Disability - In Developed and Developing countries

Of things I appreciate most in the Western world, support to disabled is one. They are treated with great respect and care. They are encouraged to be independent. Every building, bus, train, shops and parks are made easily accessible by people who are unable to walk.
Wherever you travel in Europe, you are bound to hit this sign,which is world Disability symbol.

 

  In Supermarkets there will be nearer parking slots reserved for them. Even the houses are modified to suit the need of disabled. Like widened doors, accessible switches, low mirrors etc. Detailed care is given to each things you do. It's not only for physically challenged, they also cater for blind, deaf, people with illness etc. Every public flyers are made available in Bigger fronts, braille or in CD forms if requested.

 Examples of equipment and adaptations include:

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1. stair lifts

2. powered or manual height-adjustable beds

3. powered leg-lifters for people who have difficulty lifting their legs into bed

4. Ceiling hoists -when lifting people becomes a problem.

Ceiling hoist

Battery powered vehicle

A wide range of gadgets and devices are available that make everyday tasks easier for people with specific disabilities. Some examples are:

> clamps and holders to keep jars stable so they can be opened with one hand

> talking kitchen scales for people who are blind or visually impaired

> alarm clocks that vibrate under the pillow for deaf and hearing impaired people

> kettle tippers for people who have limited arm strength or restricted movement

> devices that remind people with memory loss or learning disabilities to do a daily task, for example taking a pill.

Contrastingly, in India, people are made to accept disability as a curse and lead the life. They are restricted to stay at home most of the times. It is hardly possible for them to be on their own are not treated equally in society. I understand people cannot afford costly equipment, but the government can provide them with some and also the attitude of people towards them should change. Disabled people should be confident in achieving what it is possible to them.
I really wish India and other developing countries will have all these facilities soon.

My birthday

Normally birthdays are made special by wishes. My this year's birthday was made doubly special because of my husband. I got my birthday gift a week before, as he could not resist seeing my expression. The big Marks & Spencer's box was wrapped up using my Cardigan's belt. :) And I kept wondering what M & S item it might be. But to my surprise it was an Apple product hidden inside, a brand new MacBook Air 13".

It was very sweet of him to upgrade Mac Air to 4GB of RAM as I always keep complaining about speed.

The whole process of unpacking the gift and my funny expression was recorded in the mobile.

On the previous day of my birthday, we had a get together in a friend's place. At the end everybody surprised me with a birthday cake and small celebrations :) Thanks to hubby too for being a part of it.

On the day, when I woke up in the morning, our living room was gleaming with lights, my favourite Venkateshwara Suprabhata  being played, and a sweet birthday card written in Kannada with great difficulty by my husband, with only a single mistake.

I feel blessed to have such a sweet, caring and loving husband. Thank god for that. :)

English to Kannada

It is a normal practice to think in your native language (mother tongue) and translate to the language you speak. But in my husband's case, even though his native is Kannada he has been out of India for so long that English has become his 1st language now.

So habitually he thinks in English. I have come across many funny translations he makes in this regard. Some are :

• ನೀನು weight ಹಾಕೊಂಡಿದಿeಯ. - You have put on weight.
• ಅವನಿಗೆ ಒಂದು girlfriend ಇದೆ. - He has a girlfriend.
• ಅವನ ಹೆಂಡತಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ.           - His wife arrived. 

 

[He has a habit of mentioning girl (especially wife or girlfriend) with no gender.]

 ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆಇಷ್ಟೇ ನೆನಪಾಗಿದ್ದು. I will keep updating the post as dialogues keep coming. :)

Social Networks

ಇವತ್ತು Office ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನಗಳಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಬರೆಯಬೇಕೆಂದು ಕುಳಿತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಬರೀ facebook , twitter , gtalk ಅಂತ ಸಮಯ ವ್ಯರ್ಥ ಮಾಡೋ ಬದಲು ಅವೆಲ್ಲದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಮರ್ಷಿಸೋಣ ಅಂತನಿಸ್ತು. ಇಂದಿನ ಕಂಪ್ಯೂಟರ್ ಯುಗದಲ್ಲಿ you ought to be involved in social networking. ನಿನ್ನೆ ತಂಗಿ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತಾಡ್ತಾ, ಅವಳು ಹೇಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದ್ಲು. ಅವಳಿಗೆ Facebook ಅಕೌಂಟ್ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಫ್ರೆಂಡ್ಸ್ ಕೇಳೋದು.. ನೀನು facebook ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ಯಾ ? ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ. ಮುಂಚೆ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ನಂಬರ್ ಕೇಳುತಿದ್ದ ಹಾಗೆ, ಇಂದು meet ಆದಾಗ "What is your Facebook ID / gtalk ID / twitter ID?" ಅಂತ ಜನ ಕೇಳ್ತಾರೆ.

 ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ 3 -4  ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ Orkut ಎಂಬ ಗೂಗಲ್ ನ networking ಸೈಟ್ ಬಹಳ famous ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಇಂದು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ Wholesale ಆಗಿ Facebook ಸೇರುತ್ತ ಇದಾರೆ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಳೆದು ಹೋದ ಗೆಳೆಯರನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕಬಹುದು,ಯಾವುದೇ ವಿಷಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆಯನ್ನು "status" ಮೂಲಕ ಫ್ರೆಂಡ್ಸ್ list ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸಬಹುದು, ನಿಮಗೆ ಸಿಗೋ best link ಗಳನ್ನು share ಮಾಡಬಹುದು, photos share ಮಾಡೋಕ್ಕೆ ಇದು ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಮಾರ್ಗ, ಬೇರೆಯವರ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಟೀಕಿಸಬಹುದು. Photos upload ಮಾಡೋಕ್ಕೆ competition ಆಗಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲರಿಂದಾನು ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ ಬರಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನೋದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ, ಚಿತ್ರ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪೋಸ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಅದಕ್ಕಾಗೆ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಫೋಟೋ session ಕೂಡ ಇರುತ್ತೆ.

 ಬ್ರಿಟಿನ್ ನಲ್ಲಂತೂ ಜನ ಒಂದು small communication ಗೂ Online use ಮಾಡ್ತಾರೆ. ಹೊರಗಡೆ ಮಳೆಯಾಗ್ತಿದೆ ಅಂತಾನೋ, snow ಆಗ್ತಿದೆ ಅಂತಾನೋ, ಇವತ್ತು badminton ಆಡೋಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾರಾದ್ರು ಬರ್ತೀರಾ ಅಂತಾನೋ, ಹೀಗೆ.ಏನು ಇಲ್ಲಾಂದ್ರೆ ನಂಗೆ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಬರ್ತಾ ಇದೆ ಅಂತ ಜನರ status ಇರುತ್ತೆ. :) ಅವ್ರಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ account ಸಾಲದು ಅಂತ, ಅವರ ಬೆಕ್ಕು ನಾಯಿಗಳಿಗೂ twitter account ಇರುತ್ತೆ, ಅದರ ಆಟೋಟಗಳನ್ನು ವರ್ಣಿಸಲು. :)

ಹಳೆಯ colleague ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಹೇಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ರು, " ನನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿ ಆರ್ಕುಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇರೆಯವರ ಟ್ರಿಪ್ ಫೋಟೋಸ್ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ತುಂಬಾ upset ಆಗ್ತಾಳೆ. ಎಲ್ಲರ ಗಂಡಂದಿರೂ ತಮ್ಮ wife ನ ಟೂರ್ ಕರದೆಕೊಂದು ಹೋಗ್ತಾರೆ, ನೀವು ಮಾತ್ರ ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗೋಲ್ಲ" ಅಂತ complaint ಇರುತ್ತೆ. ಇದು ಬೇರೊಬ್ಬರ ಜೀವನವನ್ನೇ ಹಾಳು ಮಾಡು ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಯಿತಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಬೇಸರವಾಗುತ್ತೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ನಾನು status update ಅಥವ ಫೋಟೋಸ್ share ಮಾಡೋ ಮುನ್ನ ಯೋಚಿಸಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತೆ, because others might envy.
What I feared most that has happened as per this study from Stanford.

http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/27/youre-not-alone-misery-has-more-company-than-you-think/?xid=sflow

Social Network ಬೇಕು ನಿಜ, ಆದರೆ ಅದನ್ನ ಜನ ಬಳಸೋ ಸಮಯ, ಅದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರಭಾವಿತರಾಗುವುದನ್ನ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಇದು ನನಗೂ ಕೂಡ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುತ್ತೆ. ಬರೀ advise ಮಾಡ್ತಿಲ್ಲ :) ಹಾಗಂತ ಇದರಿಂದ ನೂರೆಂಟು  ಲಾಭಗಳೂ ಇವೆ. ಮೊನ್ನೆ Bristol ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಕೊಲೆ ಪ್ರಕರಣವನ್ನು ತನಿಖೆ ಮಾಡಲು CBI ನವರು ಒಂದು FB ಪೇಜ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರು. ಅದರಿಂದಾಗಿ ಸುಮಾರು 300 ಜನ ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟರಂತೆ.

