I had to take mandatory vaccinations for my daughter recently. This includes polio vaccine, triple antigen etc. But I was not so convinced about the need for some injections (for example, the costly injection for meningitis).

The problem is simple. Private hospitals want to recommend as many vaccinations as possible, since it means more money. Also latest vaccinations are pretty costly compared to long time running old vaccinations.

One thing I have noticed is the blind faith that people have on modern medicine. They are more confident about the medicines they take than their own immune system. I have seen this even among many doctors who think that medical intervention is good in all cases.

But you don’t need to be a genius to see that medical intervention is not needed in many cases and in some cases is more damaging than the original medical problem you have. Most antibiotics are a big burden for our body systems and affect the kidney directly. Long term use of relatively harmless medicines such as paracetamol can cause kidney failure. I have seen many taking it casually like a chewing gum thinking that it will prevent any fever!

Now things are even reached ridiculous proportions in United States. For example, people queing up to take flue vaccinations every 3 months and the recent case where Texas has made it mandatory for girl children to take ant-cancer vaccination. I was stunned when I looked at the vaccination schedule for a baby in US. It is like complex computer flow chart. Healthcare in US is hijacked by medical mafia and their profit margins are unbelievable!

In Kerala, healthcare is big business. “Hitech” hospitals are coming up everywhere. To achieve profitability it is natural that these always recommend a huge set of lab tests/scans for any patient they can get hold of! Patients are also to blame. If a doctor says, “You have a mild cold, go home and take rest” - patient thinks - “This guy has no knowledge in medicine!”. I have heard that some good doctors even give distilled water injection to patients to give them psychological comfort!

One of the most difficult decisions I hade to take in my life was when during my wife’s pregnancy doctor asked me whether I want the painless delivery injection to be taken.  I was well aware of the side effects of the same. I asked back whether there is any  pregnancy complications, to which doctor (she was a good doctor, always calm and smiling) replied that only problem is that the pain is unbearable. I said I will wait 2 more hours and probably it was plain luck, the delivery went through fine within one hour.

Legends of Khasak is the english version of the master piece novel (Khasakkinte Ithihasam) by Malayalam writer O.V. Vijayan. I have read it many times years ago. That is the beauty of the novel. You can read it any number of times and it gets more and more interesting. I am thinking of reading of it again after seeing this in kishan’s hackorama,

… Long before the lizards, before the dinosaurs, two spores set out on an incredible journey. They came to a valley bathed in the placid glow of sunset.
“My elder sister”, said the little spore to the bigger spore, “let us see what lies beyond”.
“This valley is green”, replied the bigger spore, “I shall journey no farther”.
“I want to journey”, said the little spore, “I want to discover”. She gazed in wonder at the path before her.
“Will you forget your sister ?” asked the bigger spore.
“Never”, said the little spore.
“You will little one, for this is the loveless tale of karma; in it there is only parting and sorrow”.
The little spore journeyed on. The bigger spore stayed back in the valley. Her root pierced the damp earth and sought the nutrients of death and memory. She sprouted over the earth, green and contended.
… A girl with silver anklets and eyes prettied with surma came to Chetali’s valley to gather flowers. The Chempaka tree stood alone-efflorescent, serene. The flower gatherer reached out and held down a soft twig to pluck the flowers. As the twig broke the Chempaka said, “My little sister you have forgotten me !”

- O.V.Vijayan “Legends of Khasak”

In short the novel is about Ravi, an intelligent graduate who lands in Khasak (a place near Palakkad in Kerala) to work as a teacher. There are many characters (appukkili?) who are unforgettable.

It is said that Vijayan took about 10 years to complete the novel. The hard work definitely can be seen in the way sub stories are interlinked in the novel. Sometimes you miss very interesting things in the first read.

You can buy Legends of Khasak from Amazon

When I started this blog, I thought I will write about technical topics. But after a gap of 1 month I am back to blogging and decided to expand the topic to “Jayson’s Thoughts” which will also include technical topics. I, like many of the bloggers, suffer from “bloggers block” time to time!

Who is Jayson?

My full name is Jayson Joseph Chacko. I was born in Thodupuzha (a small town in Kerala, India) and spent most of my early days in Kannur.  I belong to the Narimattom family. Later I shifted to Trivandrum where I completed my electrical engineering degree.

After graduation, I joined TCS, Delhi and spent about 3 years there. Later I shifted to TCS, Chennai and finally in December 2005, I moved to Trivandrum.  During my stay outside Kerala, I had visited UK, Netherlands and Denmark on official deputation. Currently I am working in Infosys Technologies Ltd, Trivandrum.

I am a geek and I love programming and driving. Also I spent lot of time on internet (only thing my wife doesn’t appreciate!).

I have a lovely wife and a cute daughter and my parents also stay with me.

About this blog 

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Disclaimer

Please note that all opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions and it has no relation to my work or my company.