A little patience :-) ...the results...

Let me begin by thanking everyone who played along and cast their vote... and apologising for taking a few days beyond my own deadline of one week to post this entry :-)

You don't need to be a statistician to see that we have a clear winner, Scenario 3.

Ergo, if most of us had a serious illness and read a sign that advertised "relief from almost any ailment in 3 months, through ancient medical science, " we would feel most comfortable about stepping in to give it a shot, if it was based on 'voluntary contributions'.

To hazard a guess, I would say that most of us like to be "fair".

We don't like to be taken for a ride any more than we want to be seen expecting a free lunch.

While this seems quite reasonable as a social principle, real life has a funny way of queering the equation.

For one, I'm not sure most users are actually comfortable with setting the price of products or services. I suspect most of us would check with other patients, once we were outside the treatment center, to figure out the 'appropriate amount' :-)

For the institution too, there are challenges attached with the 'pay-as-you-wish' model.

There are restaurants and cafes around the world that have experimented with it, with mixed success. (The picture to the right is of one such cafe in Vienna)

In Delhi's Hauz Khas market, there's Kunzum, a "travel cafe" that let's people sit around, make plans, drink coffee and pay what they think is fair. Their economics seem to 'even out', for the most part, with only a few patrons short-changing the cafe blatantly, while most 'overpay'. (Now having felt 'obliged' to err on the generous side, the really telling statistic would be whether they return to the cafe a second time :-) If they don't, it may not be as disastrous for the cafe, as it is likely to be for our hypothetical treatment center :-)

Returning to my first point, as consumers, it is difficult enough for us to comfortably price tangiable, physical products (like muffins and cups of coffee). Pricing health services voluntarily can be even trickier. Let me explain.

Let's say this ancient medical science is such that you need to come to the treatment center twice a week, i.e., to have certain 'vital energy points' on your body stimulated physically. It takes 5 minutes each time and in 3 months after 24-odd sessions, you seem to be getting better. Would you credit the 'treatment' with doing it's work or would you suspect a placebo effect? Again, how would this affect your voluntary contribution?

I can think of many other small issues the treatment center would have to resolve, before adopting the 'pay-as-you-wish' model. Here are a couple:

- whether the voluntary contribution should be made 'publicly' i.e, (such as at the cashier's till at a cafe), so everyone knows how much you've paid or you can make your deposit in secret (anonymously, once a month, in an unmarked envelope),

- whether the 'pay-as-you-think-fair' model is likely to attract patients from poorer sections of society, with whom the middle and upper classes of the social strata would not be comfortable waiting for treatment, etc...

Of course, the most important issue will finally be whether the institution can meet its overheads in providing this service, with voluntary contributions. Rent, salaries of doctors, travel expenses, maintaining records, analysis of cases, and so on.

That's about as much as I have to say on the subject at the moment.

It only remains for me to let you know that the scenario I presented is not as hypothetical as I may have implied.

Here are the facts. The statement "Relief in 3 months from almost any ailment..." is not completely accurate. I had to simplify the facts, to frame a simple poll question.

Having said that, there is indeed an ancient medical science in India, that has been fixing pretty much everything, from diabetes to bad backs to high blood pressure, to cervical problems, to gynae problems to pretty much every kind of ailment, except skin and hair disorders. It is also proving to be exceptionally effective with special children - those affected by autism, cerebral palsy and so on.

There is an organisation promoting the scientific revival of this ancient medical science and here's the link to their website.

And yes, I must let you know that in each of their treatment centers, they have gone with a 'nominal price' policy, charging patients a minimum fixed sum of money each month, just enough to pay for overheads and still be within the reach of the poor.

The jury is, however, out on the Delhi center's fee-structure.

We're lucky to have a generous donor who is letting us keep treatment totally free for the patients right now. However, I don't think donations should be considered inexhaustible or used blindly, so I prefer to think that the donor has really gifted us the luxury of time, to take a carefully considered decision on the fee structure.

Sorry all this is being revealed in installments and thanks to everyone for their input. This has been a very interesting little poll for me, and I'm very keen to hear more from everyone.

Do you agree with my analysis of the poll? I'm sure I must be missing some aspects of the big picture beyond the poll...can you help me identify them? Do you have any questions/comments/suggestions about this medical science?

Do write in and many thanks again to all who voted. Even if you didn't, now you know what it's all about, so please do feel free to express your opinion. Cheers!

Everything turn, turn...

When I entered the Jahanpanah forest on Tuesday for my late afternoon run, something was different. As I peeled off my wind cheater in unthinking instinct, the realisation also flashed in my conscious mind: the air around me was noticeably warmer than it had been in quite a while. The Delhi weather had turned.

I ran happily, wondering if there had been any other signs of the impending weather change in the past few days...the only out-of-ordinary clue that stood out in my mind was from Sunday, when I had the good fortune to lock eyes, across twenty-odd metres, with the Fantastic Mr.Fox of Jahanpanah, bushy-tail-a-swishing in the cold breeze.

Our paths had crossed last in June 2010, at the peak of summer, when he must have ventured out of the bush, on to the human pathway, in search of water. Could his re-appearance now have something to do with warmer weather being around the corner? I have no idea, and would be happy to hear from anyone reading this entry, more familiar with habits of Delhi's four-legged foxes :-)

Anyway, I finished my run and walked back to my car, grateful that there was no cold breeze cutting through me today. Back home, a fragment of something once heard or remembered, about ancient Indian wisdom on seasons surfaced in my mind. I looked it up.

