THE GOSPEL OF MEDICAL INSURANCE

           It is commonly said that hospitals and medical insurance companies have an unholy tie-up, putting patients with medical insurance through unwanted tests and check-ups to extort money from them—or, rather, from the insurance companies. I wanted to check the truth behind this rumour. I decided to visit a big hospital in the town to consult for non-existing ‘occasional pain’ on the left of the chest, ‘difficulty breathing,' ‘excessive perspiration,' and a ‘systemic tiredness’ over and above all these symptoms.

I was waiting in front of the cardiologist’s consulting room, which had rows and rows of chairs that resembled a big airport’s waiting area at a gate. There was a big colourful poster on the wall in front of me, next to the consulting room, depicting two hands carefully and cautiously holding a heart and these lines written in small letters above:    

 

The Heart

Is the medicine cabinet

Of caregiving.

It’s where the

Miracle drugs of composition

& empathy are kept

A beautiful-looking girl called my name, and I slowly walked into the doctor’s room like a prisoner moving to the gallows.  It was a rather big room with blue-painted walls, and a concoction of different smells rushed into my nostrils.  The smell could be coming from several medicines stored on racks and scattered across his large office table, as well as from the expensive brand of soap and hand wash located by the washbasin in the corner. If the doctor and the nurse in their white uniforms and the table with the medicines were taken out, the room would have resembled a three-star hotel room.  Anyway, now I realized ‘the medicine cabinet’ mentioned in the poster was on the wall here right in front of me!

 

The doctor was a young man with a gold-plated name board displaying a list of his graduate and postgraduate degrees and his special international clinical accreditations.  I really felt jealous about his professional degrees, wishing I had just one of them!

The doctor wearing thick, dark-framed, square-shaped glasses looked at me, nodded gravely to me, and waved his hand, asking me to sit on a chair to his left. I slowly walked and sat on that chair.

 “What is your problem?” The doctor asked me.

 I recited, like a kindergarten child reciting a rhyme, all my ailments and looked at the doctor’s face.  I could see his eyes sparking like an angler’s when he finds a fish has bitten his bait. He looked at me gravely for a moment and said.

 “UHmmmmm. From what you say, I am afraid that you have some serious problems. But I can confirm it only after some tests.  You can do them in this hospital itself.”

 I pretended to be worried and, about to go into tears, asked:

 “I will do the tests in this hospital itself, Doctor. But… will you please let me know the total test charges?”

 “Around Rupees twenty thousand.   If you have insurance, we can include all the treatment expenses in the insurance.” The doctor advised me.

“I have insurance, Doctor,” I said with glee and continued, “Now I don’t have sufficient money with me, and hence I will come tomorrow and finish the tests.”

 “That’s fine.” His seriousness suddenly disappeared, and he it said with a broad smile. “You will get the results only after two days.  Once you get the results, just inform the nurse here, and you can come and meet me straight away without any waiting.” The doctor sounded very cooperative.

 The next day I went to the hospital to undergo the tests. It took nearly an hour before I could pay for the tests while waiting in a serpentine queue.

 On the morning of the third day, I walked straight into the doctor's room and placed the file containing my test results on his table. He leaned on his chair and started checking my reports, carelessly flipping pages.  He placed the file softly on his table and looked at me pensively for a few moments and said in a low and very serious tone,

 “Mr…….Your condition is graver than what I presumed. I am sorry that you have to undergo heart surgery and one arterial surgery.”

 I pretended to look terrified and nearly exclaimed,

 “Is it? Am I that sick?”

 “Yes. You are.” The doctor was cool.

The doctor seemed very eager to cure my ailment, and we discussed the operation that seemed essential to be conducted within a week. When I heard the operation cost again, I pretended to be shocked, as it was a whopping four hundred thousand Rupees!   The doctor, who might have suspected that I might change my mind, said in a rejuvenating tone:

 “You have insurance for Rupees eight hundred thousand.   You don’t need to worry about anything.  Sign a few insurance papers, get operated on, relax in our comfortable deluxe rooms for a week, and just walk out of the hospital as a fresh person.”

 Now comes the second part.

 I got the name of another big hospital in a town far from mine.

 Activities were almost the same in this hospital also, except for this part:

 “I will do the tests here itself, Doctor. But… will you please let me know the total test charges?”

 “Around Rupees twenty thousand.   If you have insurance, we can include all the treatment expenses in the insurance.” The doctor advised me.

 

“I am not insured, doctor,” I said in a defeated tone. “Now I don’t have sufficient money with me, and hence I will come tomorrow and finish the tests.”

 The doctor looked dismayed and said in a disinterested tone:

 "Just show me the test results when you get them.”

