Engineer & Unemployed!

“More than ever, the world needs good engineers. However, the pool of talent is shrinking not growing”… Dean Kamen.

Dean L. Kamen is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is best known for his invention of the Segway (a two-wheeled, self-balancing, battery-powered electric vehicle), as well as founding FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is an international youth organization) with Woodie Flowers, another engineering master. When I read the news saying nearly 65 % engineers passed out from various engineering colleges remain jobless, as an engineer the news not just shocked me but it saddened me & there I recalled this quote by great engineer philosopher. Yes still engineering remains safest bait for every young boy or girl as it’s the way to good life from eyes of Indian society. Now what is this good life, one will ask; simple complete your education, if you are lucky then go to abroad (read USA) for post grad & then get a good job, get married & live happily ever after!  And in above parameters, first two criteria’s in the law of life, engineering degree was a sure key for the third criteria i.e. live ever after happily! I was no exception as I too come from a middle class family & in late eighties engineering or medical was the only two choices given to us if we were supposed to do something good in life & I have chosen engineering. So when I read the news & that too confirmed by none other than our Hon. HRD Minister then I felt sad, not for just the students but for engineering as faculty!

And sure this hasn’t happened in one night as for many years like a silent killer disease which lives in body & slowly makes you weak, this unemployment factor was looming over the engineers & as usual we ignored it. I think the problem is not with students who still aspire to be an engineer the problem is with system which makes them engineer. As any student may it be of civil engg or computer engg, he or she will learn what has been taught to him & only in the way it’s been taught but high time to introspect what we teach them & how! I remember my engineering days when colleges were less but so were the numbers of students also & jobs also, today everything has multi-foldingly increased i.e. number of students aspiring for engineering, number of colleges as well the engineering jobs but one major link is missing & that is number of engineering teachers & when I say teachers I mean quality teachers.  By me this is the most “kamjor kadi” (weak link) in entire system. And I am making this statement with due respect to many of my batch-mates as well friends who are good engineering teachers by themselves & doing their job sincerely yet their number is very less is a bitter fact.

To elaborate my stand, let’s see what’s scenario in engineering academics. I am fortunate of having exposure to many institutes as well students so analyzing what I have seen. To start with, most of the syllabus of engineering basic degrees like civil or mechanical as well for diploma is same since my passing out days & even before that. Also when compared with top class institutes like IITs’ or even COEP i.e. Govt Engg College Pune, right from subjects to pattern of questions everything is same in all colleges, the only difference is in caliber of students as well the way subjects are taught i.e. teaching!  Again one aspect about the IITs & COEP like institutes is they get cream of students i.e. all the toppers from board exams or JEE i.e. the entrance for engg so their passed out engineers are better but I disagree here too. Let’s understand, engineering is not just making the students memorize the formulas, engineering is teaching the students logic behind those formulas & making them able to use that logic to solve the problems in field. Here is where most of the engg schools are failing miserably as they just make the students learn the formulas & recite the same in exams & gets the degree. Well, by this way we are not producing engineers but just engineer named human books who has information but doesn’t know where & how to use it.  Here I will share a famous joke, “A man travelling in balloon lost his way & the balloon was flying over an open field, somehow the man got it at low altitude & saw a youngster on the land. The man by shouting caught attention of the young man & asked where I am, can you help me? The youngster did some calculation on his pocket calculator & told him you are at X altitude & Y longitude & you are in a balloon! On this the man in balloon said thank, you seem to be an engineer. The youngster asked surprisingly, how come you guessed right? Over this the man in balloon said you gave me all the technical information except solving my problem to reach to my destination!

And there is one more joke, a decent guy’s posh car got break down on free way & fortunately he comes to halt near a garage. The garage keeper comes out & asks whether the man in car needs any help? On this the car driver asks, can you repair this car, the engine isn’t responding! The garage guy smiles & says he is qualified automobile engineer & will sure give a try. The car owner says go ahead, have a look; the garage man opens the bonnet, checks some wiring, produces a small hammer & give a punch on the engine & asks the car owner to start ignition. On doing so the engine come to life at once, so the relived car owner asks for the charges. The garage guy says its 50 USD; the car owner exclaims, man fifty bucks, that’s too much for one stroke of hammer! The garage man who is automobile engineer too, smiling replies, “Boss, its 1 USD for the efforts to stroke of hammer & 49 USD to know where to hit that that hammer!”

