A Trillion Dollar Question.

All Messed up

Of course its about Health, Kishan (Hope you are reading). This is not just a figure but an estimate of health expenses in near future for a poor country like India. Sometime back, I came across a detailed report by PWC talking about various facets of this topic, healthcare in India. Though, the consulting giant’s concern is purely commercial, looking at our typical health weakness as a corporate opportunity. But the question still remains, who would foot the bill, while the discussion is about a country where majority still struggles for a square meal.

Those who are interested in making good money, please take the clue and start your own healthcare setup ASAP. However, the concern raised is well substantiated, and should be an alarm for the death knell. This is absolutely harrowing to imagine our own people dying because of lack of money to fund their treatment. Nevertheless, this grave issue has compounded over a century now with many determinants spoiling the case. We must have forgotten the ideal lifestyle since centuries and consider the same as a retrograde thought, food habits too equally deplorable. So indisputably, lifestyle diseases have crippled the entire population, leading a reckless life running after a mirage (money). The health expenses in fact an unaccounted-for spending for a growing economy, but beyond our imagination the magnitude keeps pace with the so called huge size of the economy itself. The crux of the story is whether, we are still in positive after considering the projected future medical bills or the entire lifetime savings would fall drastically short of that figure.

Even though we are barely saving some money, the subject requires a wholehearted soul-searching. The potential complications responsible for this situation and possible way outs in order to match off strengths with weaknesses and trading off threats with opportunities. Amazingly, the solutions are very neatly embedded with each of the problem basically the lifestyle and food habits.

At the outset, we are living in denigrated environment filled with urban filth all around, the air, water and earth all are contaminated with hazardous elements. The protective layer of our mother nature has been breached to allow all sort of disorder into our psycho-physical system. Though this subject requires separate discussion, responsible bodies are in action now, in right perspective to restore some order for a living condition on this planet.

The competitive work environment and technology have taken their toll on lifestyle, we have almost forgotten all the basic commandments for healthy life. All we are religiously following is rather the rules for a wealthy life, undermining the fact that health always remains the most treasured wealth. Sound sleep is primary for good health, that must not be compromised nor substituted with. Work pressure and stress causes a lot of lifestyle diseases including diabetes and blood pressure. The anxiety level should be controlled by adhering to a philosophical approach to life.

Lifestyle being a broad subject, I am kin on attaching the work-out aspect here. Let that be aerobics, dancing, jogging, cardio, weight exercise, or even martial arts, a regular routine ensures body resistance in this hostile condition. We in India, reinvented “Yoga & Pranayam” only after westerns started preaching back the same to us. The matter of fact is we are not proud of ourselves, any thing that comes with a “Made In India” tag is rebuffed instantly as out dated or not up-to the mark. However, just fifteen minutes of Yoga everyday, conditions the body resilient enough to insulate it from all maladies including the critical ones.

Last but not the least, the food habits, alone can either kill or save the entire population. Right food of right portion on right time is key to healthy life. But in this generation a food is right only if that tastes well but lets not forget about the bitter pill. I remember during my childhood the brown rice used to be ridiculed as a backward choice. Doctors now recommend that along with other raw food items snubbing all processed and fast foods. Lifestyle too is responsible for the improper food habits, as we tend to eat nonsense just to survive and continue to work. Working hard is good but not at the cost of loosing on good health, then the benefits reaped would be dwarfed by the cost incurred.

There must be a research commissioned on the typical Indian foods for the purpose of understanding the health implications. In fact the millions year of study has been applied aptly while recommending various delicacies. The bills of material are so meticulously cooked that not only that presents mouth-watering items but also healthy food. A further study could even establish the food items cure some internal diseases, thats too quietly. For instance a pulse called “Kolatha” mixed with other pulses while preparing DAL, cures from any abdominal stone problem apart from improving the digestive system. A classic spice, cumin seed used to accentuate the taste as well as ability to digest the food. The same is used as a medicine to cure acute stomach disorder, as a clear indication of Ayurvedic influence.

Let me workout

The tragedy is, the very people I am writing for, might not be reading this, so my message may be lost in transition. Nonetheless the the menace of growing medical bill can be tames to some extent with medical insurance in place. Otherwise, the entry to a hospital would be barred, saying ‘Right to admission is reserved with the management.” The most vulnerable people are in the unorganized sector, the government should implement, health schemes to cover these people from healthcare commercialization.

This article is a heart felt tribute to all my friends who passed away untimely because of health issues.

Is Technology a necessary evil?

