Done with College. Joined the gainlessly employed. bye bye Chennai. Hello AHmedabad. So much to talk about. No time to do it. will check back soon. Jus in case anyone's interested or listening...

Of Witchdoctors, Evil Spirits and AIDS

Even after science has taken man to the moon, there are some things that have not changed. Man is still as superstitious, still as questioning, still as trusting as he (or she) has ever been in the forces of nature. While scientists look for the cure to AIDS, there are still those who believe that ghostly possessions are the world’s greatest problem. They have even made this their livelihood.

L.Govindan, nestled away in a small hamlet near Nilavur on the Yelagiri hill is one such ‘Witch Doctor’. When asked about the biggest health problem on the hill, he looks around, crosses his fingers in one of the oldest and commonest actions to ward off evil and says “ghosts”. Ghosts allegedly target women more often. “They are brought in with their hair open and torn clothes. They get very violent and yell abuses and generally act wild.” He adds, “There are some things that can be done to get rid of the ghosts, but it takes time.”

Acording to the only Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) on the hill, AIDS and TB are the two biggest problems they have to deal with. There have been about 42 new cases of the HIV reported in the last three years. The occurrence of TB is now diminishing, but it is still a problem.

Govindan claims that TB is caused by spirits eating away at your happiness. As far as AIDS is concerned, there’s “nothing like that here”.

People trust Govindan more than they trust the doctors in the PHC, say his neighbours, most of whom also happen to be his nephews.

This distrust of doctors was echoed in other villages around Yelagiri as well. According to people in Nilavur and Mangalam, there are too few doctors, and they are too far between. Women in Thaayanur would rather have their babies at home or, if possible go all the way to Tirupattur to find medical help, rather than make their way down to the PHC, where doctors may or may not be available. Even the nurses there are very rude, often making fun of women in labour, said Kannammai, an Octogenarian grandmother of four.

He is famous in these parts, with people coming from as far as Dharmapuri to visit him. In fact, a family of three waited patiently for him to finish talking to The Word. Not wanting to break patient confidentiality, he simply said they were having family problems and wanted his help. Their ‘treatment’ would last about three days, he said. During this time, the family would be his guests.

On average, treatment lasts anywhere from 1 day to a week, sometimes, even longer, with treatment costing anywhere between Rs.150 - Rs.7000, depending on the severity and type of affliction. He acts as psycho-analyst, physician, and guidance counselor to those who approach him. He believes that talking to people helps them in difficult situations, “especially for women having abortions.” When asked if there were a lot of abortions in the area, he explained, “Most men go down to look for work in the plains. So the women folk are left behind with only a handful of men. Occasionally, things like that happen… women whose husbands have been away for months get pregnant. Then they have to have abortions.”

He says he has perfected the technique of ‘aiding’ abortions. His method is non surgical, and non-invasive, he says. He powders a mix of dried herbs and adds it to milk, which the woman needing the abortion is asked to drink twice a day. This needs to be done for 4 days and the foetus ‘dissolves’. This is one of the few ‘treatments’ he allows away from his watchful eye. He even claims to have cured a paralytic with his exotic sounding chants and local herbs.

Govindan gathers his cures from among the native flora of the region, which means dipping into the wealth of the nearby reserve forest occasionally. Do the authorities have a problem? “No”, he says. “I don’t disturb anyone, so I don’t have any problems with anybody. Besides, I know where to find what and it’s all close enough. So I don’t take too much of anything at a time.”

However, if you go looking Govindan, do not expect to find the “Witch Doctor” of popular culture. He wears no animal skin or feathers. Neither does he wear a necklace of animal teeth or claws. He is unassuming, clad, like most other men in the area in a lungi. While his home is a good 20 minute trek up hill from the Yelagiri YMCA office, past ragi and rice fields, Govindan isn’t exactly cut off from civilization. He stays tuned in to the rest of the world thanks to his dish antenna. On being asked why he needed a Dish, “Simple. Cable wires don’t reach all the way here,” he replies, pokerfaced and then breaks into a wide grin.

