The Changing face of Medical Education in India

The Changing face of Medical Education in India

The Union Health Minister, Gulam Nabi Azad has announced a series of
measures to improve rural health care facilities. Shortage of doctors
willing to work in rural areas and shortage of hospitals are two main
problems affecting the proper implementation of National Rural Health
Mission. Most Primary Health Centers (PHC)s are under staffed. In
order to address this serious lacuna several measures have been
initiated by the government.

1. Private Medical Colleges and Hospitals are being encouraged. Rules
for setting up Medical colleges have been amended under MCI.
Government has sanctioned opening of 19 Institutions on par with AIMS
and 250 Nursing Colleges. The latter move will provide an output of
20000 nurses in forthcoming years. Of the 300 medical colleges in the
country, 150 colleges are in the private sector, with 80-85 per cent
of the colleges located in south India, mainly in Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. To offset this imbalance
of heavy growth in southern and western side, medical colleges in
hilly regions will be given additional incentives. Now it would be
enough to have 20 acres of land instead of 25 cares to start a medical
college in hilly areas.
2. A new Cadre of doctors, especially to serve only in rural areas has
been proposed. There will be a "four-year-first-level" degree in
medicine. Three years of Education and one year of Internship is
planned. Syllabus has been framed and State governments have to take
action. This cadre will be lower in status than regular MBBS and those
who qualify will have to stick to rural areas only.
3. To encourage MBBS doctors to work in rural areas, some additional
grace marks will be given in the National (Medical) Entrance
Examination for PG courses in Medicine. Grace marks vary from 10% to
30% depending upon the number of years (1 to 3) the doctor serves in
rural areas. If a doctor fails to get a seat in PG diploma even with
this grace marks, then he can be considered for admission under 50%
reservation of seats for those who have rural practicing experience.

While I welcome above measures, the last one makes me a little
skeptical. Does this mean that low quality doctors are OK for rural
masses? For instance, let us assume that a doctor is asked in the
entrance examination the following question:
Where is kidney located?
a) In the head
b) In the feet
c) In the abdomen
d) Near the heart
If he answers anything other than "C" then he is doubly at fault – Not
knowing where kidneys are located and not knowing various parts of
abdomen. By giving grace marks and pushing him up to do PG in medicine
is atrocious to think of. Quality should not be sacrificed at any
cost. Opening more colleges and creating more seats is fine.
=================

(Published by PVM in his blog and Merinews as well)

World U3A Conference - Feb 8th to 10th - Chitrakoot

The University of the Third Age (U3A) World Conference, Chitrakoot,
MP, India - February 2010

First ever International Conference to be held in India on Third Age
Learning will be conducted during 8th to 10th February 2010 in
Chitrakoot University, Madhya Pradesh, India. All those connected with
Lifelong Learning are welcome.

PR Log (Press Release) – Dec 22, 2009 – The University of the Third
Age (U3A) announces a Worldwide U3A Conference for a truly worldwide
movement. Dates: 8th 9th and 10th of February 2010
Venue: Chitrakoot University, Madhya Pradesh, India

The University of the Third Age is a fast-growing movement and, with
the exception of one in China, all previous 'World Congresses' have
been held in Europe and have been Europe-centric. All that is now
changing; with U3A Councils now active in Singapore, India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, China, it is becoming clear that Asia and the Pacific rim
countries (which include Australia and New Zealand) will become
important new centers for our U3A movement.

Our theme, Lifelong Learning and Aging with Dignity, will explore our
mission with a new sense of purpose, and mobilize elderly as a
resource to strengthen communities and families and to enhance social
cohesion.

The venue - Chitrakoot University

Concerted efforts of the people have propelled India into one of the
technologically advanced nations. However, large parts of rural India
still struggle for survival due to poor infra-structure for education
and training for skills. Most of the teaching and research institutes
are located in urban areas.

An innovative and high-quality Rural University was therefore
conceived and established at Chitrakoot, located on the bank of the
Holy River Mandakini, away from noisy city life amongst a serene and
beautiful landscape.


Chitrakoot University and Indian Association of Universities of Third
Age, sponsors, welcome you. Full details are available on our website:
http://worldu3aconference2010.org/

Last light of the candle - publishers book review

Free Medical Advice over Phone - 104

Free Medical Advice over Phone

HMRI - Health and Management Research Institute - is a Public /
Private partnership program. About 95% is funded by AP State govt.
Rest is raised by HMRI through donations or grants. It is a not for
profit organization. A host of services on health medical related
areas are offered over the phone. To avail yourself of this facility,
just ring up 104 from anywhere in AP.

These are the four basic services:

1. Medical Advice. Paramedics attend to medical queries and try to
offer solutions. They cater to first level queries. They use computer
assisted expert system like structured questionnaires requiring
unambiguous simple answers like yes or no. The Call center is equipped
with persons knowing Hindi, Telugu or English. The query is passed
over to a qualified medical doctor when the paramedic decides to do
so. Advice as what to do and what not to do is given. If the dialog
results in prescribing certain medicines a qualified doctor sends the
prescription as an SMS to the caller. If the caller does not have a
mobile he may go to a medical shop and the prescription is sent to the
pharmacist via SMS. Every user is given a UserID which can be used to
trace his case quickly on subsequent calls.

2. Counseling. Problems in matrimonial, HIV, examinations, Depression
etc are listened to and suitable advice offered over phone. Patients
are advised to seek expert opinion when needed.

3. Information: One can find out details of pharmacies, diagnostic
centers, doctors, hospitals etc from 104. The locality of the caller
is kept in mind while answering. The information is kept reasonably
uptodate.

4. Service facilitation. If person finds any lacunae or problems in
getting services from government run PHCs, a complaint may be made to
104. They will try to address the issue by taking it up with
appropriate authorities.

Apart from the above phone based services, HMRI has a fleet of 470
Mobile Medical Units. These are fully equipped with doctor,
paramedics, medicines and certain basic equipments. The mobile van
calls of villagers on a fixed day in a week. The objective is to cover
all residents beyond three km of any PHC. The service is aimed at
rural poor. Even medicines and vitamins are distributed. Complete
medical history of visitors is maintained. The primary target is women
and children. In emergencies the call is diverted to 108. Screening
for chronic diseases is routinely done.

104 is an important free service. Senior Citizens can reduce running
to the doctor for routine health problems. Help is reliable and fast.
It is just a phone call away. You can rely upon it as a first level
consultant. I have used it a number of times and so I can recommend it
to you with confidence.

sEnior Citizens Turn Creative

Senior Citizens Turn Creative

Recently I posted a Poetic Verse to a group meant for senior citizens. There are 530 members, all retired and Net savvy. I was a little puzzled how to title my poem. Therefore I cleverly left the titling task to readers themselves. Here is the poem:

Can you title this?

After routine evening shopping
I was returning home by walk.
At a street corner,
right in the middle of the road
was a man who had stopped his scooter
to talk to someone on the cell phone.
I was about to chide him for his thoughtless action.
I heard him say to someone:
"I have bought flowers and plantains
but could not get beetle leaves"
That reminded me that I had forgotten to buy flowers
and went back to buy the some flowers.
Did he stop there
-Like a Nandi in the middle of the road-
-Attracting all my attention -
Just to remind me, I wonder?!
Anyway, he escaped my wrath

I received a flood of replies, each excelling the other. Responses are tabulated below:

SV Ramana A LAME MAN TEACHES RUNNING.
Jayanti Menon Every cloud has a silver lining!
Sivaram Thought he was a Nut but turned out to be WALNUT
Prema Sivaram Thoughtless act but a useful reminder
Surendra TS Middle-of-the-road breach?
Surendra, TS The Flowery breach
Surendra, TS Opportunity in violation
Surendra, TS The driver and the driven
Dr T Thomas Blow hot; blow cold!
DVR Vithal No wrath, only love.
SV Ramana SPEED BREAKER
Hari lakhera Wireless
Madhusudhan Rao All is well that ends well
Pillai, P Silver lining on a dark cloud
Murthy, Duvuri Headless Wonder
Dandapani Whatever happens is a blessings in disguise
M Ruparelia Mysterious Ways in which Nature/God helps you in time!

If you read the verse and the title you will find the link. The relationship between the title and the poem is sometimes direct but mostly subtle. I liked Hari Lakhera’s choice of the title as best. What is your choice? Don’t you agree that older persons are becoming smart and creative?

