When You are in Coma...

Man walking towards sunset. (I couldn't resist some drama)

Yes, when you are in coma, what would you do? Presumably, nothing. You are unconscious, or at least you have lost control of all sensory body functions, even if your brain retains some vitality. Any way, if your doctors are not able to elicit any response from you, it clearly means that you are dead, may be temporarily. So, coma is temporary death - I know, it is oxymoron, but there is nothing else that precisely convey the same idea.

So, while you are in an unconscious bliss, your dear ones are waiting anxiously at the door, hopeful of getting some good news from the inside to which they are denied entry. Coma may last for many days and even many weeks. The emotional toll the interminable wait exacts from them is beyond imagination, to say nothing of the financial burden. That is, of course, if they love you! But you have to accept it a priori, otherwise the whole facade will crumble down to earth. Naturally you want to relieve their misery, but being in coma, you cannot guide them. What is the viable option here?

Giving instructions to them in advance is the alternative which I am doing here. Verbal instructions are not enough in such critical times, because there may be some distant relations who would want to play the role of 'caring guy' and may dissuade the near ones from putting an end to it all. Hence, the following lines are clear cut, written instructions to my nearest ones.

1. If I am in coma with no favourable prospect of recovery, the life support systems may be switched off after waiting for 48 hours. I don't want to prolong the agony, myself as well as my relatives!

2. All organs which can be donated may be done likewise. The body should be donated to a teaching hospital/medical college.

3. No religious ceremony shall be performed for me, immediately after death or at any time in future.

4. An amount not exceeding 5% of my savings may be entrusted to the local high school in which I studied and the interest accrued on it may be awarded to hard working students who performed exceedingly well in Mathematics, Physics and History.

These are my instructions and I would like to 'see' it followed to the letter.

Freeing of Nurses - Diplomatic Victory for New Government

Modi government was accumulating criticism over its policy of cutting subsidies for oil, railway fares and the anticipated hike in LPG and kerosene prices. After a brief honeymoon of two weeks, the new government sat down to do business the hard way. But people are not prone to approach an escalation of prices with any hint of rationalism. If the measure somehow affects their purses, they will naturally scorn the hand that pursue this line of action.

The unexpected surge in the activities of the Sunni-led Islamic forces in Iraq was thought to be a thorn in the flesh for the new government, though it is anticipating a drought as well. Hundreds of Indians working in Iraq were caught between the crossfire and many of them were detained by the rebels, which included 46 female nurses. Their plight fanned the flames of national anxiety in the past two weeks. No body had any clue how to rescue them from the clutches of a militia which was overrunning the whole of Iraq before which government troops were meekly putting down their guns and sitting still to be culled like a clutch of chicken! The nation trembled in anticipation at the likely fate of these hapless nurses.

When Delhi began contacting Iraq's neighbouring states to secure the release of hostages, nobody took it seriously. How could the Indian administrators possibly hope to effect the release of Indians from the custody of diehard militants against whom even the Americans are unwilling to deploy their ground troops? Not only that, the fighters declared a caliph who vouched sovereignty over India too. Naturally, everyone thought that the administration was playing for time while praying for the best.

But quite out of the blue, it bore fruit. The real reason behind the impulsive change of heart of the rebels is not clear, but they decided to free the nurses to the relief of the entire country. They were transported to neutral Kurd-controlled territory and flown over to India today. This is a definite diplomatic victory for India and for the rebels too, for their responsible behaviour and maintenance of wartime ethics to civilians.

Until the day when somebody comes out with a book detailing the behind-the-scenes drama, we must thank and congratulate the Modi Sarkar for pulling off this seemingly impossible achievement!

Swiss Black Money - Much Ado About Nothing

How shrill was the hue and cry about black money stowed away in Switzerland! Estimates ran to the tune of several tens of thousands of crores in the far away tax haven and it was prophesied that confiscation of the money will put an end to all of our economic woes.

Not any more..

Switzerland has publicized the amount of money illegally stashed away in the Alpine republic. And the amount does not seem to be staggering, by any scale we may care to apply - a mere 14,000 crore rupees!

Suppose for now, that the government succeeded in bringing all the depositors to account and forced them to pay taxes for the till now hidden wealth (government can only make them pay taxes, and cannot confiscate all of it). The highest tax rate in the country is 30%. The maximum that can be obtained is thus Rs. 4,200 crores.

This is paltry sum, as far as the needs of a big nation like India is concerned.

