History for our Times  

One of the fascinating aspects of entering a discussion with those of socialist/ leftist/ secular/ communist persuasion is that they immediately ascend to the peak of morality and forever look down upon you. For every attempt that you may make of raising facts is met with  a sledgehammer which is rammed down your throat in the name of the proletariat. They draw their strength so they say from the aspirations of the downtrodden who  must forever be kept there so that their voice( the leftists) can remain relevant. Contrary to what people may believe their secularism is actually a product of their atheism. A system whereby religion must forever be kept in the church and not the state. Dont miss the irony for everything else is of and for the collective( the mai- baap STATE) including your right to life and privacy.

But the part that is unbelievable is how splendidly history is shaped or narrated in a way so as to further their cause. Thus in popular discourse and the BIG media you would regularly hear words like Fascist, goebbels et al. In any debate these words immediately elevate the neo- leftists above those who might disagree with their point of view. It also helps them evolve a consensus against the Right whereby any effort to understand the complexities of today's India with an eye on the past  are instantly drowned out.

Those on the left however  prevent words like Gulag, Stasi or NKVD  ever entering the popular jargon. These were bywords for the hell that the socialist countries actually were for their own citizens and could be relevant to the attempts of our government to regulate what we eat, see or write much more than the words currently used.

Our own left wing has had a chequered past; be it the ambivalence on Chinese aggression in 1962 or outright support to the emergency. These have slickly been ushered out of not just BIG media TV debates but even the collective memory.

But why I am writing about this. Well my facebook feed is crammed these days with either achhe din memes or opinion pieces from sundry NGO, jholawals all ranting against our PM. Just wanted to give these neo- leftists an insight.

Those ranged against right wing forces must remember that post world war 2 more people were killed in forced labour camps and famines of the socialist wolrd than anywhere else. Its not enough to not be killing in the name of religion, neither are a million deaths just a statistic.

Paisa Vasool

A lot of us medicos are totally perplexed at times by how the same people who splurge at stinky CCDs for unpalatable coffee or the multiplexes on no brainer movies find it so tough to pay a docs' consultation fee.

 I still remember this elderly gentleman once walk upto me in the emergency and asked if there was a cheaper prescription slip available with a wink visible through his CK rims .....hahaha..... I dint really know what to say.....

So what is it about the dislike or apparent discomfort of people needing to pay a doctor's fee. I have figured out its rooted in the Indian ethos of PAISA VASOOL. Simply put, 'bang for your buck'.

Its a bit underwhelming for some patient attendants to walk into the emergency with a kid they think is very ill and walk out a few moments later with a small slip carrying names of medicines that are freely available OTC( antibiotics included). I usually throw in a few minutes of cold sponging and pulse oximetry to soothen the blow(of paying a royal 350 bucks). 

What people rarely understand is that the small sheet of paper with the Richter scale trace like handwriting is a product of years of hard-work and experience. To prescribe medicine is not the trick; its about assessing the severity and foreseeing the complication. Rarely do people understand that even though a chemist might hand out the same medicine as a doctor for a condition there are errors in dosage or worse still completely unnecessary in a given situation.

A consultant once slyly remarked on rounds: he has had gajar mooli from outside( gajar= cefixime, Mooli= Azithromycin), switch to IV now. Thus something that was treatable without antibiotics now needed hospitalization. So the story goes. A lot of people complain about us writing out too many tests or starting IV too soon. Well after 3 classes of antibiotics, babaji's booti  for a 4 day fever coupled with a rash (? drug induced, viral, booti induced) what choice do you leave us with.

I am in no way trying to paint everyone with the same brush but just trying to put forth my views on a subject that is pretty intriguing. I mean in an age where you think 750 bucks per person for a movie is par for  course I just hope people spare a thought for the poor bespectacled guy up at 3 AM; hungry for sleep but still by your side.