Old Delhi seems a little incomplete without the shouts of tongawallahs. With the government’s plan to put them off the road, how difficult would their future ride be.
Nazia Jafri, Neha Sethi and Kapou Malakar have the story.

“There are no simple ways for artist to survive, yet they must do more. They must intervene into the system that alienates them”
- SAHMAT (Safdar Hasmi Memorial Trust)

SAHMAT has brought up one month long exhibition in M. F. Hussain Gallery of Jamia Millia Islamia.

The theme of the exhibition is the image, music, text through which SAHMAT is trying to show the interaction of various forms of art.

The exhibition has made a trajectory of the 20-years of cultural journey with a reproduction of M. F. Hussain’s paintings. A display of letters and messages from the legendary Satyajit Ray, Nagarjun and other renowned activists are also there.

Another interesting feature is a projection of works of slum kids. Newspapers, postcards, letters and photographs clicked by slum kids are being exhibited.

A good deal of displays from different groups like Image and words, 1991, Artists against Communalism, 1994 and Cartoons against Communalism, 1992 have marked the exhibition to a great extent.

The exhibition made a significant display of history. Gandhi is one part of it. Postcards for Gandhi-1994, is another wing of SAHMAT which signifies the role of postcard in the days of e-mail particularly in India.

“Art on the move”, a unique display of SAHMAT activities has taken the exhibition to a different level. Vivan Sundaram’s findings of a vehicular form, wheeled cart or a cycle rickshaw for navigating the art object into unlikely places of the city is an exciting idea of disseminating culture. It is through this medium that plays, concerts and demonstrations have been staged in the open.

Street banners, posters, and the books published by SAHMAT are also on display. A video compilation of the 20 years of SAHMAT projects, made by Shankar Sharma, Anant Raino, Sashi Kumar and Sohail Hashmi are also on display.

Besides that, there is a showcasing of “Gift of India”, which is an exhibition of abstract art of India.

A special segment on display is “Sportsmen against Communalism”. This adds up another flavor to the exhibition. Sports people like Manoj Prabhakar, J. Srinath, Md.Azaharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar, all vow against communalism in this segment.

Culture stems out from the habitual behaviour of a community. The exhibition of SAHMAT has made a distinct mark by including variety of art form within it’s encompass.

By Dipu Shaw, Kapou Malaker, Gaurav Kumar

“The ban on smoking is a move in the right direction” - this is one thing that smokers, non-smokers or the busybodies of the anti-smoking lobby, all agree on. However, three months after the ban came into force, there are still doubts over how much it has worked.

Smoking already accounts for 900,000 deaths a year in India, according to a study of the New England Journal of Medicine. By 2010, this toll is expected to increase to 1 million people a year, the study points out.

Government of India has notified revised rules on the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places and geared up to prohibit smoking in public zone strictly from 2^nd of October, 2008.

As per the revised rules, the pubic zone has been categorized as shopping malls, cinema halls, public/private work places, hotels, banquet halls, discotheques, canteens, coffee houses, pubs, bars, airport lounges and railway stations.

But, making people aware of such no smoking zones is still a big challenge for officials.

“There are problems in executing the ban on smoking. Many people do not know how to identify these public places”, says Mohd. Iqbal, S. H. O. of Jamia Nagar police station.

However, a lot of people, mostly non-smokers believe that the ban is in the larger interest of the society. Prof. Manjula Batra of the Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia says that the objective of such an act is to promote the health of the people not only for this generation of people, but also of the future of the nation”. She suggests methods to spread awareness among the people. “We need to educate them. Media has an effective role to play. Arranging seminars, lectures etc to make people aware about the ban on the public places are available options”, she says.

Dr Sanjoy Gogia, physician, Internal Medicine in Max Hospital, New Delhi, is also one of the proponents of the ban. “This step is basically for the non-smokers. Passive smoking is equally harmful for people just like active smoking does”, says

Not everyone buys the views of the supporters of no smoking zones. “We know about the pros and cons of smoking. If we are uncomfortable with someone smoking in front of us, we can straightway go and tell that person not to smoke”, says Mukut Sharma, a student of the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

There are others in the student community who are demanding for Smoking Zones where they can go and smoke without affecting the non-smokers. Mayank Khurana, a 3^rd year statistics student of Hindu College, a regular smoker, feels that making the entire University campus a No Smoking Zone is not the best idea.

