Ignorance is bliss?

Not always.

Rahul.

   

My dhobiwallah (One who washes cloths).

 

Rahul must be around 18 years and he is my dhobiwallah. He comes to my flat on weekends, takes my clothes for pressing and returns them all the same day. Quite a cheerful character! Last weekend he did not come. The reason being he was bitten by a stray dog, thanks to Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Mumbai, India’s economic capital has the largest community of stray dogs!

Rahul’s ‘doctor’ has advised him that anti rabies vaccine need not be taken as the bite wound is very small, instead, watch the dog for 10 days. According to his doctor only if the dog dies, Rahul need to take anti rabies vaccine!!!!! What a resourceful doctor!

Since I am marketing anti rabies vaccine and naturally my knowledge being quite good about rabies, I took extra interest in Rahul and showed him one of my presentations on rabies. I made it very simple and took care to scare Rahul sufficiently so that he definitely takes the prescribed 5 doses of anti rabies vaccine. Rahul was shit scared when he saw the visuals in my presentation. My attempt to make Rahul understand Rabies was successful as I could convince Rahul to go to a different doctor and take 5 doses of vaccine on day 0, 3, 7, 14 & 28.  

Many people are ignorant of Rabies including doctors. During their curriculum days in med school they spend only about an hour or so, on Rabies and hence their knowledge of rabies is very limited. But when they start the practice they are confronted with dog bite cases and they are not aware of what to do at that time.

Rabies is 100% fatal but 100% preventable too! (If proper anti rabies vaccine is given at the right time)

When a dog bites or even scratches as per the WHO recommendation one needs to take  5 injections – on day 0 (The day dog bites) followed by one injection on day 3, 7, 14 & 28.

Even if you over treat the dog bite it is still worth it considering the fatality of the disease and its prognosis. (You should insist with your doctor to give 5 injections even if his opinion is different!)

The rule is same even for a pet dog which is vaccinated.

If you are still not convinced - take a look at the shocking film of a little boy who died of hydrophobia after the dog bite by clicking on the link below!

Shocking video of a little boy who died of Rabies.

Please pass this information to all your friends and relatives.

Agra Fort

Whoever is visiting Taj Mahal in Agra cannot miss seeing Agra Fort because it is on the way to Taj Mahal. Rebuilt by Akbar the Great in 1565, this fort even today stands as a testimony to Mogul Architecture. Although Agra's history goes back more than 2,500 years, it was not until the reign of the Mughals that Agra became more than a provincial city. The peak developments of Agra happened during the reign of Humayun's son, Akbar the Great and the main part of the Agra Fort was also built during his times.

Like the Delhi Fort, that of Agra is one of the most obvious symbols of the Mogul grandeur which asserted itself under Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Several of the buildings are made from pure marble with beautiful carvings; all of these monuments mark the apogee of an Indo-Muslim art strongly marked by influences from Persia which already manifested itself in Timurid art.

Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in Agra Fort, from which he had a view of the building erected for his deceased wife. Shah Jahan is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a beautiful marble balcony.

During the times of Shah Jahan, several modifications were done in the fort. He also built several palaces inside the fort. Shah Jahan had a great obsession for white marbles and all modifications and additions that were made during his times were done with white marbles, while the original fort was made with red sandstone. In fact in some places the combination of white marbles and red sandstone looks spectacular!

Whatever that was built by the luxury loving Shah Jahan was a symbol of luxury with the walls studded with precious stones & pearls. 

Sir Frederic Treves who was the personal physician to King Edward VII toured India in 1910 and wrote in his famous travelogue, “The Other Side of the Lantern” - “Those who would like to see how an Emperor should live, must visit Agra or Delhi. There was nothing in Europe to compare with this radiant court. The halls of the palace of the king of England were humble and insignificant by the side of the gorgeous domes that covered the head of the Emperor of India”. 

During the times of Jahangir, he gave lot of importance to Justice. In fact after his accession the first order he gave was for the fastening up of the ‘Chain of Justice’ in 1605 AD in a place called Shah Burj or King’s Tower within the fort. This was meant to be used by anyone who felt that the people engaged in the administration of justice either delayed to deliver justice or found to be acting hypocritically. The aggrieved person can pull the chain so that the bells would ring and get the attention of the Emperor who was the highest judicial authority. The chain and the bells were all made of pure gold. Probably this prompted the English statesman and Prime Minister William E. Gladstone to say ‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’.  

Sikandra

Sikandara - a small village on the outskirts of Agra is the place which Akbar the Great chose to finally rest. He started to build his own mausoleum in Sikandara. He wanted it to be a perfect blend of Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Jain architectural style symbolizing the religious tolerance he practiced while he was alive. Unfortunately he died before the completion of the mausoleum! 

This structure was completed by his son Jehangir who brought in several changes in the original plan. The tomb has three storied minarets made of red sand stone which are all inlayed with wonderful work of marble.

 

The actual structure which houses the grave of Akbar is shaped like a truncated pyramid and has five stories. There are spacious cloisters on the ground floor. An elaborately decorated vestibule occupies the centre of the southern side, highlighted by exquisite carvings, artistic paintings and inlay work in geometric and floral designs enshrining the tombstone of Akbar. All the stories are built in red stone except the fifth one, which is entirely in white marble. All of these minarets are built in four tiers that diminish in diameter to the top and are crowned by chhatri. The combination of white marble and red sandstone with their contrasting colors and textures looks stunning. 'Swastik', a symbol of Hindus, has also been used for decorative purpose.

The chamber which houses the grave of Akbar is absolutely simple and paved with normal stone. Even the vestibule which leads to the grave of Akbar is absolutely plain and no art work can be seen inside this. I do not know why this place is so simple although the entire structure is lavishly decorated!