Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Story behind a word

I just came across an interesting story while I was reading some book 
I d like to share it with you all.

Its about origin of the word 'Quiz'.
The term Quiz originated in the late 19th century..Actually this word was invented by a person
Jim Dally was his name..He was a theater manager.He had lots of friends with whom he used to talk everyday.
One day while he was chatting with friends ,the discussion turned towards english language.
He boasted that introducing a new term to the language in no time.Obiviously his friends ridiculed him.This guy took the 
challenge seriously.He made up his mind that he would introduce a word which was never heard
before.So he thought about it throughout that day and finally he thought of this word i.e, quiz

Next he called all the young boys who were around and gave them sweets and also he gave 
each person a chalk.He told all the boys to write the word quiz in whichever places they can find.
curious boys agreed to do this.So the next day the whole town was abuzz with discussion about 
the strange new word which was seen written at all the places.So this guy finally was successful
in completing the challenge.The word Quiz was included in english language.Originally it meant 'to trick or joke'
but later on it got the meaning 'to ask'.

Interesting ..isn't it?   :)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The invisible wall

Today's blog will be about the invisible wall..Yes it is invisible and in physical sense it does not exist,but you do feel its presence..
Yes,I am talking about the barriers that exist between people..may be based on religion,caste,creed,status or whatever people choose to distance themselves from other people..

As far as I know, money is the greatest divider of all..Nowadays it is more evident than eveer before since money means respect ..I heard from my grandpa that there was a time,a time when people were respected based on their good qualities and behaviour,a time when people were content with what they had ,and everybody knew about one another...

But now sadly,money decides everything..
Since the moment you are born you are taught to do only one thing i.e,earn money..
Your purpose of life is fulfilled only when you earn truckloads of money..Your words dont carry the authority untill you have money.
No matter how intelligent you are,how creative you are these qualities dont count till they result in creation of money..there's a subhashita  in sanskrit saying the how a person with money is all powerfull .. 
I'm sure you must have heard people talking excitedly about somebody's job based on the hi-fi salaries they get,and how their kith and kin are wasting their resources blah blah...
But  when you cross the wall and come to other side ,then only you realise that there are lot more problems on this side..
As soon as people start earning a high amount of money,they build this invisible wall..
You can see their houses,being high walled..their expensive sedans having tinted glasses 
The start to beleive they are better than others and start searching for their equals in wealth..
But there are very few rich people nowadays..and very few good people among them.
So these people get stuck..They cant lower their standards nor they can live without having social interaction with others.So most of the rich people are lonely..They dont have a friend in whom they can confide their fears or losses..So these group of people are more prone for developing stress related health disorders  .More pathetic is the story of their children..
They are not taught about the life in the normal way..They are overprotected,over stressed and sometimes overfed.Most of these children dont experience the joy of playing in the ground with other playmates,simply because their parents are worried if their child gets spoiled by 'low-class' children .So many of them have a serious communication gap with their peers,their parents and others also.Poor kids,they are simply confused with this 'status equation'.So many of them have a troubled youth..

There is much more to be told about this situation ..I will continue some other time
Concluding the article I'd like to advice people not to build these walls around them..
To believe that every human is born equal is important I feel..

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Its never too late

FICTION

Its 2 a.m. in the part of world where I live,and I'm regretting my choice..
I work as an emergency specialist in the hospital,believe me is the worst job in the world..
You don't get to see the imagined rush or sainthood here..people mess up you see..mess up their freaking life and end up here.But lucky for them,they get to go outta here,either in wheelchairs or bodybags,but they get out.I'm terribly stuck,no way of getting out of this place..I m sick of seeing terribly sick people..Why couldn't I take plumbing as my line of work? I silently curse myself .It was all the same routine you see..you dont usually get a conscious patient here..As soon as patient gets out of danger,He gets transferred to the particular department  inpatient ward.Patients dont even recognise me as the one who saved their life because they dont know that I did it..I feel I've been betrayed of my rightful position..

I hear sound of siren.It graudually becomes louder,Hmm..one more case for me ,I start rubbing my eyes,getting ready to recieve the patient..I yawn twice or thrice and slowly move towards the recieving area.The ambulance stops near the entrance ,two paramedics get out in a hurry.
One of them comes to me and says, '911 call doctor,found the patient lying unconscious on floor ..'
Hmm..most probably a stroke or heart attack..I start thinking..'whats the pulse rate and bp?'       I ask 'pulse very feeble doc,bp not measurable ..' Well looks it might be a tough case to handle..
I casually open the door of ambulance and see the patient..I keep staring...

'Mom...????'


