Picture perfect. You are witnessing some breathtaking views of lush green sunflower fields, of blossomed Gulmohar groves, of children waving at you. You are fortunate to have that window-seat. The gentle breeze caressing your face and quenching every thirst in you. Then you feel a spray of water on your face titillating your senses. That simply adds divinity to the whole scene and suddenly you realize that this spray was a shower of spit from the adjoining compartment. Yukk! I know and you know that Jug Suraiya has already written on it. But I believe reams and books can be written on this favorite Indian past-time ‘spitting’. Yak-Thoo! And it’s over. So simple. An Indian can literally spit anywhere, anytime, and any number of times. After a hectic day of work, you leap towards your brand new Skoda Fabia. As soon as you approach the car you see a graphic laden with saliva, betel-nuts, and germs, embellished on your car. All for free. Sometimes you can find your bed sheet, drying in the balcony, dyed with red colored ellipses and exclamation marks. This also for free.
There can be many number of reasons for this obsession. I sense our ancestors; Aryans, had some serious chest and bronchial infection. The virus responsible for it must have been so stubborn that it permanently found its residence in Indian genes. So, generation after generations it is still part of our genetic constitution. This is yet another great example of our Indian hospitality towards invaders and intruders. This can be the reason for perennial coughing and spitting. Yaak-Thoo and infections bye bye.
An another reason could be our neighbor-love. Bhutanese have this tradition of revering yaks no less than deities. So, may be Yaak-Thoo was an ancient mantra to seek yak’s blessing. And Indians being religious, god-fearing and neighbor-loving in nature adopted it.
These medical and cultural ramifications aside, there is something higher and transcendental about it. Indians just grow impatient and disconcerted if they don’t manage to spit for a while. Surely there is some orgasmic pleasure related with spitting. This can even be verified. They say women are devoid of pleasure of orgasm. A sex survey reveals only 18%women experience orgasm in their lifetime. Justifiably, the women Yaak-Thooing is also low. So, for some of our men ‘only spit bujhaye pyaas, baaki sab bakwaas’.
There is also a variant to spitting known as ‘pichook’, and it comes with artistic inclinations. Its proponents are gutkha or pan-chewing Indians who consider it their right to decorate the walls, streets, buildings and specially-specially the ‘corners’. Be it a corner in the bathroom or lift or parking, we find the evidence of this desi-deco. Like a dog’s affinity to a pole, is the affinity of ‘pichookers’ to corners. We are proud inheritors of some of the finest artistic legacies in the world. That’s why we can see Sarkari buildings adorned with red colored art everywhere. I think the Indians are so nostalgic about the British Raj and their red-stone architecture that they try and change the yellow colored Sarkari buildings to red. Hum honge qamyaab ek din.
Sadly, if there is something Indians follow , it becomes impossible to make them not to do it. Public awareness campaigns, billboards, documentaries don’t have an effect on them. As if ‘ Yaak-Thoo chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe’. We won’t give up spitting and will find time and place to do it by ‘hook or thook’ errr.. I mean ‘hook or crook’..
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
If you derive inspiration from Lance Armstrong’s heroic comeback from the deathbed or from Barrack Obama’s rise to the White House, here is story which is in some ways is no less a bravado.
NAME: SWASTI WAGH
AGE: 35
QUALIFICATION: M.Sc
PROFESSION: TEACHING
This looks to be a profile of a pretty ordinary lady. No. she is not an ordinary lady. She is a patient of ataxia; a progressive degenerative disorder, but she makes things look ordinary.
Swasti, a science post graduate, first felt the tentacles of ataxia (read more about ataxia http://www.ataxia.org/learn/ataxia-diagnosis.aspx) engulfing her when she was in her college. So rare is the outset of this disease that medical fraternity itself isn’t well-versed with its symptoms and diagnosis. Very obviously it took a long time before it was exactly identified. Progressively; in accordance with its characteristics, this cureless disorder took a toll on her bodily co-ordination until she became dependent on other for her daily activities and movement. She is fortunate enough that her speech isn’t affected badly. According to her family, she was unflinchingly determined to complete her post graduate studies. After her studies it was kind of impossible for her to pursue a career. But she didn’t let her disability disable her. Rather, she took to teaching children and she earns decent money with it.