The Act has provisions for creating places where smokers can light up their cigarettes and smoke freely. Dr. Batra of Max Hospital says, “This act has clearly laid down that whereas in a hotel or a restaurant has the capacity of housing 30 people or more than that, then, it can have a separate smoking zone for it so that the general public is not affected”.

Nevertheless, places like University and college campuses do not fall in that category.

As of now, shutting your eyes to the “No Smoking Zone” boards and lighting your cigarette is a one way ticket to the police station.

By: Kapou Malakar and Kinley Tshering

Soma, mother of three-year-old Ayesha, scouts the East Delhi schools regularly these days. She looks tensed, annoyed and anxious. Some may take her for an ill person but that is not true. This picture is quite apparent these days when nursery admission is round the corner. Parents like Soma are having nightmares trying hard to get their children admitted in a nursery school.

Delhi government enhanced the budget for education in its 2007 budget to 34.2% of the total allocation. The Directorate of Education (DOE) has recognized 1,185 unaided public schools and 221 aided schools for nursery education in Delhi alone.

Despite this fact, parents are still caught in the mess of admission of their children. Many parents are unable to get their children’s admission in the school of their choice as most of the popular schools are located in certain pockets of the city which is far away form their residences.

Shyama Chona, the Principal of DPS RK Puram School says, “we follow a point system and we give points to a child on the basis of location proximity (neighborhood criteria), sibling of a child studying in a school and if the parents of the child is our alumni.”

But the criteria recommended by the schools seem to have created problems for the parents.

“Everybody has a desire to make their children study in a branded school. But neighborhood point curb that chance,” says Arvind Singh, a resident of Pitampura.

Moreover, this point system does not seem to favor the lower middle class families and parents who are not graduates. “Undergraduate parents receive only 5 or 6 points where else graduate parents receive 15 points which helps them, easily get their children admitted in the school,” says Shabeena, a resident of Okhla.

DOE has already released their guideline for nursery admission. According to it, no interview will be held for parents and child, by the school authorities for nursery admission. Even Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision to curtail down the age of the child at three for the admission into a nursery school.

Preserving their rich cultural heritage has often become the biggest challenge in front of Tibetans living in India. The Tibetan institute of performing arts in Dharamsala, the one set up by Dalai Lama has strived to preserve the rich Tibetan culture and theatrical tradition. Here is a report from Kapou Malakar and Gaurav Kumar .

By
Kapou Malakar

By
Dipu, Kapou & Kinley

Jamia Millia Islamia is in news ever since two of the university’s students were arrested by the Delhi police on 20th Sept. The Vice-Chancellor of the University Mushirul Hasan has committed to provide legal aid to the two students. The offer has raised a major controversy in political circles.
Two Jamia students- Zia ur Rehman and Mohammad Shakeel, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in terror activities.

Peaceful march
More than 1,500 students of the University and many staff members took part in a peace march on Thursday in the University area led by the Vice Chancellor. “The peace march is aimed to fortify Jamia’s determination to condemn violence”, said Prof. Hasan.
As soon as the rally ended, a handful of supporters carrying banners of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) reached the University area, shouting slogans of “Long live N. C. Sharma” and condemning the Vice Chancellor’s move to “support terrorists”.

Police vigilant
A major scuffle was avoided when the police roped in and took control of the situation. The supporters of ABVP were brisked away in police vans. “What the university is doing is not right,” shouted one of the ABVP supporters referring to the proposal of Jamia University to provide legal aid to the arrested students.
Deputy Commisioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi, Hargobind Dhariwal rushed to the spot to make sure there was no untoward incident. He clarified that there were no arrests and the march was peaceful. When asked about the identity of the ABVP supporters, he said “They could be anyone. It could be that they are not students”.
Prof. Hasan urged his students to get back to their respective faculties. Security remained beefed up in the University area throughout the day.

Support for arrested students
The Executive Committee of Jamia Teacher’s Association (JTA) also announced their commitment to provide financial support to the two students of the University who have been arrested for their alleged involvement in terror activities. The JTA praised the University’s move to provide legal assistance to the two students. They further demanded from the University that “no disciplinary action should be initiated against the students unless they are proven guilty by the court of law.”

