Man entitled to divorce if wife doesn’t let his parents stay with them, rules HC

Man entitled to divorce if wife doesn’t let his parents stay with them, rules HC

In a significant verdict, the Gujarat high court has said a husband is entitled to divorce if his wife does not allow his parents to stay with them and also prevents him from taking care of the parents. The bench of chief justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and justice JB Pardiwala on Monday granted divorce to a Surat-based doctor saying that the behaviour of his wife, also a doctor, amounted to ‘mental cruelty’. The petition for divorce was filed by the husband who had sought dissolution of their 15-year-old marriage. “The court granted divorce, holding that the wife’s actions amounted to mental cruelty towards the husband,” said AY Kogje, counsel for the husband. “We had sought dissolution of the marriage as the wife did not want her in-laws to stay with them and also prevented her husband from keeping any contact with his parents. The court ruled that such action can be covered under the definition of mental cruelty,” the lawyer said. Milind Dave (name changed) had filed for divorce from Mitali (name changed) on the ground that his wife had not allowed his father and mother to stay with them. Not only that, the wife had also prevented him from keeping his mother with them after his father died of blood cancer. According to the petition, in 2007 too the husband had filed for divorce in the Surat family court on the ground of mental cruelty caused by his wife by refusing to allow his parents to stay with them at their house in Surat. However, the court in 2012 rejected the husband’s plea. Milind then filed an appeal in the high court. He put several grounds and evidence against his doctor-wife. According to the petition, the wife had not only objected to his parents staying with them, she had also objected to his going to Ahmedabad to take care of his father who was then suffering from blood cancer. Milind’s parents were then living in Ahmedabad.

After 150 tests, 20 docs can’t say what ails man Man in Lilavati hosp, whose multiple organ failure docs failed to diagnose, finally starts responding to treatment

After 150 tests, 20 docs can’t say what ails man

Man in Lilavati hosp, whose multiple organ failure docs failed to diagnose, finally starts responding to treatment

More than 20 doctors and over 150 tests have failed to arrive at the reasons for the multiple organ failure and acute respiratory disorder in a 27-year-old man. The Bandra resident has been in the ICU of Lilavati hospital for the past three weeks. Firdos Ali Hashmi was admitted on March 27 with high grade fever and acute respiratory problem. Chest physician Dr Jalil Parker said, “When he was brought to us, he had weak respiratory muscles. We had to intubate him. His lungs had become stiff too and the x-ray was milky white.” According to the doctors, their initial suspicion was dengue or a community-acquired pneumonia. “We did all possible tests and soon ruled out that he is not suffering from dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, viral or community-acquired pneumonia,” said Parker. Meanwhile, Hashmi was given an aggressive medical management that covered all the above diseases. “He started showing improvement and, on April 2, we removed him from artificial ventilator support but his condition deteriorated again and he suffered from multiple organ failure. So, we had to put him back on the ventilator,” said Parker. He added that Hashmi’s platelet count and haemoglobin level dropped, while his white blood cells count went up alarmingly. It was during this time the team of doctors, which included a haematologist, intensivist, nephrologist and gastroenterologist, conducted a battery of tests for the rarest of rare diseases like antavirus, parvo virus, acinetobacter, and all kinds of fungal infections. “We even ruled out tuberculosis and HIV. We did specific tests to identify specific bacteria, virus and fungus. When everything failed, we simply went for broad spectrum antibiotics and supportive treatment for maintaining his platelet count. Thankfully, he is responding to the treatment now and has been off ventilator for the past three days,” said Parker. Hashmi’s family members said the hospital bill has gone above Rs10 lakh but the hospital authorities have been doing their best to provide them with monetary assistance.

