The Impact of Travel

"To travel is to live" – Hans Christian Andersen

It was around 6 PM. The pilot had just announced that we will be commencing our descent to Hyderabad.

I didn’t really like it.

It was the end of a 26-day long tour to New Delhi and around. In the course of this, I had seen a lot of new places and met a lot of new people. It went so fast – I felt like it was a week. It was tiring, without a doubt. And yet I yearned for more. I had got so accustomed to this deviation that I was totally unwilling to get back into the normal routine again.

What is it about travel that enchants so many people? What is the secret of wanderlust?

I remembered the stranger girl who calmly asked me directions in an overwhelmingly crowded place where she was totally lost. I remembered the American guy in the hotel who said “Shukriya” as we kept the elevator door open for a second more until he entered. I remembered being witness to the majestic Taj Mahal and its perfection on such a massive scale. And the wily salesman who sold us a fake marble showpiece (as we discovered later) right in front of it. The secret tunnels of the Agra Fort. The city of Agra, which is virtually a diamond and a ruby shining amidst an enormous stockpile of shambles. Would Shah Jahan ever have imagined that his city, the capital city of the mighty Mughal empire would one day be reduced to these ruins 400 years later, compared to other cities in the vicinity?

Travel is more than just looking at new places. It introduces you to so many varied kinds of people and their customs, their traditions and their ways of life. Sometimes, it even takes you to a different era. It gives you a real idea of how diverse and huge the world is beyond your regular lifestyle. It gives you the urge to break out of your comfort zone and try new things in a figurative sense as well – which is something one definitely needs to do if they have to achieve something great.

I think one of the best decisions I made during this tour was not to switch on the internet in my phone at all. It feels great to stay disconnected. You feel like you can’t live without a constant update on what’s happening in the world but trust me; sometimes it’s actually the other way round.

Travelling makes you introspect. It makes you know yourself better. It makes you grow.

And this was just the impact of travelling to another city within my country. Who knows what more I’ll come across when I travel the whole world?

(and hopefully Mars too :P)

This pic was taken by me during the tour

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The Capital rules them all!

You may love it, you may hate it....oh no, you will find it very hard to hate it, and you definitely cannot ignore it. This is Delhi, the capital city of our beloved country, the place where ideas are formed and broken, dreams are fulfilled and shattered, where anything can happen. The city of limitless possibilities.

I have never lived in Delhi but I have been there many times, and the city occupies a special place in my heart. And over the years I’ve watched it change, and behold, it’s become beautiful.

Let’s talk about the Design first. Delhi’s got something to cater to every need of people. On one hand we have some of Asia’s largest malls (City Walk!), and on the other hand we have Lajpat Nagar where you can just spend the whole day shopping for inexpensive items.

And the food. If you haven’t tasted the chole bhature found on the streets here, let me tell you, you’re missing something in life. From the street food to the swankiest of restaurants and the most diverse variety of cuisines from all over the world, you can find everything here.

Which brings us to the most enchanting aspect of this city: its diversity. Being the capital, it’s home for people from every corner of the country – you can never feel out of place here. At any street corner, you can find Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi and Assamese among many others – being spoken simultaneously. And there are a fair amount of guests from around the world as well. The composite Delhi culture we have thus has a charm of its own – it comprises parts of every culture and blends them in an absolutely unique way.

And last but definitely not the least – the rich heritage. The Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb are majestic to behold. Jantar Mantar gives us a glimpse at India’s rich scientific knowledge. There is no shortage of tourist spots in Delhi – if you want to have a nice time with friends or family and witness the memorial of India’s brave soldiers, you can visit the India Gate. If you are spiritually inclined, you can visit the Akshardham Temple or the Jama Masjid. The Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is a must-see too. Or if you just want to take a break from everything and have a quiet time, you can spend time at the Lotus Temple. And there are still many more to add to this list.

Coming to the most important aspect: Drive. To visit all these, you need to get around, right? Delhi has got one of the best roads in India – and if you’re someone like me who loves to drive, you will find it a pleasure to live here. It’s well connected to the adjacent places too – my personal favourite being the DND Flyway. I was amazed at the first time I took the metro rail here – it’s absolutely world-class. And pleasantly clean!

Delhi is definitely a city that’s #madeofgreat. And if you’re in a Tata Motors car, it will certainly enhance your experience. To know more, log on to http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/.