================================

Reemployment opportunities for senior citizens

Reemployment opportunities for senior citizens

This second career blog is supported by Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens
Confederation (APSCCON). Here, content aggregation of all jobs that
are meant for VRS, retired, pensioners or otherwise old is done.
Weekly listings are offered.
CJ: Vyasamoorthy

Fri, Dec 18, 2009 10:45:59 IST

MANY SENIOR citizens who have retired recently, channelise their
energy and enthusiasm to continue working and earning money. They
might have retired as demanded by rules of the employers or because of
VRS, boredom in the workplace and other considerations.

They may seek employment that is light and not very taxing but
something that would keep them occupied. Salary may not be very
important. They may not be in a position to demand same salary when
they retired. All such persons look for sources that will lead them to
suitable vacancies. Peering into newspaper advertisement columns is
very painful – small print, absence of categorisation, limited
coverage, minimum information about vacancies and the like, makes this
problematic.

Those who are net savvy may go to job sites like Naukri, jobsahead,
Monster India, Clickjobs, Careerjet and locate vacancies. This
approach requires the job seeker to register himself in each of the
job sites, upload his resume and visit these sites regularly. How nice
it would be if someone collects all such advertisements and makes it
available in a single place? Well, APSCCON Second Career Blog does
this precisely.

This second career blog is supported by Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens
Confederation (APSCCON). Here, content aggregation of all jobs that
are meant for VRS, retired, pensioners or otherwise old is done.
Weekly listings are offered. The job seeker is led to full
advertisement and applying for jobs is made simple. A wide variety of
sources, including private communications received by the blogger,
sites like Anubhuti are covered.

Unfortunately there is no duplicate checking. Same job may be shown
(listed) from many sources. Apart from this drawback, one has to visit
the site at least once a week in order not to miss anything vital.
Upon specific request the blog has the facility of sending automatic
email updates of the blog listings.

Harmony India, Dignity Foundation, Heritage Second career Club are
other places where one might seek help for re-employment. Generally
there are plenty of sales, marketing, finance, Insurance and accounts
jobs. Voluntary (NGO) sector is yet to wake up to exploiting elders.
BPOs offer good opportunities.

Source: http://www.merinews.com/article/reemployment-opportunities-for-senior-citizens/15791500.shtml

=============

Demand for dedicated ministry for old persons

Demand for dedicated ministry for old persons
TNN 7 December 2009, 03:56am IST

KOLKATA: Senior citizens present at the annual convention of Indian
Association of Retired Persons (IARP) argued that India, where more
than 100 million people who are over 60 year old, should have a
separate and dedicated union ministry for them.

The programmes was held at Madhusudan Mancha on Sunday. More than
4,000 IARP members were present. Industrialist Harshabardhan Neotia
was the chief guest.

"The Union government has ignored our pleas for the last five years.
Now, National Association for Senior Citizens of India, the appellate
organization of senior citizen groups, has taken up this matter with
the government," said IARP's founder president Sishir Dutta, a
gynaecologist.

Countries like Japan, Mauritius and Australia have a separate ministry
for senior citizens. In India, however, the National Council of Older
Persons (NCOP) under the ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
looks after the welfare of senior citizens. "NCOP officials hardly do
their work effectively and hence our demand," alleged IARP secretary
Sundaresa Swaminathan.

IARP is also demanding an Universal Health Insurance and an Universal
Pension Scheme. "In the UK, coach rides are free from 11 am to 3.30 pm
for senior citizens. It's a recognition of the contribution of senior
citizens to society. Here, though, we had to ask everything from the
government," Dutta said.
============

TOI Kolkata 7th December 09

Get higher returns and life-long income too (Reverse Mortgage)

Like mystery novels, the end is chilling! -- PVM

Get higher returns and life-long income too

Central Bank of India and Star Union Daiichi Life Insurance have
launched a life-long reverse mortgage annuity called CENT Swabhiman
Plus. Through this product, a senior citizen can earn a
monthly/quarterly /half yearly or annual income as mutually agreed by
the borrower and the bank against his/her home. The annuity continues
till the individual survives.

This is a tweaked version of the earlier reverse mortgage scheme,
under which the annuity payment would stop in 20 years although the
individual could reside in the house till death.

But after receiving feedback about insufficiency of a 20-year cap on
annuity payments, NHB had asked banks and insurance companies to
design a product to provide a life-time annuity to senior citizens.

This product also promises a higher return. Insurers have computed the
annuity using mortality charts whereas banks discounted the property
value at a specific rate to calculate the payouts. Also, the interest
rate on the revised reverse mortgage product offered by the Central
bank of India is 9.5%, (subject to reset at the end of two years from
the first drawdown) against 12.5% charged on a regular reverse
mortgage product, resulting in higher payouts.

There are two variants within this product. Under the first option,
the annuitant receives a life annuity at a constant rate till he
survives. In the other, the annuitant will receive annuity for life
with return of purchase price on his death. This product is available
for senior citizens above 60 years of age.

In case of co-borrowers, at least one of the borrowers should be above
60 and the other should be above 55 years. Also, the owned property
should be free from any encumbrances. The bank will lend up to 60-75 %
of the value of property.
One of the main advantages of the scheme is it provides a lifetime
income stream, which could be used for their financial needs, be it
house renovation, medical and other personal purposes.

The borrower can also opt for 25% of the loan amount (maximum amount
capped at Rs 15 lakh), which can come in handy in case of
contingencies.

However, the bank doesn't encourage the borrowers to use this money
for trading and speculative purposes. The ground has been just set by
the state-owned bank for reverse mortgage annuity products in India.

But even as all payments under reverse mortgage loan are exempt from
Income Tax under Section 10(43) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, the
monthly or periodic annuity payments are defined as 'salaries'.

Hence, it is taxable in the hands of the senior citizens under Section
17 of the I-T Act. Any amount received as a loan either in lumpsum or
instalments under such scheme, is also not regarded as income and
hence, not liable to income tax.

Also, the bank reserves the right to foreclosure of the annuity if the
borrower has not stayed in the property for a continuous period of one
year. This could be an issue for a senior citizen if s/he has to move
in with his/her son/daughter because of an ailing health or any other
reason.

Why go for it:

It provides an income stream to the senior citizen till she/he is alive.

What is the catch:

The annuities are taxable in the hands of senior citizens. Also, the
bank reserves the right for foreclosure of the annuity if the borrower
has not stayed in the property for a continuous period of one year.
===============
Source: ET 14th Dec 09

Can you title this?

After routine evening shopping
I was returning home by walk.
At a street corner,
right in the middle of the road
was a man who had stopped his scooter
to talk to someone on the cellphone.
I was about to chide him for his thoughtless action.
I heard him say to someone:
"I have bought flowers and plantains
but could not get beetle leaves"
That reminded me that I had forgotten to buy flowers
and went back to buy the some flowers.
Did he stop there
-like a Nandi in the middle of the road-
-attracting all my attention -
just to remind me, I wonder?!
Anyway, he escaped my wrath.
==========

Dr P Vyasamoorthy,
30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278
http://www.google.com/profiles/vyasamoorthy.

Mayacare Errand Services for the Elderly - Pune

Mayacare Services for the Elderly

 

Mayacare is a Pune based organization set up to provide Out door Services for Senior citizens.  In other words they offer errand services to the elderly who are too weak to carry out their daily routines. This could be fetching medicines, depositing or withdrawing cash from banks, buying groceries, accompanying to hospital or similar things.

 

A complete range of services and membership charges are listed in the website www.mayacare.com. All services are paid services. The services are rendered by employing educated women who need some financial support. Thereby Maya care helps senior citizens and women in need of part time employment as well. Services are detailed below:

 

Bank

• Cheque deposit
• Cash withdrawal
• Renewal of FDR
• Money transfer from one account to another

Domestic

• Shopping for vegetables/fruits/grocery/pooja items/gifts/ any other item (up to 5 items at a time)
• Buying of tickets for movie/play
• Booking train/bus tickets

IT

• Getting printouts of pictures from the web
• Getting printouts of e-mails
• Scanning and e-mailing documents
• Downloading video from the web and getting a CD

Medical

• Delivery of medicines
• Delivery of medical reports
• Delivery of surgical aide equipment for post-operative care

Utility

• Payment of electricity/telephone  bills
• Payment of house tax

 

Apart from these regular errand services, their staff members also sit with seniors in hospitals; accompany them for a walk or buying goods and services or to attend to social functions. Reading out books at home is also included. They have tied up with a local library and offer delivery of books for reading at home.

