Handicap no hindrance for amazing feats

Anish Mohan based in the South Indian state of Kerala had high hopes when he attended an interview at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after completing a diploma in instrumentation with top honors. However, fate had something else in store for him. On his way back home from the interview, he was run over by train losing his right hand and left leg.

Most people going through such setbacks lose all hope in life and become totally disappointed. Nothing could stop the dogged determination and will power of the 26 year old Anish who with the help of an artificial leg and hand managed to undertake the difficult Sabarimala Pilgirmage walking several kilometres and climbing 18 steps apart from driving a car on his own. He is now engaged in several activities for handicapped people or differently abled. He has urged the State Government to have separate parking lots space for differently abled people in public places.

Alexis Leon is now a familiar name for computer engineering students as most of them may have read atleast one of his best -selling books. After a brilliant academic career, Alexis got a good break in India’s premier IT company Tata Consultancy Services where he was blossoming as an ace software programmer when he was involved with a major road accident that crippled him for life. He was on his way to meet his fiancé and mother who had come Chennai for shopping for the wedding which was hardly a few weeks away. He was confined to the wheel chair for life but doctors helped him move his hands all the while this accident couldn’t dent his indomitable spirit. Now living with his brother, Alexis Leon continues to write amazing books which are a delight to read for IT students and enthusiasts. According to Alexis Leon, if he hadn’t become a paraplegic such good books may not have seen the light of the day.

We have any number of examples of people who have fought courageously a handicap which could have crippled their ambition and hopes but decided to fight courageously with a never-say- die attitude.
Sudha Chandran, a dancer who lost her leg in a car accident continued to dance using the Jaipur foot (artificial leg) became a household name with the release of the film Mayuri featuring her in the lead role as the dancer. In the film, Mayuri’s lover leaves her on seeing her handicapped after an accident but thereafter returns once she becomes famous. But Mayuri rejects her lover keeping her self respect intact. The film produced by the legendary South Indian film maker Ramoji Rao went on to become a success at the box office and remade in to several other languages.

In my childhood I was inspired by a former military employee who lost a leg while on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Using crutches he learned to walk with one feet and also climb on a bicycle and ride fast. It was a delight to see Appu Pillai cruise along with other cyclists on busy roads  and on steep roads he took the help of autorickshaw drivers who allowed him to hold the side bar of the rickshaw to enable him to overcome the steep road easier. He also started his own small shop selling sweets, juices, biscuits and fruits.

Lessons to live by
When an unfortunate incident makes you differently disabled,  not many people are able to overcome the adversities and get ahead  in life. Most often they had decided not to remain idle so that they are not dependent on somebody else either physically or financially or as Alexis Leon said if he had confined himself to bed for life, his parents and brothers who loved him dearly would have become crippled at heart.

Secondly, technology has made amazing strides to make life easier for differentl y disabled. But it takes determination, enthusiasm and courage to make use of these innovations as they may not be easy to use in the beginning. In the case of artificial Jaipur foot, it requires months of practice and also the user needs to undergo lot of pain before it can be adjusted for their requirements.

The handicapped people themselves have been in the forefront of making policy changes to help these public user public services such as buses and trains. Now many public transport buses have special seats reserved for such people and has lowered the height of floors. In many public places and commercial establishments, convenient parking space is reserved for different disabled. Most often the same people who required it had to lobby for it to get the facility mandated by government.

In many countries, government establishments have special quotas for these talented people to jobs according to their skill and talent.  If you look around, you can see healthy people giving lame excuses for not doing a job properly or blaming the government or  others for not able to become an achiever. It is most often our mindset that determines our future not our disability.

There is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna in Mahabharatha on how to get ahead in tough times- ‘always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing’.  According to Stephen Covey, only 10% of what happens is in our life is beyond our control – for eg. a bad behavior from someone, an accident, a setback in career or life, but the rest 90% is in our hands, how we respond or manage that determines things to come.

Fighting on the streets, TV & social media: Journos & Lawyers setting a bad precedent

For the past two weeks, the fight between lawyers and journos in Kerala High Court and District Court in Thiruvananthapuram is being discussed and analysed widely in social media, newspapers, TV and in public forums. I don’t have all the facts related to the incident but from what ever has appeared, I think much of the opinions expressed have been one-sided, negative and not useful to create an atmosphere of trust and goodwill between the warring factions.
If this trend continues the situation would be like the India-Pakistan dispute which never ends because some people never want it to happen.

Even leading newspapers such as the Malayala Manorama reported that the fights erupted with media men because of the reporting of the arrest of a government pleader for allegedly trying to molest a woman on the street.  Later discussions in TV have revealed that there has been simmering discontent among lawyers and journos that boiled over after the arrest of the government pleader. Media men have said that lawyers are not pleased when coverage of a case or about lawyers is not favorable to them.  Politicians, policemen and businessmen all have grudges against media when they are not happy with a report concerning them but it can’t be helped.

Some recent incidents that may have disrupted the good relations between media-men and legal fraternity :

1) Media reporting of government pleader’s arrest and its live coverage shown in TV. The Deccan Chronicle news about differences of opinion in High Court Advocates Association over how to handle the government pleader’s case which turned out to be false and subsequently apologies tended by the paper.

