Angels of a forgotten league

We all know this one thing about Nurses, especially nurses in India. Over-worked, inhumanly underpaid, systematically abused and vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation. Not to mention the constant emotional and physical harassment being meted out by co-workers, superiors, patients, by-standers, passer byes and the society itself as a whole.

Nursing in the democratic Republic of India cuts a sorry saga. Its still in Jurassic era. The femme-oriented profession represents a perfect cross-section of the abject, rural, middle-class Indian woman: enduring, submissive, tolerant, obliging and expected to absorb everything and anything like a super-giant sponge. Even with all the social and financial leaps the nation has made, Nurses in India still shy away or are deliberately kept out of mainstream socio-political advancements.

I'm forced to come out of my short blogging hibernation because of two factors:

1.  The ongoing nurses agitations and not-so-surprising stories of cruel exploitation dribbling out from various corners of the nation.
2.  Being a Registered Nurse myself, it's my duty and responsibility to stand up and fight for the vocation which provides me my livelihood.

There is more to it. It's not just the pay-scale, working conditions or the abuse which has appalled me. It was the incessant apathy some sections of society exhibit towards nurses and the profession, even during times of need. Even in this nifty age, large sections of our parochial society still view nurses as pure sex symbols or as easy-to-trod-on defenceless creatures, credits to India's socioculturally hierarchical background and our equally partisan film/ entertainment industry. Personal and professional respect is something the unfortunate, hard-working and extremely loyal nurses in our country never received, or expected.

Kerala has been a torch-bearer in Nursing profession in India, mainly due to Christian-dominated Central Travancore pockets. Easy job opportunities, chances in the affluent Middle-East and the West allured young women with an attitude to care. Over time, with the career graph looking up, the male gender and even sections of Hindu and Muslim societies which once frowned upon the profession, took up the job. Negative stereotype gradually got replaced by an opulent image, though some cliched caricatures still linger.

One aspect which increased the luminosity of the 'white frock', apart from the larger Catholic population, is the America-magnet, which was direct effect of the quality of Nursing education in Kerala. The reference books and curriculum is set cent-percent on Western standards which made that India-to-America transition a hell lot easier. The curriculum, especially the 3 year Diploma and 4 year Bachelor's Degree Course offers a comprehensive syllabus with generous clinical hours, on par with any advanced countries in the West. Precisely why Kerala Nurses are much sought after in the civilised world. But that's where the high standards in Indian Nursing end, unfortunately. I mean, with the curriculum.

Nobody bothers to glance into how well/ ill equipped our state or country is in helping nurses adhere to the Professional Code of Ethics, crucial in maintaining the standard and dignity of the profession. In the unregulated Private sector, a Nurse looks after 20-30 patients in a General ward when she should be handling 10; working hours are a gruelling 12-15 hours with lack of proper breaks, 6 days-a-week rosters, no sick leave or non-existent annual leave allocations, shift allowances are unheard of and a salary which would just about pay the laundry, transport and hairdressing charges. All this, after putting up with unruly administrators, Medical Officers, patients and relatives and an often pathetic infrastructure.

Private Nursing schools and Hospitals view the educational programme and workforce an easy way to save and mint money. Nursing students are substituted for free, quality labour to local hospitals and nursing homes. Students are forced to work hands-on in all Medical and allied Departments rather than attaining the goal of learning their trade. The real torture and exploitation happens when the freshly graduated nurses venture out to practice the job. Most hospitals exploit this free-labour in the name of 'bond' and 'internship' by offering stipends and salaries which range from Rs500-1000/month.

That's what you get for keeping awake all night watching over a living, breathing human? A securityman at the nearby morgue gets 10 times more for snoozing over dead bodies.

Worst of all, in such a female oriented profession, getting pregnant means a frightful prospect of losing the job by childbirth. Most private hospitals in our 'cultured' society does not provide nurses any sort of  Maternity Leave or benefits; and they force the nurses to resign...Oh yes, life isn't fair, isn't it...Endure?

In plain words, this is modern day slavery.

The situation of these selfless women, and men, should've shaken up the pillars of any ethical, democratic society long time back...Well, that's what our society is NOT...Ethical or democratic. Or compassionate.

But in the 'emerging' India hungry for a change, Nurses eventually decided "Enough is enough!" and chose to wage the war themselves.