 

The services are aimed at relatively richer class of senior citizens who can afford some luxury either by themselves or the payments being taken care of by their NRI wards.

 

Mayacare has an illustrious group of elites like Ms Kiran Bedi, MG Joshi and Ms Vishaka Mulaye on its board of advisors.

===========

Gmail - [karmayog] Digest Number 4622 - vyasamoorthy@gmail.com

Gmail - [karmayog] Digest Number 4622 - vyasamoorthy@gmail.com: "Senior Citizens - Avbl: part-time income opportunities for women
Posted by: 'manjiri.gokhale@hotmail.com' manjiri.gokhale@hotmail.com
Sat Dec 5, 2009 7:30 am (PST)


Subject: Avbl: part-time income opportunities for women

Main Point: Maya CARE (www.mayacare.com) offers services to senior
citizens provided by a team of women service associates. Services
include accompanying senior citizens to doctors, , bank work, reading,
shopping

Category of Topic: Senior Citizens

Message: Maya CARE offers payment to volunteers on a transaction
basis. If your organization interacts with women or families of women
who would like to offer their services, please call 9594073475 or
9552510411. Women can take up Maya CARE assignments even as they
continue with household duties, education or an existing job. Details on
www.mayacare.com

Name: Manjiri Gokhale Joshi

Organisation: Maya CARE services for senior citizens

Location: Mumbai, Pune

Email 1: manjiri.gokhale@hotmail.com"

Senior Health care Solution: Funny but OK in the USA

(I thought that some occasional fun in this blog is OK!!)

Senior Health Care Solution

So you're a senior citizen and the government says no health care for
you, what do you do?

Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. Your are
allowed to shoot 2 senators and 2 representatives. Of Course, this
means you will be sent to prison where you will get 3 meals a day, a
roof over your head, and all the health care you need! New teeth, no
problem. Need glasses, great. New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart?
All covered.

And who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just
told you that you are too old for health care. Plus, because you are
a prisoner, you don't have to pay any income taxes anymore.

IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY (USA) OR WHAT?!

(sent by Madhusudhan Rao to sss-global as mail)
====================================

Agency starts campaign against abuse of elders (Mumbai)

Agency starts campaign against abuse of elders
Surekha S / DNA
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 0:05 IST

Mumbai: "Elders are neglected and ill-treated in almost all houses
today," said Vitthal Dalvi, a 73-year-old resident of BDD Chawl,
Parel. "For elders who do not have a pension and are completely
dependent on their children, the difficulties are even more."

According to Alpa Desai, coordinator, the Family Welfare Agency, an
NGO, almost 40% of senior citizens are abused in some way or the other
-- financial, emotional or physical -- but only one in six cases comes
to light. Hence the need was felt to launch a campaign against elder
abuse.

The city-based agency working with senior citizens and their rights
launched a campaign on November 29. Flagged off at the Nehru Centre,
the campaign saw the presence of VN Deshmukh, retired additional
director general of police, producer/director Kalpana Lajmi and Dr
Parasuraman, director, Tiss. While Deshmukh spoke about the role of
the police in safety of senior citizens, Lajmi stressed about the role
of the media in raising awareness.

There was a campaign poster exhibition at the Warli Hall. In the
coming few weeks, there will be street plays, interactive focus group
discussions and workshops as part of the campaign. "We plan to hold
discussions in different areas of Mumbai and with senior citizens.
Many of them don't talk about it out of fear," said Desai.

Jayashree Patil (name changed) said that she had a very difficult time
with her daughter-in-law. "She would talk roughly to me all the time
and I had to do all my work by myself, including cooking. It was
getting very difficult for me. But after I got to know about FWA, I
gained some confidence.

"The most important thing was knowing that there is someone to support
me. The social workers came to my house and spoke to my
daughter-in-law as well. She is a little more subtle since then. It is
very important for elders to know that such a support system exists."

According to Laxmi Anjarlekar, the problems start after the kids get
married and start families of their own. "They then feel they have
their kids to look after and we amount to unnecessary expenditure,"
said Anjarlekar. "Such campaigns will help as elders will know whom to
approach. No parents want to go to the cops or the court against their
own children. Such organisations provide that support and necessary
counselling as well."

==========================================

I lost my wife to Pancreatic Cancer on 30th November 2009

I lost my wife to Pancreatic Cancer on 30th November 2009

I have not written so far anything personal in this blog. Now there is a pressing need to do. This note might give me the catharsis I am hoping for - through you, readers, who are my true friends. A very large number of you - nearly 100 - have sent messages of condolences sharing our grief. I also want to THANK everyone for their kindness and warmth. To all you I desire to say something about my loss.

Hardly eighty days ago, (September 12th to be precise) my wife was diagnosed as suffering from Pancreatic Cancer. And since last night she is simply no more. Cremated and gone. The shock
Is unimaginable and the grief is immeasurable. This can’t be seen on my face, though.

We were planning to celebrate her sixtieth birthday on 25th September 2009 on the occasion of her becoming a senior citizen! She had postponed visiting her daughter’s house in Delhi several times, ever since she moved out of Hyderabad some 18 months ago. This wish was never fulfilled. She underwent three Chemotherapy sessions at intervals of 21 days. After each Chemo she had a hell of a time with vomiting, nausea, excessive pain in abdomen etc. When problems taper down slowly, she had to get ready for another chemo session. After the third Chemo she had a very bad day with unmanageable nausea, mainly retching and sometimes success in vomiting. This took her to ICU in Asian Institute of Gastroenterology for five days and she ultimately succumbed to Cancer. Some complications were: Some block in larger intestines resulting in severe constipation and fluid effusion in lungs. She had a bout of viral fever for a week in between. During this one week all of us - care givers - (my self and two daughters), were also down with Chicken Gunia. I escaped with least trouble and my younger daughter is yet to recover fully even today. In a short period she suffered great pain. We are all thankful to God that he listened to our prayer: Please help her die soonest without much pain.

Unfortunately this pancreatic cancer is not easily diagnosed in early stages. When the discovery happens it is too late for any treatment. In most cases even surgery or radiation therapy are ruled out leaving Chemotherapy as final and only choice. 95% of pancreatic cancer patients die within a year. Surviving for 3 to 6 months is common. My wife happens to be a commoner!

What prompted her to go for proper diagnosis was an article she read which said: If you are above 50, losing weight and have severe abdominal pain then check for pancreatic cancer immediately. That is what she did and to our utter dismay her fears turned out to be true.

Only six months ago, on the occasion of our wedding day in May, I wrote a note stating reasons why I like my wife. It is reproduced below.

1. Devoted and doting mother to my two daughters: She is a friend, philosopher and a guide to them. She adjusts and sacrifices her own needs for the sake of our children. She compensates for all my fatherly inadequacies. Perfect understanding among these three.
2. Her innate intelligence. I can not tolerate dullards and dumbos. She is quick to understand situations and quicker to act calmly in crisis ridden situations.
3. Maturity: She has been constantly growing mature consciously over the years. Now almost everything is OK when it comes to others.
4. Her sympathy and empathy for others. She could even make herself sick thinking about others’ woes and misfortunes.
5. A Doer: She is a doer, ever active. When a problem occurs she would start tackling it right away (“Niptafy” she would say) instead waiting for some Muhurtam!
6. She is a stickler for cleanliness at home – a quality my children have inherited
7. She is never demanding – clothes, jewelry or anything like these. Her wants and needs are absolutely minimal.
8. She knows how to keep herself happy. She can be alone all by herself and not feel lonely. She does not demand even others’ time or attention.
9. Battling with poor health: She has been suffering from high BP for thirty years. Nature has not been kind to her health to say the least.
10. During the last few years (post retirement syndrome?) I have become a difficult person to live with. I KNOW. She has been putting up with me patiently, a GEM that she is.

=================

Problems of Senior Citizens in Rural areas

Following is an extract of an Email dated 26th November 2009 from Sri
Sugan Bhatia

Dear Mital Sahib and friends,

The challenges faced by senior citizens in rural areas are beginning
to receive considerable attention, particularly at the level of access
to services including healthcare through Mobile Medical Units, through
Village-, Mandal- and Zilla-level Aarogya Samitis courtesy the
National Rural Health Mission. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and
its State level incarnations continue to underscore the need for
State-level support to health care insurance for the entire family
including the senior citizens. The Senior Citizens' pension programmes
are fairly active in the rural areas courtesy joint funding by both
the Centre and the State. Markets and Railway Stations continue to be
the main recreation centres for the senior citizens.