Remember, during the last Deepavali, we used up fire crackers worth Rs. 4,500 crores.

So, the scramble for black money ends in a whimper.

Much ado about nothing! 

Cleaning the Ganga

Ganga was a highly polluted river even in the 17th century

Cleaning of the river Ganga has obtained a place of prime importance in the new government's agenda due to factors more sentimental than concerns about value for invested money. However, the socio-economic relevance of this mighty river on the Indian mind cannot be denied. In the long run, cleaning of the river would certainly be beneficial to the country and its people in the northern states.

However, the cleaning party must read history before attempting anything solid on the spot. It has been our avowed practice to blame riparian industries for whatever pollution seen manifested in the water body. Industrial contamination of water indeed is a factor of concern, but the industry should not be singled out for the sorry plight of the Ganga. There is historical evidence that even before these industries began, the Ganga was a heavily polluted river. That's the reason why the river cleaners should read history first.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was a French jewel merchant who travelled extensively in India between the years 1636 and 1662, overlapping the reigns of Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb. Apart from business, he compiled several volumes of his travelogue which were published from 1675 to 1684. It makes interesting reading what he records near the city of Varanasi in those days. Tavernier says that "Claude Maille, who practised both surgery and medicine advised us not to drink any of the Ganges water, which would produce disturbance of the stomach, but to drink rather the water from wells". If this was the condition of the river in the 17th century, the problem lies deeper than mere industrial contamination and the policy makers should not lose sight of this fact.

At least, an awareness of what went wrong in the past would detain us from making the same mistake again!

(Book referred was published by Low Price Publications, 2007 under the title 'Travels in India' by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, translated by Dr. Valentine Ball, ISBN 81-7536-206-5, see pages 95-96)

Pragmatism of Indian Society

Hinduism is riddled with caste and the dynamics it enforces on its members. Untouchability is banned by law, but we know it still exists openly in some isolated places and secretly in the minds of most of us, to be frank. When the issue of marriage crops up, a partner is invariably to be found from one's own caste. And, some even select their friends from the same caste. Thus we say, Hinduism is split into compartments made water-tight by the injunctions of caste dynamics. 

As I remarked before, if one were asked in the future to list out reasons why Hinduism failed and disappeared, caste will be the numero-uno item in that list. It debilitates the body social, splits people unnecessarily on an imaginary criterion and sows dissent. It seems like the withered trunk of Hinduism needs only a shove for the entire tree to come down to a crash.

But still, the religion flourishes and even displays the skill of adaptation to new realities on the economic, social and political fronts. Isn't this a paradox?

The answer to this paradox came out in this general election in which Narendra Modi single-handedly lifted his party from oblivion and rode an unbelievable wave of popular support which silenced all critics and spellbound all opponents. And this, even after he publicly announced his backward caste origins at election rallies. But this was only an anti-climax, because he declared a fact which was known to everybody! We Indians have a sixth-sense of identifying a person's caste after a very few doses of interaction. 

But the redeeming issue at focus is the acceptance of the leader, by all sections of the Hindu society. It didn't become an obstacles for the upper castes to vote for a lower caste leader. Every section of the society forgot their caste affiliations and shared a thought that was percolating through the social mind - whether justified or not. It is often said that "in democracy, people cast their votes, but in India, people vote their caste". This adage was proved false in this election, when all castes came in support of a lower-caste leader and to put him in the most powerful chair of the country.

May be this resilience in the face of a crying need is what instils Hinduism with its vitality and stamina to go strong in a changing world? There may be castes - thousands of them, in fact - but the ability to think and act out of the confines of it has not dried up in the Hindu mind. 

And this sense of acceptance and accommodation makes me surprised pleasantly at the pragmatism of Indian society!

Congratulations and a Word to Narendra Modi

Amazing and stunning! At a loss for words to describe this tremendous victory in the near history of the country. We all thought that the era of single-party rule was over. We reconciled ourselves to the sorry spectacle of corrupt, parochial politicians flexing their muscles in Delhi for petty issues concerning their states. We noted with regret the sight of the nation's prime minister waiting for diktats coming from state headquarters. And some of us even wondered whether the luxury of 'multiparty' democracy can be afforded by third-world countries like ours. When the situation demanded on-the-moment decisions, we had to sit back and wait for consensus to emerge.