Things to do when u r rained in

Ok, so this old.. but it still holds true... and considering that my brain seems to have escaped from the rest of my body, this just about suits my current mindset. Kinda hoping i'll be rained in soon.. the heat is gettin to me!

* Stare at a candle - It improves your concentration, not to mention increases your spiritual consciousness

* Do the Piggy Dance - if u dunno the Piggy dance, make sumthing up. As long as it's some thing u'd be too embarrassed to do outside the safe confines of your room, it's perfectly acceptable! [p.s. it also burns calories;)]

* Try establishing alien contact

* Wish you were anywhere but where you are. For effect, wish aloud in different tones of voice. Make up exotic sounding accents as you go along

* Sing at the top of your voice. Try to drown out the thunder. Don't forget to practice air guitar as well.

* Hurl abuses at the Gods. Call them insensitive for ruining your perfectly laid plans. ( never mind the fact that your perfect plans consisted of staring at a piece of lint!)

* Design a super bike so outrageous, it would take a superhero to ride it!

* Plan your funeral, write an obituary

* Make a list of things you'd like to do before you die

* Imagine you are going to be stuck indoors forever, with no electricity. Come with a worst case scenario. Compete with friends for the worst story.

* Wish you had stocked up on the bread and cheese you passed by the last time you went grocery shopping

* Rearrange your closet while trying not to burn your favourite sweater that's become your lifeline

* PRAY

* Write a love song. then refer to idea number 5

* Practice tying your shoe laces. If you don't own shoes with laces, BORROW!!!

* Come up with and practice an Oscar/Grammy acceptance speech

* Make up new words and insist that they are part of traditional Zulu or something or, come up new meanings for existing words. Call your friends dumb if they deny their existence. You can also accuse them of not trusting you if they question your "meanings"

* Come up with a longer list than this. the weirder the better!

:D

I'm Han Solo... who are you?



You're Han Solo


The Classic Star Wars Test

Brought to you by Tickle

find your element
at mutedfaith.com.

Self Promotion Number 1

If u aren't bored with the stuff here, go check out
http://sharepoetry.com/user/show/Zephra%20Keyes

Beep! Beep! It's Me. Cogito Ergo Sum. I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.

Beep! Beep! It's Me. Cogito Ergo Sum. I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.

Thy names are many...

Vulcan, Hephaistos, Agni, Dazbog, Bel, Amaterasu, Fudo, Kagutsuchi...


Embers glow.
Red heat turns white
ever hungry,
all consuming
Many names, one face.
Vulcan, Agni, Bel...
Feared and revered,
Since time began.
Now, a power embraced,
A religion unto itself.

I'm an illusionist, apparently

find your element
at mutedfaith.com.

Circles

It's funny how a day that started so bad could end this good...

The persistent ringing of my mobile phone woke me up at 8.30 The voice on the other end of the line said, "I'm sorry, but I just heard he died. Thought you'd want to know."

I did. And sad as I felt, I knew there was nothing I could do - not for him, not for those he left behind. So, after mulling over the mysteries of life and counting my blessings, I decided to get on with my life. Classes were attended, assignments completed and handed in...Others concerned were informed, of course... Essentially, it was just another day of my life.

Till in the evening, at least. It's funny how you don't really notice how much time a day actually is... This was my own personal lesson for the day.

A smattering of people - each absorbed in his or her own work, contentrating on the computer screen in front of them. A phone rings again. This time, it isn't mine.

"Yes sir, I'll tell them"
A list of names is repeated.
"Ok. So these are the ones going to Mumbai?"
"And the others? Delhi? Oh. Ok"
"Yes sir, I'll let them know. Thank you so much sir."

Suddenly, personal work is forgotten. Ears strain to catch snippets of a one-sided conversation. The call ends. A squeal goes up. It soon multiplies... Squeals turn into shouts. Frantic text messages fly back and forth. Congratulations are in order. Two-thirds of the class is now employed. Jubilations all around.

And I wonder at how a day that began so bad could turn on its head and end like this.

But this is not the end of the day. There are 10 others, who do not form part of that enchanted list. Friends. Distraught. This time, there IS something I can do. A hug has always worked wonders. Free of cost and not regulated by the government. The magic works as always.

