kolkata doctors' strike ends

another strike comes to an end.yet another strike,which will achieve nothing.the strike before this one,the one that happened in our college/hospital last month, was no different.the promises made were similar,the threats familiar and the results predictable,to say the least.

it has evolved into a set pattern of sorts;patients and their relatives come to the ER for treatment which falls short of even their modest expectations despite best efforts from the interns on duty;this in turn is invariably followed by the 'patient party' becoming aggressive and resentful towards the doctors;a careless remark from some fresh intern or an accusing comment from some casual bystander hinting at negligence on the part of the doctors is all that is needed to bring out the ugly side of a mob gone wild.

the docs are roughed up;broken furniture and smashed medical equipment(if the broken sucker machine and the wheel-less trolleys can be classified as medical equipment )quickly fill up the space where a few minutes before had stood other anxious 'patient parties'.for them,it's time to find another hospital;preferably one that is not being ruled by unruly mobs.

this time though,some doctors decided that they had had enough. a hasty phone call and reinforcements arrived quickly from the men's hostel nearby and thus began the bizarre phenomenon of doctors exchanging punches with the local goons.more bruises,more bruised egos and destruction of the already broken equipment.a media van that had arrived after receiving reports of a scuffle quickly organised itself to bolster up their TRPs.a misdirected bout of anger on the part of some doctor not in awe of the media's might caused the channel's costly equipment to take a hit.this in turn caused the cameras to be directed exclusively on the warring docs.sheer bad luck!

fight over,the docs went to their hostel feeling righteous indignation and a feeling not unlike self pride at having done what they just did.the feeling did not last long.a small platoon of feisty cops with sturdy lathis appeared quickly in the hostel and went after anyone they could lay their hands on.after a while,they were satisfied with arresting five of the doctors;one intern and four post graduate trainees.docs beaten up like common criminals and then arrested on a non-bailable offence!!

the news spread like wildfire.public sentiment in west bengal,and particularly kolkata,had never been in the favour of docs;the media made a hefty packet out of it by airing the biased videos over and over again.

junior doctors at SSKM college and hospital went on an indefinite strike.they were quickly joined by National medical college and hospital,Calcutta medical college and hospital and R G Kar medical college and hospital.

four out of five government hospitals on strike;that's more than 2000 doctors;patient services crippled and what a furore.understandable.lives were at stake.more importantly,elections were drawing near.these sort of incidences have a bad impact on voters.stern measures were called for;the chief minister issued an ultimatum to the erring docs-return to work by the next day,or face the consequences.deadline:12 noon the next day.

the next day dawned.12 noon came and went.the media was waiting for something to happen.everyone knew the government was incapable of doing anything substantial to punish the docs.it didn't dare.not that it couldn't.public opinion was biased against the docs.the public would have welcomed some punishment,some drama.but the politicians knew better.

a few cancellations of registrations could let the matter spiral out of control.the govt was stalling.a rally/protest march began from calcutta medical college and hospital.over a thousand medicos joined the march.at the end of the rally,talks were resumed between the representatives of the docs and the representatives of the govt.something was agreed upon.the basic plea/demand of the docs:security on duty,was supposedly addressed.assurances made(yet again);the deadlock broke.

the docs returned to their duty to find some lathi wielding constables at the ER.the last time a strike happened,these constables had been on duty for 5 days.since this time the strike was a bit bigger,it would be safe to assume that they would stay for at least a week.

a few saline stands have been borrowed from the hospital store room.they make up for the lack of proper medical equipment(sic!).a duty roster for the support staff has been put up.the last time,the stands vanished within 72 hrs and the roster was torn by the end of the week.

the question arises:how can docs provide medical services when
>there is not enough proper working equipment
>a dangerous doctor patient ratio
>an alarming absence of support staff(the backbone of the ER and medical wards of any hospital;don't be surprised,the docs are not the backbone,trust me on that one)
>there is a very real danger of being beaten to death every time a patient succumbs to his disease or injuries due to lack of proper infrastructure/lack of medical care/bad luck or all of the above
>the government is perfectly aware of all of this and still presents a beatific smile claiming "aalll izz welll"

what needs to be done??

