Blood Donation Woes

There is an estimated need of about 4 crore units of blood in our country. And 5 lakh units is the amount of blood actually available. That is one huge gap between demand and supply. Sadly, even though it’s a gap that can be easily reduced, if not eliminated, nothing seems to be done to address this issue. Every second there is someone in need of blood or blood components. But unfortunately, not all of them get the required amount, and sometimes they end up paying with their lives. Death of a loved one is always traumatic for the family & friends. But it would be exacerbated when the death was avoidable.

Makes me wonder about a lot of things. First of all, why is there such a huge gap in the first place? I’d say it’s simply because of the lack of awareness. When you stop to think about this issue for a minute, it should strike you that blood is something we all have and is something almost all of us can afford to donate. Any healthy adult male or female, between the ages of 18 & 55 can donate blood. So where’s the problem? Well, if the public was made aware of this, I’m sure we would have a lot more voluntary blood donors stepping up. I mean, all of us can do it. It’s not like we have to give up all of our life blood or anything. Men can donate once in 3 months and women once in 4 months. Anyone who satisfies a set of health related conditions and criterion can be a blood donor. Blood can be separated into its components and stored for a long period. Even individual blood components are useful. It truly is a simple deed, but it is a deed that makes us feel like a hero. And we could very well be one, for all we know, we could be saving someone’s life. Plus there's a bonus... Recent studies show that blood donation is good for the donor too.

The Austrlian Red Cross concurs:

Some studies have shown that regular blood donation can help prevent the build-up of iron in the body over time, reducing the strain this places on major organs including the heart. The benefits are thought to be most pronounced in middle-aged men and amongst people prone to haemachromotosis. We also think that regular acts of kindness, like giving blood, are good for anyone’s heart.

Sounds good doesn’t it?

Now,I guess the first step to tackle this problem would be to increase the awareness of the people. I mean people are totally oblivious to this issue and to the fact that they can help out. Those that are aware of this issue are generally wary. They worry about their safety and health. But then there are yet others who know about this and want to help, but who have no idea about how to proceed (I fall into this category). This makes me wonder some more. Why isn’t the government promoting blood donation? Why aren’t celebs out there in front of the cameras, and in our faces, making it fashionable? Why aren’t blood banks and other ngo-like organizations campaigning for it?

Unless people are educated about it and told that it is perfectly safe and perfectly pain-free (unless you’re scared of needles), nobody is give a damn about someone somewhere dying on the operating table (unless, god forbid, you’ve lost someone that way). People should be informed about the blood banks in their locality, the blood camps that are conducted and the procedures involved. I think (interesting & motivational) seminars or talks should be given in schools and colleges. There should be more blood camps conducted in schools, colleges, offices and wherever possible and wherever there are willing people. This would be extremely convenient for the donors as they wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of finding someplace to donate blood. Also, there definitely should be an easy way to register as blood donors. Each locality should have some sort of register of blood donors and their blood groups. The most important thing to be understood here is that all blood banks survive only on the voluntary nature of blood donation. No one can be forced to donate blood. Blood donors are blood donors because of their altruistic nature. Professional blood donation (where someone provides blood in return for payment; the word donation pretty much loses its meaning here) is illegal. But this practice still thrives due to the shortage in blood banks. Relatives of patients often have no choice when they’re faced with the dilemma that the replacement policy most hospitals across the country follow.

When I tried to get some information online,about blood banks and registered donors in Kerala, I found…nothing. There is a government site about the number of blood banks and technicians and equipments and stuff. But no register or site where would be donors can register. I think having an online directory would be great. Especially considering the fact that such sites are quite successful in other states. Karnataka has some pretty neat sites. For example, Bangalore has a site managed by an organization called Sankalp. It has a helpline and the works. Why don’t we have anything like that? I seriously think it’s time we have a centralized system in place to check and manage the working of all blood banks. Blood banks in a locality should work in tandem with each other. People should have easy access to them via help lines and stuff.

Tragically, all blood banks face shortage of blood. Yes. All of them. They are not always able to meet the requests coming in, which usually ends up causing a fatality. It’s high time something is done about this.