ಎಲ್ಲದರಲ್ಲೂ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು ಕೆಟ್ಟದು ಇರುತ್ತೆ. ನಿಮಗೆ ಯಾವುದು ಸೂಕ್ತವೋ ಅದನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಪಡೆಯೋದು ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ರೆ ಇಂದಿನ ಟ್ರೆಂಡ್ ಜೊತೆ ನೀವೂ ಮುನ್ನಡೆಯಬಹುದು. Good luck!

Norway

It has become a habit to come back here only after finishing any tour.:) It looks as though this is a travel blog. But this country is so beautiful that it is worth mentioning and I may not be able to describe everything in words. In most of our tours, majority of the time is spent in planning and honestly this is what we enjoy more. Norway being the most expensive country and we trying to book at the last minute, was making the planning phase more worse.


 Considering the fact that Norway has the greatest length (1752km) of any European countries (India -3050km) but width only 432km we had difficulty deciding where to start, North or South.

Tromso

 Our first step in Norway, was in Tromso, which is in the Arctic region, the largest urban area in the Northern most Norway. Tromso is basically an island with snowy mountains on the opposite side. We had to take a rope way to go to the top and it was worth every penny! You get stunning views. I am actually holding my adjectives to describe other parts of our journey. :P

The next day evening we took an express boat, Hurtigbat to Harstad. The express boat stands up by its meaning, its really super fast which is aided by its hull shape. > 20 knots. The interiors of the boat is no less than a 3 star hotel. It has VIP sections, wi-fi, tv, snacks, drinks etc. It's much bigger than boats we refer in normal context. It can carry around 200-300 people. Norwegians prefer to travel with the boat though the price is 1.5 times than the bus because of its speed & convenience. Throughout the journey a friendly Norwegian middle aged man around 35 engaged us in his overview of Norway. Most of them speak English, so language is not a problem in Norway.
To be continued...

Non-UK citizens can vote

Tomorrow May 6th is the UK General Elections.I do not even know the names of the local candidates & parties here but I can vote.I do not know the existing problems nor the developments,no idea what political parties have performed / failed, no idea of the local economy,political system, BUT I still can vote. Whom? What for? I found it very strange that people who are not British citizens can vote in UK General Elections.
Normally the voting rights are obtained for any country only if you acquire the citizenship. As per the British rule, all EU & Common Wealth citizens can vote in UK. More information in link here.
It would have made sense if there was a minimum period of stay in UK needed,before a person is eligible to vote.

Early Spring

The Spring has sprung!

Spring is the most loved time here. This transition season from winter to summer broadly gives the idea of rebirth or regrowth. Everyone around is happy and cheerful, even the birds give the impression to sing a whole lot louder. Hurrah! The Spring is in the air.

Purple Friday Flower

Cars Parked on a sunny day
Colourfully rich flowers bloom everywhere. Suddenly a lot of activities seem to start. Gardening,Grass cutting,Hunting Easter eggs, hanging basket plants and Cleaning etc. If the weekend is sunny, there will be a rush of cars towards the Mumbles beach. People will be busy gardening & beautification of their houses after a tiresome dark winter.
Dresses change from pants to shorts and skirts, full sleeved tops to sleeveless spaghetti s,shoes to slippers, dull grey and black to jovial colours.Young ladies jog,cycle and exercise to tone their bodies for summer.
Shot from ground
The city council starts filling up the pot holes and clean the roads with road sweeper vehicles. The yellow daffodils are planted everywhere including the village (A) roads.The city looks beautiful. I appreciate their enthusiasm and efforts to make the things look good. Men with bare body hang out in parks and beaches. Numerous events and gathering festivals take place. Sports stadium & walking paths will be full.

Pink Spring flowers

Windows of houses are kept open and no job for heaters.Owners of convertible cars show off in the streets. Shiny goggles on many of the faces. All the holiday destinations are lined up with cars and people. City centre will be bursting with life, don't know where it was all hidden before! Lambs are charming in hill farms.
We are lucky to have magnificent beaches and mountains within 3 miles from our house. In India summer is the most hated season because of the heat and there is no great value to sun. The importance of Sun is only realised after a long dark gloomy winter.
It is time to rejoice when the nature is reawakening.

