Aruna is a grim reminder for KEM nurses

They don’t need any Delhi rape as reminder of how vulnerable women are as they have been attending to one such victim for the past 40 years.

Nurses at the civic-run KEM Hospital at Parel went about their duties as usual on Saturday when the Delhi gang-rape victim died. They don’t need any reminder of how vulnerable women are as they have been attending to one such victim for the past 40 years.

The victim, Aruna Shanbaug, was ironically, a nurse at KEM Hospital itself. She has been locked in a small room in Ward No 4 of the KEM Hospital and has been cooped up there ever since she was left brain-dead in 1973 after being choked with a dog chain and sexually assaulted by a sweeper, Sohanlal Walmiki, in the basement of the hospital.

After she was left abandoned by her family and fiance, the hospital took up the responsibility of taking care of her. The nurses firmly stood by Aruna and celebrate her birthday every single year. Though most nurses who worked with Aruna have retired or are on the verge of retiring, even interns at the hospital are aware of the brutal rape case that took place 40 years ago.

Dr Pragna Pai, former dean of KEM Hospital (1998-99), who had developed a close bond with Aruna during her tenure said, “The basement, where Aruna was sexually assaulted, was lying abandoned when I joined as the dean. I suspected that anti-social activities were being carried out there so I converted the basement into a changing room for security guards.”

“We also let relatives of outpatients of the Cardiac Surgery Department stay in a few rooms of the basement for a couple of days. By doing this, the basement used to be filled with people at all times and anti-social elements were unable to indulge in any activity, making it a safer place for female paramedics,” added Dr Pai. She further stated that even several years after the incident, security guards would escort nurses to the wards during their night shifts.

Dr Pai said that Walmiki died a natural death in Delhi where he was doing menial jobs after serving seven years in prison.

Are the nurses of KEM Hospital worried about their security after hearing about the incident? “Definitely not,” they answer. Speaking to FPJ, a nurse intern who joined the hospital only a few months back said, “When any one of us are put on duty in Ward No 4 we get to see her (Shanbaug) during her feeding time.” Though the nurse has vaguely heard of the Delhi rape case, she considers Mumbai a safe city.

Nurses at the hospital make it a point to feed Aruna fruit juices every four hours through a drip. “She is unable to chew or eat semi-solid food now. We try our best to attend to her as she has been through so much,” said a nurse, stationed at the ward. “Though I’ve been working for the past 20 years I didn’t know her personally, but our seniors speak of her fondly,” added the nurse.

On condition of anonymity, a senior nurse said that they were aware of the recent Delhi gangrape case but chose not to speak of it that often as it brought back bad memories. “Every time I hear of a brutal rape case on the news, it reminds me of 1973 when Aruna was sexually assaulted,” said the senior nurse adding that at such times only women feel a sense of hopelessness. “Though we feel safe working late night shifts in the hospital, we have to be careful sometimes to avoid any uncomfortable situations” she added.

Hand of God

Despite the nationwide outrage over Delhi gangrape case, cases of eve teasing and molestation are yet rampant on moving trains and buses in the city. In one such case of eve teasing in a BEST bus, instead of the law taking action against the man, karma finally intervened.

 A woman seated in one of the backseats of a BEST bus was being constantly stared and leered at by a male commuter who was standing only a few feet away. The woman chose to ignore him and hide her obvious discomfort as the middle-aged man continued leering at her for more than half of the journey. Though several other commuters noticed what the man was up to, none of them told him to look away until the bus that was heading to Mantralaya accidentally sped over an unmarked speed breaker and jumped a good one foot and landed.

The impact resulted in the eve teaser’s head getting banged against the bus roof which left him reeling with a nasty bump that was visible through his thinning hair. The man then sat a few seats away from the woman who was barely able to conceal her laughter, while he nursed his wounded pride for rest of the journey.

Travelling Circus

A young boy of not more than six years of age walked inside a Churchgate-bound train’s women’s compartment along with his younger companion on a busy weekday at around 3.30 pm. Both of them were dressed in filthy clothes but their faces were painted with elaborate mustaches to attract the attention of the indifferent commuters. They wore round caps with a string attached to top that supported a stone which dangled at their ears.

They rolled their heads every now and then which made the stone rotate around their heads while playing a dholak. When that didn’t succeed in impressing the commuters, the older boy did a cartwheel in the narrow space between the seats. Some of the women cracked a smile at this stunt. He did two to three more cartwheels when he noticed that most commuters were looking at him rather interestedly. His younger friend cheered for him the entire time. The boy moved on to his next act which involved a small iron hoop.

He lay down on his stomach with the hoop around his waist. His friend then managed to squeeze his frail body through the gap between the iron hoop and the boy’s back. A few women gasped while watching the boys with a mix of horror and surprise.

The boy then put forward his plate hoping his act would win a few coins. However, of all the women who were amused by his attempts to earn a few rupees, only two dropped one rupee coins on his plate. The boy quickly pocketed the coins and moved to the next compartment along with his friend.