The first major upheaval which occurred in Asian Heart Hospital, Mumbai, following the suicide of a Staff Nurse, has opened the flood gates for similar onslaught on high-and-mighty managements across the country, including in Kerala. The feeble voices of a scattered, non-unionized females had never scared the fat-cow managements in the past, and some chose to retest their previously successful model of 'intimidation, threatening and abuse'. Some bosses tried 'Quotation gangs' while in Cochin, a luxury 'charity' Hospital run by a prolific 'Godwoman' used their influence to manhandle the striking nurses using the Police!

Befitting a 'God', certainly! Well, when have God ever treated humans in a civilised way, especially the Nurses? Someone said to me Nurses are expected to be like candles, provide love and light by burning itself out. Lest you forget, that the same candle can severely burn your bum.

The strikes in Kerala, this time, have caused more than a flutter among the political and social circles. The iron fist and one-upmanship attempts by the Hospital administrators didn't yield the desired results as the agitation gained widespread public sympathy and support this time.There were funny sides too, the cream of it being the Indian Medical Association (IMA) asking the authorities to enforce ESMA on the strike; IMA is notorious for engaging in lightening strikes and arm-twisting tactics at the drop of a hat!

Perhaps if you look at it in another way, nurses severely missed a strong representative union like the IMA. The one's nurses had, the spineless Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI) and accreditation bodies like the inefficient and corrupt Indian Nursing Council (INC) are just bad jokes to discuss here. I'm saying nothing more about those pitiable organisations...

The Govt, though reluctant at first, have come out in support of Nurse's agitation. Labour Ministry and the Honourable High Court took a good step forward to ensure that Nurses are paid minimum wages, at least 9000/month, and better leave and working conditions. Opposition Leader VS Achutanandan, social and political leaders, Women's and Youth Organisations and common public en masse stood behind the striking nurses this time.

Anyone who wants to see the bare facts, the Nurses are NOT fighting for a piece of the moon. A decent wage to feed themselves and their kids, safety and security at work, to practice their vocation within set guidelines and to earn their living with dignity and respect.

Who says it's too much?

The only belly-ache was from the greedy hospital administrators who thought they could nakedly violate the Minimum Wages Act (from Labour Dept website) for decades and could get away with it.

Let's think about this. It is a Nurse who receives each and every life born into this world into their arms, who watches over each breath of our near and dear ones at their worst times and who sacrifice their sleep to care for them at wee hours when we're fast asleep under the covers. What justice or culture is it to treat the guardian angels of life in such inhuman ways just because their collective voices didn't have enough dB to be heard over the cling of money? When even a lesser productive Govt clerk with basic education earns 5-digit salary, a fully qualified Nurse is thrown crumbs.

Nurses are inevitable components of any health set up; especially when India struggles to protect the health of Indian women who give birth to our next generation. The more power they're given, the better it is for the society.

We're going through a phase in our history where the oppressed and the subjugates rise...and revolt, bringing down great temples of power. The anti-corruption movement in India, the Arab Spring, the "Occupy" protests...and now the 'Angels' Uprising'. Sometimes we've to believe justice will be served, even if late.

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Deccan Chronicle, Glam Sham

Deccan Chronicle has featured yours truly and my better half in their continuing feature on NRI Malayalees. The article has been readied by my friend and reporter Ms. Cris Seetha, who has been kind enough to approach me for this piece on Easter Sunday edition (24/05/2011)

The column can be accessed online at Deccan Chronicle, Tabloid, on Glam Sham section, or follow the link below.

It’s so near, yet so far for Malayalis abroad  (Click to open in new tab)

Anish Sahadevan is a registered nurse who lives with his wife Raagee and daughter Niranjana in Brisbane, Australia. 

Born, bred and literally brewed in Thiruvananthapuram, he left his hometown in 2003 after graduating from the Medical College and roamed around before finally reaching Down Under. 

But with the Internet, social media sites and other modern-day communication media, the links with home are still strong. But it is never the same as being back home in person. “Being a social animal, I find it sad not being able to actively participate in elections,” he says. “I want to be part of our politics, movies and development initiatives.”

He adds that the active interest with which he maintains his blog www.scorpiogenius.com over the past four years stems from his nostalgia.

“I’m a kind of person who likes to walk the well trodden lanes of my hometown even though it is for the millionth time,” says Anish. “I still go for that lone walk through the MG Road and if Kuttan chettan’s tea-stall has been replaced by a new age coffee shop I’d know that even now.”

