Am I Distant from Society

AIDS…One of the most dreaded acronym of recent times... What does it actually stand for?

Most of us know it as “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”… But, ask the victims, and they might probably say it stands for Am I Distant from Society!!!

How often have you not read reports or seen incidents of a Tom Hanks (in Philadelphia) or a Tinu Hari being thrown out of work just because he has fallen into the deadly grasp of this disease… It is more heart-breaking to see children being outcast from schools & from play areas, just because they are innocent carriers, through none of their faults…

Most of us, educated people know that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) spreads mainly through unprotected sexual activity & sharing of body fluids, as in Blood transfusion, sharing of infected needles & during child birth from mother to child… It has been proved time-and-again that casual touch etc can’t cause the infection… But, lots of people are not willing to accept it… They say, “You tell today there is no chance of infection through touch & after a big time research, you’ll say it can also be spread through touch… Where will we be left, then??”

Although, the numbers always suggested that so many millions are infected with the virus & some million more are suffering from AIDS, I dint realize the severity of the situation until I went to the hospital wards & OPD as part of my postings… More than 30 % of the patients I have seen are HIV positive!!! And in some of the hospitals, there is a separate “Retroviral section” for intensive care of these people, who come in with all sorts of opportunistic infections.

So, what can we do to improve the quality of life of these people, some of whom don’t have too much life left in front of them by the time they are diagnosed…?

The best way is to educate the masses about the disease as such & also about the ways by which they can & cannot be spread… For those who have already boarded the HIV train, the best we can try to do is to stop them from passing on this deadly virus to others… apart from the usual safe sex & sex with only one partner, it’ll be wise to advise them against having children who are bound to be born fighting against the virus only to be dead even before they know what they are suffering from…

Spread the message, not the virus.

KMC Expereince........

Yen Madthiyappa?? Engineera atwa Doctora???
Oh!! Nim Maga Doctor agtha Iddana??!!
It seems everyone's asking the same sort of questions. I decided early & luckily, i got the marks 2 support my pursuit. So, got admission in KASTURBA MEDICAL COLLEGE, Mangalore...the world famous college in M'lore, but, go 2 other places across the state...not many ppl give it a 2nd thought.
The college reopening day arrived in a jiffy. It wasnt welcome so early in the holidays. Afterall it was only 3 months of holidays v had after our CET!! Well, the first day at KMC wasnt exactly exiting 2 me. Coz i was in the holiday mood & in no way was i interested 2 go 2 college so early in the morning (9.30 am) when most of my frenz were snoring in their beds. Anyway, on the other hand, it wasnt bad, also, coz i was entering the Professional Courses. It wasnt very pleasant news 2 my wax-filled ears 2 hear the Dean speak abt the dreaded Dress Code & the enduring schedule.....classes 4 all the 6 days in the week. He introduced us 2 various Profs & others.
Next few days in the week, zipped past with not much happening in the college. The lectures were pertaining 2 the introduction of the different parts & subjects were not so bad. No, practicals, but, no notice saying so. So, v had 2 do a bit of gossiping & ultimately, take a bit of risk & stay in the house 4 the afternoons. Of course, all the efforts werent fruitful. On 1 such occasion, I missed the introduction of Community Medicine. It wasnt a bg loss, as v realised a week later that sitting in hat class was no more educating than staying home & snoring..zzzzz...
Oh!!! i didnt tell u abt our CLASS. The lectures take place in a HUGE hall where 200 of us r seated & lectured 2. Of course, there r the different paraphernalia like the mic, speakers , OHP, Laser projector & stuff. Also, 50 more students r 2 arrive in a months time...from Malaysia, Indonesia..& other parts. Now, there rnt any NRIs whom u can obviously recognise. Of course, kannadigas form a minority here. There r lotz of North Indians & ppl from almost all corners of India. More than 55% r boys & the rest r gals. I've heard many of my classmates say that they rnt upto the mark & i actually, tend 2 agree, not a feast 4 ur eye....so to say.
Coming to some of the interesting parts...... Anatomy Dissections....uh!! 2nd day in the dissection hall & v were greeted by a no. of dead bodies lying in our tables. V r divided into batches of abt 20-25 & each batch gets a body. No!!! No!! Theres nothing 2 faint....Dont pass out. The one thing that strikes u....no, hits u, is the intense smell of Formalin which is poured over each dead body 2 prevent decay. It is not very easy 2 get used 2 it. After a lot of tear-shedding (It causes ur eyes 2 water), v r now used 2 it. Speaking abt dissection, last week, v got 2 dissect the body. What v do is just cut the skin & remove the fat & other tissues 2 reach the muscles, identifying different strucures & vessels on the way. U dont need 2 visualize bloody hands & blood oozing out from the skin here. The bodies all r drained of blood & r long "dead". Our instructor isnt exactly the best u'll get, but, v r hoping she changes in a weeks time.
Graduating from Pre-University to Prof. courses isnt very easy. The approach has 2 change & v r trying 2 get a hang of it in these early days. With that comes the task of understanding the Medical lingo....Using Medical terminologies. Remembering the names of 206 bones, dunno how many muscles, god-knows how-many blood vessles & nerves isnt easy. But, thats the way 2 go abt it. U cant tell that u r doing surgery of the place 6 cms from the neck, near the stomach..& such crap while u r describing something 2 other docs. U've gotto b precise.
Not all the lectures r interesting & most of the lecturers r boring. One good thing abt being in a huge class is that whenever u r not interested in the lecture u can do ur own work...say, sms, sleep, chat anything & the prof wont know or care. On the unlikely event, that u r interested in the lecture, u can hear the lecture clean & clear & try 2 make a head & toe of it.
write inV've got 2 buy a set of bones & stdy abt it in detail, what attaches 2 what & stuff. So, theres one my wardrobe, all the skull, bones & all!!! Sounds scary 2 u? Not 2 me, though.
Now, the practs r starting one by one. V had very rare encounter with the seniors as they r in a diferent campus. They dont seem to b any different from the normal conception of seniors. Of course, with the Anti-Ragging law in place, the ragging what the hostleites encountered wasnt very serious, not physical stuff, but, their attitude 2wards us isn the best.
As u might have realised by now, my expereince in the college wasnt anything like what v fantacized abt.. But, as the college continues, I am damn sure, my xpereinces will definitly b better. I've heard Prof. Courses is the time when u'll have the most fun. So, guys, while i have fun, u ppl enjoy whatever u r doing.
C ya....
Keep Blogging...or atleast reading them
Rax