 He would have pushed me out of the room if I had stayed in his room any longer!

Two days later, I called the hospital and booked an appointment with the same doctor at 10 am. I collected the medical reports and took a seat in front of the doctor’s consulting room. He came before ten and waved at him, smiling ingratiatingly. He just neglected me and went in. I gave my appointment slip to the sister who kept peeking out of the half-open door, calling patients' names. She went in and came back and asked me to wait.  My waiting continued till 1 pm, when I and one other person were left in the hall.   Soon that person was called in, and I was alone.

 Finally, around 1:15 I was called in. The doctor didn’t ask me to sit and just snatched the medical report file from me without looking at me. He flipped through the reports as if he were reading a laptop’s operator’s manual. He closed and dropped the file on the table and told me in a casual tone,

 “I don’t think you have any problems.  But there is a slight variation in your heartbeat.  (He said a clinical term that I don’t remember now.) Many people are born with a ‘system’ like this.”

 “Thank you so much, Doctor. I am glad that I have no serious ailments,” I interrupted.

 “Don’t rejoice too much. I will prescribe two tablets for you, which you should take every day to block any future complications.  You will get this in this hospital’s pharmacy alone.”

 Like a culprit standing before a judge, I accepted all his suggestions. I meekly said,

 “Thanks, Doctor. I will do as suggested by you.”

 Before handing over the prescription to me came his other command:

“Other than taking these medicines, you need to come for a checkup every three months.”

 “Ok, Doctor. I will do as you say,” I said, and laughing inside, I came out.

The news reporters of the TV channel I worked with were waiting anxiously outside to hear what the doctor said. I was the person who suggested this ‘sting,’ and by telecasting the news, the channel is going to get a high viewer ranking. But I can no longer visit the two hospitals!

 

 

The Dream at the Olympic Stadium

The marble seats of the ancient Olympic Stadium were warm under the afternoon sun. After walking through Athens all morning, I stretched out on one of the stone benches, holding my smartphone in my right hand.

"I'll just close my eyes for five minutes," I murmured.

The next thing I knew, someone cleared his throat.

"Χαῖρε, stranger!"

I opened my eyes.

Sitting beside me was a middle-aged Greek in a spotless white himation, curly beard, leather sandals, and the confident look of a man who had never heard of income tax.

He stared at me.

I stared at him.

He stared at my shirt.

Then my trousers.

Then my shoes.

Then my spectacles.

Finally, his eyes rested on the black rectangle in my hand.

He frowned.

Instead, I pointed at my phone.

I opened Google Translate.

He looked puzzled.

("Τι είναι αυτό;") ("What is that?")

"This?" (αυτό ? )

"Ναί (Yes.")

"It translates languages." (Μεταφράζει γλώσσες)

He laughed loudly.

Μια μαγική πέτρα; Αγαπητέ μου Ινδέ φίλε, έχω δει πολλά κόλπα στην Αλεξάνδρεια.  ("A magic stone? My dear Indian friend, I've seen many tricks in Alexandria.")

He looked puzzled.

"«Θα μιλήσω ελληνικά» he declared proudly.  (I  hall speak Greek," )

He began speaking rapidly.

Google listened.

A second later the phone spoke perfect English.

"Greetings. I am Lysander. Merchant, occasional sailor, full-time survivor of Hippalus’ navigation." (Χαιρετισμούς. Είμαι ο Λύσανδρος. Έμπορος, περιστασιακός ναύτης, μόνιμος επιζών της ναυσιπλοΐας του Ιππάλου.».)

Lysander nearly fell off the marble bench.

Η πέτρα μιλάει!»  ( "The stone speaks!")

"It does."  («Το κάνει.)

«Ζει ο Ερμής μέσα σε αυτό;»("Does Hermes live inside it?")

"No." (Ochi.)

Όλες οι εικόνες του Απόλλωνα  ("Then perhaps Apollo?")

"No."(Ochi.)

  "Πολύ μικροσκοπικοί σκλάβοι;"("Very tiny slaves?")

"No." (Ochi.)

Πρέπει να είναι φυλακισμένοι φιλόσοφοι.  ("It must be imprisoned philosophers.)

"No." (Ochi.)

He picked up my smartphone.

«Άρα αυτό το αντικείμενο ξέρει ελληνικά...»   ("So this object knows Greek...")

"Yes." ("Ναί.")

 ("Λατινικά;")“Latin?”

"Yes." (Ochi.)

"...πιθανώς Αιγύπτιος;" ("...probably Egyptian?")

"Yes." (Ochi.)

"...και σανσκριτικά;    ("...and Sanskrit?")

"Yes." (Ochi.)