“I miss the bike rides to Ponmudi, Kallar and Kovalam, spending vacation at my native village in Kayamkulam, thronging to see the movies on the first day, election time debates and of course, the famed street-side dosa and double-omlette,” he goes on and on.

But what he misses most is the time he spent with his friends. “Even when I am in Thiruvananthapuram now, I miss those old days. My friends have all moved on...”

Like most Malayais living abroad, he celebrates all festivals. “But sleeping with your head on a pillow is different from sleeping on your mother’s lap,” he says wistfully.

Anish has not yet made any plans to come back. “Australia has provided better scope for building my career,” he says. “But as you grow older, you grow fond of your roots and have this yearning to go back to where you belong.”

Sunday, 24 April 2011
by Cris Seetha


May I also take the liberty of putting up my response to one of the questions put forward by Cris. Not that there would be a whole set different answers to this one question even if you ask a hundred people, but this is one reply I gave Cris by walking in the shoes of people many years my senior. I've just stepped into the 30+ age category but you ask people approaching the fifth and sixth decades of their life, you could always see the obvious thrust to return back home.

Q:   What is most intolerable about living abroad?

Ans: "The fact is that however naturalized you are to these alien nations, no matter if you no longer hold the Passport with the Ashoka Emblem, your hometown and state will always be an integral part of you. As you grow older, you grow fond of your roots and have this increasing yearn towards getting back to where you belong. But we've to build our own lives and perhaps the realization that you've to reset your life priorities over such nostalgia may be the hard thing to adjust. Don't know, just trying to be philosophical :D"

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King Khan and some flop clans

Is there anything more enticing for an actor/producer than the release of his flick run the show in newschannels, tabloids as well as mainstream newspapers, the netspace head over heels about it, even the state legislature discussing publicly about the movie to an extent that the Chief Minister comes down to see the film! A frenetic aura surrounding a movie release as if it was an Olympic Opening Ceremony happening in town. Still, you have butterflies in your stomach on the release Friday, even if you're the SRK... Bollywood's King Khan.

Honest confession:  I'm no SRK fanboy. I admired his work when he was the old simple Shah Rukh Khan who gave us Circus, Kabhi haan Kabhi naa or Baazigar but lost his fine skills somewhere on way to becoming the SRK.

But the point of talk here is entirely different.

This spring-storm blowing through the nation in the name of the Khan is not just about this one person, or one city standing upto partisan politics, hate play and hooliganism. There is a larger vistarama frame to the whole turmoil. The My Name Is Khan aftermath has sent out the right message to 'leaders' of the wrong breeds: Everything you do wont be tolerated everytime.

Shiv Sena and its moth-eaten kingpin, who always had a spell over Mumbaikars has been peed on twice in less than a fortnight. Rahul Gandhi made a dumbass out of the Thackerays last week, and now SRK and an enterprising Mumbai have pissed right on his face.

Somebody on Twitter designed a new logo for the old Sena tiger...the once very fearsome Tiger. How very symbolic!

Is this an indication of a maturing society, identifying  and isolating the sectarian forces and standing upto them?

Isn't this a proof that denominational dogma doesn't rule the senses of majority and the educated new generation is ready to dump them?

Does this not prove beyond any shadow of doubt that if our rulers are determined to maintain decorum, then it stays put more often than not. Kudos to Maharashtra Govt who made a statement by using the arm of the law to crush down the ruffians.

Not to mention the sublime power of unity among the countrymen to utilize all possible channels; Facebook, Twitter, blogs, you say it, to crack down on the mob-ocracy.

You see, it doesn't matter if MNIK fails to break Box-Office records, no matter if SRK's characteristic over-acting, this time as an Asperger's Syndrome individual (doh!) again fails to impress, no matter if Karan Johar has once again managed to churn out a mediocre dampener, MNIK will go into pages of history as an event which unified the nation against the 'elements'.

The elements which we have to be wary of, who're as lethal as the 'internationally branded' ones from across the LoC.

The same elements which feast on the fear-factor of public, plaguing on our misinformation, illiteracy and poverty to good use to cash-in on their treacherous, hideous  and misplaced agenda.

The elements which work to fragment our nation in the name of caste, language, culture and sundries.

The SRK-Sena showdown was seen by many as a guerrilla marketing strategy, but I care less. Afterall who is the loser? Only those who had to be defeated. That's the whole point. Dignified press persona Barkha Dutt, Pranab Roy (NDTV), Rajdeep Sardesai (IBN), Aaj Tak,  Star News et al endorsed MNIK as if the movie was their collaborative in-house production released by the Press Council of India.