All this while, she and her family were looking for a possible treatment. Unperturbed by the quagmire she was struck in, what she did next is truly commendable. Apart from taking on her battle, she decided to help other ataxia patients. Thanks to social networking sites and some database with doctors, she caught hold of about 80 patients in Indore and adjoining districts. She tirelessly contacted these patients and urged them to meet and interact because she feels this is the only way of subsiding the agony of the disease, physically and mentally, where similar people can share their hardships and also involve in activities such as speech therapy, physiotherapy etc. She was also proactively in touch with SAMAG; a Hyderabad based NGO which helps ataxia patients. Finally, her endurance fruited and with the help of SAMAG(http://www.samataxiagroup.org/pages/ataxiainformation.html), she created the Indore chapter at a meeting held at Nath Mandir on 23 Feb 18. ataxia patients and their relatives from Ujjain, Dewas, Mhow, Shujalpur, Hoshangabad participated in the meet. Although, the number was not very encouraging, still it was heartening enough.
Some prominent names in the medical profession like Dr. Apurva Puranik, Dr. Sudhir Kothari, and Dr. Deepak Nair etc. were present and encouraged patients to fight ataxia with will power. Swasti spoke and maintained her stance about remaining optimistic.
Swasti, a daughter a mathematics professor, hopes that more ataxia patients will join the support group and expects successful frequent meetings. The main hurdle to such activities is the inability of patients to move. This impairs the possibility of the strength catching high. Swasti expects some NGO’s and self-help groups who can volunteer to arrange such activities, as man power is also an important aspect. Swasti is in Hyderabad (SAMAG headquarter) while this article is written. It becomes imperative for us, the so-called normal people, to come forward and help her in her mission. This is a request to all government, doctors, educators, NGO’s, administrators, intellectuals and all others to help SAMAG and Swasti achieve their vision. A small deed of yours can bring light to someone’s life.
NAME: SWASTI WAGH
AGE: 35
QUALIFICATION: M.Sc
PROFESSION: TEACHING
This looks to be a profile of a pretty ordinary lady. No. she is not an ordinary lady. She is a patient of ataxia; a progressive degenerative disorder, but she makes things look ordinary.
Swasti, a science post graduate, first felt the tentacles of ataxia (read more about ataxia http://www.ataxia.org/learn/ataxia-diagnosis.aspx) engulfing her when she was in her college. So rare is the outset of this disease that medical fraternity itself isn’t well-versed with its symptoms and diagnosis. Very obviously it took a long time before it was exactly identified. Progressively; in accordance with its characteristics, this cureless disorder took a toll on her bodily co-ordination until she became dependent on other for her daily activities and movement. She is fortunate enough that her speech isn’t affected badly. According to her family, she was unflinchingly determined to complete her post graduate studies. After her studies it was kind of impossible for her to pursue a career. But she didn’t let her disability disable her. Rather, she took to teaching children and she earns decent money with it.
All this while, she and her family were looking for a possible treatment. Unperturbed by the quagmire she was struck in, what she did next is truly commendable. Apart from taking on her battle, she decided to help other ataxia patients. Thanks to social networking sites and some database with doctors, she caught hold of about 80 patients in Indore and adjoining districts. She tirelessly contacted these patients and urged them to meet and interact because she feels this is the only way of subsiding the agony of the disease, physically and mentally, where similar people can share their hardships and also involve in activities such as speech therapy, physiotherapy etc. She was also proactively in touch with SAMAG; a Hyderabad based NGO which helps ataxia patients. Finally, her endurance fruited and with the help of SAMAG(http://www.samataxiagroup.org/pages/ataxiainformation.html), she created the Indore chapter at a meeting held at Nath Mandir on 23 Feb 18. ataxia patients and their relatives from Ujjain, Dewas, Mhow, Shujalpur, Hoshangabad participated in the meet. Although, the number was not very encouraging, still it was heartening enough.