Jhoom barabar Jhoom

I saw it about a week back.On the 17th I believe.Went with a couple of friends and friends of my friends for the afternoon show.Frankly speaking, JBJ is THE worst Hindi movie I have seen in all 22years of my existence.Hell,its probably THE worst movie I have ever seen.period.Ok, its not like we were expecting something great(c'mon the movie had Bobby Deol in it.... don't think anyone would expect too much).But man oh man,this movie sucked so bad.The dialouges spoken during most of the movie,especially the 1st half,are unintelligible,what with Lara Duttas 'French' accent(u really feel like kicking her shapely arse in the 1st half), and B.Jrs Punjabi rapper style lingo.So we have no idea whats going on.But alas,even when we can decipher what the cast is saying,we have no idea whats going on.Preity Zinta overdoes the sophisticated Brit-speak(her mouth moves in all directions when shes not pouting).In fact,she overdoes her entire cute-but-sexy-as-hell routine.Somebody should tell her that its getting kinda old and boring,like her.And who the hell cast Bobby Deol as a stud?I heard some guy on TV(someone having to do something with casting 4 JBJ) say he wanted a '...Greek-God kinda look....' for the part.and so they cast Bobby??geez...wonder what Hrithik Roshan has to say about that.I thought the Greek-God label in Bollywood was reserved for him.And oh yea,the blond curly hairstyle doesn't help Bobby one bit.Apart from all this,there is absolutely no plot.The jokes are stale.The song sequences are simply costume and color extravaganzas.The songs themselves are totally forgettable.The only song thats a little fun is the title song.But unfortunately,the director seems bent on making us hate it with innumerable 'different' renditions of the same song.And Big B gave one too many of his 'special apperances'.He shoulda left when the going was good.Comparatively good I mean.When he re-reappears towards the end of the movie it's just too much.

What the hell is wrong with Shaad Ali?He's wasted tonnes of money on the stunning foreign locations and designer clothes to come out with a super dud of a movie.Admitted,his 'Bunty aur Bubbly' was no work of art,but it was immensely more watchable.And though 'Saathiyaa' wasn't an original,it was a good take-off of the Tamil version.So,did he just direct this to show the industry he's alive?Or did he assume that a multistarrer movie shot abroad,with the cast swathed in haute couture and huge publicity would fool the public,Karan Johar style? Whatever the reason,it's a total waste of time and energy, folks.What pisses me off most is that a lot of TV channels have rated this movie as a 'good entertainer'!! Given it a 3 on 5, for God's sake!! Did they watch the same JBJ I did?

Me and my friends were busy sleeping or groaning in despair when we weren't sleeping.
We had fun discussing what each of us understood after watching a particular scene.
A close friend of mine was leaving in 2 days time so even though the movie was a major disaster,we had fun hanging out together.And oh yea,the fact that it started to rain like hell just as we left the theater was the icing on the cake.The downpour caused major problems in getting an auto.4 of us had 2 run around back and forth in the rain,getting drenched despite our umbrellas,till we found ourselves an auto. All in all,only the fact that I had fun with my friends that day made it bearable :-)

Attukal Pongala

Ok, for the uninitiated ,before u start wondering whether its some sort of exotic delicacy , lemme tell you it’s a religious festival held in Kerala.
Its an all-women affair. On Pongala day, women make an offering to the Attukal Devi , or the deity of the Attukal temple.(by the way, Attukal is the name of a place in the city. Which city? Now here’s a tongue twister- Thiruvananthapuram.A slightly less taxing version is Trivandrum.) Incidentally, it’s the capital of Kerala) Attukal Pongala day comes once a year, on a particular day. This year, it was today. And I participated. It’s the second time for me.
On this day, the entire city gears up for Pongala. It’s a holiday for the city. No vehicles are allowed on the roads once Pongala officially starts. People, mostly women, as only women are allowed to make this offering, come from all over the state & even outside it.
Its an amazing ritual to participate in. you can make any sort of sweetmeat using ingredients like rice, cane-sugar, milk, coconut & sometimes a special type of beans. Its prepared in little earthen pots, on a hearth that’s built out of bricks and dry wood. Although, nowadays you c lots of aluminum vessels. The hearth is simplicity incarnate. You balance the pot on 3 bricks and stuff the kindling in the spaces between the bricks.
The hearths are lit only after a flame, that’s believed to be passed on from the temple after the devi puja, is provided. The smoke and ash that’s given out from these hearths very nearly blind you, especially if there’s any wind.(In fact, I think that this one day contributes about as much CO2 as a whole week of traffic would.) its tough to stand barefeet in the scorching heat, with your eyes watering from the thick smoke of a million hearths, but in the end it gives you a sense of accomplishment like no other.
Once the Prasad (offering) has been prepared the women wait for a pujari( priest) from the temple to come & bless their preparation by sprinkling holy water on it. Priests are send out simultaneously in different directions, to cover maximum possible area.
There’s usually a rush to prepare the Prasad within the temple premises, but it’s quite impossible to accommodate the huge number of women. So we see hearths lining all the roads and by lanes, as far as 15kms (diameter) away from the temple.
All essential services, like food, water, beverages, etc are provided for free by clubs, residents associations & associations. But almost every home in the city is open to strangers, so that they can light their hearths. The people of the city usually provide food, water & basic requirements to those who make use of their compounds for the ritual.
Although, there are Pongalas in many different Devi temples, Attukal Pongala is by far the biggest. Lakhs of People believe in Attukal Devi’s powers, as can be seen from the huge turnout.