 SRK fans cheering in Mumbai image courtesy The Hindu

Shah Rukh, you've managed to accomplish something unprecedented. You turned the whole mass-media contingent into an advertisement board, the usually sedentary and cold-footed Maharashtra Govt wake up to perform their duty, brought out entire net-gen to campaign ferociously for him (even people who can't stand him), even managed to arouse the watchful and tongue-tied Bollywood co-stars join hands and raise voice for him, instilled confidence in the multiplex-mall owners to be brave enough and reminded for once and all the citizens of the Mumbai megalopolis that the city belongs to them and not to some impious partisan advocates.

Bottomline? Thackrey and his ShivSena bite the dust...Period. 

Remember the last time such a widespread public anger and unity was seen? After Mumbai 26/11.  Then, it was the 'foreign' terrorists that lost out to Mumbai, this time the home-grown outfits... How ironic!

And ouch... The Khakhiwallas are enjoying their open-air workout in front of cameras! Make sure these whacks are remembered for long! :-)




It seems things have come the whole circle for Senas of all breeds. I mean, for this guy Muthalik and his Sree Rama Sena, the Kannada incarnation of Shiv Sena; only difference that its been a fart without sound. The same cowardly beast who laid hands on hapless women last year. Well, he got something well and truly deserved. lol..



By God, Muthalik is talking about Democracy, and condemning act of 'Goondaism'! GOD! *goosebumps* *goosebumps*... For him Democracy = men assaulting women in public; Goondaism = inkstaining... Next what, Osama Bin Laden preaching peace and harmony?

The message from the public appears clear: A Thackarey or an itch like Muthalik is NOT going to dictate terms to us. India is a democracy and we have full rights to act within the boundaries set by our Constitution, who the heck are you to draw the lines? You have no place in modern society, neither have you any role in building the India of tomorrow.

image courtesy: Shahrukhkhan.fotopic.net,  Sonyahallet, The Hindu

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The Pen, the ink & the colours PART III

Disclaimer: This post is not aimed at spreading detestation, nor is this an attempt to differentiate the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm aiming to evaluate in a small detail how one of our leading vernacular dailies has been doing their business around with regard to the ethical principles in journalism. The views expressed here are personal and the links to the blogs provided in this article is for the purpose of a broader description, but I do not claim responsibility for all the statements in those posts. Read the full disclaimer before proceeding to read this article.

Concluding, from Part I and Part II

The claim is pretty vociferous and veracious... Malayala Manorama is the most circulated newspaper in Kerala. It is ahead of its nearest opponent by over 5lakh copies (ABC 2008)




And the lead still keep climbing...

Manorama has a few points to their credit. It appears the most glitzy of all mallu dailies; it has an attractive makeup, is colourful and catchy, leads by miles in the quality of print and paper and sits pretty on a strong advertising cushion. Good for ém, sure!

Manorama is second to none in reporting business and development news, is forward-thinking when it comes to showcasing the state as an investment destination and is one of the well known Superbrands of Kerala. I like their Sports page, hosts a superlative 'Opportunities' supplement and dishes out a trendy 'Metro' pull-out in the bigger city editions. Not surprising at all, Manorama hosts the best online edition among all contemporary regional papers.

But wait a minute. Are we talking about a newspaper or a waxpaper here? Manorama is surely an 'intellectual product' and certainly not a 'material' one. And you take out the mundane features like colour and texture and look at MM in the right way, then you'd see why its no better than toilet-paper.

Have a look below to see how Manorama gets people to 'see' things. Below is the Manorama report of Pinarayi Vijayan's 'crowning' after the Navakerala march. The MM photographer's focus was on V.S. Achutanandan and his apparent disinterest with the proceedings. MM makes sure the point gets across by the tagline below the picture.



And see how Kerala Kaumudi has reported the same news. And hey, Achumama is all glued up into the action!

Images: Courtesy Sajith Vijayan, Rajith Mohan

I'm the last person to support our current CM Achuthanandan or his commie Govt, nor am I closing my eyes to the open war between the two senior comrades, but what kind of reporting is this? May be you could argue that it was the Kaumudi reporter who waited for the right time for his click, but given MMs track record this is another instance where it has created an avenue for sticking the hot rod onto the reds' ass.

Not the least surprising, given the history that the late godfather of this paper had vowed that he would commit suicide if a Communist Govt ever got elected in Kerala. Period.