Then we head out to a pub; but don't really need the alcohol to intoxicate us. The reality of a job sets in. Exhilaration increases. Everyone gets high. On music. On life. On the possibilities that it brings.

A day that started so bad ended this good... A Full Circle and a Half.

My wave

My element. this is me.
A crashing wave.
I go up. I come down.
Static is what i am not.
As lazy, as unpredictable,
as everything a wave can be..
this is me.
---------------------------------




Pic @ Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar.

fractally speaking

fractally speaking
this is ridhi's blog.. check it out and tell me if the pix don't blow you away!

A Whole Lot of Flappin Goin' on?

The Health Ministry has declared that Bird Flu is not a major concern, that it has been contained, and that it is ok to eat chicken. But how many people are buying into that? The armed forces have cut chicken out of their daily rations, parliament is going anti-chicken, and the world is going crazy. Of course, all my vegan friends out are shaking their heads going “I told ya so!” Whoever heard of dying from eating too many veggies? Ever heard of Potato Flu? Or Mad Tomato Disease? Of course not! Potatoes don’t fly and Tomatoes are rational clear headed individuals. But let’s leave my vegan friends out of this for a moment and get back to the topic at hand. Is Bird Flu really such a threat to the average individual here in Chennai? Or is it just a bunch of hype?

The Bird Flu must think itself pretty popular. After all, look at the amount of media coverage it’s been receiving the last few months. Everyone knows that the symptoms are similar to those of the common flu, like fever, cough, sore throat, and sore muscles and that in some cases, pneumonia and respiratory failure can develop and cause death. But, how many of us know that the stupid thing isn’t always fatal? (That, of course, depends on which kind of virus you get) You can have bird flu and still survive, just like you can die even with the common flu! Which, by the way, is how Ma Nature gets rid of over 36,000 Americans each year. (No one bothers to do study things like that for any other country which is why I’m using the statistics for America)

And hey, one more thing! This thing that has the world up in arms isn’t new at all. It’s been around since some Italian bloke found it in the early 1900s… so there! If it hasn’t reached you in all these years, it probably won’t this year. In fact, there were these seven people who thought they’d gotten the Bird Flu, but it turns out all they have is a regular Human flu. On the upside, they did get a lot of attention in the media!

Can you get it from anyone you know? NO. Humans are not programmed to carry any strain of the virus. The only way to actually get the infection is by eating contaminated flesh or eggs. The eggs by themselves are unlikely to carry the disease. It’s the salmonella rich droppings of the adult bird that could be a cause for worry. Salmonella, by the way, are a vicious kind of rod-shaped bacteria whose hobbies include causing typhoid, and paratyphoid fever in humans and other infectious diseases in domestic animals. As the egg develops into a tiny little bird, the virus that is encoded in its DNA gets passed on to its RNA and gets multiplied in the protein cells. Now high temperatures do crazy things to protein cells. They have this habit of cracking under high temperatures. When this happens, the virus is more vulnerable to the heat that kills it. So as long as you cook your bird and are not overzealous about eating raw eggs covered in bird droppings, you should be fine.

Even if by some strange quirk of fate, you do contract the disease, don’t worry, Tamiflu is always here!!!

random thoughts 1

have you ever wondered....
Why do u feel blue, and not pink or purple?

Anti-doucheism

Anti-doucheism
Loved this one!!

glass cage

I sit, enclosed in glass

Observing; Voices

a distant murmur

Yet loud enough

to drown any thoughts

That may stray

Into my mind uninvited

why?

I'm sitting here wondering why anyone would blog. why would anyone want to share their thoughts with folks they don't know, who don't know them, and who probably couldn't care less anyway? I'm not sure i have the answer to that.. sure, i can come up with possible answers.. maybe they have something important to tell the world, and no one will listen voluntarily... maybe they're bored, and want to share the boredom... plenty of maybes... but the one? no way, jose! actually i'm not even sure why i'm here... i knw what i want this place to be... somewhere i can hide away when i need to... then why am i looking for that place online? where my private thoughts could be shared... anonymity? really? how far wil that take me? how long will that last? I don't know the answers... and I'm not even sure i know all the questions...

universal fact number 1

i luv me