Public –private partnership in health care service
By
Kapou Malakar


Twenty five year-old Jarifa is a full-time domestic worker in East Delhi. Last year, her husband Siraj, a barber, was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She managed to get her husband admitted to a nearby public hospital. Siraj remained there for about three and a half months. During this time, she became the sole bread earner of her family of seven members. Had the family been able to afford to treat Siraj in a private hospital, would things be any different? Probably yes. Public-private partnership can possibly be a way that can help poor people like Jarifa and Siraj to get better health care.
Public private partnership (PPP) is a policy sponsored by World Health Organisation (WHO) that was implemented in India from 2003. Reports of WHO defines PPP as a method to bring together both public and private hospitals to improve the state of health of the population.

PPP programmes are implemented in the developing countries to make the health care service more equitable. Few states in India like Karnataka, Haryana and Orrissa have already started working on PPP policy in their respective health care schemes.

In Delhi, Arpana Swastha Kendra in Gautampuri is the only health centre which has been working under PPP policy . It functions in collaboration with Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), offering different services on the urban health care development programme.
Retired Brigadier Ashok Sondhi, administrative head of Arpana Swastha Kendra says: “No urban health programme can be fully successful unless there is a synergy of effort from all the quarters concerned. PPP can be an option when there is a big gap in the services of public and private hospitals in terms of infrastructure, quality and the cost of the services provided.”
He added that they have 23 renowned doctors from various fields who volunteered to work with them. “With their help we run a free OPD twice a week although it is not adequate,” he says.
How does PPP policy claim to be cost effective in its operation? Mr. Sondhi says: “We offer a medicine worth Rs.60 at a subsidised rate of Rs.20. The patient has to give a nominal fee for their treatment whether it is root canalling, X-rays or ultrasound.”

Arpana Swastha Kendra has been working with hospitals like Apollo, Sri Ganga Ram, AIIMS, Safdarganj and St. Stephens for various treatments and surgery. “For the treatment of tuberculosis, we are tied with Cheshire Homes with a comprehensive Dot Programme,” says Mr Sondhi.

Very recently, Arpana Swastha Kendra has tied up with AIIMS on a treatment programme for cervical cancer as a part of WHO pubic private partnership programme.

The best part in public private partnership scheme is its community development programme. “During the past five years, 30 self- help groups were formed with total members of over 500 women. It can help the community to be self sufficient”, adds Mr.Sondhi.

Experts say that the public and private sectors can potentially gain from one another in the form of resources, technology, skills and management practices. “Collaboration with the private sector in the form of Public-Private Partnership would improve quality, efficiency and accountability of the services,” says Dr Behera, Director of L.R.S. Institute of Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases.

Meanwhile, people in Gautampuri area are pleased with the services of Arpana Swastha Kendra, the one under PPP policy scheme.

Punam, a construction worker staying in Gautampuri locality says: “Once in every month community workers visit our home to find out our difficulties. We are glad that someone is there to help us out.”

By

Kapou Malakar

Photo: Jaishree

Indian celeb Sushmita Sen sports a tattoo on her back to portray a funky image. Binti, a 15-year old also gets a tattoo on her ankle to look cool. No matter how much burn or stretching the tattoo bearers suffer on their skin, they don’t seem to mind it. Tattoos, they say, are fashion.

Vasudha, from St. Stephens College got a tattoo on her lower back three days ago. “Getting a tattoo done on the body is painful, but I enjoy that pain”, she says. “I got this tattoo to match my new wardrobe,” she exclaims happily.

Tattoos are hot commodities these days. “Everyday four to five people come to us to get a tattoo done on their body,” says Shakil Ahmed, who works at a tattoo parlor in Sadar Bazaar. Tattoos represent an art form, and can reflect the attitude of its wearers. But they have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Tattooing can prove to be hazardous if due care is not taken.

Tattooing involves needles that move at very fast speed to penetrate the outer layers of the skin. The needles break the skin, and inject dots of ink into the third layer, creating an image of the tattoo design on the skin. But, the biggest concern one should have when getting a tattoo is the place and the equipment used. “If the equipment isn’t cleaned after each time it is used, the risk of getting the dreaded HIV virus is very high”, says Dr Shail Gupta, a dermatologist at Satya clinic in Shakti Nagar. “You can even be exposed to diseases like tuberculosis or hepatitis,” he further adds.

Although tattooing can be dangerous, there are ways to minimize the threats. “We use steam pressure autoclave to disinfect the tattoo guns and needles”, says Lokesh, who works at Devil’s Tattoo at PVR Priya complex. “Bleach and alcohol don’t actually sterilize the equipment. Instead, they are used to clean the equipments”, he says.