2) Media reporting over the controversy of a legal advisor position given by the government to a senior advocate Mr Damodaran.

3) Media men getting access to details of a case and publishing judgment before lawyers get to know it.

4) Abuse of three senior women journalists at the Media Room including Preethy of Mathrubhumi.

5) Senior Advocate Ramkumar stating in Mathrubhumi News Super Prime Time that it was three women journalists who started the issue leading to fight between media and lawyers in High Court.

Soon after the open fight between journos and lawyers in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, Facebook was filled with posts that used the most derogatory language with both sides abusing each other blissfully forgetting that they are part of Judiciary that represents the third estate and press that is the fourth estate. Several people were eager to share the videos and photos that appeared in the press and social media – having a sadistic joy in discussing and spreading it.

Among the various opinion and analyses that came up after the incidents—Adv Jayashankar, Sebastian Paul, Adv Sivan Madathil, Adv Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv CP Udayabhanu, and Babu Bhaskar, veteran commentator- columnist (Read his column in Edit Page of Malayala Manorama dated June 25, 2016) stood out but not to forget the lone female voice from the legal fraternity- Adv  Sangeetha Lakshmana who took exception to the boycott call by High Court Advocates Association boldly stating that she would appear for her clients when the name is called.

The relevance of Third and Fourth Estate
The Indian Constitution has provided the framework of judiciary to examine disputes related to laws passed in Parliament and legislatures, and to try civil, criminal, and governmental cases. Freedom of the press is derived from Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constituition which gives the freedom of speech to citizens of India. The executive consisting of council of ministers and officials runs the government administration and are accountable to legislature and Parliament.

All new laws and constitutional amendments are passed by Parliament which is then sent for approval of the President and in State assemblies to the Governor.  Then we have the Police which is responsible for maintaining law and order again subject to rules and laws of the land. All the four estates have a meaningful role to play and what they do have an important bearing on the common man. Therefore, it goes without saying that our elected  legislators (members of parliament, assemblies and local panchayats, municipalities), ministers and officials, judiciary (judges and lawyers, supporting officials) and media (tv,radio, online, newspapers and magazines) should maintain the highest professional ethics and decorum in their day- to- day activities and when disputes arise between the estates.

Relevance of Media Relations Committee
The Supreme Court Chief Justice and Acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court were quick in appealing to the warring factions to calm down and seek a solution through dialogue. Kerala Chief Minister also used his good offices to set up a Media Relations Committee in High Court having representation from legal and media fraternity although Babu Bhaskar pointed out that fewer members are there from the media. If you look at the Press Council- it’s mostly headed by people from the legal fraternity and not seasoned journalists.

The setting up of media relations committees is a welcome step and in future if all disputes between media, police and lawyers were first referred to it and settled there a war-like situation can be averted. Many media men doubted the utility of a committee as Police Media relations committee is dysfunctional for a long time.  It’s true that journos work under daily deadline pressure and some of them also face constant threats from politicians, government officials, businessmen, police, legal fraternity for exposing some misdoing. At the same time, it is the responsibility of newspaper managements to ensure that journos doing court reporting are of of high caliber who are capable of understanding and analyse the court rulings and procedures. The alleged violation of laws in reporting the arrest of government pleader could have been avoided if norms were adhered to by the Police and media men.

There should be a high level discussion between Chief Editors of newspapers , TV channels, Online portals with judges and lawyers , police representatives on the ethics to be followed in Court reporting and the code of conduct to be followed by all the stakeholders in the four estates or pillars of democracy.  Each pillar cannot do without the other and therefore why this unnecessary fighting. Let each member of these estates make use of the privilege to serve society rather than misuse it and cause trouble to common man which in turn lowers their esteem and public image.


Tailpiece:
Justice Abraham Mathew of Kerala High Court observed that the new laws  (probably passed by legislatures and Parliament) in vogue create the impression of a blind men seeing an elephant. It is because of ignorance of existing laws related to the new law that is creating problems, he said. (So now we know the need for strengthening all our pillars of democracy) if the citizens are to gain anything from them!

Vista: When talent meets opportunity at Rajagiri School

School children have a heavy load of books, assignments, assessments to go through from day one of every academic year- no matter whether it's dark clouds, rain, lightning or thunderstorm. No doubt their career fortunes are impacted by the number of A+, A’s in their report cards.

Globalisation has brought a new challenge to our school and college education. New job opportunities are now more in private sector than in government and more people may need to start new ventures rather than seek jobs as technically qualified and skilled people.



Children who finish school need to have multiple skills (sports, games, art, culture) apart from good academics to emerge successful in their career. Traditional school festivals that only assess singing, dancing or music skills may not suffice in such a scenario.