He looked genuinely offended.

«Πέρασα δώδεκα χρόνια μαθαίνοντας ελληνική ρητορική.»    ("I spent twelve years learning Greek rhetoric."

Lysander sighed.

«Έχω σπαταλήσει τη νιότη μου».   ("I have wasted my youth.")

---

---

He pointed solemnly at my phone.

«Αλλά αυτή η μικρή μαύρη πλάκα είναι το πιο τρομακτικό πράγμα που έχω δει ποτέ.»            ("But that little black tablet is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen.")

«Είσαι... Πέρσης;» ("Are you... a Persian?")

"No."(Ochi.)

Αιγύπτιος;" ("Egyptian?"))

"No." ."(Ochi.)

He scratched his beard.

«Τότε από πού είσαι, για όνομα του Δία;»)("Then where in Zeus' name are you from?")

"India."  Ινδία

His face lit up.

Ινδία! Υπέροχα! Μόλις επέστρεψα από εκεί με τον Ίππαλο, τον μεγάλο θαλασσοπόρο.

(India!  Wonderful! I have just returned from there with Hippalus, the great navigator.")

"You travelled with Hippalus?"  (Ταξιδέψατε με τον Ίππαλο;)

(«Πράγματι! Οι νοτιοδυτικοί άνεμοι μας μετέφεραν υπέροχα. Φτάσαμε στο Μουζίρις. Το καλύτερο πιπέρι στον κόσμο!»)

("Indeed! The southwest winds carried us beautifully. We reached Muziris. Finest pepper in the world! " ) 

I almost laughed.

"Allá..  ("But...") he continued, looking at my clothes suspiciously, Δεν ντύνεσαι όπως κανείς στην Ινδία.." 

Then he asked,

«Ποιο βασίλειο υπηρετείτε; Τους Σαταβαχάνα; Τους Τσέρα;   ("What kingdom do you serve? The Satavahanas? The Cheras?")

I smiled.

"I come from... much later." ( «Κατάγομαι από... πολύ αργότερα.»)

He blinked.

«Τι σημαίνει «πολύ αργότερα ? ( "What is 'much later'?")

I decided not to explain two thousand years of history in one sentence.

---

Next he happily described India as he knew it.

Το Μουζίρις είναι γεμάτο κόσμο."Muziris is crowded."

"It still is." («Ακόμα είναι.»)

«Οι έμποροι πιπεριού είναι έξυπνοι.»   ("The pepper merchants are clever.")

"They still are." («Ακόμα είναι.»)

---

Suddenly he frowned.

«Μα γιατί είσαι ντυμένος έτσι;»   ("But why are you dressed like this?")

"It's modern fashion." («Μα γιατί είσαι ντυμένος έτσι;»)

«Εννοείς ότι οι άνθρωποι φορούν πρόθυμα ρούχα που δένονται;»  ("You mean people willingly wear joined  clothes?")

"Yes." ("Ναί.")

«Και μακριές σωλήνες;»  ("And long pipes?")

"Yes."." ("Ναί.")

He looked horrified.

«Μα πώς αναπνέουν τα γόνατά σου;»  ("But how do your knees breathe?)"

---

He noticed my wristwatch.

«Τι είναι αυτό το βραχιόλι;»  ("What is that bracelet?")

"It tells time."   («Δείχνει την ώρα.»)

He examined it.

«Κουβαλάς τον χρόνο στο χέρι σου;»   ("You carry time on your arm?")

"Yes."  " ("Ναί.")

"«Και όλοι έχουν από ένα;»    (And everyone owns one?")

"Not anymore." («Όχι πια.»)

His eyes sparkled.

«Έτσι έγιναν τόσο πλούσιοι που κάθε πολίτης έχει τον χρόνο του;»   ("So they became so wealthy that every citizen owns time?")

“Yes." " ("Ναί.")

---

Then a plane flew overhead.

Lysander ducked.

«Αλλά αυτή η μικρή μαύρη πλάκα είναι το πιο τρομακτικό πράγμα που έχω δει ποτέ.»   ("What enormous bird is that?")

"An aeroplane. It carries bout three hundred people."  («Ένα αεροπλάνο. Μεταφέρει περίπου τριακόσια άτομα.»)

«Μεταφέρει κόσμο;»  ("It carries people?")

He looked at the sky.

«Έτσι, ο Δαίδαλος τελικά τα κατάφερε.»   ("So Daedalus¹ finally succeeded.")

Lysander quietly sat down.

«Δεν με εκπλήσσει πια τίποτα».               ("I am no longer surprised by anything.)"

---

---

A voice echoed across the stadium.

"Sir... sir... the stadium is closing!"