Lovely Mumbles Beach 

A beautiful poem on Spring written by Robert Louis Stevenson is here

South Spain - Andalucia

Hola :)

Hablos Ingles ? ( Do you speak English ?) - - - This is the foremost question I have asked numerous times while in Spain. :)) Of course you all know English, so I can go ahead. lol :)

Whenever we travel, I always used to think that I need to write all those interesting facts in my blog. But it never did happen! So chances are more that I might have forgotten many things when writing a past experience.
We started our 10 days trip to Southern Spain (Andalucia) during Christmas holidays when Britain was suffering from terrible winter. We were in for a surprise with a pleasant weather and the city & crowd of Malaga welcoming us even at night 11.30 pm.

As it was Christmas time,the streets were full of lights, decorations and surprisingly People!!! Even 7 -12 year old kids were playing on streets at midnight. If you want a true Spanish experience I reckon Andalusia region. Only a handful of people can speak English and our taxi driver said he knew little English. He could say only kms, numbers, money and YES or NO!! Perhaps he was right when he said that, knew only what was needed to him. :)
I had rehearsed a lot of Spanish words as a precaution and even downloaded many Spanish dictionaries and translators onto our itouch. All these homework because we knew we might travel to Spain more than once and glad we did it. Most challenging was to identify vegetal food in the menu!! Gracias (thanks) to iTouch for translation, without which we would have surely ended up in eating Tuna or Sausages! By the end of the trip we knew most of the Spanish food names. Like. Azucar, Sol,fretos,Pimiento,Acita,Hueva,Pollo,Jamon,Aten etc..
We were warned before by many friends and on-line forums about non-availability of `vegetal` food in Spain. Fortunately we could locate a Kabab shop which had 2 veg options- Falafel & Patata Bravas (which became our only choice for most of the remaining days there).



Spain is known for Bull Fighting and Flamenco dances. Tennis is their favourite sport;no wonder why most top 100 tennis players are Spanish. Orange like fruit trees are seen everywhere.


One strange thing that we noticed is the timings to eat.
Breakfast :8 - 12 pm! (Even 1pm in some restaurants)
Lunch: 1 - 4/5 pm!!! Dinner: 8-12pm!
We then travelled to Granada, Sierra Navada - snowy mountains, Seville-big city famous for beautiful cathedrals & monuments and Estepona. On a rainy Christmas day we had nothing to do except to roam around Granada (walked for almost 6-7 hrs), because only on this day that the whole country shuts down except a few restaurants.It would not be fair if I don't mention a stranger who helped us to the max in Seville while we were struggling to find the way to hotel. (Google Map was not right). He took me to a pub to ask if someone else knew the address as he was not aware. We started walking as per their suggestion which was actually wrong way. The stranger after knowing the right way, he followed us in his car and dropped us all the way to hotel. I asked his e-mail address, but it's a pity that I could not make him understand even that in Spanish. :(

The Mediterranean coast is an absolute beauty! Loved the beaches in Malaga, Estepona and the Marbella coast. In Spanish 'll' is pronounced 'yy'. (Like Marbeyya).


Spain, I would say is like a 'developed' India. Resembles our country in many aspects like late closure of shops,shut down in the afternoon for 2 hrs, tiled roof for the houses,informal gatherings,lively folks talking to even strangers in bus & trains, hanging of clothes in the balcony,black (long) hair, small shopping streets like Bangalore's Chickpet and also very similar weather. Famous 'Alhambra' is in Moorish style which represents our Taj Mahal.

Vale Vale.... So many lines keyed down already. Let me stop here. I will write about my 2nd trip to Spain (Barcelona) which is completely different city, in another post.

Adieos

Welcome!

Well.. What shall I write in my very first blog? I would welcome myself and readers to AmateurColumn and I presume that this is another way to improve upon my (English) writing and share my amateur thoughts.

Ever since I started living in UK,I have become a 'tech savvy' girl. It all started with sexy 32GB iPod touch gifted for our wedding and credits to Ravi-my husband as well. He has most modern gadgets & gaming consoles in his collection. Wii Balance Board is the recent addition in my name. And to add to this, I also became active on Facebook,Twitter,Orkut,Google Buzz,Google Wave etc. It was a shame not to have a blog of my own; Moreover I had promised couple of my friends to start writing about the life in this part of the world! So here it goes..

Hopefully I can do some justice to my readers and believe they can cope with my writing style. :)