Ebola, the Biggest Threat to India???

The news is abuzz with new Ebola cases getting reported from the developed parts of the world like US and Europe which are supposed to be better equipped to contain Ebola spread. The scary part of all these incidents is not Ebola itself but the lax in measures to contain the virus spread.

First this one Thomas Eric Duncan comes to US from Liberia and with in 4 days fell sick of Ebola and goes to a hospital, receives anti biotics and comes home despite the fact that he should have been isolated then itself. When he comes the second time he is isolated with inadequate gear and unclear protocol. The result is a nurse gets infected of Ebola. The worst of this is that another nurse who treated Mr. Duncan travelled to other places by air travel, with a possibility of infecting numerous others.

The unforgivable mistake is the lack of responsibility from the nurse who traveled by air despite knowing the risk and protocol which says a strict NO to travel for 21 days of incubation. And the authorities of CDC should be punished equally for not implementing the protocol strictly.

Recently I read an interview of Dr. Peter Piot who co-discovered Ebola virus. At one point he says that there are close to 40,000 Indians working in Ebola hit countries and if anyone of them catches the virus and goes to India the situation will be worse. This worries anybody who knows how dangerous Ebola is.

On an average an Indian interacts with many people in a given day and the festival season is a time of get-together. Looking at the population, it's interactions and the possibilities of virus spread, it is very scary to imagine what happens if Ebola enters India.

So what should India do in addition to the measures it's already taking?

Look at the travel history of all people coming to India through airways or waterways. If anybody had travelled to Ebola hit country in the last 21 days then he might be a potential carrier of the virus. Better isolate them.
Stop issuing Visas for people from Ebola hit countries temporarily till the virus is contained.
Stop goods imports from Ebola hit countries
Devise an Ebola response protocol and train medical workers ahead.  
Invest in Ebola vaccince development in collaboration with other countries.
Strict screening measures should be implemented at airports and ports.

Educate people about Ebola and how to identify the symptoms.

Hope for the best...

Side Effects of Sudden Wealth (Bangalore)

Ever since I relocated to Bellandur area in Bangalore a couple of years ago, I had been searching for the side effects of sudden wealth in people in general, Indians in particular. I recall some folk tales from the depths of my childhood memories related to the same but having a direct experience has different effects on me.

So the core of my quest translates to finding answers to the question "What happens to people's behavior, attitude, relationships and life style when they get sudden wealth?"

So I started a massive search campaign on internet. I did find some interesting answers but none of them could correlate to my current observation in India. So I decided to write up this article with my observations, small interviews and experiences with people who are lucky/unlucky to have got sudden wealth.

Before I start going into details, let me clarify what sudden wealth means in this context. Sudden wealth is a condition where one finds oneself with assets (lands, cash, realestate etc) worth millions of dollars in a very short period of time (could be days to a couple of years). No body knows how such condition could precipitate at any place in a given time. But in Bangalore, I could deduce this - Bangalore was subject to rapid development of IT and other related industries which brought a massive swath of land under economic zones. Ring roads appeared, IT hubs developed and this shooted the value of lands to stars. What were worthless pieces of barren lands a mere 1 decade ago are now worth multi million dollars.

As a consequence many things happened. Some people were subject to land grabbing, some people were subject to cheating, some people were subject to early sale pitches and some people's networth shooted to tens of millions of dollars. We are going to deal with the later kind of people here.

People who were once sweating for their daily bread a few years ago are now super rich, relatively overnight. From an observer perspective this brought some good and bad changes.

I met this lady once who claims she had 2 acre land just beside the ring road and who sold it when the land rate appreciated.
"They gave me 50 lakh rupees for 2 acres but now that same land costs around 100 crores" she told me.
"When did you sell?" I asked.
"10 years ago" she replied.
"Did you buy anything else from that money?" I enquired.
"I bought one apartment house, my son bought a car and we bought some agriculture land in our village. Thats all we have. But they cheated me and took my 100 crore land for just 50 lakh" she was groaning.

Clearly she conveniently missed the point that the said value of the land is the current market rate than the rate 10 years ago. She is perpetual agony that she sold the land for pennies. She is neither enjoying her new posessions nor let go of the past. Surely not the best life style.There are definitely many people like this lady. Afterall the values of lands in city keep on increasing every now and then.

On the other hand these people's living standards had improved, infact they metamorphosized into rich life style. Posh houses, luxury cars, expensive dressing. All their needs are met, luxuries are at their finger tips.

This sudden wealth also brought bloated egos and hazardous life styles. Drinking alcohol, the expensive kind, is a status symbol. Now their ego desparately want recognition. This desparation lead them to dysfunctional behaviours. They want to have more wealth than that some X. They want to have more dominace in the locality. They want to be talked about. They want to be looked upon as great.They want to be feared.

So when someone wants to enter a street with his vehicle, someone will stop and in an arrogant tone shout "this whole street is mine, don't bring your vehicle. If you park here I will cut the tyres". They wash the street and forbid anybody to come on bikes or cars. Yet these streets are owned by Corporation! They demand unreasonable rents and retort "if you want house give this much rent or go. No negotiation". An utter lack of concern for people around and lack any sensibility.

Like any other parents, they want their kids not to go through ordeals of life as they did, but this went to such an extent that lack of discipline at homes or schools made most of them rogues and some drug addicts.They dont want their properties to be split due to marriages so they marry off their sons and daughters in close relatives and extended families who are of same financial status. They spend millions of rupees on God's idols during festivals but never offer any help to the needy.

The humble beginnings are forgotten. They have everything but humility. Their company gives nothing but irritation. To understand the situation with reasoning and expectation of humility or such noble qualities will only disappoint one. The below quote shall give the courage to accept the truth that such pathetic people are a reality and they need our pity.

"Money and success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there."