This is what industries looks for when they hire any engineer, they need a guy who knows where to hit, that they call good engineer! Actually when we classify good engineer & bad engineer, both have knowledge of engineering the only difference is a good engineer knows where & how to use that knowledge!

By me, increased number of so called engineering institutes isn’t the problem but scarcity of good engineering teachers with proper infrastructure along with a syllabus which will understand need of today’s industries is the problem.  And for that like we have courses B. Ed or M. Ed i.e. bachelor or master of education which teaches the teachers how to teach other branches subjects like arts, science; same way high time to start B. Ed or M. Ed engineering courses. Teacher or coach, they plays most important role making a champion by getting out best from the students & latest example is our badminton coach Gopichand, under guidance of which the game has taken our country’s name at new levels with players like Sindhu, Shrikant & Saipranit! We need teachers who will teach engineering logic to the students & not just formulas. Teachers which can interact with respective industries & understand their definition of good engineers & come back to the institutes to make their students able to stand for the challenges industries are facing. Here role of HRD ministry is very important as this will need an effort to make the teaching especially engineering teaching a respected career first. Present scene is except the govt institutes in most other engineering institutes salary structure is just on paper; as most engineering college’s management itself is non technical, so even the senior most teachers are ill treated, a bitter truth which no one related to such institutes will acknowledge openly! And the management which won’t pay enough to its teachers or doesn’t pay respect to them, what we can expect from such management on the front of providing proper infrastructure essential for making engineering students! To add in it a system is missing (or if it’s present yet appears to be missing) which will keep control on all the engineering institutes & assure quality control over the same for having proper infrastructure in all the engineering institutes.

Another important aspect is you can’t make a good engineer in just four years of the degree course; it has to be cultivated right from the first standard. Here again all what the students in school has been taught is don’t go beyond the syllabus, just write what your teachers has told you & what your text books says. Don’t apply your knowledge; just write whatever your textbook says or else you won’t get ten out of ten is what hammered on the young minds in school! And when such students’ joins engineering, already their logical application skills have been destroyed fully & then they either fail in engineering subjects or with great memorizing efforts get the engineering degree without understanding a word of it! Also we need to make the student realize that engineering degree is not just to get assured job of good salary but to learn something which will make them able to create  whole new world for the society, in a way its service to not just nation but entire mankind! And every student should look at the engineering course from this vision. So if we want good engineers then our HRD ministry people should understand the process of making good engineers starts way before the student actually enters in engineering college & so does we should change the teaching as well study pattern right from the school days!

Lastly in any profession along with money self respect is highly essential or else there is no heart in whatever you are doing. This is main reason why barring a few good engineers majority lot keeps away from joining teaching fraternity as their career after engineering. As they feel their knowledge’s true respect is only in working with engineering industries instead obeying to whims of some political big wig in an engineering college with the tag of senior faculty!  The present headlines in media about engineers being jobless are not true; it’s the engineers with just degree & not skill, are the ones which are jobless. One important aspect is while making new good engineers we shouldn’t neglect the existing engineering degree holders & we have to work out courses for them which will create them good engineers out of what they have or else its big waste of man power which we can’t afford!  And we have to do it fast as once the frustration of nobody values our degree creeps in then it’s impossible to retrieve the confidence of these millions of youngsters! If we want to progress as a nation as per our Hon PM constantly claims as his agenda then we need engineers & we need them in large numbers! Every developed country has reached where it is today only on the shoulders of technology & technology doesn’t necessarily means high tech machinery or super computers; technology is minds which delivers in the form of solutions & we have these minds in ample, only need is make them able to understand their own strength! And its duty of every so called good engineer to join hands for this cause or else leave apart being proud to be a good engineer we don’t have any right to call ourselves even an engineer!

Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1415&v=blgni8HSfDU

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2016/09/difference-between-project-society.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below) 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Abstract Mind is Healthy Mind!

“Not all doors open in the same direction and with the same effort!” … Jasleen Kaur Gumber.

Jasleen, is ‎Manager- Brand Marketing at Benetton - ‎Benetton Group, India. If you are wondering why I used such abstract quote of hers, then sure for being a brand marketing in-charge of a MNC she has to be abstract in thinking as that’s something which can get you best as well worst of the surprises, provided you welcome both with open mind!  It’s now nearly five years I have been writing blog but suddenly I remembers that each of my blog has some definite shape or form in the form of subject & entire thought process revolves around that subject. Nothing wrong as it channelizes the thought flow & many a times helps me in organizing my own thought process regarding my daily chores. But then to write a blog about a particular topic needs a fixed form of words while the thought process is on all the time. Thanks to the whats-ap era where I can at least store the flickers of thought bursts. Though till now never tried to gather them together but it’s like making a abstract bouquet of flowers from different breeds than just a rose bouquet or jarbera flowers.

