Dipti's blog

I looked out through the window, in an effort to catch a glimpse of the dazed sky...sun shone bright, as always...Wouldn't the people living in this part of the world be suffering from excess intake of vitamin D? I thought to myself...I looked again to watch people gain entry into the mall situated bang opposite... Mothers dragging stubborn children, taxi drivers slowing down every now and then in the hope of spotting a customer, some thin, pale-looking men riding on bicycles in the scorching heat, to feed some lazy, hungry stomachs.. I turned my face to look away from the hustle bustle outside only to be greeted by more chaos from within. I stood up from my seat and walked past cubicles to reach the pantry, trying to ignore the loud shouts of people as they screamed on their phones. “Do they actually realize the decibels at which they scream and then I’m greeted by women who are busy whipping out small mirrors from their vanity bags to check their thick coats of red lipstick...

Much of my time during the past few days were spent paying innumerable visits to the neighborhood bank/ATM centre, close to my home. Not to mention the scorns I earned from the unfriendly faces at the bank. And the agony I went through in the past couple of days unfolds here… Well… it all began on a Tuesday evening. Post the regular walk at the neighborhood park, I decided to withdraw cash from the ATM located just outside the park. As usual the jinxed ATM machine did not wear a very friendly look! I looked for the ‘Out of order’ poster usually hung next to the machine all the time. The poster was missing. I told my Mom, “Oh! Looks like the machine is ok today”. Without wasting much time, it was time for me to insert the card. “There’s no error message being displayed on the screen, then why is the card not being accepted? I thought to myself. But did not want to be aloud about my thoughts. What will my mother think about me? Uh! Afterall I have been using the ATM card for the past er...

The trouble with the human race is that if you tell them no, they want to do it more. Tell a child that fast food is junk food and he curls a lip in contempt and shrugs. Maybe junk to you but its pure good taste to me. Unfortunately, hyped advertising and indulgent parents make a terrible conspiracy against health. The ‘let them’ attitude has led to the UAE having one of the highest rates of child obesity and despite the writing on the ketchup, no one seems to care. The endless queues in front of Hardees, KFC, MC Donalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell and the other lesser known international and local fast food giants at food courts have become the most common sight in the UAE and are testimony to the casual way we are treating what is not only a medical problem but a huge financial burden on the government and the healthcare system. Besides what is the great pleasure in having overweight, undernourished, unhealthy children? Statistics are often switch offs...