I opened my eyes.

A security guard was smiling at me.

My phone was still in my hand.

Had I dreamed it all!

Somewhere, perhaps in another century, Lysander was probably telling Hippalus,

"The Indians of the future imprison translators inside little black stones... and they still grow the finest pepper in the world."

1.      Dedalus was a talented inventor and sculptor in Greek mythology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daedalus

 

Agility Management

 “Before accepting the position of CEO of this company, I conducted a thorough investigation into how the management functioned as a whole. The results of my research show that the enterprise agility of this company has been hampered by bureaucracy due to a lack of business agility.    From now on, we must purge the bureaucratic mentality and replace it with a fresh perspective that allows people to change course and respond swiftly without being mired in bureaucratic complacency.  Business agility is what normalizes positive, continuous change. In order to make sure that leaders pay attention to their teams and empathetically address their needs, we need to hold regular feedback sessions, meetings, and communication channels”.

In our organization, the new Agility Management System (AMS) was implemented in this manner.   I oversee production for a biscuit firm that has marketing offices spread throughout India.   I hold a diploma in biscuit production and a master's degree in mechanical engineering.   Since I always ensure that the factory workers are satisfied and well-paid, production has never been halted for outside reasons.    The office is undoubtedly run similarly to how all offices ought to be run.    The market for our biscuits is enormous, and we rank second in biscuit production behind a global brand.

Following certain conflicts with the director board, a new CEO took over as leader.   He was a relatively young man who had attended numerous business institutions and received multiple management degrees. I summarised his statements at the beginning when he addressed the company's management board, which I also attended.

The new CEO was a highly engaged individual. At least once a week, he stressed, that he wanted to meet with the production and administrative staff at least once a week. Additionally, he issued a circular to the factory workers union office stating that he would like to meet with production heads and the senior workers also on the first of every month. The manufacturing workers were ecstatic because no CEO had ever taken the time to greet them or ask how they were doing. The only person they could come to with complaints was me, and I took care of their issues right away.

Every employee in the office was wearing a badge with a smiling emoji and the words  "I AM AGILE" on top of the emoji. Upon entering the office, the security guard welcomed me with a smile and said "Agile Morning" rather than "Good Morning."      Instead of saying "Good Morning," everyone I encountered on the walk to the conference room wished me "Agile Morning."   The CEO had  begun his game-changer step!  We, the production team, were also handed similar badges to wear before we entered the conference space.   The CEO thanked us for wearing the badge as the meeting began and asked that we do the same in the workplace.   (This could be the first indication that you are an Agile leader who speaks honestly and transparently in the workplace.) When the CEO began his "Business Agility" propaganda speech, he thought we needn't have changed out of our work clothes to suit his meeting. He continued:

“To create an agile environment, compatibility and camaraderie in any working environment, even the work dress should be similar or nearly similar to that of the hierarchically challenged employee.  In an agile organisation, employees must be encouraged to think like and empowered to innovate in their sphere of influence that will help teams become more agile and flexible”.

"What is business agility?" was the subject of the inaugural agility meeting. It was interesting to observe the CEO-led weekly agility meeting. I was unfamiliar with the business lingo employed by the CEO during the discussion. Before I met our HR manager a few days later, I had no idea what business agility jargon like "OKR" (Objectives and Key Results), "TCS" (Transparent Company Strategy), and customer-centricity, "failing fast," "Pivot" machine learning, disruptive technologies, "vertical distance," top-down, bottom-up, internal triggers, external triggers, and countless others meant. The CEO offered advice on how to apply agility management in our company by encouraging teams to modify their processes and inviting feedback from competitors, co-workers, and other stakeholders by moving away from the conventional management system.

Our chief engineer objected to admitting competitors into our manufacturing operations to foster an agile environment and provide chances for everyone a peek at our production process.   He told the CEO that our superior biscuit quality is the reason why we are still positioned second in the nation. We would jeopardize our stability and risk losing all of our production secrets if we allowed our rivals to tour our factories.   After giving it some thought, the CEO hesitantly stated:

 "You could be correct.   Regarding your usage of the word "stability," I disagree.  Stability is no longer the key to sustainable success.  Our company has to shed its bureaucratic shell and evolve new behaviors and characteristics to match the Post-Covid world much like an organism would to survive and prosper.   It was evident that he did not like the objection raised by the chief engineer to show  ‘Business agility’ towards our competitors.´

The CEO’s agility business meeting was discussed (some even criticized him!) by the office and factory workforce.   One HR employee even thought that our rivals were sending spies to steal our production secrets for biscuits and that the new CEO was one of them.  The "paradigm shift" (I picked up this term from our CEO!) in the language used in office and industrial communications shocked me.   The agile team was enthusiastic about incorporating customer-centricity, disruptive technology, and "vertical distance" into their speech and communications, as well as short forms like "OKR" and "TCS."