That way we all think all the time but very rarely we are able to bind the thoughts in words that too in writing form. It’s been wonderful stress buster if we give a try then only; sure it’s worked well with me. Another advantage of thinking abstract is in our daily routine we have been so chained to our day to day activities that we have forgotten what it feel to think something which is not routine! The best example of abstract is nature where everything is fresh & different & only if we open up our mind to abstractness then we can enjoy beauty around which nature gives us. And more important is to storing this abstractness in word form as when many days later you will look back at your storage you will realize this is your most precious asset as it’s your very own created! Recently I get to attend talk show by my friend Vikrant’s organization Senate in which Mr. Arun Nathani, CEO of Software MNC, Cybage, mentioned importance of data. And its habit of writing all such abstractness of your mind only, which later becomes vital data for many things. In my case many of my work concepts or ideas are generation of going through my data bank of all the abstract thoughts stored in form of write-ups.

Another important aspect of thinking abstract & writing it is it keeps you sensitive towards your surrounding or else you just become a spare part of giant robotic system, which we call life. You keep doing your routine work for years without even thinking what you feel about your own self & that’s end of innovation or imagination in you! Here is some abstractness about recent events around, its right from celebrating jayantis’ (birth day) of Hon Babasaheb Amabedkar to mythological character of Hanumanji to writing to my younger son on his birthday & then there is Vaidya aaji who stands on one side of all celebrations, fighting for her very basic needs of medicines; all these things I try to put in words, some I shared on whatsap & some I just kept with myself!...

Dr. Babasheb Ambedkar Jayanti 14t April:

Some names become phenomenon; Mandela, Lincoln, Shivaji Maharaj & Amabedkar are such! Can one man change the course of history of a nation? Yes, when I hear name of babasaheb I believe it! only unfortunate part is like most cases we in our country blindly warships the person than following his philosophy, may it be Gandhi or Babasaheb; both would have been extremely sad had they been alive looking at the way their thoughts have been used for just getting votes & their philosophy has been restricted in the frame of their photographs behind every table in government offices! we are now nearly 70 year old free democracy & with each passing year the gap between rich & poor is increasing, more than that the gap between every religion, every caste may it be marahta vs. dalit or bramhin vs. dalit or Hindu vs. others, a silent hatred is flowing among the people is a fact which no one will admit but everyone can feel! How casually we say "shewati to na jatiwarach janar, or we use terms like bhaturda or 96 or jay bhim", while calling some particular caste person. High time we should identify a human by his qualities than his birth as nobody can pick which caste to be he or she should born by choice, if it is so then why we categorize humans by caste? I think babasheb never wanted walls of caste to be build among the society but to break down them he came with the concept as Bauddha religion which like Jainism is a way to life but look what has happened today to our society the walls of castes & religions are being built by some Abuja cement, making them unbreakable to any force! On top of it may it be Shivaji Maharaj or Babasaheb, their souls would have been in tears had they saw walls of speakers & drunk dancing by so called karyakartas, blocking entire traffic on their jayantis & punyatithis.. I think to understand Babsaheb & walk on his path of peace, honesty & humanity is the only way to pay the tribute than just blindly saying Jay Bhim & coloring ourselves blue!! That’s the way to achieve what he spent his life for!! 

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Hanuman Jayanti…

Hanuman, unique character from Hindu mythology & a true idol!

Born to father like Wind & mother of mountain lady Anjani no wonder he is symbol of speed & strength! But more than that hanuman has mind of a super computer & he is humorous too! There are many examples of his razor sharp mind & temperament to keep cool in tough situations to get out of them with ease! May it be shrinking his size to get in mouth of the demon & come out in instant or sitting on high chair of his own tail to keep pride in front of Ravan, all this tells about hanuman’s witty mind & fast thinking! Most important is with all such powers which makes him super hero he wasn’t greedy for anything but devoted himself to Ram which is symbolic representation of goodness as in Hanuman's place anybody would have gone for ruling the world by himself & thought of becoming king but Hanuman preferred to serve goodness in form of Ram by being his devotee & that makes Hanuman special! A lot to learn from hanuman as in spite of his appearance yet he make you forget his looks & make you  awe  for his achievements & that's what one should try to do! We all have our limitations but what we can do with our strengths that defines us! On this Hanuman Jayanthi let’s bow in front of Hanuman & try to become one as whether he was real or not is not the issue, whether we understood the concept named Hanuman, is more important! 