What is probably missing, despite a great deal of welfare action by
both the Central and State governments, is a culture of rights within
which we need to reflect on the challenges faced by the senior
citizens in the rural areas. Governance systems are gradually diluting
the entire gamut of citizens' rights that can be subsumed under the
larger umbrella of Right to Life with Dignity; the open market economy
and the immense "love" that the Governments seem to have with the
phrase and all that it stands for are helping governance systems to
usher in public-private partnership diluting in the process the
citizen's right to ask the State to provide for his/her right to life
with dignity. Governance systems appear to be "auctioning" every
"citizens' rights structure and facility" (e.g. sub-centre, Primary
Health Centre, school, hospital, etc.) to public private partnership
minimizing in the process its own obligations to the fulfillment of
citizens' rights that were earlier articulated through the concept of
Basic Minimum Needs.

The Private Sector Age Care Industry is out to spread consumerism at
heavy costs to the rural population by "coercive persuasion through
organized lobbies" asking the State to provide it support in the form
of "viability gap funding" and "affordability gap funding" for
location and provision of basic minimum needs.

Do give a thought during your discussions, if you find my blabbering meaningful.

With best wishes.

Sugan Bhatia
98112 25103
==================

________________________________
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:48:46 +0530
Subject: Seminar
From: apsccon@gmail.com
To: dnchapke@yahoo.com; jpvenkateswarlu@yahoo.com;
kamuhatti@gmail.com; ksrsl@yahoo.com; pvgk40@hotmail.com;
rao_solar@yahoo.com; drspkinj@gmail.com; rvreddy393@bsnl.in;
viswam_1932@yahoo.com; vyasamoorthy@gmail.com;
scbhatia_delhi@hotmail.com; telikicherla1936@yahoo.co.in;
narasimhan_venkataraman@yahoo.co.in;
venkatasubbarao.telikicherla@gmail.com; ykmoorthy@gmail.com;
myechury@yahoo.com; cheyuta@gmail.com

Dear friends,

APSCCON is organising a Seminar on December 27, 2009 to discuss and
highlight two very important subjects,namely

     1] Problems and Concerns of Senior Citizens in Rural Areas and Slums
     2] Right to Affordable Health Care of Senior Citizens
[particularly of APL category]

The first is a very important subject but is generally ignored.  The
importance of the second can not be over emphasised.
Therefore, this Seminar needs your active participation and support.

It will be held in the auditorium of Sweekar Upkar, Picket,
Secundrabad from 2.00PM to 6.30PM on Sunday, the December 27, 2009

Our Hon'ble Chief Minister, Sri K. Rosaiah is expected to inaugurate it

Senior Gerontologists namely Prof. P.V.Ramamurty and Dr. D. Jamuna
have kindly consented to participate. In addition eminent Seniors
from other parts of the State and from outside are also expected to
attend.

Blazing Twilight will print on this occasion a Souvenir issue. You are
invited to  contribute articles and pictures  for printing in the
Souvenir They can be sent to Dr. P. Vyasamurthy, Co-Editor, or me or
directly to Dr. T.V.S. Rao, Mg. Editor, positively by December 7,
2009. The address of Dr. TVS Rao is,
                                "Mandakini", 9-29-9, Balajinagar,
Sripuram, Visakhapatnam [Tel:9866085363,
E.Mail<venkatasubbarao.telikicherla@gmail.com>, ]

The articles can be in English or Telugu.

You are also requested to arrange  advertisements to be published in
the above Issue. The tariff is given in the attached Appeal

The registration fee is Rs.100/- per delegate.

Further details will be announced shortly.

Warm regards,
R.N.Mital
8-2-333/14a, Road No 3,
Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad 500034

________________________________
New Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. Learn more.

Thieves cheat elderly posing as policemen (Pune)

PUNE: Four citizens were robbed of their gold ornaments worth Rs 1.15
lakh in separate incidents in the city on Sunday morning. The
suspects,

Posing as policemen, managed to flee with the jewellery.

The first incident took place at Kothrud around 7.15 am, when
63-year-old Usha Anil Gokhale of Erandwane was on her way home after
her morning walk. Three men on a motorcycle stopped near her. One of
them told her that they were policemen and had come to the
neighbourhood to enquire about a murder. He asked her to remove her
gold ornaments for safety. The men then fled with the jewellery, worth
Rs 35,000.

Around 8 am, 80-year-old Narayan Ganesh Paranjape of Karvenagar also
fell prey to thieves using the same modus operandi. The suspects fled
with Paranjape's gold ring worth Rs 7,000. The incident took place
near Mhatre bridge.

Both cases were registered with the Kothrud police who admitted they
were not sure whether the same people were involved in the incidents.
Sub-inspector U S Patil is investigating the matter.

The third incident took place around 9.15 am on Sus road in Pashan.
Two persons came up to Mamkaur L P Ram (52) of Maurya Residency,
Pashan, and told her that the police were doing some checking up at
the next chowk. They asked her to remove her gold ornaments or else
she would have to pay a fine. The suspects got her to remove her gold
chain worth Rs 25,000 and on the pretext of keeping it in her purse,
fled with it. Sub-inspector P B Jawale of the Chatushrungi police
station is investigating this case.

A similar incident took place at Pimple Gurav around 9.45 am. Anita A
S (50) was walking home when two suspects, posing as policemen, stole
her gold chain worth Rs 48,000 after asking her to take it off.
Sub-inspector D B Koli of Sangvi police station is investigating the
case.

The crime branch is also conducting a parallel investigation as such
incidents are on the rise.

So far this year, around 35 such incidents have been reported in the
city. Investigations also reveal that the suspects usually target
senior citizens on their morning walk. The crime branch of Pune has
appealed to senior citizens to remain alert.

Speaking to TOI assistant commissioner of police (crime) Sangramsinh
Nishandar said, "We are planning to lay traps to nab the suspects.
Unit-1 and the anti-robbery unit of the crime branch are working on
it. Moreover, we have appealed to citizens to immediately contact the
nearest police station or the crime branch should such an incident
occur. We have also appealed to them to note down the number of the
two-wheelers used by the suspects and inform the police. The crime
branch can be contacted on 020-26121685 and 26208295."

===========
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Posing-as-policemen-these-thieves-target-senior-citizens/articleshow/5262382.cms

An insurance for old age - Ashvasan Bangalore

Catchy misleading title. But worth reading and knowing about Ashvasan, Bangalore
=================================
An insurance for old age
Arpita Misra , TNN 16 November 2009, 05:41am IST
|
She waits eagerly for this one day of the month when she can spend
quality time in the company of like-minded and like-aged people,
sharing one another's experience -- and soaking in a sense of
assurance that there are many more like her.

For 74-year-old Meera Kamath, just to dress up for the occasion gives
her impetus enough to look forward to meeting fellow members of
Ashvasan Foundation.

In today's changing socio-economic set-up, it's often the elderly who
find themselves cornered, braving the pangs of loneliness and craving
for a sense of belonging. And it's for people like them that Ashvasan
Foundation ushers in a sense of inclusion, boosting their self-esteem
and enhancing their dignity.

Established in 1993, the Foundation has eight recreation centres
across the city with over 1,000 members. Each centre organizes
get-togethers once a month, where senior citizens of a particular area
can meet and spend quality time together, relaxing, playing indoor
games, listening to music and participating in various activities.

Informative talk sessions are organized on topics such as coping with
loneliness, fear of being old, social and psychological health and
other relevant issues.

A brainchild of Lalita Shivaram Ubhayaker, the foundation has grown
brick-by-brick over the past 16 years. "I spent a lot of time with my
mother during the twilight of her life and her subsequent death left a
vacuum in my existence. I was aware of what ageing could do to a
person and that's when I decided I should work for the welfare of this
section of society. Ashvasan was one of its kind at the time of
inception. All our projects have been pilots as we had no set model to
emulate," says 80-year-old Lalita.

The services of Ashvasan have touched many lives in the city and its
fringes as their other initiatives involve feeding senior citizens
across five slums every day, training the financially deprived in
income-generating activities such as making paper and cloth bags, and
organizing regular health camps at subsidized rates. The Foundation
also organizes an annual seminar encompassing topics of health,
finance, physical security and spiritual well-being of the greying
crowd.