The subject for the second week was how to change a company from a typical, hierarchical one to an agile one.    In keeping with the CEO's remarks, the office staff wore T-shirts and jeans or tracker pants.   The individuals working in the production unit, such as myself, and the chosen machine operators, came with stains from oil and grease on their work clothes.   The Chief Executive Officer expressed gratitude for our attire and remained silent regarding the office personnel's attire. "How to incorporate business agility in a workplace" was the theme for the third week. The CEO inquired if we had any thoughts on the matter. I got up and emphasized that everyone in our factory understands their roles, goals, and duties, and work as in a family to achieve our goals.

The HR manager went one step further and stated that all of the top-performing businesses followed the strategy of keeping both office and factory staff content in order to achieve goals. Those that neglected to provide for the welfare of their employees paid a high price and were excluded from the market. This is a universal fact, and by positioning the word "business agility" as a post-covid corporate innovation, younger company executives are attempting to "reinvent the wheel." He didn't stop there; he went on to say that the new generation of corporate executives utilized a lot of phrasal verbs and introduced plenty of jargon when explaining it. Additionally, since a large number of them were IT professionals, they employed hard jargon from the IT industry, such as artificial intelligence, agile software, and machine learning”.

The CEO flushed a little, but he quickly got over it and asked the HR manager:

“Alright. Could you please reveal your educational background? Would you please?”

“"Master's in Management of Business from IIT Chennai. 1990 was the year”. The  HR manager said.

“The news that you are an IIT fellow pleases me. The business management concepts that you acquired twenty-four years ago are either out of date or inflexible in the current context. You are still at a time when the management systems held the view that there was a "pyramidal system," with the top executives at the top and the rest of the workforce at the base. However, when "agility management" is used, the pyramid is flipped such that frontline executives are at the base and the working class at large is at the top” The CEO tried his best to make his argument stronger.

                 

                                

                                 Conventional Management                    Agility Management

The CEO went on to say, "Frontline executives should strive to learn from frontline employees when it comes to learning." It creates a culture of communication where the main objective is to discuss with the frontline staff to find an effective solution to a challenging problem. Organizations that adopt an agile mind-set unify their workers with the same goal and vision. The company's plan should be known to and ideally understood by every employee. They must understand the company's priorities and recognize their part in realizing the enterprise's objectives.   Agility coaches need to remember that at times such steps might end up in failure.     However, there are rewards even in these "failures." Agile coaches need to make sure that when an employee initiative doesn't work out, the employees use the lessons learned from it and make all of their subsequent attempts successful”.

At this point, the Workers Party's socialist trade union leader winked at me and held up his hand to address the CEO. 

 Fantastic.   In this particular meeting, a frontline staff member has voiced his desire to speak out!  I see it as an indication that our business is emerging from the shackles of antiquated and traditional organizational management.   Our business is already  TOTALLY ‘AGILED’." Exclaimed the CEO.

"You have to forgive me for saying this in a meeting like this," the trade union leader uttered. For years, the senior management has maintained that we are the foundation and pillars of the organization. You now say that you are all at the base of a triangle, and we are at the top. Since I can't see the triangle we are sitting on, I'm unsure what triangle you mean when you say this! What we get for our work a month is not even one-tenth of what the senior engineers and officers get . Then you said something like ÁgilityManagement'.  We have enough of  "Agility" here and what we now need is a wage revision".

The CEO looked surprised when he realized that bringing the representative of the union to his "Agility Workshop" had been a mistake. (Incidentally, I saw that the "frontline force" wasn't offered an invitation to join the "Agility Workshop" thereafter!) At that point, a 'Brief Agility Break' flashed on the screen. We will get together in thirty minutes. Looking at the union representative, the CEO smiled and said:

“Yes. However, following a "brainstorming" session with the director board, I shall report you.
Rumours spread amongst the "bottom line" employees, who the CEO referred to as "Apex employees," saying that the CEO's secretary had announced the break to spare him from this embarrassing situation”!

The CEO methodically planned these "Agility Workshops" for a whole year, and he didn't miss a chance to declare that the next year's net profit was going to triple that of the year previous. We soon received word of the balance statements and got an express invitation for an “Agility effectiveness analysis meeting." With a big smile, the CEO greeted us and said:
 "Today I wish to announce our milestone of achievement after the introduction of "Agility Management."