Sure enough, the Hindu almanac predicted the impending change of weather. On 14th of January, 2011, the Sun would enter the zodiac sign of Capricorn (Hindi - Makar), on its Northerly journey across the equator (Hindi- Uttarayan).

Although this may sound like esoteric mumbo-jumbo to those not favourably disposed to the world of zodiac signs, astrology, etc, it is actually grounded in physical, observable science. Here's one of the simple implications of this phenomenon for us:

For Indians, living as we do in the northern hemisphere of the globe, the Sun's ingress into the northern hemisphere means the sun has begun his journey towards us, bringing his welcome warmth.

This is commemorated as Lohri or Makar Sankranti (Literal Hindi: 'Capricorn-Ingress') in Northern India and Pongal in the south. The month of Magha or Pous (as the Bengali's call it) or Thie (as the Tamils call it, pronounced just like the English "Tie", but with the "th" sound instead of "ti") heralds the harvest season. The weather promises to get warmer with each passing day, since spring is around the corner. Global weather changes are beginning to take their toll on these age-old weather patterns, but large, macro-patterns are still holding.

My takeaway, from this whole business? For one, I thought it was really cool to discover that my gut-feel awareness and judgement about an impending turn of the weather tallied with our ancient wisdom :-)

Secondly, I feel that if we each take the time to examine some part of our ancient knowledge systems, like the Panchang (Almanac), the festivals and lifestyle recommendations based on such understanding and so on, we may discover that they are based on good, verifiable science.

If so, it would be a shame to let this wisdom, born of centuries of experience go to waste. I for one, would like to put it to good use in my life.

Have any of you found any such gems from our culture worthy of sharing with us all? It could concern any area of life - health, lifestyle, food...anything.

Do write in. Cheers.

A little patience :-)

Please humour me and play a little game today.

The only thing you need to do before you begin is close your eyes and assume (purely hypothetically, of course,) that you have a serious illness; you can pick anything you like, something that is likely to bother you through each day - diabetes, high blood pressure, back-ache, etc. You haven't been able to find a satisfactory cure yet... are you done? Good.

Now read the 3 scenarios below, one at a time, and note your emotional response to each of them.

Scenario 1: You're walking down a road, when you come across a place with a sign that says: "Relief from almost any ailment in 3 months, through ancient medical science. Free of cost. Just step in."

Scenario 2: You're walking down a road, when you come across a place with a sign that says: "Relief from almost any ailment in 3 months, through ancient medical science. Rs.3000/-. Just step in."

Scenario 3: You're walking down a road, when you come across a place with a sign that says: "Relief from almost any ailment in 3 months, through ancient medical science. No charges, voluntary contributions welcome. Just step in."

Now, without thinking about it too much, in which scenario did you feel most comfortable stepping in as a patient?

Please mark your response in the box directly under the Followers box on the right side of this blog. (Voting is anonymous, of course)

In a week's time, when everyone's had a chance to respond, I'll tell you the reason behind this little exercise. I also hope to be able to leave you with something to chew on.

Thank you very much for playing along and see you in a week.

Red, Amber, Green...

Another milepost on the reasonably arbitrary Gregorian calendar. But as mileposts go, it's as good as any, especially if you look at it as a fresh beginning.

Me, I'm going to try to give this blog a piece of my mind every week. And hope you'll give me back a piece of yours, through your comments.

Short posts if need be, but surely, there's something to share every week. If not, I'll take that as a sign that I either need to live a little more interestingly or more likely, that I need to share more :-)

I'll begin with another of my sweeping theories: you can tell a little bit about a city's people from the way they behave at traffic signals.

I'll give you a few examples of cities I've driven in.

Delhi: When the light's going from green to red for traffic flowing from one side, the amber (and often, red,) belong to the vehicles that are still struggling to cross before the lights turn red.

The guys who have been waiting on the other side, for the light to change to green for them, move gingerly. They know they have to be on their guard for the next 5-10 seconds, to avoid crashing into the stragglers screeching and swerving across.

In a city where everyone wants to be first (by hook and crook), you would be a loser if you let an amber-going-to-red light stop you. You've just got to pull it off, even if it means possible death or at least injury. This testosterone-driven desperation is grudgingly acknowledged by those waiting to cross on the other side, since it is quid pro quo.

Chennai: When the light is going from green to red for traffic moving from one side, come amber and they all come to a screeching halt. Vehicles that have been waiting to cross on the other side are already revving their engines and shifting into first gear.

It's a city where a high premium is placed (in the public psyche) on being law-abiding, diligent, hard working, waiting your turn, etc. Mind you, this is only for 99% of the citizenry, for those not fortunate enough to have 60-foot cut-outs of themselves mounted on Mount Road (or be closely related to someone who is). Tradition decrees modesty, humility, doing the right thing, etc, for the masses. The Amber belongs to the meek, who have been patiently waiting their turn.

Calcutta: It does not really matter, since the lights are changed manually by policemen who tend to nod off between lights. Everyone waits, forever. Eventually, when the car in front of you moves, you move, like a participant in a somnambulist rally.

If you're young, you're likely to get desperate and try to get ahead of others by screeching forward a few hundred meters. Soon, however, you realise the futility of doing this in Kolkata; then, either you resign to your fate and join the sloth parade or fly away to the join the Probashi (non-resident) community, busy marking various corners of the globe as their own, with mustard oil fumes every evening at supper time.

There are, naturally, exceptions to the traffic light thumb rules in every city. But as a concept, to judge a city's populace by, it may well be applicable across the world. What say? What does traffic light behaviour in your city hint at? Or of any other city you've observed, for that matter? Do write in.

Here's wishing you all a very fulfilling 2011. Peace, insight and light. Cheers!