"Everyone is welcome to be a part of Ashvasan. We believe in 'smile
and make others smile' policy," explains 79-year-old R Sriram, a life
member of the Foundation. "Such set-ups are rare but much-needed
today," adds Meera, who's a member of Ashvasan for 10 years now.

The journey over the years has encountered ample rough weather, with
fund crunch being a constant impediment. "I'm always in look-out for
more volunteers. Though there's little glamour in being part of such
an initiative, I want more youths to participate," adds Lalita.

As the name suggests, Ahsvasan provides the much-needed assurance and
mental cushioning to stride through various phases of ageing, a
natural phenomenon often curtained in the humdrum of materialistic
pursuits.

Ashvasan Foundation

Nanda-Deep, 15/3, Palace Road

Bangalore-560052

Phone No. 2258091

www.ashvasan.org
=============

URL:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/An-insurance-for-old-age/articleshow/5233444.cms
============

How to prevent and handle Email ID / password thefts?

Some unscrupulous guys could gain access to your Email ID and password and later put it to misuse or abuse causing you a lot of monetary loss or embarrassments. We also need to know how stolen password may be used. We need to learn ways of preventing password thefts.

How do cyber crime thieves get at this sensitive info?

You may carelessly leave it in your wallet, or note in some text file on your disk. You might have noted down such IDs and passwords in some diary and this may lie unguarded in your house. You may read it aloud over mobile to your son / daughter or trusted friend asking him access your own mail account for some urgent message.The guy who overhears will be clever enough to jot it down, especially those who manage Paid Phone booths. You may transmit it via email to some friend.

You might be using your Email in a public PC say a cyber cafe. The PC in the cybercafe may be installed with a simple program called "key board logger". This program will capture everything that you type and what comes to be displayed by any program running on your PC and store it in a secret hidden file. Analyzing the contents of such a hidden file, immediately after you leave, will reveal your userid and passwords easily.

You may be signing up in a number of social networks, websites etc asking for UserID & password. These are sent back to you for verification via Email. Email messages are kept on your hard disk in text or other retrievable manner, if you are using outlook, Pico, Thunderbird etc as mail client. Scrutinizing such files will yield a good number of your passwords. Thereafter hacking your password for Email becomes much simpler.

Many social networking sites ask for your Yahoo / Hotmail / Gmail UserId & password to be entered. Their idea is to help you automatically invite all your contacts to become your friends on that network. Many times the system may show you all your contacts and ask you you to choose whom you would like to invite. Facebook, Sulekha, Rediff are some examples. There is no guarantee that both a) your email Id and password and b) the contacts lists that are downloaded and displayed are nor intercepted and misuse it. It is very easy for robots to be snooping around social network vicinity and capture unauthorized data.

Recently I allowed Sulekha to access and upload all my blog posts from my Blogger (Google) account, little realizing that the same password is used for gaining access to all Google services including Gmail. Uploaded blog posts appeared on Sulkha site for a few hours but later disappeared totally. When I realized some damage is being done, I quickly changed all my passwords.

How do people put stolen password to misuse?

Once a thief gets your password it is very easy to cheat or impersonate you. Orders for products and services may be placed online or via email with delivery to his own address under COD / VPP basis. He might send fake email requests for urgent help to your friend via some Yahoo or Google Group in which you are a member. One such message usually says that you are out of the country, you wallet is stolen, you are stranded in some hotel and that you need some money urgently to be transferred to you c/o hotel manger. This is bogus and fake.

Some tips to prevent the situation:

1. Never leave your password unguarded anywhere in diaries, slips, purses etc. 2. Never say it out aloud over phone. If you must, change it immediately as soon as your work is over. 3. Never store your passwords in your hard disk that may be accessed by others. 4. Be wary of all usages in cyber cafes. Delete history, temp internet files etc after your use. 5. Be careful about what you store in your pen drives - especially email message copies in text format. 6. Have a password for important applications quite different from those you sign up in many "altu faltu" sites. Make the passwords very difficult to break or even guess.

How to choose a good password - A suggestion

I wish to suggest a simple solution to assign passwords and also remember them. I suggest that you write out a longish proverb or quotation in your vernacular language, transliterate it into English.

For example, read the following tongue twister transliterated from Tamil: KadalOrathileOrural, uruludhu peraludhu (means: A stone mortar on the sea shore is rolling and re-rolling). From the transliterated phrase choose, say, any nine characters in sequence. Supposing you choose nine letters starting from sixth character (6,9) you will get: "OrathileO" This is your password. Just remember the phrase and 69 to recollect the correct password. The password is not easy to guess. It is a mixture of lower and uppercase. Does not resemble any known dictionary word. The phrase itself is some that you normally cherish to remember. You may change the password easily any number of times from the same phrase choosing some other sequence of characters.

Hope you have a trouble free Internet interactions with no password compromise at any time.

==================

Respect for Senior Citizens

I was somewhat surprised to see so much of positive feelings from
younsters about senior citizens.

I read this in:

http://www.indiastudychannel.com/forum/23703-Respect-towards-senior-citizen.aspx

===================================

Q) Do we really pay respect to senior citizens?

A) Responses

Author: Nandini Tewary    11 Jan 2009Member Level: GoldRating:     Points: 4
In true sense the answer is no. We have no special feeling for them. W
dont take any specal care or attitude when we are travelling, standng
on queue for collecting things essensial for our day to day
life.Though government declare & are giving facilities to them in
different area like bank interest,railway ticket as a token of respect
but still we the younger generation not eve bothered about their age.
We still fight if someone favor a senior citizen. But actually they
need special care not even home also outside home where they face lot
of traoubles daly. Isn't it our duty to make them comfortable & help
them with respect.

Author: sachin.a.sahae    11 Jan 2009Member Level: SilverRating:     Points: 4
You are so right here Nandini. We are so worked up and rushed up in
our modern lives that we had taken up the attitude to completely
ignore the emotional needs of the senior citizens. We had lost the
etiquette of showing courtesy towards our senior citizens in homes and
outside. How bad it is, could be a matter of debate but it is so true
that senior citizens in our country are a significantly neglected lot.
Lot of initiative needs to be taken up by the governments the society
and the younger generations in order to improve the lives of them.
Serious steps are required to make things nice and easy for our elders
who had toiled hard for the families and the society in there young
days.

Author: sivakumar    19 Feb 2009Member Level: GoldRating:     Points: 6
hi,
this is an important matter to discuss at this time. How are the
senior people treated now a days. In rural ares, some how they get
respect and care. But this is not the case in cities. In cities,
senior citizens should enjoy some privileges, such as special seats on
buses, reduced fares for entertainment and traveling, and other
benefits. We should do everything to solve their practical problems,
to warm their hearts, and to make them happy. Also there must be
servants appointed to take care of them. In addition, we should find
some ways to provide affordable medical health care, which is of vital
importance to them. Besides, there should be recreation halls and
care- centers for the aged. Most important of all, the state should
ensure a decent pension for them, peasants in particular.
Step2In the vast countryside, most aged people are financially
supported by their sons, whose life is a perpetual struggle against
poverty. There are different cases also. What can they do if they are
childless? In my opinion, the government or the society should give
their help ,warmth and regards, make them feel that they are also
enjoying their life all the same. In other words, we should supply
more welfare to these seniors. They are also a part of the society.
Senior citizens, parents in particular, need our love and deserve the
best care. It is our duty to take care of them. Respecting senior
citizens bears vital importance to the family - planning policy in
China. If we do our best to honor our parents and the aged, our
children will follow our example, which seems to be much better for
younger generations.

thanks,
siva.

Click here to join the Exclusive engineers community

Author: vyshnavi.C.M    19 Feb 2009Member Level: SilverRating:     Points: 2
If we had given respect to senior citizens we won't find so many old
aged homes. Today we never spend a minute to think of them. They are a
treasure to our society. When the citizens of a country give proper
respect and courtesy to senior citizens we can take the nation to
greater heights

Author: sathish chandrasekaran    19 Feb 2009Member Level: GoldRating:
    Points: 5
Hi
Thanks for bringing this issue on light. The one who is declared as
treasure to the nation are not really treasured as they should be.
Some politicians use them as a device to their next election. They
simply praised in front but stabbed at the back.