This post was written for Indiblogger's contest: The #madeofgreat Zonal War

The Healing Touch - Redefined

Once upon a time, people lived in a world in which getting rid of a disease was considered a grave challenge, a very long process that was incredibly painful to the patient. No, I'm not talking about the ancient days when anaesthesia did not exist and surgeries used to be conducted with patients screaming aloud throughout. Even thirty years ago, people still shuddered at the thought of going to a doctor.

Treating a patient is still considered a challenge, as no two humans are alike. However, thankfully, the world has changed a lot for the better. Technology has revolutionized people's lives, and in no other field has it been more profound than in healthcare.

Take an example. Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with lung cancer a few days after the 2011 World Cup. He was promptly given state-of-the-art treatment that lasted for a few months. And the result? He was back, hitting sixes like he always used to! Could this have been possible even a decade ago? I think not.

Yuvraj Singh's case was a famous example, where the power of modern technology in the medical field was visible to the whole world. Yet, there are hundreds of instances everyday around the globe, where modern healthcare is touching lives in ways it has never done before.

Let's see how this works. A person goes to a doctor complaining of recurrent headache. Now, what can the cause possibly be? It can be migraine, a persistent cold, or simply a result of staring for long hours at a computer screen every night. Or it can be a growing brain tumor. Now suppose our patient is one of those unfortunate rare cases with the tumor. If he were living thirty years ago, the doctor would've probably started with some basic pain-relief medicines... and by then, the tumor would've grown much bigger. Now, with X-ray systems available virtually everywhere (Wikipedia tells me that an estimated 5 billion X-ray tests were done worldwide in 2010) the doctor can identify the cause straightaway, and plan the next course of action.

What would be the next course of action?

Until recently, a brain tumor was considered a highway to death. Patients with such cases were asked to "wind up their affairs" - in other words, get ready to die. Not anymore. We now have advanced forms of radiosurgery that can make recovering from certain forms of tumors and cancers not just possible, but also relatively painless.

Not just radiosurgery, but it's amazing to see how technology has transformed the way of doing things even in a standard operation theatre. Robotic surgeries allow doctors to have much higher precision than what was possible earlier; and in addition, the patients can go home quicker as well. The list of achievements in modern healthcare is endless - right from medicines that now act upon their target in a much more precise and quick way; they surely have come a long way from when penicillin was first discovered, to transplants that now permit even multiple organs to be transferred at a time from one person to another. And it'll be interesting to watch what the future has in store for us. As the researchers toil in the labs everyday, stem cell therapy may soon occupy centrestage in being the answer to a wide variety of problems.
 

This sudden explosion of technology in medicine - not just in the developed countries, but also developing ones like ours - has led to a whole new phenomenon: medical tourism. An estimated 150,000 people travel to India every year to seek a remedy for their illnesses which may or may not be available in their own country - usually if it's available there, it's exorbitantly priced.

The contemporary lifestyle, though, has brought its fair share of problems with itself. Lack of physical activity has led to obesity becoming not something to be laughed at -  but a real, life-threatening disorder. Thankfully, modern science has an answer to that too. Bariatric surgery - though commonly reckoned as a last resort - has given a new lease of life to a large number of patients across the world. And obesity is not the only negative consequence of the modern lifestyle and environment on health - it has also resulted in several other problems such as respiratory disorders (thanks to the enormous pollution), eye problems and an accelerated rate of degenerative diseases. Science is trying to find an answer to that too.

Everyday, even as you read this, doctors, scientists and other allied professionals are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for a healthy, disease-free world. In fact, it's not limited to the medical field - contributions from nearly every branch of science are involved in the technological advancements that we've seen. And being a medical student myself, it is my responsibility too not just to serve people with the facilities that are available right now; but also to seek newer, more efficient and effective ways of curing people. Modern hi-tech innovations have not just given a ray of hope to millions of sufferers; they have also made the doctor's job a lot easier.

And it's important that we don't allow ourselves to take a break in this hunt for new innovations; but strive continuously to move forward. There is hope.

This post was written as a part of the contest How Does Modern Healthcare Touch Lives? conducted by IndiBlogger and Apollo Hospitals. Apollo Hospitals has consistently been pioneering healthcare developments in India - you can read a whole list of those here: http://www.apollohospitals.com/cutting-edge.php  

The buck stops...where?

Two shocking incidents on opposite sides of the globe. One, a brutal gang rape and murder of a young girl in Delhi; the other, murder of 20 kids and seven adults in Connecticut. Different methods, yet the common strand of inhuman violence links the two. Both of them have sparked countless protests and debates, calling for "change". Yet, what exactly is to be changed? Who is to be blamed?

