nidhi qazi – Page 4 – The Metrognome

This group of city-based doctors can be counted on to reach crisis-ridden areas of the country and offer medical aid.

by Nidhi Qazi

The year was 2008. A group of doctors reached Bihar in the aftermath of the Kosi river flood, one of the most disastrous floods in the State’s history which affected around 2.3 million people. People were in dire need of aid. This group of doctors worked day and night, helping the flood-stricken people.

Then came the Kokrajhar riots in Assam this year – the worst-ever case of ethnic violence in the country. Our group of doctors reached the area and started relief work there after a rapid assessment of the affected areas followed by the necessary relief and rehabilitation work.

What started as relief work in crisis situations continues today in other parts of the country as well, under the name Doctors For You (DFY). As the name suggests, DFY is a group comprising medical practitioners, youth and like-minded people who care for fellow human beings, in crisis or otherwise.

In Mumbai, DFY has established a sustainable project in Natwar Parikh Compound, a resettlement colony in Govandi. The project started in 2010 in collaboration with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The centre is housed on two floors of a building in the Natwar Parikh compound with separate rooms for various departments.

Dr Ravikant Singh, President, DFY, says, “Our project is a comprehensive health project which focusses on preventive, promotive and curative health services.” Simply put, the DFY provides curative and preventive service for oral health, paediatric care, antenatal and post- natal care in addition to a general OPD, a minor OT (Operation Theatre) and DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short course) centre for TB. Its promotive services include regular camps and awareness workshops on immunisation, family planning, breast feeding and STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).

The doctors visit the Natwar compound every alternate day and the Lallubhai Compound (also a resettlement colony) and Ambedkar Nagar on the other days. Health services are free for infants up to age 1, pregnant women and adults above 60 years. For the rest, DFY charges a nominal Rs 10 consultation fee on a weekly basis.

DFY’s Mumbai chapter, which was earlier funded by MMRDA, is now funded by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC). The organisation also imparts disaster management training, capacity building and response training in five other states namely, Maharashtra, Delhi, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand.

So what sets DFY apart from other agencies involved in relief work? “It is the fact that we are doctors. Simple. In any crisis situation, be it a natural disaster or riots, doctors are seen from a lens of trust and hope. We become an entry point for social workers who would otherwise be under the suspicion of the local people,” says Dr Singh.

The DFY team also has a few awards in its kitty – the SAARC Youth Award to Dr Singh and the British Medical Journal (BMJ) award for ‘Medical Team In A Crisis Zone’ category.

(Pictures courtesy doctorsforyou.wordpress.com and Nidhi Qazi)

The autowallah knows my caste!

An autowallah selects those he deals with, passengers included, based on their ‘upper’ caste – even his wife’s a Brahmin.

by Nidhi Qazi

After taking a look at the long queue of passengers waiting for an autorickshaw outside Ghatkopar station, I set out to find my own autowallah. After a few misses, I finally come across a smiling bespectacled man – an autorickshaw driver. Seeing him ignore a few other passengers relieves the hurried soul in me, because I have to rush to college ASAP. I dash into his vehicle and thank him for waiting for me. Here begins a 20-minute long conversation till I reach the destination.

Me: Thank you, bhaiyya.

He: Thank you for what, madam? I had to wait for you. You see I couldn’t just let any lower caste people enter my rickshaw.

Me: But how do you know they were lower caste?

He (chuckles): What are you saying, madam? I am in this auto business for quite some time now, I am wise enough to know who is who.

Me: So according to you, which caste do you think I am from?

He: You could be a Gujarati Brahmin.

Me: No, wrong. I am not a Gujarati Brahmin.

He: Whatever you may be, you surely are not a lower caste person.

Me: Which caste do you belong to?

He: I am a Roman Catholic married to a Maharashtrian Brahmin.

Me: Why this aversion towards the ‘lower’ castes?

He (laughs): What madam, what a silly question to ask! Don’t you know how dirty these people are? They eat all sorts of meat, don’t take bath properly. How can I let them enter my autorickshaw? Moreover, they are nothing but a panauti (inauspicious). I don’t let them on board or else my entire day goes bad.

Me: Who told you these things?

He: Even though I am a 60-year old father of a girl, I have been listening to what my parents have to say. They have seen life, met people. It is their education and values that I abide by. What in life can one achieve if he doesn’t pay heed to their parents’ given ideals and principles?

Me: Yes right, bhaiyya. But here when we are talking about human beings, aren’t all of us the same?

He: Madam, let me ask you something. Are you working or studying?

Me: I have done my graduation and am studying further.

He: Okay, so tell me what’s a pig’s purpose of existence?

Me: I don’t know.

He: Your education is a waste if you don’t know the answer to this. A pig is born to clean the shit of this world. Similarly, everyone including humans have a certain purpose of their existence.

Me: That doesn’t really answer my question, does it?

He: Leave it, madam. You are immature to understand all of this.

Me: How come you got married to a non-Catholic?

He: She’s a Brahmin and that suits me well as we were also Hindu Brahmins before conversion .

Me: You are a convert? But why?

He: That again is what my parents had in store for us. Don’t really know why we converted but it is good.

Me: What is good?

He: That we are Catholics. You see, madam, we are one of the best religions. I don’t really like the other religions. They have so many negatives. Leave it, let’s not get started now.

Finally, the journey comes to an end and so does the lecture on caste and religion.

Nidhi Qazi is a student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She writes because it gives vent to her ideas and helps her explore and experience people.

(Picture courtesy thecityfix.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)