In this modern India i think most of the awards and rewards are not
won but bought. We really dont think of the people who really
contributed to the society and its welfare but we always like to
comment on the people who bought fame by paying money.

We have to change our attitude. If we know someone is not that great
but has too much of fame and money then just leave them. It is their
trick to find a living. Please concentrate on the real contributors.
One such leader is Gandhiji and do we really know what happened to
their family now? Really not, but if you someone related to bollywood
or hollywood and ask what they are doing we are ready to give answers.

Please do consider that we have lot more to pay attention on other
issues than simply wasting time on unwanted things.

Hi

Author: anju bala    19 Feb 2009Member Level: SilverRating:     Points: 4
Hello,

Seriously, i think this is not only the topic to discuss but we have
to do something for senior citizen. I travel in bus every day and saw
that if any senior citizen stands in bus not body offer their seats to
them. I really feel ashamed bcoz i feel if they have such stamina to
stand 1-2 hours in bus why dont we have. If i m seating in bus i
always offer my seat to senior citizen.

We have to give them respect as well as take care of them. If our
grandparents also treated like this we feel ashamed thats why we have
to treat them as our grandparents.

Author: RK    19 Feb 2009Member Level: DiamondRating:     Points: 1
Yes we should have respect and honour on Senior citizen. One day we
will also reach to that stage, hence we should think future and behave
today.

Regards,
RK - Some thing special
World on your fingers

Author: Narayanaraja    19 Feb 2009Member Level: SilverRating:     Points: 0
No I am an example of that.One amongst many

Author: Abhishek    21 Feb 2009Member Level: SilverRating:     Points: 6
How bad it is, could be a matter of debate but it is so true that
senior citizens in our country are a significantly neglected lot. Lot
of initiative needs to be taken up by the governments the society and
the younger generations in order to improve the lives of them. Serious
steps are required to make things nice and easy for our elders who had
toiled hard for the families and the society in there young daysthis
is an important matter to discuss at this time. How are the senior
people treated now a days. In rural ares, some how they get respect
and care. But this is not the case in cities. In cities, senior
citizens should enjoy some privileges, such as special seats on buses,
reduced fares for entertainment and traveling, and other benefits. We
should do everything to solve their practical problems, to warm their
hearts, and to make them happy. Also there must be servants appointed
to take care of them. In addition, we should find some ways to provide
affordable medical health care, which is of vital importance to them.
Besides, there should be recreation halls and care- centers for the
aged. Most important of all, the state should ensure a decent pension
for them, peasants in particular.
Step2In the vast countryside, most aged people are financially
supported by their sons, whose life is a perpetual struggle against
poverty. There are different cases also. What can they do if they are
childless? In my opinion, the government or the society should give
their help ,warmth and regards, make them feel that they are also
enjoying their life all the same. In other words, we should supply
more welfare to these seniors. They are also a part of the society.
Senior citizens, parents in particular, need our love and deserve the
best care. It is our duty to take care of them. Respecting senior
citizens bears vital importance to the family - planning policy in
China. If we do our best to honor our parents and the aged, our
children will follow our example, which seems to be much better for
younger generations.
====================

RREWA Website is a boon to pensioners

RREWA Website is a boon to pensioners

 

Where can a government pensioner get all the info he needs, provided he is a computer literate? Just one source – RREWA website is enough.

 

Retired Railway Employees Welfare Association (RREWA), located in Gurgaon, was established in 1998 and their website was launched in 2007. The website has all the circulars, guidelines, rules, regulations and other details that a pensioner may look for. Especially after the revision of salaries and pension by the sixth pay commission, its usage has shot up. On the home page there is ticker reminding the user, say, that it is time to file Life certificate.  Nearly 480 documents are filed under some 22 categories neatly indexed. It would be useful if the scope of each category is described somewhere.

 

There is separate section for Senior citizens – who need not be pensioners. Useful info on Health, Travel, Concessions, and Housing are given. Useful links, though just a few (20) are highly relevant. I found link to Indian Newspapers on the web very comprehensive as it enumerates more than 320 media sites. There is a discussion forum but it is merely a blog site with a few blog posts and comments thereon. Difference between "what is new" and "Current Issues" is not clear. Links to Government websites are most useful. There is even a facility for learning basics of Internet online!  As far as State government pensioners are concerned links to local departments (AG's office) are provided via a map. Serious users need to register and pay a subscription fee – one time, nominal amount.

 

Within a matter of two years the number of visitors has crossed 66000, which is a creditable achievement considering that visitors need to be senior citizens who are net savvy. Credit goes to Sri Sc Maheshwari for his undaunted efforts in reaching out to customers and for his support staff who keep the site regularly updated such that frequent visitors do not go disappointed. The site is advertisement supported (Hospitals, Colleges, Job sites etc) which again confirms that sponsors find it worth advertising here!

 

 

Pensioners Journal – RREWA Gurgaon 2009

Pensioners Journal – RREWA Gurgaon 2009

14th Annual Issue of Pensioners Journal, published by Retired Railway Employee’s Welfare Association (RREWA) Gurgaon for the year 2009, provides lot of useful information to pensioners. Circulars of the government departments affecting all pensioners, articles on Health (obesity, sleep disorders, Ageing issues), legal matters (Wills, Court verdicts) are given. Eight court verdicts are briefly summarized with pointers to full text in the RREWA website.

Most important for the senior citizen (not necessarily government pensioner) is the exhaustive article on current budget & personal taxation written from senior citizens point of view. Impact of Direct Taxes Code is also reviewed.

The editorial by SC Maheswari gives out a clarion call to all pensioners to get united and force the government to listen to their demands. All types of pensioners – States, central, defence, PSUs, Railways, Academic sector etc - account for 2% of our population and roughly constitute two crores. As this is no small number in terms of Vote Bank, getting united is the surest way of demanding attention and action.

The last article in this 100 pages publication is on Philosophy of Life by MV Ruparelia who is a prolific writer in the field of gerontology. The inclusion of advertisements (nearly 20%) shows the association is fairly influential in terms of raising money! This fact is further strengthened when we learn that RREWA has been awarded an annual grant of Rs 60000/- by GOI.

Senior citizens, pensioners in particular, will find this annual publication worth reading. There is no price indicated – may be free to members.

Google translation is quicker and better

Google translation is quicker and better: "Google translation is quicker and better
Google announced translate as you type feature recently. A host of tools and felicities have been added to manage translations. Some fifty language pairs including Hindi are available.
CJ: Vyasamoorthy

Thu, Nov 19, 2009 15:30:27 IST
Views:
759
Comments:
0
Rate: 1 out of 5 2 out of 5 3 out of 5 4 out of 5 5 out of 5 0.0 / 0 votes
Google Recent Information :
Google goes desi!
GOOGLE TRANSLATION has been constantly evolving for the better. In early November 2009, Google has announced quicker translation. That is, translation appears as you type along! This is simply superb and thrilling. The facility is available from English to fifty languages and vice versa. We should be happy to note that Hindi is one among them.

I typed in the following text and got quick translation as shown below. By inputting the English version and asking for French I got back almost correctly what I wrote in the first instance.

Input In English:

Good morning dear friends! I do not know French but I am trying to write in French using Google Translator. Google translator is good for most purposes. See what it gives in reverse translation.

Translation into French

Bonjour chers amis! Je ne sais pas le français mais je suis en train d'écrire en français en utilisant Google Translator. Google Translator est bon pour la plupart des usages. Voir ce que cela donne dans la traduction inverse.

Reverse Translation into English

Hello dear friends! I do not know French but I am writing in French using Google Translator. Google Translator is good for most uses. See what happens in the reverse translation.

Pretty good, you will agree.

There is a phonetic component as well. You can hear the translation spoken by a lady over you speakers / headphone. There is also a management tool to keep track of your translation jobs. What is impressive is that you can upload complete files – no need to key in.

All translations are free. Professional translators can cut down their efforts greatly and stick to just fine tuning the draft. If translators are willing they may tell (educate) Google with a better translation also. Try this at translate.google.com"

Google Dashboard

Google Dashboard - Gain Total Control over your Google Account Privacy

 

Have you ever wondered what Google stores in the 'settings' of various Google product accounts used by you? How much of it is private and what is actually shared? Want to change some of the settings for better security and safety? Google Dashboard, launched early this November provides an elegant answer.