Jay Hanuman

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4th April 2017

Happy Birthday Rohan!

Dear Chota,

12th May and 4th April are few dates which have made my life more livable. Chota checking your whats-app DP’s is something I like to do and some of your choices are weird yet interesting. I must say! Just like the one which I have used above, a kid looking at Batman and saying “wish really you were real”! You know how much I myself am fan of Batman and who says it’s not real? It’s very much real as Batman is an attitude, that way every superhero has his own identity yet Batman is very special as he is very much human, a split personality, an orphan, rich orphan yet grown on his own and biggest war he fights is within himself, just the way I can feel you fight within!

Chota you are lucky and unlucky both at a time; lucky because you have everything right from your own SUV at the age where most teens are worrying about future and unlucky as you are still unable to set your goals and you haven’t had pleasure of being deprived from something! Many will say how not being deprived from having everything can be sign of bad luck? Well unless and until you have been denied of something, the fire to earn that thing doesn’t get ignited, is what I think and I may be wrong!

Today I look at you and I am happy you are a good natured young man but is that enough to live is something you should ask yourself, Chota at age of 20, I was in charge of a site and was working 12 hours a day for salary of Rs.1800/- per month and I won’t ever compare myself to you as our lives were different, but how you look way ahead is what decides out life and high time for you to do that!

Last few months were not as bad as they used  to be on all fronts assuring better times ahead  and you are mature enough to understand but then we all have our ways to deal with our travels is all I will say! I am not a perfect father, I know it as sometimes in race of giving justice to multiple roles often it’s your closest ones who get worst of you, is bitter fact of life but I always tried to think best for you and dada! As remember one thing, I can leave behind few crore rupees for you but one day they will end but what you learn from me about life will grow with everyday, the more you use it, so it’s your choice what you take from you father!

"What we know is drop of water, what we ignore is ocean"; that’s your whatsap status chota, I wish you know what it mean! Yes, even one drop of water is important for a thirsty person and its enough as its sweet and even entire ocean is useless at some times as its salty; water is power in any form.  When steam it runs engines, when ice it makes your bruises heal and when in liquid it not only takes care of your thirst but generates the electricity through hydro power! So be like water as whatever condition you are in, you should be useful to others that’s best way of earning respect; that’s my wish for you on your b'day

And one last thing, keep that goodness alive as that’s one thing which can and will defeat every obstacle in way!

Love 

Baba 

-- -------------

Vaidya Aaji..

It was some 5 years back, summer of 2012 & I have just reached my office from site & was in foul mood!! And there she was, in reception sitting, my colleague madhuri who looks after reception told me she wants to meet me. I looked at her, an aging face surely well above 70's, my guess was right, she was 80 years old, her name Mrs. Vaidya is what she told me & in her vibrating voice asked me can I buy some chakali & agarbattis from her? I was speechless, first reaction was what’s this joke, this is office not some dharamshala that any street vendor walking in! But next sentence hit me very hard, "ragawu naka saheb, mi bramhan bai aahe, bhikari nahi, way zalay, ghari koni nahi, potasathi karatey!" Means I am bramhin & from good family & doing this for my survival! I looked at the old wrinkled face, vaguely remembered my grandmothers face deep within & called her in my cabin. After knowing more, she has no child & a lady named Aapte looks after her & she lives in a single room in shaniwar peth with no one around to look after & after selling day long chakli, chiwada she gets some Rs 100/200 from which she can buy medicines for her diabetes as well elder age health issues, that’s why she is doing it! That day I told her from today she need not have to worry for sale of chaklis for medicines, we will provide whatever medicines she need & I am happy till today for 5 years Sanjeevani team, ganesh & madhuri hasn’t failed one single month to do the job! Today she has come to meet me again in noon  & was sitting in reception, I sat beside her & asked aaji sagala thik na?, those eyes have become real old now, the voice is more vibrating, deep wrinkles covering face & she said "tuzi krupa aahe baba"( meaning your blessings are there). Even writing this I couldn’t see the screen of my cell as the eyes got wet remembering those words; I said it’s not me but the god who makes this possible as that’s best reply I could give! I hurried from office assuring her all help; I didn't have guts to look in those questioning old eyes as why God makes someone like Vaidya aaji live so long & yet allow her to suffer so much, I have no answers! Though I am happy & proud my team for taking care consistently & relieving her from one burden at least of medicine expense! Frds, I shared here not to tell how great we are but we met so many vaidya bai selling chaklis all around, bramhin or not but they are human being first, I am happy that when I see any such them my conscious is alive & I didn’t turned my face away from the vaidya bai's face but tried my little bit!! If at all you come across any vaidya bai you can buy chaklis at least if not do anything else...

