Red Ribbon Express: A Welcoming Initiative

The day began with all the noises of daily chores. In case you've forgotten, I've my parents and family living with me now! But does that mean I am gonna change what I've been for the last two years? Nah!

Ready and reached college for the news that classes have been suspended. And the reason was the arrival of Red Ribbon Express at Shornur Railway Station, about 40 km from Thrissur.The Red Ribbon Express was launched by the ministries of Health and Railway to travel across the nation and throw light on the causes and treatment for HIV and AIDS.

We reached Shornur Railway terminal by 12 noon. And whoa! The queue of visitors to the train was about a km long - twisting, turning and spiraling across the entire platform. The patient wait began as we were determined to see the train and the stuff inside after having travel over 40kms just for it.

At about 1p.m our end of the queue reached entry doors. There were volunteers from various non-profit organizations ,devoted to the treatment of AIDS, distributing pamphlets and stickers on general awareness about the most dreaded disease of this century.
What amused me was the street play by some professional artists who were also volunteers for the cause. Presented with a gist of humor, the play highlighted ignorance of our society regarding safe sexual practices and birth control. The play went on to female foeticides and I could see some faces surprised to hear that foeticide is an criminal offense punishable under law.

The train was totally Malayalified(all writings and explanations were being done in Malayalam). There were illustrious banners and posters on contraceptives, family planning and birth control. While one section dealt with the importance of checking quality of blood while undergoing a transfusion, another was about the safety of disposable syringes.

A map of our nation with red, white and green LEDs on it indicated the concentration of HIV/AIDS patients in various regions. The map was a clear indication of how education is related to health conditions and social outlook about a disease, that could be prevented if necessary precautions were taken.

Also under display were some medical specimen a glimpse of which i leave here.
Blessed are those souls(like mine!) who aren't doctors!
The train was definitely a new experience, and a look at the crowd could easily make one comprehend the results of such an initiative. kudos to the Railways and the Ministry of Health for this venture..

Girls are Selfish !!

For those of you who don't know, I am undertaking coaching at the popular T.I.M.E MBA/CAT tutors.

I have my classes every Sunday from 10a.m to about 4p.m. The classes deal with various topics, ranging from Intellectual Ability Enhancement to that of Verbal Ability and from Data Interpretation to Logical Thinking.

Though the classes had commenced about 2 Months ago, I started attending them on regular basis only since mid August(You know college habits die hard:))

The reason why i started this post is to share my first experience in attending a Group Discussion or G.D, in short.
Our verbal Ability classes are taken by one of gifted teachers I've ever met, Mr.Joseph.Witty and jolly in person ,he has a unique knack of making us face the audience without fear of shame or without feeling shy.

Coming back to the session we had with him today, he introduced us to the Pros and Cons of G.D and the Do's and Don'ts while attending one.

We were made to stand in a circle and various topics were given.To list a few, we had discussion on "Making Dowry legal","Girls are selfish(how true :) !!!)" and "Boys are Mommy's toys","Subsidizing Junk Food" and many more funny, interesting topics.

People were eliminated after the end of 10 minutes and the discussion would continue with new people filling the gap.There were many funny instances as the discussion heated up,one of which was a comment by a fellow classmate saying that he has had enough bad experiences to say that women are mean and selfish.The whole class erupted in laughter.

Joseph Sir, however, told us that seldom do such topics appear in G.D and therefore asked us to be keen and more enthusiastic in reading newspapers,keeping track of various global events and many other stuffs.

Its been a long time since i touched a newspaper for reading a news article, though I've browsed it infinitesimal times to check out the new movie in town and whether there is a strike in any part of the city.. :)

Guess I'll have to start doing what he instructed in near future.But not now anyway :).

Tomorrow is the big day- the Finals of Twenty 20 World Cup where in India will meet arch-rivals Pakistan in a death battle where only the true savage survives.
buzzing off