 

You may be a Google user just for Searching the web and Gmail or a sophisticated user of several Google products like Gmail, News Alerts, Google Docs, Picasa, YouTube, Google sites,  Orkut, Blogger etc. When you started using (signed up) each of these services or products you may have entered certain data about yourself or how you want to use the product in 'settings'. What exactly are you storing in Google products and how much of it open to public may be nagging you. Now Google dashboard comes to your rescue.

 

In order to use the Dashboard just log into any of your Google products say Gmail. Then in the URL Window type: http://www.google.com/dashboard. A page opens up showing all the products used by you along with links to control the data entered and shared or kept private by you. For example in the case of my Gmail account it shows:

 

Besides giving statistics about the contents of Inbox, All Mail, Sent Mail, Saved Drafts, Chat history, Trash etc, you also get hyperlinks to:

 

Manage chat history

Manage HTTPS settings

Manage all Gmail settings

Gmail privacy policy

Privacy and security help

 

There are similar pages for each of the products you use in Google. 

 

For example in my Google Profile page, only certain data is in public view. I am in complete control over what I want to share. I can change this whenever I want. Google Dashboard is a single place to locate and manage all the personal information about the accounts that we hold. Security, safety and privacy issues can be handled better now, thanks to Google Dashboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you a compulsive Hoarder - Need Some Advice?

Are you a compulsive hoarder – Need some advice?

Hoarder – Know thyself!

Some people tend to collect all sorts of things books, clothes, shoes,
papers, containers of all sorts and what not. Fortunately Indians do
not collect and keep pets and animals as westerners do. They neither
use them nor dispose off regularly. Such collected mass of useless
materials clutter, occupy space and create many problems. You can not
find anything you want. Unsightly appearance puts you off from doing
anything. The clutter seems so huge that you are afraid: Where do I
begin? You are ashamed of inviting friends to your house and always
prefer to see them elsewhere. Re-arranging useful things and throwing
away what you don't need is always accompanied by a lot of anxiety and
trauma. It becomes an emotional issue making you not to accept
criticism. You do not want to accept or invite help from anybody. If
you are a Senior citizen you tend to develop a sense of belonging to a
lot of useless clutter and can not let things go. You suffer longer
than others because of your age and let me add: some senselessness!

Clutter or hoarding?

Clutter is just accumulation of things in haphazard manner. This could
be a result of lack of space, lack of time, sheer laziness,
procrastination etc. It could also result from physical inability to
attend to a tough physical job – say you are suffering from Arthritis
or joint pains. Given the proper push you would pick up courage to do
some spring cleaning and get rid of clutter. But hoarding is a
compulsive obsession to collect and keep things of all sorts. There is
always some trauma and mental attachment that prevents one from
discarding 'possessions'.

Here are some tips:

1. If you would like to get rid of the menacing hoarding habit, there
is nothing to panic. Just realize there are plenty of people like you.
In fact there are many online support groups exclusively dealing with
Obsessive Compulsive Hoarding – the largest and oldest being:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/H-C/, managed by Paula Host.
2. You can seek the help and advice of a close friend in whom you can
confide. You can take help in hiring persons who do the dirty job of
cleaning up all the accumulated mess of piles of unwanted materials.
3. If you can organize to donate your belongings to needy persons or
organizations then you will get a sense of satisfaction of being
useful. After all your collection did not just go waste!

Difficult but can be done:

While attempting to de-clutter your rooms or shelf space one of the
most crucial and painful steps is about deciding what to keep and what
to throw. The argument that you may need it once you throw away
something or for that matter you may not be able to buy it once you
toss out useless things does not hold water. After all for years you
have had a thing without ever using it; when you really need something
you won't be able to retrieve it because of highly disorganized
clutter. Either way the best logical option is the weed out unwanted
cluttering stuff. Therefore take courage to mercilessly throw away
anything that you have not used since acquiring it or anything that
you may get substitutes if need be. Only important legal documents,
property related papers, tax papers need to be kept.

Books, support groups etc:

If you are a person who will be moved by reading authoritative books
then start with: "Buried in treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring,
Saving and Hoarding" by Tolin, Frost & Stektee (OUP). Or share your
concerns in online forums that offer support as already hinted. Once
you have cleared all the clutter you can be of great service to those
around you. And the bottom line is, as Charisse Ward says: "If you do
not use it or need it, it is clutter, and it needs to go".

Some tips to handle reading difficulty

Some Tips to handle Reading Difficulty

Most senior citizens are likely to suffer from vision problems as they
age. Some may find that the lighting may not be sufficient. Others may
have hazy vision even after cataract operation. While reading small
print on paper or computer screen is most common, identifying persons,
steps, sign boards or buildings may be problematic to some. Apart from
correctional measures such as cataract operation, well prescribed
glasses, let us see a few simple tips to manage this issue.

If you are a computer buff and frequently come across web pages that
are in small print you may like try these:
1. To see text enlarged you may press Control and Plus one or two
times. The characters get magnified. However the entire page gets
magnified.
2. If you desire only portions of the screen to be magnified (where
cursor is) then you can use Magnifier available as a part of Windows.
Reach this application like this: Start -> Accessories -> Accessibity
-> Magnifier. You can magnify the screen part to 2,3,4 or more times.
However magnifying too much will result in blurred images. Magnifying
twice or thrice should do. You can leave magnifier on irrespective of
the program you are on. Learn the options fully to make it most
useful.
3. Some websites that are senior friendly provide an option to
increase or decrease font size. Use them.
4. When you view an image most applications allow enlargement
indicated by a + sign within a small circle. By clicking on this we
can see larges images.

If you are reading newspapers, books, advertisements or manuals small
print becomes inevitable. While buying a standard magnifying glass
with a sturdy frame and convenient handle is worth it, you may also do
well with substitutes: School Children's Scale often have a magnifying
lens at one end; Flat rectangular thin plastic sheets comprising of
Fresnel lens will also be very handy. If you can't get hold of any of
these and still want to read urgently some fine print (say a phone
number) then take a flat, transparent glass or plastic lid of a
kitchen jar and place a drop of water in the centre. Move this, with
water globule over the text and you will see the text enlarged.

There are specialized tools and equipment fitted with magnifiers
suited to old people. One such device is for clipping nails on your
feet. The website "Old Age Solutions" lists a few of such devices for
visually impaired seniors. One can overcome reading difficulties
caused due to poor vision in these simple ways.
==============

Probus Guide for Seniors - 2009

Here is my review of the latest Annual Publication of Probus Club of
Chennai. I am publishing this in my blog, Merinews, Cplash, Sulekha,
Karmayog and other sites. Vyasamoorthy

==================================
Probus Guide for Seniors

For the eighteenth successful year, Probus Club of Chennai has brought
out this Annual reference book – sort of Almanac. The book may be
considered to be in three parts, though no such distinction is claimed
by the compilers or publishers. First part gives background
information about the club in the form of a note by the President, the
conceptual framework, nostalgic account of how the series of annual
publication began and developed, list of contributors etc. The list
of contributors reads like a who is who among eminent retirees of
Chennai comprising of doctors, psychologists, engineers, teachers,
corporate executives, geriatricians, chartered accountants and so on.
The Educational Assistance offered by the club is commendable: With a
corpus grown to more than ten lakhs (from six lakhs last year),
helping some 55 high school students in four schools is praiseworthy.
This activity will help bridging the generation gap that senior
citizens are prone to suffer.

The second part provides a series of short articles on various topics
of interest to the aged persons like: Law, Safety, Income Tax, Budget,
Religion, hobbies and health. As health appears to be one of the most
important concerns, there are about ten articles in this area alone.
There are three articles in Tamil. There is an account of Chennai in
olden days – Madras: I liked it much as my hometown is Madras. Apart
from signed articles there are a good number of extracts from the
websites on topics like: home remedies, all about blood, quiz on heart
attack, quiz on angina, quiz on Alzheimers, organ donation, ambulance
and emergency services etc. An article on Reverse mortgage is timely
and useful. Among all contributions, there is an odd man out that does
not fit into the theme – you may discover it yourself if you read the
whole book!