There are other safety measures that are recommended by dermatologists. “We even recommend tattoo artists to wear rubber gloves that can be easily disposed off”, says Dr Gupta. “The ointment spreader that is used after making a tattoo should also be disposable”, he further adds.

Cleanliness and sanitation is the only way to prevent any harmful consequences of getting a tattoo. “Before the tattoo artist starts making the tattoo, he should offer each customer a brand new set of fresh needles to let his/her customers choose from them”, Says Dr Yogesh Sehgal, Dermatologist, at a clinic in Mayur Vihar.

In the world of tattoos, your tattoo is as good as the money you pay for it. So, if you are planning to get a tattoo, get it from a good place, instead of trying to save money. Because, fads and style are temporary. After all health comes first.

By Kapou Malakar

Imagine you no more have to get those painful injections. All you have to do is to lie down, let the nuclear rays do the job of detecting and curing the ailment.
This is because nuclear energy is no more a source of energy only. It is on its way of reaching the common people as it is used to detect the cancer and many other ailments. If you didn’t know that, read further.

Nuclear medicine

The clinical discipline concerned with the diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radio nuclides (an isotope of artificial or natural origin that exhibits radioactivity), excluding the therapeutic use of sealed radiation sources.

Depending on the type of nuclear medicine exam you are undergoing, the radiotracer is injected into a vein, swallowed by mouth or inhaled as a gas and eventually collects in the area of your body being examined, where it gives off energy in the form of gamma rays. This energy is detected by a device called a gamma camera, a (Positron Emission Tomography) PET scanner and/or probe. These devices work together with a computer to measure the amount of radiotracer absorbed by your body and to produce special pictures offering details on both the structure and function of organs and other internal body parts.
(www.radiologyinfo.com) What is nuclear medicine?

World Health Organization(WHO) has identified Nuclear medicine as a branch within the field of radiology that includes X rays which uses some amount of radioactive material like phosphorous, palladium, cesium, iridium, phosphate, or cobalt.
to diagnose a medical condition.

“The radiation used in nuclear medicine is different from the radiation used in X ray procedure”, says Dr Ishita Barat , a nuclear medicine practitioner at Ganga Ram Hospital .

THE ADVANTAGES
The best part of the nuclear medicine is that it does not require any skin injections and it is only the nuclear rays that pass through the body.
material is sealed inside a seed or pellet and placed inside the body, in or near a tumor. The radiation material used in comes from radioactive iodine 125, strontium 89, phosphorous, palladium, cesium, iridium, phosphate, or cobalt.




RISKS INVOLVED

Along with benefits, nuclear medicine has its own share of side effects also. “For pregnant women and children, we actually don’t refer nuclear medicine. They are treated with other available technology like ultrasound, MRI test and so on .” Dr. Barat confirms.
Radiology is the medical imaging technologies to diagnose and sometimes treat diseases. Originally it was the aspect of medical science dealing with the medical use of electromagnetic energy emitted by X-ray machines or other such radiation devices for the purpose of obtaining visual information as part of medical imaging. Radiology that involves use of x-ray is called roentgenology. Modern day radiological imaging is no longer limited to the use of x-rays, and now includes technology-intensive imaging with high frequency sound waves, magnetic fields, and radioactivity.

Moreover, at present, nuclear technology is not cost effective. Most of the equipments required, like imaging detector such as PET camera and gamma camera, are imported from US and are costly. “Even launching such equipment in the hospital means an investment of 10 -12 crores”, says Anil Bharali, retired cardiologist from Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre.

It is an advanced form of medicine mostly used by army and DRDO( Defense and Research Development Organization) since its inception in 1960s.
According to the report of Society of Nuclear Medicine in India, there are nine hospitals in Delhi with a nuclear medicine technology branch. Apart from Army Hospitals we have Escorts Heart Inst. & Research Centre, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, All India Institute of Medical & Hospital Sciences, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital having the same technology .

The Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) has been responsible for nurturing and spreading the science of nuclear medicine in India, but the exposure of nuclear medicine is still at its nascent stage. No wonder many doctors are in favor of the INDO-US nuclear deal. “Energy and radiation needed for nuclear medicine can be generated from nuclear reactor only. It can be developed if the we can get the energy at a lesser cost”, Dr. Bharali adds