Jog Blog

An extended weekend, our family all free & needing a break.....So, what do v do?? Well, v plan to go to Jog Falls in our car, Hyundai Accent. Incidentally, when v talked abt this, my uncle also decided to join in with his family in their Maruti 800.
So, come Sunday, the 14th, 3 pm, both the families were on the way, although 800 started with a head start of abt an hour. My bro, Rahul was on the wheel to start with. He had 2 put in some effort in order to negotiate the road (or the excuse for one) upto Suratkal. The road was reminiscent to the ones used in Motocross events 4 bikes, especially, what with so many pot-holes. Seeing their sizes, one cant b blamed 4 thinking that those were made 4 those Motocross bikes which jump a long way up above the crests.
After Suratkal, the roads were a lot better, if u forget abt some areas dotted with pot-holes.
So, v reached Udupi at around 4 pm. There v took our 1st stop 4 some "pet pooja" in one of the famous retaurants there. This is where v met up with the other family, who reached there after a brief stop at the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple.
After abt half-an-hour, v started from there with me on the wheel. The road surface in the NH in some of the places was very rough. V deicded to have a stop at Aannegudde Temple, near Saligrama. Dad took over on the wheel & continued till v stopped at the Maravanthe beach. The beach, which recently underwent an alarming bit of sea erosion was littered with huge stones to prevent the scenic stretch of road from being washed away. The NH pass very,very closely to the beach, parallel to it. On the other side, there is this river. Thus, this NH is sandwiched between these 2 water bodies.
Another half-an-hour later, with me still on the driver's seat v started. And a good thing it was. Coz, 5 mins later v faced the wrath of Aug. rains in this part of India. There were brief stints of really heavy rain followed by periods of bright sunlight. During this phase of our journey, v were treated to a collection of some very melodious songs. It was just wonderful to chug on the miles with excellent music blarring out from the Pioneer MP3 player.
V went to the Murudeshwara temple on our way. It is a beautiful temple with very good developments taking place there. Its location is a very very good one, considering that it is situated rite on the beach side. There r some huge statues of lord Shiva & also, statues portraying scenes from Ramayana & Mahabharatha built there.
Dad took over the wheel as v started from there at 8 pm. Next stop v took was in Honnavar, supposed to retire 4 the nite. But, the acomodations were full there. So, v decided 2 continue to Kumta 2 call it a day in some decent hotel. So, after dinner in Kumta, v found a nearby Hotel with clean facilities. So, v retired to bed early (by our stds) in order to start early the next day.
Come the Independence Day, v had breakfast early at around 7.15 & started towards Jog with anna on the wheel. V had one stop at a nearby temple. Since, v had gone to Kumta 4 the nite, v had to retrace back to Honnavar 2 go to NH 206 which wud lead us to Jog. Once on that road, v were treated to some beautiful scenery all around us. It was really wonderful to drive thruroads passing thru meadows & fields flourishing in the rarest tinges of green, no doubt due to the sprinkle of rain. On both sides of the road, there was a covering of green grass. The road itself wasnt bad, but, only that it was a bit narrow. Later on, my dad occupied the drivers seat. During his stint, v had a couple of stops at some scenic places 2 take a couple of photos. But, due 2 dense fog cover, v were not fortunate enough to c the seemingly very beautiful Sharavathi River valley. From here-on-in, there was dense fog in the Ghat roads. It was so dense that visibility after abt 20-25 ft was impossible. After negotiating thru these tough conditions with ease v reached Jog Falls.