The third part is a sort of a directory. Items like Assistive and
Enabling devices, List of NGOs working for seniors, Eye banks, Blood
banks, helpline, important phone numbers, Old age Homes in Chennai and
Tamil Nadu (130 out of 250 covered), Details of Doctors on House call,
Facilities for renting wheel chairs, walkers & the like, diagnostic
labs etc are all given. In the case of Old Age Homes, coverage of
other states and cities has been omitted this year. List of Palliative
care centers in South India is a welcome addition. While we expect a
number of NGOs to be discussed under "Organizations working for the
Elderly" we find only HelpAge being described. List of Ambulance
services (65) is exhaustive. Doctors willing to do house calls
(increased from 50 to 60 in this year) are thoughtfully given area
wise.

The number of advertisements in this 300 pages book has come down from
40 last year to 23 this year – thus increasing the value for your
money! This Annual publication for 2009 is available from Sri KV
Chary, Chennai Ph 24981099 for a nominal donation of Rs 100 plus
postage.

I would strongly recommend this book to all interested in Ageing
related issues and the ordinary retiree looking for a handy book
giving addresses, phone numbers of products and service providers for
his specialized needs.
==========

Re: [sss-global] Gang blackmailing senior citizens busted

NAMESTHE TO ALL
Sr.citizens have become innocent victims for many types of
blackmailings. Society also does not bother for them, as they are
physically and mentally weak and even family members are treating them
as unwanted guests. As long as sr.citizens can not come out of the
false prestige, psedo selfish relationships and ignorance, they will be
targetted like this, by the intelligent young selfish people, who are
considered as intlligent and respected citizen of the society

. -- AS DISCUSSED IN OUR PREVIOUS MAILS, THE SOLUTION FOR
THIS MAY BE TO ACCEPT SR.CITIZENS(BOTH LONELY, MALE AND
FEMALE, ABONDONED) TO LIVE TOGETHER AND HELP EACH
OTHER. DISCRIMINATION OF SEX, HAS BECOME A BIG TABOO IN
THE LIFE OF SR.CITIZENS, THOUGH IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY
IMPORTANCE IN THAT AGE. -- THOUGH YOUNGSTERS ARE NOT
FOLLOWING ANY ETHICAL RULES REGARDING SEX, THEY
BLACKMAIL SENIORS, -- ESPECIALLY THE MINDSET OF THE
ELDER WOMEN DO NOT CHANGE, AND ELDER MEN ARE THROWN
INTO DIFFICULTIES. -- I BEG UR PARDON, MY COMMENTS ARE
SOMEWHAT HARSH AND WILL RISE MANY STORMS IN OUR
GROUP. PL DISCUSS IN DEEP AND A TRUE AMICABLE GUIDELINE
MAY BE FOUND, WHICH IS VERY NECESSARY IN THE PRESENT
CIRCUMSTANCES. -- NAMESTHE TO ALL. -- THANKS

----- Original Message -----
From: Padmanabha Vyasamoorthy <vyasamoorthy@gmail.com>
Date: Monday, November 9, 2009 9:14 pm
Subject: [sss-global] Gang blackmailing senior citizens busted

> Gang blackmailing senior citizens busted
> Ritesh Shah / DNA
> Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:37 IST
>
>
> Ahmedabad: After Chandkheda, its now Vejalpur's senior citizens' turn
> to gird their loins, almost literally. A gang comprising young girls,
> boys and a mastermind has been on the prowl in the area, pouncing on
> lonely elderly men, luring them with sexual incentives,
> before blackmailing them.
>
> In one such incident that occurred on Sunday at 8:45 pm, one Ramesh
> Chandra Sharab, 62, a retired bank manager and resident of Nilharsh
> apartment at Anjali circle in Vasna, was waylaid by members of the
> gang while he was coming out of the Dharnidhar derasar. According to
> his complaint, Sharab met a 50-year-old woman, who introduced herself
> as Jaya Patel. Refusing his request to accompany him to a nearby
> garden, Patel instead took him to her house at Shantinath apartment
> near Vejalpur police station.
>
> While proceeding to her house in a rickshaw, the duo's conversation
> veered towards their individual sex lives, when Patel kissed him and
> also said that she can also provide him a younger girl of 25 years,
> who would satisfy his carnal desires. She also called for a girl,
> Deepika, a 25-year-old married woman.
>
> When Deepika and Sharab got sexually involved in the house, Patel
> disappeared from the scene. Later, there was a knock on the door when
> three boys entered the room and started taking video clips of the girl
> kissing Sharab. They then abused Sharab for indulging in sex with a
> girl of his daughter's age and tookcash and a gold chain worth
> Rs31,000.
>
> The gang asked Sharab to pay Rs1 lakh if he wanted to maintain a
clean
> image in society. They also told him that they would give him a call
> on November 2 for the money. One of them called Sharab on November
1
> asking him for the money. Sharab panicked. The gang asked him to pay
> the money in installments of Rs50,000 separately. Sharab consulted his
> son, and the duo approached ACP VR Tolia on Monday.
>
> Sharab received another call from the woman on his phone, while they
> were at the police station. Tolia asked Vejalpur PSI BR Mackwana to
> accompany Sharab to Shantinath apartment, where they arrested
Deepika
> and her husband Manish, 25, Nishith, Paresh Patel, (Jaya's son) and
> Jaya Patel.Police seized Sharab's PAN card and ID card and recovered
> the cash from them.
>
> "Though so far four cases have been committed by the gang, it was
> difficult to trace the gang as people refrained from coming out in
> public. We are investigatingthe four cases," said Mackwana.
>
> Two months ago a similar incident had occurred in Chandkheda,
> where a
> senior citizen was accosted during morning walk. Based on his
> complaint registered with the police, a gang comprising two cops was
> busted.
> ==============
>
> I appreciate the guts of this victim -- instead of coughing up the
> ransom amount he chose to complain. PVM
>
>
> Dr P Vyasamoorthy,
> 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 /
> 9490804278http://www.google.com/profiles/vyasamoorthy.
>

Gang blackmailing senior citizens busted

Gang blackmailing senior citizens busted
Ritesh Shah / DNA
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:37 IST

Ahmedabad: After Chandkheda, its now Vejalpur's senior citizens' turn
to gird their loins, almost literally. A gang comprising young girls,
boys and a mastermind has been on the prowl in the area, pouncing on
lonely elderly men, luring them with sexual incentives,
before blackmailing them.

In one such incident that occurred on Sunday at 8:45 pm, one Ramesh
Chandra Sharab, 62, a retired bank manager and resident of Nilharsh
apartment at Anjali circle in Vasna, was waylaid by members of the
gang while he was coming out of the Dharnidhar derasar. According to
his complaint, Sharab met a 50-year-old woman, who introduced herself
as Jaya Patel. Refusing his request to accompany him to a nearby
garden, Patel instead took him to her house at Shantinath apartment
near Vejalpur police station.

While proceeding to her house in a rickshaw, the duo's conversation
veered towards their individual sex lives, when Patel kissed him and
also said that she can also provide him a younger girl of 25 years,
who would satisfy his carnal desires. She also called for a girl,
Deepika, a 25-year-old married woman.

When Deepika and Sharab got sexually involved in the house, Patel
disappeared from the scene. Later, there was a knock on the door when
three boys entered the room and started taking video clips of the girl
kissing Sharab. They then abused Sharab for indulging in sex with a
girl of his daughter's age and tookcash and a gold chain worth
Rs31,000.

The gang asked Sharab to pay Rs1 lakh if he wanted to maintain a clean
image in society. They also told him that they would give him a call
on November 2 for the money. One of them called Sharab on November 1
asking him for the money. Sharab panicked. The gang asked him to pay
the money in installments of Rs50,000 separately. Sharab consulted his
son, and the duo approached ACP VR Tolia on Monday.

Sharab received another call from the woman on his phone, while they
were at the police station. Tolia asked Vejalpur PSI BR Mackwana to
accompany Sharab to Shantinath apartment, where they arrested Deepika
and her husband Manish, 25, Nishith, Paresh Patel, (Jaya's son) and
Jaya Patel.Police seized Sharab's PAN card and ID card and recovered
the cash from them.

"Though so far four cases have been committed by the gang, it was
difficult to trace the gang as people refrained from coming out in
public. We are investigatingthe four cases," said Mackwana.

Two months ago a similar incident had occurred in Chandkheda, where a
senior citizen was accosted during morning walk. Based on his
complaint registered with the police, a gang comprising two cops was
busted.
==============

I appreciate the guts of this victim -- instead of coughing up the
ransom amount he chose to complain. PVM

Dr P Vyasamoorthy,
30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278
http://www.google.com/profiles/vyasamoorthy.