Save Planet

A strong inscription in my childhood memory, is a non-fiction story of an object called “Plastic”. The exact narrative described it as “the biggest invention of last century”. The heroic account was so loud that most of my childhood discussions were dedicated to this telling theory of  technological insurgency. If 18th century was committed to brand new innovations, the next centuries credited to acceleration and spread through industrial revolution. Stress on consumption to promulgate growth was the only corporate slogan though with necessary lexical alteration. The very last thing on the card was concern for nature, which is regarded as very regressive and con-industrialization. Quite obviously industrialization ensured employment, good life style and technology in the reach of common man. Come 21st century, the whole perspective underwent an exhaustive change, flipping the very perception upside down with more focus on preservation than growth.Well, it must be quite evident now about the relevance of plastic in the outset, of course because of the hazards that pose now.

The fact remains that just two centuries of advancement inflicted the kind of extreme harm to this billions years old planet that millions years of human civilization could not. In true sense, we the inhabitants are pushed to the edge, even a slightest unfavorable wind could perpetually diminish us. Global warming, glacier melting, irregular monsoon, harsh climatic conditions, shrunk ozone layers are new demons of this century. Nature was never so harsh or unpredictable before but there is a limit to what our planet can take. Not to blame the scientists, who invested their lifetime for such great contributions, but little did they know their brain child would be so massively abused for commercial interest with complete apathy towards ecosystem.

Every grade increase in electronics integration sparks off a rank increase in global warming. This is the cost we have to pay for faster computing from one scale of integration to another very large scale integration. Also a a large population turned to be an unworthy couch potatoes with the handy gadgets with absolutely no psycho-physical work. Being a technologist myself, it required a lot of mental strength to condemn my bread and butter. But I am too a natural rationalist believe in intellect and deductions to justify everything including the technology itself.

Clubbing science and technology together for the purpose of further introspection and deeper analysis. Like any other evolving study all the theories presented so far are rather incidental bye-products than the conclusive final output. Every day we discover new things that denounce an established theory. After decades of usage a new study reveals that a particular medicine suffers from some specific side-effects. Similarly, side-effects of a technology comes to light after such a long time of use that the same would have actually caused serious damage to the case. Lets take the example of another colossal creation, the cell phone. Inadvertently, the cell phone effects a lot of health hazards notably from the radiations from the towers as well as the handsets. The impact could be as devastating as brain tumors and other critical ailments including cancer. The hazardous waste that the last decade has produced is sufficient enough to knock down the whole galaxy let alone our tiny planet. The bottom-line is rather emphatically clear on the intrinsic price of technology but the question is, ‘Are we all collectively ready to pay the price?’.

With technology in our blood now, this is absolutely meaningless to discuss about discarding technology. With or without technology the apocalypse is for sure, and we are far off now to rewind. Nobody wants the next generation to inherit the legacy of a spurious ecosystem nearing its natural ending. An orthodox view reminds me of the golden era of our civilization in the medieval period. With supreme command over knowledge of different departments of science they still stayed away from misusing technology in the manner as we did. The commandment always stressed upon preservation rather than exploitation. May be the benefits accrued fared miserably against the cost sustained. Our little concern now could ensure a safe and secured planet for the future.Every industrial revolution must see a matching investment in green revolution to counterbalance the negative impact. The corporate plans to aggressively promote a technology should be reinforced by a fairly aggressive approach to manage the technology debt that would be left behind.

After all technology is civilization.

Invest In The Right Earnest

Right Investment

Currency as a medium of exchange may go well beyond its popular definition of notes and coins. The bullion and real estate are best investment avenues as per conventional perception besides casino banking products. But so far as the the literal meaning is concerned all possible mediums of exchanges are currencies. As per economics, the intrinsic value of any currency always depreciates if not invested properly.

Nevertheless, right investment always protects the future. The technology itself, a high denomination currency if not invested timely, could secure legends to fall. The pioneers of the respective product segments Nokia and Kodak are already case studies in business schools. Mere reluctance to adopt right technology on time could engineer dramatic change in market dynamics. Besides, investment in research (not limited to technology) is key to sustained growth and a secured future.

Time is most important form of abstract currency because “Time is money” 🙂 . Available in abundance with both rich and poor, in the most equitable manner. If utilised properly, could flip the demographic equations altogether. History is witness of many legendary falls and dramatic rises, in all the cases the reason responsible for the said rise and fall is simply efficient investment of currencies in hand.

Your children are most important human currencies, right nourishing with good education would always be a good investment for future. The definition can be extended to technical as well as soft skills, investment in skill development never goes in vein. Public contact in general is a high net worth asset, in this age of recommendation your contact could buy things that conventional currency would fail to do.

Nonetheless, Invest in the right earnest is key for survival and a brighter future. So act before it’s too late and it’s better late than never. 🙂