HIV and society

I had just finished my food and my sunday paper had become the center table as usual. The tube takes most of my attention but concluding it all, this article came to my attention "Should HIV testing be mandatory before marriage?". With both the Yes vs. No column neatly stacked next to each other. The negation was supported by a lady (Jhanavi Goswami) who herself married at the age of 16 was left out when her husband died and ever since has worked in a AIDS help program; while the support was via Goa's Health Minister (Dayand Narvekar) who is working to introduce a similar bill in Goa.

Ammmph; so it left me thinking; SHOULD it?

Jhanavi gave some plausible reasons in its support foremost plausible from my perception being the lack on infrastructure and tampering of results. That’s a big issue. But apart from that she cited reasons like forced testing and expenditure costs which I think can be easily mooted out. As far as forced testing is concerned I guess the healthy partner whoever it may be would really be in unison, in case he/she is given this option before they fall pray for it; merely for the fact that they land in with no fault of their own. And as far as money is concerned which is 5K per test shouldn’t be a problem in a country where families even village families are bred to spend lavishly on this one time affair. At least a start should be taken in from the cities where everyone can bare it as well being educated enough understand the compulsion and need.

Dayanand is in the process of amending Goa Public Health act to bring this into force I guess being a sizable population would just be the right experimentation grounds for such an act.

I guess government should start advertising its inclusion in society and then later introduce it so that families all over realise its importance. Just like the vaccination procedures towards saving our future generations I consider it no less; wherein not only a new born is saved but the other half who falls into a marriage preview and later in its clutches with no fault of its own.

Daily humm drummm-----------

A bunch of holidays seem to be grazing my turf and I am heading back delhi to laze myself down (incase anybody rolling around the corner just honk me) not to mention a few interviews to attend not the jobs ones but the marriage prospects I am trying to hit on from long. Lets see.

Ironically every time I am reminded of my arranged marriage it rings this line from Anand and I chuckle "aajkal woh zamana tho raha nahi; maa/baap ne var chun liya; aur beti chup chaap doli chad gayee; aajkal ladka ladki dekh nahi leta jabtak ...." and ever since I saw this movie fifteen years back I was with this staunch believe that someday I also would bump into a gal and marry her off; arranged marriage was never in my preview of believe; but fate seems to be having other plans and the more I seem to analyze it the more puzzled I seem to be "if ladka ladki seem to be seeing each other from that long and marrying themselves off; what the hell am I doing". Maybe the act itself would answer that for me!!

The tax solution

"Put your best foot forward" that’s what the headlines of one of the articles in TIME magazine read; and it cascaded a chain of thoughts foremost being the ultimate solution to India's tax problem; you would still be wondering what I am talking about. As part of a long-term campaign in Shanghai, designed to rid the city of the shameful behavior before it hosts the 2010 World Expo, as many as 112,000 renegade pedestrians have been fined up to $6 each for jaywalking since May.

Wow, can you imagine what India's government could gather in a year if such a policy of banning jaywalking/spitting/urinating and throwing thrash on street gets implemented. The government could have a cash reserve overflow problem. No kidding.

I guess few years back smoking in public areas came underway and the response and after effects have quite been successful. Sometimes things like common sense requires a hard hand to back it up; because we swagger too easily. But I do think all our metros would really benefit from such a move, the city would be much cleaner.


(Image courtesy : Internet : various)

If only signs could help!!!