Smt. Sudha Vaidya,Age 85,Address: Room No 13,Gajanan Residency Kasaba Peth.

Care Taker, Rama Apte – 07276732941

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1415&v=blgni8HSfDU

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2016/09/difference-between-project-society.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Year of Depression & Smart City!

“I, I don't think anybody's continually happy, uh, except idiots, you know. You know, you have to have little moments of depression”…  Rube Goldberg.

Reuben Garrett Lucius "Rube" Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways, giving rise to the term Rube Goldberg machines for any similar gadget or process. Goldberg received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948 and the Banshees' Silver Lady Award in 1959. With these entire qualifications yes he can afford to have a little bit depression & yes he has understood depression too! Since long I was haunted by the word depression & one small news few months back caught my attention, it said that WHO i.e. World Health Organization which looks after well being of the world’s population has declared Depression as this year’s agenda. Every year WHO declares some chronic disease after the year & for the first time it has acknowledged depression as illness or disease. I am no medic & far long from being a psychologist yet psychology has been always field of fascination for me. Its one branch of medical science which like environment actually deals with every aspect of life, that’s what makes psychology so so important even for industry like real estate.

Speaking about depression I think after acidity its most commonly used term across the genders & age boundaries of today’s society. Even the celebrities whose lives we envy too have been victim of it as recently super heroin Deepika Pudukone's video in which she has shown speaking about attack of depression has become viral on social media. How often we hear someone may it be in home or work or in friends saying or asking, “I am depressed today or why are you looking so depressed”. Right from teens to elder persons everybody use this term once in a while but how many actually knows it leave apart fighting with it or treating it? Off late depression has become cause of many diseases right from high/low BP, diabetes, migraine & many more which comes as package deal along with it. No more it’s just temporary mood swings of human mind but has become a prolonged state of mind causing severe damage to body along & that’s the reason even WHO has take cognizance & declared depression as a challenge in front of humans across the globe! Now, one will ask what’s relation of this topic with me as a builder or engineer as real estate, smart city or environment are the subjects about which most of my sharing are but somewhere all above things are closely associated & becomes root cause for depression silently, is what I feel, the more I think about it. For that we need to understand how we define depression & damage it makes on a human being; going by common sense or sheer logic depression is state of mind which is outcome of effect or impact of surrounding around an individual is well known fact. And when we say surrounding it includes our work places, our residences, and public areas as well our relationships with people in all these places, all becomes part of our life which we feel is depressing. 

When one says I am depressed, actually it means many things as it might be insecurity in life or it might be just got bored of routine or in most cases its frustration coming out of negativity or failure on many fronts. Depression causes may varies person to person but outcome is same i.e. negative mind set which gets reflected in every act the person in depression does. Leave apart the insecurity feeling for so called celebrities or rich people as that’s not our subject of interest, lest focus on depression created by surrounding of the common man for e.g. in our Pune city. Right from seeking a good job to owning a home many things can make you depressed by the hassle in obtaining what you desire. And even the people who are so called builders in real estate are not free from depression as those who wants to earn some money by building home & more importantly by legitimate way can easily get depressed by the obstacles in the entire process of sanctions to completion of a building. If such is scene for builders then one can imagine what it must be for the millions of home buyers whose hard earned money is at risk in all such projects. Recently my friend in PCMC has asked me to join hands an making common man aware about illegal construction & first thing came to my mind was depression you get associated with when you chose illegal track. As all the time you are under fear or pressure when you know you are doing something illegal or has bought your home in illegal building outcome of which is depression & this is how you allow depression to make you victim.

