My Uncle's Story of Defeat....

Stories hadn't moved me to an edge for some time now. And then I met my uncle, a very close relative. I surprisingly hadn't heard his complete story till date, although people jibed bits of their own versions.

It was the story of his youth, of fairytale success & crumbling demise of dreams. I knew footballers & musicians who plummeted to glorious fame and spiralled into dark vanquish. But his story was almost my own, of our own family, of my cousins born to him...

I still remember a photo of him in khaki green Army uniform, holding a red headshield right after landing from a helicopter. He looked no less than a protagonist from a romantic english novel,  his life no less than fiction, like undulating seawaves.

Since early childhood, studies weren't his expertise. But he was gifted. He played volleyball & was exceptionally phenomenal at it. He played under clubs. People back home in Gorkha, knew him for his game.

He was perhaps eighteen when he entered Kathmandu, stepping in his elder brother's shoes, who was already a government official. Goverment service was prestigious, highly revered and acclaimed. My uncle had similar big dreams. Given his extraordinary skills, he was offered an army position. He enrolled in sports quota. He had only two hours of service per day
Unlike fellow cadres, he was exempted of arduous army rountine. Other cadres were vexed of the liberty he was granted.

In his glory days, he never lost a game. And that picture of khaki dress with red headshield was taken in one such sunny day....

He was paid very well both by the army and his club. People knew him. No one forgot his name after watching his game. He had the same name as our late King. And he played like one.

Times were promising. And someone advised him to join a bank job. Those days, government and bank jobs were prized. He initially declined but since his army trainings were only two hours a day, he had abundant time for a fulltime job. Little did he know, that it was the herald of an ominous downfall...

He was juggling two jobs, and still playing well when he met another player Hari. Hari was a big bull from Kathmandu valley and reigned volleyball arena of Patan.

He met his nemesis.

Their egoes wrestled, both claiming the title over some verbal spat. The challenge was very serious for both. One afternoon, they confronted each other in a volleyball match.

Like every other time, my uncle won!!

But that defeat stirred fire in Hari's soul. His ego collapsed and he seeked revenge. As they say, you need only one matchstick to set an entire stockpile of straw on fire. Hari was a snowball of venegeance...

He found about my uncle's jobs through some dissatisfied fellow cadres in the army. Someone filed a complaint that he was working two jobs. My uncle didn't know he could be punished for taking dual jobs simultaneously. His knightly castle of armors, badges, stars and brooches suddenly fell apart. He lost both jobs, was fined heavily and even threatened to be jailed. He couldn't play from his club... One angry defeated volleyballer ruined his reputation as well as life.

After some time, army offered his position back as a sportsman. But his sportsmanship spirit was trampled. He was terrified. He succumbed to the illfated twist of time. Too many things changed. Only he can narrate the hailstorm of emotional rollercoster he experienced.

Days months and years passed in unemployment. He found solace in alcohol. His wife and children suffered heavily with and because of him. Children missed schools due to unpaid dues, wife worked through odd jobs to make ends meet and he lost his identity even in front of his family. 

If only he had lost that one game. If only Hari had won. Even Hari perhaps wasn't aware that an act of wrath would devastate many lives. It wasn't my uncle's fault. He was extraordinarily blessed, but with a different fate.....

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So much respect for this man who would've otherwise represented Nepal in International platform. He would've been an Army Major now... and his talented kids would have had a different life!


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Doctors for Society or versus them??

I feel very sad about this bilateral pull between medical fraternity & consumer right advocates. I want to start with my small story. I clarify beforehand that me & my story is just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of medical scenario in Nepal.

I am a married, female, doctor, who lives with her in-laws, with my two kids. Please read about my obligations in between the lines. And I went to China at 6th month of 2nd pregnancy all alone, to a city where I didn't know anyone before, only to learn something called Fat graft. It was something new & something I really really wanted to learn. I chose to go there in such a vulnerable stage of pregnancy because I knew, if I didn't take that opportunity, I probably wouldn't get a second chance.

This is the state of learning or training opportunities in Nepal. I cannot imagine  hardships faced by thousands others, who live in foreign countries for years before completing eight grueling years of medical education until MD degree. And despite that, these same thousands of doctors are working day & night, with monthly income similar to or even less than that of clothing stores, wholesale vendors or slaughter houses, leave aside fashion boutiques, parlors, restaurants, etc. In the United Kingdom, junior doctors, took to the streets, to increase remunerations in the past. In Nepal, if we did the same by talking about wages, it would trigger another moral debate and catch meaty headlines in our newspapers.

Before reinforcing "blind-folded" legal system, create opportunities, scholarships, trainings, promote research, grants. Make doctors resourceful, trained and experts. Create environment for growth & positivity instead of making doctors hunker down for justice. We are breeding a society of distrust, of malice, threat & fury. If patients are consumers, then doctors must be goods that can be bought, things, or materials. I don't understand how to bridge this huge loop hole between doctors & patients.

Yes we are moms!

Motherhood, so sacred and powerful.... yet the world has so little time to glorify it. I cannot speak for all but I deeply admire all women who become mothers. As routine as it may seem, every woman has risked her life and body to nurture another being.... a boy or a girl, both loved and nourished unaminously, before either is received partially by this world. What a pity that a girl child is still belittled, a pregnant woman is still judged, disparaging their worth at work, devalued coz their time is divided between work and child.  The world is blurring into emotionless incompassionate emoticons, where new beings find themselves in the lap of babysitters, because the world couldn't spare their moms at work. This subconcious shift to workaholic robotics, scares me. As a mother of two, a boy and a girl, I love them both. As about my work, its my third child, I love it almost obsessively. But how to find that balance, is complicated. More than often, I struggle to meet two full time jobs. I cannot accomplish both, without pushing myself beyond nerve-wrecking limits.

