Tales From Mouse Ward

Since many of you are working in the IT sector, thought I shall share this article.. if you havent read it already. I know it is stale news.. but still...some needs reminders!


Tales From Mouse Ward

Urban Indians are paying with their health the price of being in computer-intensive jobs

Nothing about Vijaykumar’s daily schedule suggested any kind of health risk. For a young man, still pushing 33, he seemed to have an impeccably balanced lifestyle. He woke in the morning to drive to the Bangalore offices of IT major Cisco, where he worked as a programmer. He spent eight or nine hours at his computer, steadily tapping out code. His was a serious workday, but not an oppressive one, compared to the 14-hour shifts call centre workers clocked in over on Bannerghata Road. When he had time, he swam a few laps in the pool, and headed home to spend time with his family.
In 2003, however, something changed.

"It was a numbness in the hand," he recalls. "Then a cold sensation from my shoulder to my palm, and sometimes my hand became paralysed." We’re all getting older, he thought, gritting his teeth, and this must be the beginning of the inevitable wear-and-tear. And so he swam more to stay limber, tried yoga, ointments and pranayam to ease the pain. He relaxed his pace of work, moved the mouse from his right hand to his left. But that only shifted the pain to different places. The orthopaedist he consulted told him not much else could be done.
The condition progressed. A year ago, Vijaykumar stopped driving his car. Then he discovered he could not lift his kids—one and three years old—and carry them in his arms. "Five months ago, people started telling me I looked thin and worn out," says Vijaykumar. "And I realised I was living with a lot of pain, and barely sleeping at night.


So, I had to take indefinite leave, and hoped the problem would die down." It wasn’t till he was home one afternoon, browsing the web, that he came across a website that described his symptoms perfectly, and he realised it was his computer doing the damage all along.


...It afflicts even those who are young, fit, starting their first computer-dependent job. Average age: 27.




In the computer-intensive sectors of the Indian economy, bad ergonomics and work habits are more the rule than the exception. Businesses operate out of rented spaces, pre-equipped with shoddily designed desks and flimsy chairs. Hands, elbows and torsos lock in crooked formations between monitors, keyboards and mouses. The glaring screens look like they were installed to kill flies.

Rice

Can someone tell me why the export of Indian rice has been stopped?

It is a fact that most Indians cannot do without rice. As for me, if I havn't had my quota of rice for the day then I had nothing!

When I first landed in Kuwait, there was not much choice of rice. The closest rice to our taste was “American Chef”. It looked just like the rice back home and was clean and easy to cook. We were completely hooked onto it until the arrival of a variety of rice like the “Palakkadan Matta”, “Nirapara" etc. Though the cooking time was more than the American one, we switched over to the Indian variety. I always preferred the brown rice to the white one.

And now they say this will be stopped. I am sure the prices will soar and we will soon be back with the Amercian Rice. There is the Egyptian rice too, but it is too thick and not like the ones we are used to.

Whatever may be the reasons for this ban, it is the Indian government who stand to lose to the American and Thai rice. And it was only the Indians who were consuming this rice.