Another major reason of depression is getting frustrated by the system which we call govt & right from not getting driving license in time to getting wrong electricity bill to numbers of visits one needs to make to any govt office for smallest of the work like change of name on property tax bill, so many things can frustrate even strongest minds & making him victim of depression. And this we are speaking about so called middle or higher middle class, when its poor the reasons  for depression are many more. Not getting PMT bus in time which causes delay to go to work to unavailability of essential goods in ration shop to no water supply, school fees & medical bills, there are thousands of reasons which make a person feel real depressed. And on all this back ground when we talk about smart city then the target should not be just free Wi-Fi or beautification but providing a system to the citizens which will make them less frustrated for their day to day needs & that’s real insurance against depression. No doubt free Wi-Fi & beautification are important but need of the time is very basic things like good education as well public health first. On this background will share example of my own home where our house maid was very depressed & reason was she has taken money from a loan shark just for treatment of her son as well for his school fees & now that man was harassing her day-night to repay the money taking all her peace of mind & outcome is depression. And trust me if you speak with most of the people in your surrounding then you will realize everybody has such problem which is making him or her feel depressed with life. What kinds of progress we are talking about when most people around are worried (read depressed) about very basic things like education & health here! No harm in going for Smart City but this is what we should aim; a Depression Free City should be the target while measuring the success of so called Smart City.

Another major aspect missing here is awareness about the depression; as our govt along with local bodies spends millions of rupees on campaigns for building toilets or about diseases like Swine Flu or Dengue but nobody even considers depression as a disease & the damage it makes to the nation as whole!  A depression patient event doesn’t know he is ill & as management principles says; only a fit & happy mind can produce desired results. So imagine a society where right from a driver or sweeper to CMD of a company, all are knowingly or unknowingly victims of depression for their own reasons, the kind of loss in terms of reduced output by each such person due to depressed mind set is immeasurable! The best weapon to fight against depression is happiness & one should work for it individually because each one has different definition for happiness. And for that a dialogue as well self understanding is must. Here again smart city comes in picture as to have a dialogue as well keeping the mind engaged in happiness seeking activities, such opportunities should be made available to the people. We need to design spaces where people from every segment can come together & can have dialogue with each other in the form of sharing or performing. The best way to seek happiness apart from dialogue is getting engaged in some hobby which again means some activity & more better if such activity is being performed on the backdrop of nature. Now for a moment close your eyes & try to remember how many such places are there in our smart city & if there are such places then are they in position to serve the purpose? As all what we see is pollution & encroachment of wrong purposes on such places for e.g. if its river side walk then the river is in such state that one look at it & you will get more depressed. A walk along the river even with closed eyes isn’t possible as all sort of pollution mixing in the so called river makes it impact on your nose via the stench wind carries to your nostrils! And then there is every sort of encroachment from parked cars to panipuri/ paw bhaji stalls contributing to the hips of garbage along the walk. Unfortunately we don’t have any place where a depressed mind person will go for a simple activity like long walk in open & try to be happy & with due respect if there are then the number if very less than the need is a bitter fact!  So all one can do is go to the malls, spend money & get more depressed after coming back home when he looks at debit card bills & if one doesn’t has money then the depression crawls in more by the realization he can’t buy what he desires!

And then with due respect to smart city makers, use of giving free Wi-Fi like facilities is useful only if it will be making the common man’s life easier by adding services supported by the Wi-Fi. Or else the free Wi-Fi will be used to make the citizens more lonely by getting them hooked to so called net based social media & making them live in virtual world where depression is your only partner actually! We need open spaces, gardens, performing theaters & many public places where people can come together & communicate with each other. Here they will perform arts, can pursue their hobbies as well share laughter as that’s the only way to become healthy society & we need this fast as time is running out. Lets accept that every one of us has been victim of depression sometime or other & that makes each of us responsible for joining this fight against the deadliest disease ever & it’s high time we realize this & act or before we become Smart City we will end up as Depressed City!

-- 

Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1415&v=blgni8HSfDU

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2016/09/difference-between-project-society.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below) 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Can God’s Go On Strike?

“Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm”… Hippocrates.

Hippocrates of Kos, also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the Age of Pericles, and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. And a great philosopher too along with practicing medicines, a very rare combination. It’s the characters like Hippocrates who took medical profession to a new high by their work & that’s why their words got so much value. Why I remembered his words regarding doctors attitude because once again the medical profession has come in lime light in media. And as per the current unfortunate trend in our country, any profession or personality comes in lime light not for some noble cause or act of peace but only when something violent happens with or by the personality involved, may it be beating someone or get beaten in public! One doctor at Dhulia, a politically as well financially backward place in our State got beaten up by relatives of diseased patient & all medical professionals went on strike as protest against this incidence. I myself have at least a dozen doctors in my family & they all were reactive like many others to the issue. My cousin sister Dr. Vrinda who is Ophthalmologist i.e. doctor of eye diseases wrote below post on FB which makes me think about not just doctor’s but entire this rage generated incidences in our society which has become a common practice.