The CEO continued to describe the advancements as though they had all been made possible by his introduction of "Agility Management" after the balance sheet had shown up on the screen page. Eventually, the profit and loss statement appeared. He had surrounded the Net profit column in a circle. With his finger still firmly on the net profit, he declared triumphantly that it had increased by 25% above the previous year.
"We have an annual growth rate of about twenty to twenty percent", the chief accounting manager who was sitting next to me whispered. But he was reluctant to disclose anything ahead.

After a few weeks, the corporation convened its annual director board meeting.
A new CEO took control of the organization soon after the meeting, and I received an invitation to attend a workshop on the "Target Oriented Skill Development Programme"!

 

                                                      Two watery  grave mishaps

 

Have you ever had an experience when you happened to see death before you? 

Two times in my life I was about to get killed. Interestingly, both times it was water that would have become my grave. It was in 1978 or 79 that I and my two friends were on a road trip. It was afternoon when we reached the Alleppey beach. The beach was neat, the sea was calm, and mild waves washed the silvery sand. We had tender coconuts and just sat on the beach watching the sea. 

Since we were all young and enthusiastic, we naturally wanted to try our diving prowess. Every time we surfaced after a dive, we had a handful of seabed muck in our hands. I was going deeper and deeper into the waves without recognizing the risk since I was so happy. I was separated from my friends by roughly two hundred feet in the sea. I saw that I was about in line with the sea bridge's apex before I dove. I tried one more dive, but it seemed to be several fathoms below the surface, and I was unable to reach it. I experienced an odd terror. My legs were abruptly trapped in a horizontal wave of water. The flow was moving at an incredible pace, and in an instant I found myself being drawn in and carried away by it. I was afraid I might end up to the icy, dark bottom of the ocean.

I had the impression that someone was telling me not to give up and to make every attempt to avoid drowning. I had a tremendous surge of energy coursing through my arms and legs, and before I knew it, my head was dry. I plunged toward the coast without wasting a second. My pals were waiting under a canopy. They were worried as there was no sign of me over the water for some time.! I told them of the danger I had to experience underwater. They were quite relieved that they didn't have to carry me to Elapully!

We stopped at a little tea shop on our way to the car to have hot tea and some nibbles. I struck up a conversation with the hotel owner, bringing up the topic of the sea and the little ships moored near the sea bridge. I finally told him about my underwater encounter. With his eyes wide open, the tea shop owner remarked to me,

You dived in the canal dredged for ships.  There's a strong, continuous current over there. It's a blessing that you survived without drowning. You are one among the very few people who have escaped from being carried away by the current."
I requested that the hotel owner post the following message on a board outside his establishment before I left:

“DO NOT SWIM IN THE SEA. IF YOU DO SO, YOU MIGHT NOT SEE THE LAND AGAIN”.

After 45 years,  I want  to  see how the sea bridge looks. According to the news, the bridge was abandoned by the port authority because ships considered it unsafe to berth by it because it was beginning to break apart.  

 

     

                                         This is what is left of the bridge now.

Even though the bridge is practically gone, the strong current ought to continue running unhindered.

In Zurich, Switzerland, at "Lake Zurich," I had my second brush with death. Two years had passed since my last encounter with death. I am appreciative of my friends for having invited me to Zurich and setting up my tour of the country.

It was June if my memory serves me well. For almost a week, the weather had been frigid, with light snowfall occurring at night as well. The weather soon changed, and the sun came out.

Two more days of the same bright weather were in store. It appears that the sun was the one who persuaded me to dive into Lake Zurich. My friends asked whether I would like to go swimming with them in the lake because they were thrilled about the weather change. Whenever I had the chance, I would never have hesitated to go swimming.

                                                                Lake Zurich

We arrived at a lakeside swimming area not too long after. After putting our shirts and pants in lockers, we headed for the lake. Children were running around and some people were sunning themselves on the bank. I saw that the building where we left our clothing was next to a restaurant.

My companions grabbed two beach chairs and prepared to slather themselves in sunscreen and enjoy some sun exposure.
"I don't need to tan anymore as my skin is already brown and tanned," I said as I made my way over to the diving board stand. My pals waved back to me as I stood at the edge of the diving platform.

I dived in. I initially thought the water was chilly but not frigid. As I descended further, the water's temperature abruptly dropped. I felt as if my body was being penetrated by needles from all directions. I made every attempt to get to the surface, but after plunging from a considerable height, I continued to descend into the frigid waters like an arrow.

I sadly decided  that Zurich would be the location of my "watery grave." I tried to calm my thoughts by picturing that I would have to pass away eventually and that it wouldn't matter if I died in Zurich or at home. I should have worked hard to surface –I don’t remember how- and it was a great relief when I surfaced and breathed the cool air! I told myself I was still alive as I glanced at the bustling shore!