Sick Hospital

Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Hospital or Sion Hospital has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Recently, 11 of its resident doctors contracted tuberculosis because of squalid living conditions in their hostels. However, the filth is not only restricted to the RMO quarters.

When visitors walk into the main hospital building, the smell of decay and hopelessness greet them. One has to be careful not to tread on any relatives who are sprawled across the corridors either eating or taking a quick nap. The most dreaded floor, however, is the second floor with the paediatric wards.

Shrieking toddlers are seen squatting on the corridors along with their harassed parents who try to pacify their kids in vain. Many of these toddlers vomit, and even worse, defecate on the corridors right out of the neonatal wards. The parents don’t bother cleaning up after their kids ‘work’. If you’re unfortunate enough to step on the human feces or vomit, it is because you weren’t carefully watching every single step you were taking inside Sion Hospital’s paan stained building.

iPhone problems

When a relative buys an expensive iPhone from another country for you, make sure you get it unlocked by an Apple store and not at your local mobile repairing store.

A Chembur resident approached the police station on Tuesday after his brand new iPhone, that was gifted to him from a relative in the UK, completely stopped working after he gave it to a small mobile store for getting it unlocked. An iPhone bought abroad needs to get updated and unlocked so it can accept an Indian SIM card.

Even after the man told the mobile store owner to get his phone repaired after it stopped working, he refused saying he would have to pay extra.

The on-duty sub-inspector then asked the complainant to call the mobile store owner to the police station. On arriving at the station, the mobile repairing store owner received an earful from the sub-inspector after agreeing to repair the software damage done to the phone.

His mobile number was taken down and he was sent away with a warning.

Why travelling in a second class women’s compartment is a nightmare

Mankhurd station has always been the most dreaded stop for commuters heading for Navi Mumbai. Recently, however, a train journey for the vegetarian commuters has become a nightmare.

 The reason? Fisherwomen boarding the train at Mankhurd station. These fisherwomen are infamous for not only making train compartments reek of stale fish, but also for their temper tantrums. No sane commuter would dare getting in these fisherwomen’s way or answering back to the obscenities yelled at them in case they feel they aren’t given enough room in an already packed compartment.

 Lately, however, these fisherwomen are seen selling fish in the second class women’s compartment. Much to everyone’s chagrin, these fisherwomen are least affected by commuters repeatedly requesting them not to shove plates full of fish in front of their faces.

 Vegetarian commuters who have grown used to the smell of stale fish are now forced to put up with fisherwomen selling fish as if they were cheap earrings or hair bands. It is only after Vashi or Sanpada station, where the fisherwomen alight, that commuters find it safe to breathe through their noses again.

Youngsters unable to cope with heartbreaks, says helpline data

Mumbai: Heartbreak seems to the major reason, apart from depression, why callers dial helplines. Going by the suicide prevention helpline run by Vandrevala Foundation, as many as 2,617 of the 32,000 calls (roughly eight per cent) it received in 2011were about break-ups. the number one mental illness in the city is depression, followed by relationship problems relating to romance.

The Foundation that works towards mental health awareness compiled data on all calls on its helpline in 2011.that saw a majority of its callers in the city suffering from depression.

Apart from the top two complaints, anxiety, mental strain, obsessive compulsive disorders, phobias and sleeping disorders were the most common reasons for dialling the 24-hour helpline (1860-266-2345 and 022-2570 6000). Of the more than 32,000 calls that help line got in 2011, as many as 2,890 were from people were suffering from depression whereas 8, 982 were from those with symptoms of phobias, eating disorders, sexual problems and somatic disorders where people complain of aches and discomfort without there being any medical basis to it.

Suicidal tendencies were another issue that was high with 400 callers and before that Vandrevala Foundation had 461 callers who are into substance abuse. Callers related to work and occupational problems was 304 and most of them tend to call after losing a job to learn how to cope with it.

Dr Arun John, executive vice president, Vandrevala Foundation at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, says, “The call volume in one year has increased as more people are aware of helpline numbers and how it can benefit them. The anonymity that a helpline provides callers is what makes them discuss their problems at length.”

“A person with suicidal thoughts basically just needs a hand to hold on to and if he/she has someone to talk to who won’t judge or pull them down it makes a huge difference. As suicide is usually an impulsive act, in several cases, we have convinced distressed callers not to take such drastic steps. It was only this one time we got to know a college student committed suicide despite our attempts,” added Dr.John.

People suffering from physical illnesses and disability also used the helpline with 286 callers last year. Strong unreasonable beliefs or superstitions were another factor high among callers with 438 such cases observed in Vandrevala Foundation. Behavioural problems were noticed in 188 callers and hallucinations and delusions among 192 of them.

A team of trained counsellors and psychiatrists handle the helpline round the clock and across the state. Callers on the helpline range from students undergoing stress due to exams to lonely senior citizens who just need someone to talk to. Each caller’s details are carefully documented by the foundation and are treated as confidential.

Several callers start using the helpline frequently to receive help when in distress. In many instances, people who have just lost a job or about to appear for an important exam call up the helpline asking for guidance and a listening ear.Other issues such as vulnerability, self harm, living conditions, activities of daily life (220 callers), child protection and cognitive problems were also recorded in the data.