Some prominent names in the medical profession like Dr. Apurva Puranik, Dr. Sudhir Kothari, and Dr. Deepak Nair etc. were present and encouraged patients to fight ataxia with will power. Swasti spoke and maintained her stance about remaining optimistic.
Swasti, a daughter a mathematics professor, hopes that more ataxia patients will join the support group and expects successful frequent meetings. The main hurdle to such activities is the inability of patients to move. This impairs the possibility of the strength catching high. Swasti expects some NGO’s and self-help groups who can volunteer to arrange such activities, as man power is also an important aspect. Swasti is in Hyderabad (SAMAG headquarter) while this article is written. It becomes imperative for us, the so-called normal people, to come forward and help her in her mission. This is a request to all government, doctors, educators, NGO’s, administrators, intellectuals and all others to help SAMAG and Swasti achieve their vision. A small deed of yours can bring light to someone’s life.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Humanity has always been in a quest for quantifying wisdom or intelligence. Ancient Indian traditions had their own ingenious tool where one’s intelligence was commensurate to the ‘how many thousands of Sanskrit shlokas’ one knew. In Oriental civilizations, the more the number of symbols one knew of their script, higher he was placed in pedantic echelons. There were secret societies in the western world as Masons, Templars, Kabbalah, KKK etc. which had rings within the organization. Only the worthy with substantial grey matter & occult knowledge deserved to get into these inner rings which were again the symbol of mental competency.
Then in the latter half of the 19th century a German psychologists William Stern came up with something called ‘Intelligence Quotient’. It was a battery of tests designed to assess the workability of a human brain. Soon it had a universal acceptance Intelligence quotient or IQ was now something which indubitably categorized human brains into various stratas. Justifiably Einsteins & Bohrs showed higher IQ of 140’s as compared to their normal counterparts All over the world, the much coveted jobs in KCB, CIA, CERN etc. demanded a high IQ as prerequisite.
But it took almost a century after the genesis of IQ, to realize that our cerebral potential cannot alone be judged by IQ there are various other things to a brain other than unidirectional reasoning & logical thinking It was realized that aesthetics, spirituality sentiments etc. too are as vital This ideology led to diversification of IQ. First came EQ (Emotional Quotient), it was & is most commonly discussed in HR circles. A person is supposed to have a good amount of EQ for his proper functioning in an organization or the society.
It was as if a whole new avenue of knowledge opened. Soon there was SQ (Social Quotient) which decided how socially responsible you are. Following came MQ (Moral quotient) calling us to be more virtuous. Then came the era of environment awareness & everyone was scaled on the two new litmus tests CQ (carbon Quotient) & GQ (Green Quotient), the more the GQ the more responsible and aware you are about your planet. Ensuing these two came EnQ (Energy Quotient). The industries & corporates who had a bent on saving energy & its effective utilization considered ENQ as one of their priorities. Your AQ (Adversity Quotient) shows how stoic & inure you stand to the hardships whereas the NQ (Networking Quotient) reflects on your interpersonal skills & the contacts you have built up. Creative fellows you don’t have to be disappointed, there is CQ (Creative Quotient) for u.
American Football is to Americans what Cigarettes are to the French. So there is FQ (Football Quotient). Even the US president craves for a good FQ. It’s much-touted affair. For all the techies (read software engineers) who succumb to the work load (read get bored of doing nothing), online games are no less than Christmas gifts, with card games being the favorite. PQ (Poker Quotient) is something IT professionals are vying for. There can’t be a blessing more heavenly than Google for nerds & geeks. So, how effectively you Google your way to the required information is measured by your GQ (Google Quotient).
Now, your adrenaline stimulants like Scuba diving in Great Barrier Reef, Bungee jumping in Hoover or trekking Pyrenees won’t go unnoticed as they may help you improve your AQ (Adventure Quotient). If you have appetite for the finesse i.e. you relish Thai Prawns, Boardeux Cognac, own a Yatch , accessorize with Louis Vuitton & savor live Lambada performance, you are scaling super-high on LQ(Lifestyle Quotient).