Suddenly there is an adrenaline rush in my body..I take her to my arms and look at her
she is sweaty..her lips blue..breathing is laborious, I try to get pulse but cant feel it..
I try to call the nurse but words wont come out of my mouth..
I recognise instantly that its a heart attack,suddenly my mind becomes clear..I start asking for nitroglycerine  but before i give it to her i need to confirm the diagnosis i hastily find the Ecg machine and try to fix the leads on her but I fail miserably..for the first time that is..
somehow  I fix the leads and get a reading ..It confirms my worst fears..out before my eyes is an ominous display of irregular wavy pattern of ecg recording indicating final cries of dying heart muscle..I try to calculate the amount of time i hav got to save her..most probably two minutes..two what?? 
Again I m in a frenzy..I try to get the nitroglycerine but as soon as I locate it mom's head turns to one side..again i rush to her and check her heartbeat..There is silence..I check it again..silence..
'Goddammit.....call crash cart..' I hear myself scream..
As it arrives in my mind plays visuals of my med classes..As soon as circulation stops cells start dying,first being the brain cells which die within three minutes..

'God..give me some more time........please..' I silently plead as I prepare the defibrillator..it gets charged in few seconds but those are the longest seconds in my life..as I put gel on the pads of defib machine I remember my childhood days and the beautiful face of my mother
'Charge full I clear you clear all clear...'I shout making sure nobody else gets hurt..Her body suddenly gets passively lifted up as electricity passes through her body.I dont have the courage to see the heart activity in ecg machine but somehow I find the courage to look up..
'Well done doc..We have a good cardiac rhythm .You have saved her life..Lets move her into the ICU.She's out of danger now' somebody says in background but I'm too shocked to recognise the person.

As I move her into the ICU, I start to understand the gravity of the situation.I realise this was the moment for which I had prepared all my life.This was the ultimate gift given for me,the gift of rescuing my beloved mother from mortal danger.Suddenly I feel relieved.I wipe off beads of sweat formed on my forehead.Finally the moment had arrived,the moment which made me feel fulfilled .A strange calmness descends over me..I have learnt that life is the most valuable thing in the world

I love my job now.. Its never too late to fall in love with your job isn't it?








Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sweet Revenge

FICTION

Jon was walking aimlessly..He didnt have anything to do actually he just lost his job the 
previous day..He was furious with his company for doing this to him.The company for which he had worked so hard,
lost sleep for so many days completing the projects.He just wished he could go back in time so that he could stop himself from doing all that he had done for this pathetic piece of waste.

His phone started ringing...'Bah..one more colleauge calling to give me condolences..bullshit' He thought. But the caller was unknown..Jon didnt want to talk with any stranger today..He just rejected the call.The phone rang again.
'what the heck? My life s so screwed up and here comes a wrong number!!ok anyway i'll take it..'He took the call


On the other side was a male voice which sounded rather strange...it was devoid of any emotion.
'Jon..We know what your company did to you.Idiots they are,because they don't know who does all the work there..Don't you want to hit them on their face?'
Jon's pulse started racing..'yes..! I would like to kill them all bastards!! what do they think of themselves?How can they do this to me? I will take revenge for sure..!!'
The male voice said  'Yes you will...I would like to help you in achieving that..Will you do it?'
Jons mind was full of ideas of revenge..probably much more vivid because of the whiskey he drank few hours back..He didn't think much before replying 'yes i would do anything".
'Ok,tomorrow morning one of my assosciates would give you a briefcase..You place it in the toilet
and comeback..you will get a lot of money for it'
Jon hazily remembered mounting expenses,bills,loans..his eyes brightened
"sure..how will i recognise your guy?"
"dont think about it..We will arrange everything..you just have this simple job"
'ok then it will be tomorrow..by the way whats your name??'
'my name isn't important..its your work that is important..'


It was early morning and Jon was ready for revenge..He got up early,freshened up and wore a nice suite.Just as he came out of his room,he saw a medium sized suitcase placed in front of
him.He looked around and there was nobody to be seen.He silently took the briefcase and started
towards his former workplace.He noticed briefcase was rather heavy,but he didn't dare to open it
as he was sure some explosive was inside..He didnt feel guilty ..He thought it was a tit for tat.

He entered the office.The metal detector on the door screeched but nobody was there to check it.
'Uff..one hurdle is over..I just need to place this briefcase near toilet now..'
He casually moved towards toilet..He noticed that lights were off..
'good for me..I can go undetected..'
He entered toilet and started placing the briefcase...


Suddenly all the lights flared up!! He was temporarily blinded by the flash of light..
Only thought in his mind.'oh dear this is it.i m dead..'
Suddenly there were people ..many of them laughing..
One of them came front and told..'You are in live tv now..you are
the latest Mtv Bakra...such an idiot you are..what do you think your company will
fire you just like that? Everything,even your dismissal was fake..'
Jon was still staring straight ahead.....................