Dr. Vrinda’s FB Post:

Please read :

I receive at least 5-6 calls a day regarding medical issues unrelated to ophthalmology (my field) from friends, relatives and acquaintances. It could be for medical advice on the phone for themselves, their children or parents; to confirm the medical advice they have already received; for a reference of a good doctor; for an appointment with a busy doctor out of turn, etc etc. We do it with pleasure.

Most of my family and other good doctors also field many more such calls daily in the midst of their own practice, and their own busy lives.

In the last couple of weeks the entire doctor fraternity went through a difficult phase, they were shown in a poor light by the media. They were only agitating for basic human right to security. They were asking for implementation of laws already passed in 2010. They were asking for good governance. (Do You feel safe to be treated by a doctor who may not be alert because he is scared of being assaulted, has not slept for 36 hours or himself maybe unwell?) I did not hear of any non-Medico come out in support of the medical fraternity. Have you never met a good doctor? Have you not had an experience with a doctor going beyond his scope of duty and responsibility for you? Have you never called a doctor friend and expected them to give you complete attention and perfect advice? You were not there for those doctors but we doctors will still always be there for you!

 I think Dr. Vrinda shared, many of the fellow doctor’s feelings & its not evident just because of the likes her post got but similar expressions were there from many doctors on media, may it be news paper or TV! And then I realized this trend isn’t new as every now & then somewhere some medical professional got beaten up mostly by the patients’ relatives. Mainly the cause of this violence against the doctor are same, either the patient has been died during treatment & his relatives thinks it’s because of negligence of the doctor who was treating the patient or the patient not getting proper treatment! Well the trend started, with due respect since long back & I am not blaming anybody but the first such case of medical rage was witnessed & got wide publicity in Thane when a famous political party leader died of a heart attack during treatment for his fractured leg in August 2001, his irate supporters burned the Sunitidevi Singhania Hospital in Thane, where he died. And since then it seems to become a trend to beat up doctors as well ransack the hospital if anything goes wrong with the patient’s health.

The latest case of doctor’s bashing in Dhulia General Hospital came more in focus as the concerned doctor nearly lost his eye such was the assault & the reaction from the IMA i.e. Indian Medical Association which is apex body of all practicing doctors! As all the doctors even those which are trainees, went on strike & it caused havoc as medical service has never seen something like this. Imagine your loved one is serious & you rush him to nearby hospital & you get to know there is no doctor to treat the patient as the doctors are on strike! Sure you won’t sympathize with the doctors & so the social media was ablaze with all sorts of reactions & the matter went in court. The Hon High Court also lashed doctors that if so much is fear for your own lives then stop wearing that white coat, join immediately the service or leave the job! Well, with due respect to the courts, issue wasn’t about just strike, in no case we can afford doctors on strike but if we are unable to provide them enough protection then how we can expect errorless treatment which is possible with only a balanced  & free mind state!

I think issue is not weather strike of doctors is right or wrong neither I am claiming all hospitals or doctors gives fair treatment to the patients, the crux lays somewhere else. Let’s keep doctors issue aside a bit; read any news paper & what we read about such rage incidences? A girl has been attacked by fellow classmate just for not speaking with him, a family has been beaten on busy Karve road in Pune at evening time just for not giving side to some Bhai’s car, all around in the city numbers of cars & two wheelers parked on road are burnt down to show muscle power of some gang & many such; what all these incidences indicates? As a society our tolerance, patience whatever you call it, has gone down to lowest & for the smallest of inconvenience people feels beating up opposite person is the best way to settle the score. There are two main reasons behind this; first reason is people feel entire system has got corrupted to such level that no one believes he or she will get fair service unless you have money or some connection with authorities. For e.g. you go to any govt hospital as a common man & try getting treatment & then you will realize why people gets frustrated & scene is same with most govt agencies. And in private establishments also you need money in your pocket then only you get treatment & even in private hospital you have to have someone inside management of the hospital to get a room in time even with paying all the money is fact. And right from getting reservation in good hotel to getting a job, everywhere common man has to face humiliation & when it comes to subject as sensitive as life & death i.e. medical front then the reaction of all this frustration erupts as violence!