Although, many ppl had come to Jog at that particular time, having cited the opportunity 2 break-thru from their daily routines, it wasnt upto the limit of causing any nuisance 2 the ppl. As soon as v reached there, v were disappointed to find the cloud blocking out our view of the Jog. But, it started clearing out very soon. There, v saw it....the 4 falls making up the JOG falls, Raja, Rani, Rover & Rocket plummeting down the hill in spectacular fashion. The hill itself was shining due 2 the droplets of rain-water. Again, it wasnt that the cloud made any of our viewings easy. Actually, it cleared out 4 only abt 15 mins. After spending abt an hour there, clicking away shot after shot in our DigiCam, v started on our journey back home.
V decided 2 take a different route while returning. V continued on the NH 206, with me on the steering wheel, until Sagar, where v took a route to Theerthahalli. This road was the worst of the ones encountered on this journey. First-of-all, the road itself was very narrow, permitting only 1 vehicle 2 ply on it. Adding to the woes, was the fact that this road was very bumpy, which made this more than 60 kms, 1 & 1/2 hr, journey very uncomfortable. One more characteristic feature of Uttar Kannada, & one which was terribly annoying to the road users, was the fact that the cows & dogs had their sheds almost on the roads itself. What I mean to say is that, once in every 2 or 3 kms, v encountered a herd of domestic animals lying on the dead centre of the road. They dont even budge, no matter how many horns u blare at them!! Also, our stomachs were making their presence felt. I took a break when v stopped to have a leak & Appa took over. Finally, v reached Thirthahalli & filled our stomachs. When v got back to the car, it was around 2.30. Anna sat on the wheel as v took the road leading to Agumbe. There was rainfall continously on this route. V reached the beginning of Agumbe Ghat at around 4pm. The view from the View-Point is supposedly breath-taking, but, v were not lucky enough to c the different hairpin turns & the beach at a distance.
The 14 HairPin bends were breath-taking, but, the road was very narrow. Our journey was helped by the fact there was not much traffic in this stretch compared to other roads v r used to back-home.
As v neared Karkala, I took over the wheel. Then, my uncle also tried out the Accent on our way to Moodabidri. Dad, meanwhile took over the wheel of the M800. My cousin, Manoj, who just got his license days back, had a wonderful learning expereince on his first long-distance drive, helping out uncle.
V had our final pit-stop at Moodabidri, where v had some ice-creams. After that v bade our good-byes & returned 2 our respective cars. Dad had an appointment to attend, so, v left a bit early with me on the wheel 4 the final leg. Finally, v reached home at 6.30 pm, having clocked abt 650 kms in a span of 27 hrs.
V all were definitely exhausted, but, u ask me whether it was worth it?? My answer's gonna b a definite Yes. The car took it very well, without once agitating, ferrying us comfortably thru some very ordinary roads. Also, over the entire duration of the journey, with the AC switched on most of the times, it returned an average of 15 km/litre which is highly praise worthy.
So, until my next blog........
Good-Bye
Yours truly,
Rax