>join politics and make some badly needed changes in how things work-that in my opinion is THE most effective way to go about it.
>read and think about the previous sentence again.it's not impossible.

p.s.-if you liked reading this piece then please copy the link below and paste it as your update on facebook/orkut/twitter profile.in case you didn't like my article/story,please copy the link below and paste it as your update on facebook/orkut/twitter profile anyway.

PeeR PRes$uRe

i am writing after a long long time so obviously,i have a lot to say.

first,why haven't i written all this time?because i have become less disciplined and slipped into a decay of sorts.this particular year of college does that to you.and of course,there's peer pressure of a different kind-the pressure is to not do anything and though it seems easy to circumvent,believe me,it's very difficult to do that when the alternative is so easy and lucrative.so,decay and laziness of a dangerous kind.i now realise i have lost a lot of time that may have been put to better usage.

second,i am not at all melodramatising the above mentioned situation.if anything,i have toned down the reality considerably.

now let us get down to today's topic,which is peer pressure.

peer pressure is defined as-influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms.

another defintion-Pressure from one's peers to behave in a manner similar or acceptable to them.


however,when it comes to peer pressure,we all have our own version to tell or not to tell.i say 'not to tell' because most of us don't realise that they are facing peer pressure,or if they are,they don't come out clean with it.

part of this problem is that we think of ourselves as strong individuals,whereas the truth is that most of the time we are wrong and are merely trying to hide behind a facade of supposed strength.plainly put,it is very difficult to counter peer pressure.

so what comprises peer pressure?

here are a few examples:
~drinking alcohol because everyone else is doing it
~smoking secret because everyone is telling me to try it

some more examples:
~growing a moustache because everyone says it looks cool
~walking with a swagger because your elder brother has one

a few more:
~wearing tees because...
~gymming for a flatter tummy because...

these too:
~staying clean/dirty..
~studying/not studying...
~craving for a boyfriend/girlfriend...
~reading/writing blogs...(yes,this too)
~writin in d shrt/sms form,oops
so what is so bad about peer pressure?

actually,i believe that peer pressure is not bad at all.

at college,i have seen so many spineless people that i feel like it(peer pressure) is a blessing for these kind of beings.they need to be told what to do 24x7.so that if you left them to themselves,they wouldn't know what to do and would probably go mad or worse hurt others.i am of course assuming all this but i know that i am not that far from the truth.the majority of people fall in this category.

i don't know if you have heard of a phenomenon known as an implosion.basically,it means that you explode inside but not outside so that all the effects of the implosion happen to you and doesn't affect others.just think of a small bomb going boom in your intestines.yes,it's not pretty.

if you are a person with a bit of individuality and and a basic sense of right and wrong,you will have problems dealing with peer pressure.a bit of ego thrown in,and the mixture becomes quite dangerous.these people implode.the process is slow and self destructive.

next come the people with loads of ego,with large chunks of self esteem missing,and these are the people who handle peer pressure the worst.they explode.the college kid on the rampage with a gun is a typical example.they annihilate everything and everyone in their path when their fuse runs out.

there is also a fourth category which includes people with very high self esteem and loads of confidence.they may have an inflated ego but they recognise peer pressure for what it is,a force that needs to be fought with due respect and cunning.they never take peer pressure headon. most of the time they try to sidestep it or fence it off.this is because they know that if they tried to fight it in an obvious manner,they would suffer at the hands of idiots.thus,respect and cunning.

so,what's your your category?

now,some of you might be wondering where i have copypasted these concepts from.the answer is-nowhere.that is because i have never come across any article which describes peer pressure in such a manner.it is entirely of my own imagination that i have presented the above ideas.

do not think that all this has been a joke,for it is anything but a joke.you could be a ticking time bomb yourself,ready to implode or explode.and this article might just help you.i am not betting on it though.

if you have reached this far,then you probably have lots of free time,because i don't write so well.

p.s.modesty comes to me easily.contradictory.wouldn't u agree?