The tradition is still kept alive by the new generation MM journos by news like "CPM activist's wife commits suicide" , "CPM supporter kicked his wife" (hyperbole) and so on...It isn't an exaggeration to say that Manorama and Deshabhimani will balance each other when it comes to biased reporting, you know what I'm talking about. Wonder if Congress will ever need another "Veekshanam" ?

The newspaper's wicked and shady deeds need just one undignified example: the ISRO Espionage Scandal that rocked the nation in the 90s. Who else could be behind such outrageous dreamwork rivaling the Hollywood fiction writers other than Manorama? The fairy tale cooked up by Manorama was taken over by other media and turned into a full-blown scandal. Spare a thought for the innocent souls, including the foreigners and the scientists, caught in the trap.

Recently, when the whole country was unanimous in condemning President George Bush and the United States for triggering another unnecessary and monstrous war in Iraq, Manorama shocked the entire state by exhibiting in the front page an emotional photograph of an American wife bidding a tearful farewell to her Marine hubby departing to destroy Iraq in a US warship!!! Disgraceful is a mild word to use here...What was MM thinking???

The accusations against the Manorama House doesn't end there. In the modern democratic era the word "lobbying" is as essential as it may sound obscene. Newspapers have their own regional preferences but Manorama is being constantly accused of playing the dirty regionalism card by torpedoing the developmental projects outside their turf.

When Infosys Technologies announced their interest on Kerala, MM jumped in with a clinical assessment of the locations Infosys considered and shortlisted their choice: Cochin. They even went on record with this one bit, totally exclusive which none of the other newspapers heard. When Minister Rajagopal proposed the Habitat Centre in Kowdiar, Manorama cited someone in the Finance Dept proposing to move the project to Cochin to help the project break-even early! Ditto with the Central University where what GoI wanted was 500 acres within 50km of an Int'l Airport. Manorama couldn't see beyond Malayattoor even when the Trichur location met the same criteria. When KCA announced the Cricket Stadium, MM came up with a report that 'officials' in BCCI had quoted that ''If not in Ernakulam, then nowhere in Kerala" WOW! The curious thing is that none of the other newspapers reported these 'demands', even though they were all present at the respective locales and conferences. So its logical to conclude that MM see and hear things which noone else does...

And lately,the finger has been pointed at the Manorama House for attempting to scuttle the Vizhinjam Port project for the favour of the business interests of their own backyard. Speak about the larger interests of the state!

This is what pisses me off to the maximum. Every newspaper has the right to be the patrons for their own niche, but could it only be done by annihilating the other locales? All these years I was reluctant to believe this one accusation against Manorama, but the Vizhinjam episode gave me first hand proof to see the truth. The personal account from one of my friends about the indifferent attitude of Manorama to report an awareness-campaign in favour of the port project put the newspaper in the right light, for me.

And Manorama, as shrewd as they are, pitches in with some seminars on Capital Development, Malabar Development and Coconut Development once a while, just for the namesake of it! Lets keep everybody happy, eh MM? and pull the plug from behind...

Even weird is some of the social issues and moral policing taken up by Manorama and its team. True, there have been some instances where the media house has to be given credit for reports like "How Kerala behaves towards the fairer sex".But there is ample proof that Manorama pays some of the inept journos in Kerala who haven't the faintest idea what they're writing about. First a stir-up in Vanitha about how mobile phones are perpetrating social morality, then comes a teething attack on Bluetooth technology which created a wave of laughter among the techies. And now Manorama has jumped upon the major medium of communication, the email!!

What does Manorama want us to do? Lock our telephones, throw away the mobiles, discard laptops and computers and go back to the Damayanthi- Hamsam era?

To crown it all, have a peep as to how careful and technically impeccable MM dudes are with their reporting. C'mon, have a look and enjoy! The report is of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman M.S.Ahluwalia speaking about the Budget, and look whose pic is there instead of the man...Nithari serial murderer Mohinder Singh Panther! Oops!

How very Manorama-istic... :()

So Manorama, behind all those glitz and colour, is not a dependable organization. It faults at its basic function: taking the truth to the public. You can argue that truth depends on which angle you look at it from, but view it upside down or in 3D, Manorama still stinks. It is a glorified example of the most-sold not necessarily being the best.

There is little hope that Manorama will change for their own good. They have a force behind them which keeps them going, not talking about the poor subscribers here. And at times I feel that as Keralaites we deserve something better than this load of crap.

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