The degree of awareness & performance in matter of Sex, Sexuality & Sexiness in measured by SQ (Sex Quotient). If you have seen the Castles in the Scotland, camped in Serengeti, rappelled in Grand Canyon, Kayaked in Borneo or kissed beneath Arc de Triumph you Score maximum in TQ (travel Quotient). But there is a thing which bothers me these days in my BQ (Blog Quotient). As a blogger, you are expected to know what to expect where & where to expect what. Anyways, I am working hard to improve it.
By the way I have discovered something new. I am thinking of introducing a new quotient in this already quotient–riddled world. What about QQ (Quotient Quotient), which is, how you are informed about already existing quotient. So what’s your QQ…?
Then in the latter half of the 19th century a German psychologists William Stern came up with something called ‘Intelligence Quotient’. It was a battery of tests designed to assess the workability of a human brain. Soon it had a universal acceptance Intelligence quotient or IQ was now something which indubitably categorized human brains into various stratas. Justifiably Einsteins & Bohrs showed higher IQ of 140’s as compared to their normal counterparts All over the world, the much coveted jobs in KCB, CIA, CERN etc. demanded a high IQ as prerequisite.
But it took almost a century after the genesis of IQ, to realize that our cerebral potential cannot alone be judged by IQ there are various other things to a brain other than unidirectional reasoning & logical thinking It was realized that aesthetics, spirituality sentiments etc. too are as vital This ideology led to diversification of IQ. First came EQ (Emotional Quotient), it was & is most commonly discussed in HR circles. A person is supposed to have a good amount of EQ for his proper functioning in an organization or the society.
It was as if a whole new avenue of knowledge opened. Soon there was SQ (Social Quotient) which decided how socially responsible you are. Following came MQ (Moral quotient) calling us to be more virtuous. Then came the era of environment awareness & everyone was scaled on the two new litmus tests CQ (carbon Quotient) & GQ (Green Quotient), the more the GQ the more responsible and aware you are about your planet. Ensuing these two came EnQ (Energy Quotient). The industries & corporates who had a bent on saving energy & its effective utilization considered ENQ as one of their priorities. Your AQ (Adversity Quotient) shows how stoic & inure you stand to the hardships whereas the NQ (Networking Quotient) reflects on your interpersonal skills & the contacts you have built up. Creative fellows you don’t have to be disappointed, there is CQ (Creative Quotient) for u.
American Football is to Americans what Cigarettes are to the French. So there is FQ (Football Quotient). Even the US president craves for a good FQ. It’s much-touted affair. For all the techies (read software engineers) who succumb to the work load (read get bored of doing nothing), online games are no less than Christmas gifts, with card games being the favorite. PQ (Poker Quotient) is something IT professionals are vying for. There can’t be a blessing more heavenly than Google for nerds & geeks. So, how effectively you Google your way to the required information is measured by your GQ (Google Quotient).
Now, your adrenaline stimulants like Scuba diving in Great Barrier Reef, Bungee jumping in Hoover or trekking Pyrenees won’t go unnoticed as they may help you improve your AQ (Adventure Quotient). If you have appetite for the finesse i.e. you relish Thai Prawns, Boardeux Cognac, own a Yatch , accessorize with Louis Vuitton & savor live Lambada performance, you are scaling super-high on LQ(Lifestyle Quotient).
The degree of awareness & performance in matter of Sex, Sexuality & Sexiness in measured by SQ (Sex Quotient). If you have seen the Castles in the Scotland, camped in Serengeti, rappelled in Grand Canyon, Kayaked in Borneo or kissed beneath Arc de Triumph you Score maximum in TQ (travel Quotient). But there is a thing which bothers me these days in my BQ (Blog Quotient). As a blogger, you are expected to know what to expect where & where to expect what. Anyways, I am working hard to improve it.
By the way I have discovered something new. I am thinking of introducing a new quotient in this already quotient–riddled world. What about QQ (Quotient Quotient), which is, how you are informed about already existing quotient. So what’s your QQ…?
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