And the second reason for increased violent tendency in the society is there is no fear leave apart respect for the law in the minds of people. Especially those who have some money or have someone up in the system, they think they can do anything & can get away & which is true in most cases. Unfortunately we have been slowly advancing towards jungle law i.e. “jiski lathi uski bhais” means the one with muscle power will make the rules of living as per his wish. People avoid violence or taking law in hand only by two ways, one is they are matured society; they believe in justice the system gives & second is they are afraid of the entity named police which represents law & order in society. Though I have many very good friends in police force & most of them are upright officers but somewhere collectively police department for many reason has lost both i.e. respect from common man’s mind & fear from criminal  minds! At present we as a society, as a govt or as a system have been failed on every above front & that’s main reason of violence everywhere, may it be doctors’ beating or road rage cases!

Speaking about doctor’s I remember when I was in school some thirty five years back, there was a general concept to have a doctor, a teacher & a lawyer in the family, as these are supposedly considered as noble professions. The sheer logic was presence of personalities like doctor & teacher would make the younger genre of family a better human being!  Now the scene is there has to be a politician, a govt officer & a charted accountant in the family, as they can pull you out of any trouble even if you are on wrong side of the law! Somewhere the high competition to establish along with huge expenditure require for getting settle as a reputed doctor is taking toll on the so called noble medical professionals & that’s being reflected in their relations with the patients too! In my childhood there was concept of family doctor as he was really part of the family & was consulted even in family matters & not just health related issues. Long gone is family doctor concept & all we have are super specialists in various branches of medical science & all these super specialists are so busy that they don’t have got time even to smile at their patients is a fact! Then also patients use to die during treatment or suffer but no one ever imagined doubting on intentions of the family doctor, beating him was out of question! And back then there wasn’t specie named Internet of Goggle doctors; these are the people who by searching information on internet argue with the doctors about treatment he is giving. And if anything goes wrong these very net doctors are hell bent to prove how the doctor was negligent in diagnosis to treatment!

All is not that bad, there are still Dr Vikas Amte here who has dedicated his life along with three generations has dedicated their lives to treat poor people in rural areas. And then even in Pune we have a young lady doctor Ms. Aparna Deshmukh who runs a hospital as well old age home for the poor old people in the society on her cost. Then there is Dr. Sunil Deshpande who along with his wife Nirupama Deshpande runs a Bamboo Kala Kendra in deep forests of Melghat for upbringing the backward tribes & treats them free. My own family doctor Dr. Uday Gokhale is one of the most respected names in profession, who never asks for unnecessary tests & still most of the time in bold letters write on my prescription ”No Medicine”!  There are many real good doctors around who still serve the medical field as profession & not as business!

On this background will share one incidence; few years back on one of my evening walks I saw a lady walking ahead along  with her small boy, he must be some ten years old. By their looks I could guess the lady must be working on some construction site. The boy was complaining stomach pain & crying. The poor mom was assuring him that they are going to doctor. On way there was some private clinic & the boy said “aai to bagh doctor” (Mom see there is doctor). On this the mother replied "Te aaplyasarkhya lokansathi thodich aahe aapan muncipalitychya dawakhanyat jau pudhe” (Means these doctors are not for poor people like us we will go to govt hospital which is ahead at some distance). I heard all their dialogues as I was walking parallel to them rather had slowed down to listen also. I was so numb, sad, shocked whatever you call, as what kind of country we live in where people can’t afford medical treatment for human life, even for the young generation which our PM calls future of this country! I stopped them & gave some money for treatment to the lady saying take it as contractor’s payment, as she was not ready to accept the money as she wasn’t a beggar!  This incidence I won’t forget as still that boy’s face looking at doctors board  & the mothers reply has saved on hard disk of my mind & that’s shows condition of medical facilities in our country for which right from doctor to system called govt all are responsible! Still in our society medical assistance has not reached to all levels like it has been in western countries & it’s not just doctors but each of us who must take that responsibility.

Finally, I think any relation is to be worked out from both sides & Doctor-Patient’s relation is also no exception to this rule. If a doctor has to understand nobility of the medical profession & act accordingly then the patients too needs to believe their doctor & respect him or her. As in a society where every relation is losing its value this is probably the last bond showing some signs of civilization among us; if we lose the belief in doctors then sure we won’t believe in the Gods also anymore!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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