Dr.Harish Shetty, psychiatrist at LH Hiranandani hospital, said, “Helplines are very effective in helping people with mental illness and suicidal tendencies. This one time a man called our helpline threatening to jump into Powai lake as he owed a lot of money to some people. We not only convinced the man not to take such a drastic step but also spoke to his money lenders and requested them to go easy on him.”

“Several times we have conversations that are last for one or two hours to help people in distress,” added Dr.Shetty.

(This the fourth and final installment in the series on mental health issues)

Karaoke Night

So,i decided instead of sitting at home on a Sunday,doing nothing just because i have an off i should do something fun for a change! I ended up at an expensive nightclub where a karaoke championship was being held. Not a very shabby night, but the place was overpriced and it got boring when contestants chose to sing love songs. Soooo,here’s my half assed write up on it.

While most people look at karaoke as a platform for half drunk pub goers who awkwardly sing to their favourite songs as their friends cheer them on, there are a few in the city who look at it as an opportunity to display their singing talents.

 These karaoke enthusiasts in the city were in for a huge treat on October 7, as the Karaoke World Championship’s final round was held in Palladium Mall where 27 participants from across the country tried their best to woo the judges. The venue was packed with people till around 1.30am as the winners, who would represent India in Finland, were declared by the end of the event.

 The contestants, who were dressed to the nines, performed to songs ranging from love songs to rock ones and succeeded in keeping the audiences engaged with their singing as well as performance skills. Many of these contestants had a group of friends present in the audience for moral support and to even act as cheerleaders.

 The contestants were judged on their ability not only to sing but crowd interaction, costumes and stage presence. The winner in the male category, Faizan Khurshid from Kolkata, who entered the venue with a huge scarf covering his face, sang English rock band, Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The contestant, who was known as ‘the underdog’ in the competition, managed to pull off one of Queen’s toughest songs flawlessly. Khurshid had painted his face red and black, and enacted the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapdosy in a musical style.

 Sharvari Deshpande from Mumbai, winner under the female’s category, sang Christina Aguilera’s ‘Tough Love’. Though the judges criticised her for her bad choice in costume, she managed to woo them with her flawless sur and taal. The two winners also get to enjoy return flights and accommodation in a luxurious chalet for six days while in Finland.

 Other contestants who stood out were two women from Mumbai who performed to American pop star Lady Gaga’s songs. The contestants had gone up to the lengths of keeping their performance in sync with Gaga’s extravagant dressing style, which helped them bag the runner-up position. Another contestant sang Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ impeccably while a male senior citizen kept the audience grooving to ‘Mustang Sally’ by Mack Rice.

 The judges of the event were actor Javed Jaffrey, singer Manasi Scott, music directors Raju Singh and Sulaiman Merchant. A group of four college students who performed to The Beatle’s ‘Hey Jude’, will be accompanying the two winners to Finland to cheer for them whilst enjoying free accommodation and tickets to Finland. Only two groups were competing for these perks at the championship. The sole group competing against the other one at the Karaoke Championship were a group of four girls from Kolkata who sang Jamelia’s hit song ‘Superstar’.

Toilet Graffiti

Female commuters travelling in the first class compartments of harbour line trains have noticed a new trend of ‘toilet graffiti’ type of drawings on the seats and walls of the compartment of late.

 Much to their disgust, several woman commuters have noticed drawings of the female body across seats and walls on which several obscene comments are scribbled along with a phone number. While most female commuters choose to ignore it, these mischievous youths armed with their sketch pens have started getting more creative with their sexual drawings which include graphic details of sexual acts.

 These miscreants manage to get away as they enter the compartments after 10pm when the first class women’s compartment is usually deserted because of which they never get caught red-handed.

Banter

Women commuters who work in the graveyard shift will always warn you against travelling in the first class compartment of trains after 9pm for the simple reason that it is usually empty and hence, unsafe. Men entering the first class women’s compartment and harassing a woman isn’t unheard of in the city.

 At around 9.30pm on Saturday, a drunk, homeless man entered the women’s compartment of a Panvel-bound train at Sewri station. The two women sitting in the compartment chose to ignore the drunkard instead of telling him to get down at the next station out of fear.

 The homeless man, who reeked of alcohol, stood next to the compartment’s door yelling at no one in particular and started pacing up and down the compartment restlessly to the women’s horror, who by then had put away their mobile phones and were watching the hysterical man, wondering if they should take the risk of confronting him or not.

 The man then held on to the flimsy wire mesh by the compartment’s door and started dangling off the entrance dangerously. However, he didn’t bother alighting the train at the next few stations. Commuters from other compartments gaped at him nervously through the wire mesh, afraid he would eventually fall off the train. That was when a railway police man who was in the next compartment yelled at the drunkard, warning him to get off the train at the next station to which the man hoarsely replied he wouldn’t.

 He was then pulled out of the train by GRP officials at Wadala station who gave him a good thrashing for creating such a scene.