Let's talk about the Delhi incident first. In the past few days, hundreds of people gathered in Delhi and other cities, clamoring against toothless laws, inept police, a misplaced mindset of the society that assumes men "superior" to women, and so on. Every one of these points has their own merits. Some even went a step further and proclaimed that it was the girl who was responsible for the crime. Now that's like saying if you have a car and someone steals it, it's you who are at fault because you bought the car; and not the fault of the person who stole it. That, of course, doesn't make any sense.

Coming back to the question, I'm positive that 95% of us men in India are the kind of those who'd NEVER rape a woman. It's the remaining 5% that cause all the trouble. So, the big issue here isn't the "general psyche of Indian men". You can't point out 5% of the group and say there's something wrong with the entire male Indian mindset. Neither can you blame the so-called modern culture shown in movies and songs. If you look at the lyrics common among American rappers, you'll find those much much worse - yet a rape doesn't happen every 22 minutes in the USA, unlike here. It's not like men in India are born "evil" and those in the West are all decent. The main difference is: a deterrent.

The 5% of men in question here are plain psychopaths. Their brains are wired in a way as to display their masculinity and vent their desires in a manner that is anti-social, and has no absolutely no care for the feelings of another person. Such men can be found in many places. However, they actually bring their flawed mentality to a conclusion only in cases where they have no fear of the repercussions that may follow. Ask any convicted rapist - all of them will say that they believed they could get away scot-free from the crime. They believed they would never get caught. They believed that there was no one to stop them. And indeed, it is THIS that is to be really blamed here. The absence of stringent security. I know that it's not possible for there to be a policeman at every corner of the street - but at least we can have security cameras. And we can have laws - very strict laws - that invoke a sense of deep fear among those psychopaths.

However, we can't simply rest in comfort by putting all the blame on weak laws and inadequate security. Why haven't these laws and security measures come into place even after 65 years of independence? Who is responsible for these? Our politicians, of course. And if we keep voting for the kind of politicians who either do not change anything or worse, are themselves convicted of rape, then even all of us - indirectly - are to be blamed. I've turned 18 last month, and together with most of my friends, I'm definitely going to vote next year, keeping in mind the character of the candidate we're voting for. Let's hope we make a difference this time.

Coming to the second part - the slaughter of 27 people in an elementary school in Connecticut, USA. Personally, I was shocked by this news as two of my cousin sisters are elementary school students in Connecticut (thankfully, they go to a different school; they're fine). And as sympathy and mourning poured in from across the world, there was another strong feeling prevalent in the air.

Hatred.

A quick Facebook search with the killer's name, Adam Lanza, would reveal that. Hundreds of people, in different pages, all asserting "Adam Lanza should rot in hell", "I Hate Adam Lanza" and other rhetorics that are best not repeated here. Yes it's true, we're all justified in hating him for having snapped the life out of 20 little innocent kids, but does he really deserved to be solely blamed for his actions?

Almost every news agency that reported the tragedy has also reported that the killer in question was a 20-year old extremely lonely and intelligent guy who had no friends at all. According to the head of security at his school, Adam was "a very scared young boy, who was very nervous around people he could trust or he refused to speak with", and "a loner". This, as psychiatrists say, is a clear indication of Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism - which is an in-born genetic condition in almost all cases. Couple it with the fact that his parents divorced in 2008 - obviously not an emotionally pleasant situation for any child, let alone an autistic one.

You see it there. Adam's father was a successful finance executive at GE, and his mother was a teacher in the school where the massacre happened. Neither of them, evidently, had much time to take care of their psychologically disabled child. If they had been more caring towards their son, could the tragedy have been averted? Yes, I think so.

Besides this, Adam's mother was also an avid gun enthusiast and according to news reports, regularly used to take her son to shooting sessions. This probably could've been another factor in his actions - which in turn, has sparked furious debates over the arms trade system in the United States.

It is widely known that possessing a gun is very easy in the US. A large number of people have been demanding, especially after this incident, that the laws have to be changed. Mass shooting has occurred many times in the past too - and considering the fact that such incidents can be brought down to a large extent - if not eliminated completely - if gun control measures are put into force, it does make sense to partly blame the laws for such repeated instances. However, guns don't kill people; people kill people. And therefore, in my opinion, what really ought to be blamed here are not the laws; but the trend in modern society which is rapidly shifting towards isolation between parents and child, and consequently the care that children need is desperately lacking - especially those who suffer from a psychological disability.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, said Mahatma Gandhi. Today, we see it happening.

This post was adjudged the winner of the contest Who is to be blamed? on WriteUpCafe.com