice
Weekends means complete shutdown of my system ... I usually don’t do much ... just lie down on my ass and do absolutely nothing. Like most weekend, I was just lying ... watching the telly ... eating ... and yeah you guess it correctly ... doing nothing good. In the evening, I asked mom what is she planning to make for dinner. She told me that she is going to use the leftover white rice (that she made for lunch) and will make me some fried rice. Nice ... I like fried rice ... well I like anything rice. Suddenly, I got up and told her that I would help her to get the dinner ready. She was pleasantly surprised ... partly because I simply am the laziest person in the world when it comes to do house chores ... and partly because I don’t know anything about cooking. The only thing that I can make is tea ... and can make it very well ... thank you very much. Apart from it, I can’t cook to save my life. Being a foodie ... sometimes I feel ashamed of my cooking handicap. And I am a really fussy eater too ... I can’t eat everything and everyplace. Sometimes I can really be a nightmare when it comes to food. I have decided to learn cooking ... but I never really made any effort to learn it. Today when mom told me about fried rice ... I asked her how hard it is to make it and she told me that its really easy ... so I though what the heck ... why not start learning ... the easy way.
Like she told me ... cooking fried rice turned out to be easy ... and quick too. I started with heating three-four teaspoon of soybean oil in a कड़ाही (wok) and add राई (mustard seeds) and जीरा (cumin seeds), one teaspoon each. Add a small bowl of कटे हुए प्याज (chopped onions) and हरे मटर (green peas). You can also add शिमला मिर्च (capsicum) and/or गाजर (carrots) ... anything that goes well with rice. Now add some हल्दी (turmeric), लाल मिर्च (red chilly powder), and some नमक (salt), as per your taste (I added one teaspoon each). Heat everything well for about 5 minutes (or till the onions gets little brownish texture). Now add the leftover चावल (white rice), add some नींबू का रस (lemon juice) and धनिया पत्ती (parsley) ... mix everything well.
Voila !!! Nice ... healthy ... light and awesomely tasty fried rice is ready to be gulped ... yummy. You can eat it with पापड (popadum) ... like most Marwaris do. We had enough rice to make a dinner for 3 out of the leftovers ... it tasted great and mom didn’t had to slog for hours too. Nice, easy and quick ... mission accomplished. Now that I know that cooking can be fun and not so hard ... I think I will learn few more dishes.
Like she told me ... cooking fried rice turned out to be easy ... and quick too. I started with heating three-four teaspoon of soybean oil in a कड़ाही (wok) and add राई (mustard seeds) and जीरा (cumin seeds), one teaspoon each. Add a small bowl of कटे हुए प्याज (chopped onions) and हरे मटर (green peas). You can also add शिमला मिर्च (capsicum) and/or गाजर (carrots) ... anything that goes well with rice. Now add some हल्दी (turmeric), लाल मिर्च (red chilly powder), and some नमक (salt), as per your taste (I added one teaspoon each). Heat everything well for about 5 minutes (or till the onions gets little brownish texture). Now add the leftover चावल (white rice), add some नींबू का रस (lemon juice) and धनिया पत्ती (parsley) ... mix everything well.
Voila !!! Nice ... healthy ... light and awesomely tasty fried rice is ready to be gulped ... yummy. You can eat it with पापड (popadum) ... like most Marwaris do. We had enough rice to make a dinner for 3 out of the leftovers ... it tasted great and mom didn’t had to slog for hours too. Nice, easy and quick ... mission accomplished. Now that I know that cooking can be fun and not so hard ... I think I will learn few more dishes.
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