Thankfully, it all has ended. One party has secured absolute majority in the House. Obviously, it is part of an alliance, whose partners must be respected and heard before taking policy decisions. But the entire scenario is different. Small, regional parties may concur with strong, national parties, but in no way shall they hold the country to ransom. With absolute majority for the national party, the local ones will automatically come under strict discipline. This must look like a moment of redeeming Indian democracy, when our children look back to this result in a future age, with the benefit of hindsight.

Congratulations, Narendra Modi, on this greatest day of your life. You made great promises, you evoked immense hope, you commanded respect, and you provided a political role model for the youth of the country.

This is no time to rest on your laurels.

India has won and we believe that good days are ahead, as you promised today. Yes, you can. Or rather, together we can! Understandably, the minorities are a little ruffled on your party getting a majority on its own for they had counted on the chance that you would be under the moderating influence of your allies. You shall not differentiate people on the basis of religion. There must not be any appeasement of anyone, but there should be equal justice for all. And equal opportunities.

It is time to take some hard economic decisions. You shall not flinch when the hour comes.

 Our defense is paramount. But there is no alternative for good relations with our neighbours. And there's Kashmir too. We know that you'd done some homework on this issue and tried to initiate a dialogue with separatists. This must be continued. We must talk from a point of strength. Towards Pakistan, your challenge will be to find the right ratio of rhetoric, dialogue and military manouvres.

America once denied you a visa on some laughable accusations. Hope they'll see reason now, and there are indications that a fruitful relationship is possible. You shall not keep grudges towards them for what had happened. This is important as China is still a problem for us.

Corruption is a grave issue for this poor country. You shall uphold your spotless track record. You should watch over your colleagues who might be unscrupulous.

And, one more item before I stop. This is a great moment for the Sangh Parivar. Its mighty propaganda machinery had its most splendid success in history. But, the RSS should now take a back seat. Comments you must give, but not directions, particularly on the economic front. There are people who know it better than you do, really!

This is a historic moment when a son of the backward classes who once sold tea for livelihood ascend the Prime Ministerial chair. This occasion is so cherishable.

Best of luck and may you begin an administrative career which later generations would definitely call Modi-1.

Coconut Oil - Tests for Detecting Adulteration

Coconut oil is the most common cooking medium in Kerala. Since its price is now on an escalating spiral, lot of adulterants are added to it - like base oil, paraffin oil, palm oil and the like. How to detect presence of additives in the coconut oil we consume? Here is a simple test and other elaborate chemical tests recommended for detection.

Simple test

Place a small bottle of oil in refrigerator. Coconut oil solidifies leaving the adulterant as a Separate layer. 

Chemical tests on edible oils in general

1. Detection of Mobil oil

Take a little amount (20 drops) of the sample in a test tube. Add 10 drops of alcoholic potash. Heat the tube on the flame of a spirit lamp to decolourize the mixture. Add 10 drops of dichloroquinol chloride. Heat the tube again. The appearance of blue colour indicates the presence of a compound of triorthocrysyle phosphate (TOCP) which contributes to incidence of paralysis. Traces of this compound in edible oil to an admixture of edible oil with mobil oil.

2. Rancidity

Take a little amount (3 ml) of the sample in a test tube. Add in it 3 ml of hydrochloric acid. Plug the mouth of the test tube. Shake the tube to mix up the contents thoroughly. Add 3 ml of 0.1% phloroglucinol solution in ether. Shake the tube vigorously for 2 minutes and keep it aside. Examine the tube after half an hour. A red or pink colouration in acid layer indicates that the oil sample in rancid.

3. Cyanide

Take a little amount (3 ml) of the sample in a test tube. Add 10 drops of alcoholic potash and heat the tube on the flame of a spirit lamp. Make an addition of a little amount of each of ferrous sulphate and ferric chloride in the test tube and shake it to mix up the contents thoroughly. Add 3 ml of hydrochloric acid. A blue colouration indicates the presence of hydrocyanic acid which gets produced due to presence of cyanide in edible oil.

4. Prohibited Colour

Take a little amount (20 drops) of the sample in each of 4 test tubes. Prepare 3 different solutions, mixing up 1 part of distilled water, 3 parts of distilled water and 4 parts of distilled water. Add 2 ml of each solution in each of 3 test tubes and add 2 ml of hydrochloric acid in the fourth test tube. Shake each tube to mix up the contents thoroughly. A rosy colouration in the mixture of any tube indicates the presence of prohibited colour in edible oil.