It is against this backdrop, that some institutions have come up with novel cultural festivals that bring out the best talent in children to fore front  and give them the much needed confidence regarding their capabilities. One such cultural event is Vista organized by Rajagiri Public School, Kalamassery.  Individual talent does matter but more importantly team building, leadership, sports man spirit will decide the true winners.Here's a peep at what is going to happen at Vista 2016:

Dance, Drama, music….puzzles, quizzes and more…

-How about enacting a character from Vaikam Mohammed Basheer’s literary works or a sing a folk song with harvest, festivals and Kerala tradition as the theme and test your knowledge of the state’s rich art, culture and films through MUTHUCHIPPI. These are not for the big boys though. Only Classses I & II are welcome.

-For slightly older students (Class III-V)- WORDSMITH gives the opportunity to test their competency in words, spellings, anagrams…authors, and if you are kid is fond of grammar rules, this is for you.

-Get the fear of mathematics out from your kids with PROBLEME DE MATHEMATICA- it’s filled with puzzles, riddles, quizzes and you need not be a tiny Ramanujam to take part in this though. Again only for Classes III to V).

-Heard of decathlon, marathon, biathlon … . if cycling, running and swmming is your forte, TRIATHLON would be ideal . All that you need bring is shorts, tees, canvas shoe, swimming and plenty of energy and enthusiasm. The bicycles are parked here.

- Chefs and needle masters have the FRILLS and THRILLS to prepare a tasty falooda with the ingredients provided and give that extra punch with the surprise ingredient provided.

- ALCHE MYSTERY- if reading the biographies of scientists are your passion, this game is for you.  And a good working model for making our surroundings greener would clinch you the prize.

For the big boys/girls:Classes IX to XII

-Do you mean business? Do millionaires, billioinaires excite and motivate you. You must be adept at marketing as well. What is your Profit Quotient is for the budding entrepreneurs and business leaders of tomorrow.
-Then for the artistic there are the street play –Theruvarangu and  La Symphonie D’Emotion for the rhythm, melody and harmony conscious.
-Save the Earth---that’s the only one we have. Use hip hop, contemporary dance to depict the challenges facing our planet in Bhumikkoru Kuda.

When and Where
With hardly a two weeks to go, kids should gear up fast-call 0484-2911202, 2911230 or www.rajagiri.ac.in for registration. Venue: Rajagiri Public School-Kalamassery. Organised by Rajagiri Public School, Parent Teacher Association.
 

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How to fight Obesity among kids?

If you randomly look at the kids coming out of school buses in any city, you are likely to find more oversized girls and boys in skirts and shorts than normal ones. Dr Abraham Paul, a renowned paediatrician in Kochi warns that rising obesity poses huge health risks later on in life including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other life style diseases. In a recent interaction titled 'Know Your Child' with parents of Rajagiri Public School, he underscored the need to be vigilant against health hazards, learning disorders and inability to adjust with daily challenges that growing kids may face in the modern era.

I remember in my childhood days after a hard days study at school, we would come home, have some thing to eat and then straight away go to play—it could be badminton, cricket, kho-kho, or a game called ‘seventies’ or just run around catching each other. All the fancy fried foods now available in bakeries and super markets were unheard of those days. Obesity at that time may have been confined to less than five percent of the kids and that too because of genetic or hereditary factors than lack of physical activity.

Dr Abraham K Paul said that colas, samosas, burgers, fried foods, biscuits are all high calorie stuff that require heavy physical exercise to burn it out. For example, a samosa may require one hour cycling to burn the energy generated while 3 biscuits at a time would require one hour of swimming to neutralize it.

Good food habits: Start Early
Dr Abraham Paul warns that undesirable food habits are learned from early childhood when parents try to force feed a child who refuses to eat. He advises parents to introduce vegetables, fruits and cereals at the age of nine months to one year. A child may not agree to eating fruits or vegetables at higher ages say, five, seven or ten if he or she hasn’t introduced to such food by the age of one. Parents have a tendency to force feed a child who refuses to eat there by creating stress. Slowly, the child learns to eat whenever it is stressed, thereby causing fat build up in the body.

In infant years, parents have a tendency to grind five or six food items into a paste and then push it in their throat. This will only lead to the child not getting a sense of taste for food and ability to chew food properly.

The rapid decline of play area, more emphasis on class room learning, more time in front of television while munching fried snacks all add to the unnecessary fat build up in kids, according to Dr Abraham Paul.  He suggests schools should provide four hours of physical activity every week and they should maintain a height, weight chart and look for obesity signals in children to initiate remedial action.

In many play schools and kindergarten, milk and biscuits are provided as snacks during first break in the morning and in the afternoon. This becomes habit forming and lead to fondness for refined food which are unhealthy because of preservatives, oil content and fat.

My daughter Diyah had the habit of asking for biscuits every day and now I told her about Dr Abraham Paul’s advice and atleast for a day she didn’t ask for new biscuits. We are not sure when she goes to another house, she may be offered biscuits and might eat.

The Solution
In the absence of play area and physical activity, kids can be prevented from becoming obese by avoiding calorie rich junk food and reduce TV watching. They could also be provided opportunities in indoor play, learning music, encouraging reading and so on.

Let’s not make  promising citizens of tomorrow end up popping pills, using insulin or going for early cardiac surgeries. Time to act is NOW.
(Please mail your suggestions/comments to sreekumsree@gmail.com or post it here itself)