Another painful truth, moms are again judged insensibly for their bodily changes, prompting them to despise the mirror. This social media whim, singing tales of reverence of zero-sized moms, is inflicting grave hazards on the minds of the young. 

Motherhood is so so beautiful, so divine.. no Shakespeare could scribble words of wisdom about it... coz he is a man. Only that woman, can jot down this celestial feeling. But alas! she's been busy rearing the new one. Thats why there is so less written about it, while there are volumes about another kind of love. Man and woman might have flimsy, superfluous or momentary glimpses of fleeting joy. Parenting is such sturdy feeling with robust roots, that won't wither with time. Its like that untainted lake, that doesn't shrink like a spring river. My deepest gratitude to all women, who are mothers, are reeling thru two full time jobs and finding joys to rejoice and recapitulate thru their lifetime.

Pollution in Kathmandu and brunt on our skin

Unabated pollution and deteriorating air quality of Kathmandu has been in news for all the wrong reasons lately. Due to rapid urbanization, people from all over the country throng to the capital for of education, employment, entrepreneurship etc. With annual population growth rate of 4.7% and motorization rate of 12%, Kathmandu has fast become overpopulated as well as polluted. Contributors of environmental pollution are vehicle emission, open air waste burning, industrial smog, brick kiln smoke, river sewage, construction work, etc. Scarcity of natural sinks such as forests, ponds, grassland and greenery has catapulted this damage in the valley.

In 2017, Kathmandu ranked as 5th most polluted city in the world according to Pollution index survey. In 2018, Environment Performance Index(EPI) had Nepal at the bottom among 180 countries in the survey. EPI was measured considering various indicators such as household solid fuels, sanitation, heavy metal and lead exposure, air quality, water quality, etc. Air quality of Nepal was worse than its neighbouring countries India, China, Bangladesh, etc. Ultraviolet Index (UVI) of major cities such as Kathmandu and P0khara are usually at the worst daily, with scores of 9-10 every day. UV Index depends on ozone layer, cloud cover, environmental pollutants, etc. Pollutants in the air are nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter smaller than 2. 5 Microns(PM2.5), ground level ozone, hydrocarbons, methane, etc. Amount of particulate matter in the air (PM2.5) has reached more than four times that of WHO guidelines in Kathmandu.

So what are the health implications of such chemicals, indices and scores? Pollution is a major health hazard causing asthma respiratory difficulties, heart disease and cancers. WHO has reported death rate of 0.036% from air pollution in Nepal. Globally, more and more researches are attributed to links between pollution and health. In the same realm, skin health is hugely impacted by environmental pollution.

Skin is the largest and outermost organ of the body which acts as a barrier against external harm. It is the first line of defense that fights these chemicals, but ultimately succumbs to their detrimental effects in long term. Skin, hair and oil glands bear the brunt of environmental pollutants, which get absorbed into skin directly or indirectly, causing oxidative stress and inflammation.  Many studies show that skin quality is altered, leading to dry, rough, dull and reactive skin that has redness, itching, burning and stinging. Content of the skin changes. Major studies in Shanghai and Mexico showed decrease in vitamin C, Vitamin E, squalene and linolenic acid content. Pores get clogged causing acne. Decrease in oiliness of skin makes it dry and easily attacked by allergens leading to eczema, itching, sun allergy and rashes. Gases such as nitrous oxide coming from vehicle emission cause pigmentation and black spots. Increased humidity and temperature leads to excessive sweating, clothing dermatitis and flexural dermatitis. Environmental factors also trigger chronic skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopy. Interaction of sunlight with different pollutants cause pigmented spot, keratosis and skin cancers.  UV irradiation coming from the sun can have many effects on skin, most of which are harmful. UV rays reach the earth surface at various intensity during different time of the day and seasons. Compound effect of UV irradiation and toxic gases in atmosphere increase many skin diseases.

Depletion of ozone layer in atmosphere is another imminent threat. Photochemical smog, supersonic aircrafts and gases deplete ozone layer in the sky, increasing UV rays reaching earth surface. For every 1% decrease in ozone layer, there is 2% in UVB intensity and 2% increase in skin cancers.   

Cumulative effect of the pollutants, UV radiation and ozone layer depletion amount to an array of skin diseases that are exponentially rising. Hence urgent measures to curb the pollution and environmental damage in Kathmandu is of paramount importance.

Can we do anything to save ourselves and save our skin from the premature uninvited turmoil?? Skin is a large organ and it isn’t possible to completely cover all areas of skin. Wearing full sleeves can curb the direct exposure to some extent. Since these pollutants get absorbed through exposed skin, washing our face, hands and feet should be a regime. While outside, wearing protective moisturizers and sunscreen  act as barrier as well as fight sundamage. These products form films on the surface of skin and protect from instant damage but not long term protection. A medical study has revealed that Dead Sea minerals rich water (DSW) and Pollustop creams attenuates damage by UVB. They act as physical barrier and protect against carbon and heavy metals induced damage. But they are not readily available in common cosmetic market. Besides these, minimal endeavors can be done on personal front to control health implications of pollution. 

In summary, impact of global warming, pollution and sun damge can be seen on skin as pimples, sunallergy, rashes in short term while wrinkles and cancer in the long run.

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