Rang De Basanti

saw it a coupla days back.lovely visuals.i loved the way youth bonding was depicted. plus it touched a lot of relevant topics-religion, politics, duty,issues about our country,etc.i totally enjoyed it. but...the 2nd half was a lil too much. i mean 2 guys shooting down a defence minister with so much ease? plus no matter how much of an evil dude ure dad is, i dont think u would actually shoot ure dad. yeah mayb it was patriotism in the movie, but no way is that gonna prompt any1 2 gun down his dad . that requires the brand of patriotism possessed by bhagat singh & co. and i dont think thats 2 b found in this generation, never mind what the movie shows. nope.

another thing, now everybody probably wants to party late into the night to some rocking music, hang out with gals/dudes, race around in jeeps and bikes , doing everythin thats cool while believing that they're patriotic.

Vehicular Emissions

Vehicular Pollution.

Environmental pollution & degradation is an issue that’s not being taken seriously enough. Though governments across the world are very much aware about it they aren’t really doing anything about it. Contrary to the general opinion, I do think that we still have time (very little, actually)and that we haven’t actually crossed the point of no return. As the saying goes, better late than never.
A good place for policymakers to start would be by targeting vehicular emissions.
As lifestyles improve radically, the number of private passenger vehicles on the roads has increased exponentially over the past few years. And luxury vehicles comprise a large part of this number. The figures are bound to increase further. I think this is an easily controllable/ manageable issue ,at least in terms of policy and implementation ,as opposed to infrastructure needed to tackle say , deforestation.
A number of steps govts could adopt are:
1) Encourage car-pooling by providing perks in terms of free car servicing, occasional gas vouchers or even special parking passes. Car-pooling could be a simple but very efficient means to cut down emissions as well oil consumptions.
And a good solution to those traffic congestions.
2) Okay, this ones gonna create a problem but hey, no pains no gains. Increase road tax and levy additional tax on luxury vehicles, using some sort of tiered system based on car model & fuel consumption ( the owners can very well afford it & besides they are the biggest oil guzzlers around.). This step will bring down the numbers and actually increase car- pooling.
3) This ones just based on plain optimism. Governments should make the public transport systems much more effective and passenger friendly, not to mention environment friendly. Citizens should be encouraged to use PT much more. All Govts should come up with MRTs (mass rapid transport ) such as metros, subways,etc
4) Last but not the least, newer technologies, like hybrid cars, should receive much more exposure , even down 2 grassroots level. This can done by better media coverage( at least in India) and reduction of prices. Governments should take initiative in ensuring that such technologies become easily available. While the Toyota Prius, for example, is in vogue in countries like the U.S, developing countries ( which, ironically, have the largest markets for vehicles) are not perceived as possible markets for such technologies. I don’t think labels are going to help anyone. Both the tech makers and govts need to join hands in this respect.

I think there should a mass movement on this issue. Apart from the policymakers, it’s up to us, the general population, to take an initiative.
So what are u waiting for?

Layman's Review of DB Books

I’m reading DVC for like the fourth time and each time I’m awed by the fact that Dan Brown has put together a near perfect novel. Ok so maybe some of the facts are debatable, but the book is still a breakthrough in terms of concept and the size of the conspiracy. The way he links little pieces of the jigsaw to give us the big picture is amazing.
But I really don’t know if the movie will be as good. I mean its gonna be tough to convey some of the stuff the way the book does. Ok I’ve always been biased against the screen versions of books but it’s not without reason. Look what they did to ‘Gone with the Wind’
I’ve also read his Angels & Demons, Deception Point and Digital Fortress.
Of these, A & D come a close second in my DB booklist. It lost out cos towards the end it becomes unbelievably dramatic, almost hindi filmy like. You’ll know what I mean if u have ever watched one. What I love about this one is the cool stuff about the elements and the placement of the clues.
Next comes Deception Point. It’s a pretty good read. Again we have a conspiracy of mammoth proportions. And again it begins to drag towards the end. But this one would make a pretty good Hollywood movie. Its satisfies all the criteria- beautiful people, romance, unlimited action (death and destruction), and most important of all, potential for jaw- dropping- million-dollar special effects.
Digital Fortress does not make it to my list. It’s incredibly (yawn). Hell, I don’t even remember what it was all about. I just remember checking the cover more than once to ensure that I was actually reading a book by Dan Brown. This book is easily his worst.

A coupla things about his books- they’re almost always set in a very short time period. About 24hrs.
And its always easy to guess who done it- suspect somebody totally out of the circle of suspicion. Admitted that’s the same with 90% of the stuff v read. Remember the author wants to shock you.

All said, I’m waiting breathlessly for his new book.