I swam to shore like someone fleeing a forest fire. I was surprised to see everyone's eyes turned toward me as I emerged from the water. I didn't know why people were staring at me at first. When I discovered the cause, I was truly taken aback. My skin looked bluish-yellow and wrinkled like an elephants’ from the icy cold water! (My friends commented that I appeared like an alien with my wrinkled skin after we got back home!)

I was shivering and extremely fatigued. My pals and a few more hurried over to me. They carried me into a heated room and covered me with a blanket. I was asked to consume French fries and hot coffee as quickly as possible. My skin took about an hour to return to its original colour and the wrinkles vanished.

I got out of the blanket roll, gave my thanks to all around me, and we headed back home. My pals had given up on the concept of going swimming—possibly because the water was so cold—and showered at home to remove the "sun lotion."

In conclusion, I learned the following after the two life-threatening events: 1) never swim near shipping routes. 2) In colder nations, consider twice before jumping into lakes on bright days. The sun's heat causes the snow on the peaks of the mountains to melt, allowing the icy streams to cascade into lakes and rivers. You will undoubtedly become cold if you dive while estimating the water's surface temperature. Because icy cold water is denser, it fills up at the bottom and pushes warmer water to the top. Even in tropical oceans, divers claim that the water becomes chillier if you dive deeper and deeper.

I would have just enjoyed a hot cup of coffee while watching the beauty of Lake Zurich from a beach chair if I had realized the two factors earlier!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                   

 Meeting the Maya

 

I have read many books on Maya civilization and watched documentaries on the Maya ruins. This kindled in me the desire to visit and, if possible, visit a village of the present Maya descendants. I was reading the book “Mayan Civilization “and the doorbell rang. I was stunned when I opened the door to see a Maya woman standing before me. You might be wondering how I identified her as Maya. Sometimes, I may not be able to identify my own countrymen in a mob, but I will never miss a Maya, as the Mayan’s features are recorded in my mind.

I stood watching her for some time without greeting her. My dumbness might have made her uncomfortable, and she said:

 “Hello. Good morning. I have come to fix a few things in this house,” in a South American Spanish accent.

“Yes. Please come in, and you can do your work,” I politely answered.

When she finished her work and was about to leave the house, I slowly started conversing with her. 

“It is wonderful that you have finished your work very fast.” I started the conversation.

She just smiled at me.

“I am sorry that I didn’t ask your name. Will you please let me know?" I was keen on knowing her ethnicity rather than her name, as it was rude on my part to ask her, “Are you a Mayan?”? 

In some cultures, asking one’s religion or ethnicity at the first meeting itself is not considered impolite. I worked in a country where people often used to ask me, “Are you a M?” All the time  I replied with the name of a religion that came to mind, and immediately the other person would say, “Very bad,” and turn their face!

One day, I and my friend Poly Isaac were walking along the street when one person stopped us and asked, “Are you M.S.?" When we said we were not;  immediately came the comment:

“Then two of you will not go to heaven.”.

Immediately, Poly Isaac asked the person:

“Will you go to heaven?”.

“Yes. I will go to heaven,” came the reply.

Then Poly Isaac humbly requested the man:

“Once you go to heaven, please ask God to bring us also to there.”

The man did not understand Poly Isaac’s sarcasm and  he replied vehemently:

“No. I cannot do that.”.

"Akna,” she replied.

The moment she said her name was Akna  my thoughts were shattered, and I said,

Are you not a Maya? Excuse me if I am wrong.”.

 

“You are right. I am a Maya,”  came the reply instantly.

“Akna, what a beautiful name! Akna is the Mayan goddess of fertility." 

I had been looking to meet a Maya, and the hope had just slowly been vanishing when a Maya came in front of me.  Akna was not in a hurry to go, I and my wife were eager to know more about the Maya way of life. She politely accepted our tea and sat with us for more than an hour, talking to us. I learned more from Akna about Mayans than I have learned from loads of books and videos on Mayans. Akna said we should meet her parents and brothers if we visited Honduras, who would help us familiarize ourselves with the Maya way of life.

She got into her car  wishing:

“K'a'ak'ate. Taak ulak k'iin“ (Good Bye. (See you later.)

“Ka xi'ik teech utsil. Ka'ajxi'ikte'ex utsil” (Good luck. Have a nice day.) I wished back and Akma drove away smiling.  For more such  Yucatec Maya phrases, please search on Google!

 

 

IN, ON, BEFORE OR AFTER THE TIME?

My friend Andrew¹  is A Swiss architect and writer. In 1980, he entrusted me with the work of translating a book on ancient Kerala architecture from Malayalam to English. He wanted me to be in Switzerland while I did the translation. During every break, my friend generously helped me travel around.

Andrew’s parents lived just a few miles away from him. Henry² and Margaret³ were a wonderful couple, and their generosity and hospitality always overwhelmed me. Henry was a World War II veteran, was kind and, above all, very informative. Though he was rather friendly, his strict military discipline always kept me at a distance. I have learned many things from him, and one thing I learned from him was keeping time. That is the theme of my writing. Margaret found that I loved the cherry cake she baked, and most of the weekends Margaret would bake cherry cake for me and invite me to their home for dinner. After dinner, Henry would declare that he had found a place to visit and ask if I would like to join him.

I was always more than ever willing to travel with him, and we three would get into his Volkswagon. We used to return late in the evening, and after dropping me off at Andrew’s apartment, his parents would say bye to me. Those were my memorable moments in Switzerland.

One Saturday morning, Andrew handed over the phone receiver to me, saying that his mother was calling me. (There were no mobile phones in those days.) Margaret was going to bake cherry cake and invited me to her home. I happily agreed that I would be at their door by 8 or 30. When I said 8–30, little did I realize what destiny had in store to teach me a lesson—a valuable lesson! Many lessons in life are like this. They will be embarrassing and a blow to your ego, but shortly turn out to be a lesson that is to be with you throughout -modifying your life.

I had to finish typing a page, and before I finished typing it at an express speed—it was 8–16. I rushed to the tram stop to realize that the 8–15 tram had left. The next tram was at 8-20.  There were ten minutes for the tram and five minutes for me to walk to Andrew’s parents’ home would make me late for five minutes. There was no time to go to a public booth and call Andrew’s parents.

While I was making these calculations and sweating in my pants, the 8-20 tram came and halted in front of me. I got into the tram as if my hurry would make the tram go faster! It was just past 8:35 when I reached Andrew’s parents’ home. When Margaret opened the door, I found that she looked worried. Usually, she would look cheerful and open the door, smiling with a warm welcome. She whispered in my ears that I was late, and it made Henry annoyed. He was in the ante room reading. She signalled for me to go and meet him. In the ante room, Henry was sitting facing a window and reading a book.

I went near him and gently said, "Hello, Mr. Henry."

He turned to me and looked at me sternly. That was the right time; and without giving him time to say anything, I continued.:

“I am extremely sorry. I am late by TEN  minutes. I had to finish some work that I had already started when Mrs Margaret called. I was keen on getting into the 8-10 tram, but I missed it by seconds."

Henry’s stern face turned brighter, and he waved at a sofa for me to sit on. He looked at me for a few moments and said, “Now take it from me. One of the greatest qualities of a person is the ability to keep time. Turning out to be late for an appointment is disgusting." He continued, “You are a young man, and I am sure that you will have to face many challenges in life. If you keep on failing to reach a place on time'', it will become your habit, and you  will never be successful in life. Further, you will  be an eyesore to others who keep time.

 “You are right Mr. Henry, and I will remember your advice always." I said. Henry was pleased and concluded, shaking my hands, “We may not be able to present on time on all occasions. If we feel that we may not be able to reach a place as we promised, we need to call the person concerned well in advance and let them know of our  helplessness."

I have never been a tardy person after Mr. Henry’s gentle reproach.  I was made into an ardent ‘time keeper’ and have always been on time, or most of the time, ‘before time’! I don’t remember even one occasion when I had to be called and said I was late.   I worked in another country as an English teacher for twelve years and had not been late to report even a single day except on leave days when I didn’t have to sign at all. On a number of occasions, I had forgotten to report, and the gentleman office assistant  located  me and ask ed me to sign the register before I went home. I always remember the office assistant with gratitude who was sure I would always be on time. It is said that if you start  doing a penance, after some time it will gradually grow into an austere penance.

 In the same way, my penance to keep time has grown into an austere penance, and I start getting restless as time slowly ticks to the targeted time. Invitations would clearly specify things like “Function starts at 8 AM,"  “Party between 5 and PM,”, “Kindly be present at 9 AM, and so on. The moment I get an invitation, my mental clock will start ticking, and I will reach the venue in fifteen to thirty minutes. Sadly, and surprisingly, there would be no one in the place except the helpers and one or two stray dogs . During  such occasions,  I would just kill time sitting in different places in the beginning and retreating to a vacant place and murmuring why they didn’t start the function  t ‘On time’. Comfortably, after half an  hour, the function started, and the organizers smiled at me, feeling shy they were late.   I looked at them, and said grinningly, “But I came before the ime."

1, 2, and 3: real names have been changed for anonymity.