Ram janmala ga sakhe - Geet Ramayan - Pt. Sudhir Phadke

Woman delivers baby on train

Woman delivers baby on train

A woman who delivered a baby on train while travelling from Madurai to Mumbai was stranded on CST station for more than an hour on Wednesday. H Rebekka, 28, was travelling on Nagercoil Express on April 15. “A little before Karnataka arrived the next day, my wife went into labour and delivered a boy in the coach,” said Hari Joyel, 32. Joyel works as a supervisor in a Panvel factory, while Rebekka stays with her mother-in-law in Madurai. “We advised her to disembark with her family at Wadi and get admitted to the railway hospital. But she decided not to,” said V Malegaonkar, PRO, CR. “Wadi railway officials told us that a call will go to CST as the train pulls in by night and officials will be there to guide us, but after making us wait for an hour at the station manager’s cabin, the officer on duty was very unhelpful. They asked us to go back to Wadi to get a birth certificate issued from the doctors who examined my wife near Karnataka,” he said.

Iron pin lodged in man’s eye removed, vision safe

Iron pin lodged in man’s eye removed, vision safe

A 20-year-old youth was brought to KEM Hospital after a 7mm x 2mm iron piece pierced through his cornea and retina. When the doctors examined him, they hoped for a miracle because saving a person’s vision is difficult in an injury like this. Ajay Rajmal, a Vasai resident, works in a factory and makes nuts and bolts for vehicles. On April 7, a piece of iron pierced his eye while he was working. He was taken to a hospital and given first aid but when he started having a problem with his vision, he was referred to KEM Hospital. “When Ajay came to us last week, his left eye was in a bad shape. We did tests that showed that the metal piece had pierced his cornea and lens to perforate the retina,” said Dr Arjun Ahuja, head of the ophthalmology department, KEM Hospital. This led to a traumatic cataract, inflammation of the membrane over the pupil area and a haemorrhage in vitrus (jelly like substance that supports the eye ball, maintains the tone of the eye and gives nourishment to the retina). “We did a three port vitrectomy — from one port we gave saline to the eye and through the other sent light to see the eye’s interior and the retina. In the third, we introduced vitrectomy cutter to remove the blood from the eye, the lens and the membrane,” said Dr Ahuja. In an hour-long surgery, the doctors introduced intravitreal magnet in the eye and took out the iron piece. “We were shocked to see the length of the metal piece. It is a miracle that we were able to save his vision,” said the doctor. After the operation, a test showed Rajmal had a scar in the most sensitive part of the retina and his vision was partially affected. “Though he can see properly now, we will wait for him to recover and see if he requires a lens. Luckily, he was brought to us on time and the metal didn’t disintegrate and affect the neighbouring area,” said Dr Ahuja. He added that KEM Hospital being a tertiary care hospital does see such cases where the people come with industrial injury. “This is the first time we got such a severe injury. Sadly, many industrial workers don’t get protective gears. It should be made mandatory,” he added. Rajmal was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday. “I never thought I would be able to see again. I have been working in this factory for the last three months but I was not given any protective gear,” he said.

There’s increasing evidence to show that yoga therapy works as an anti-depressant for unhappy minds

Asanas that chase away the blues

There’s increasing evidence to show that yoga therapy works as an anti-depressant for unhappy minds

    Malathy was overwhelmed with joy when her 64-year-old f at h e r re c e n t ly bought a dress for her baby son. Grandparents dote on grandchildren, but this grandfather was different. He had forgotten his grandson completely.
    Malathy’s father had symptoms of depression mimicking dementia. He did not want to take strong antidepressant medicines. Psychiatrists at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) offered him a combination of yoga and meditative therapy along with mild doses of anti-depressants. After four weeks, he seemed a changed man; the acutely sad grandfather became warm and sociable.
    What worked? While medicines played a role, yoga enhanced their effect, says Dr B N Gangadhar, programme director at Nimhans’ Advanced Center for Yoga. “The effect of yoga on mental health is not anecdotal anymore. There is evidence that yogasanas impact electrical and chemical transmissions in the brain,” he says.
    Among the many clinical researches being conducted at Nimhans, one involved inmates of an old-age home who were exposed to six months of yoga therapy. MRI scans taken before and after showed an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory index. “It was larger than before because the grey matter had increased. The results will be published in a scientific journal shortly,” adds Gangadhar. The hippocampus is vulnerable to stress and atrophy is seen in patients of schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe depression. “Yoga acts as an antidepressant,” he says.
    Delhi-based Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences has also started offering yoga therapy to patients with mild to moderate schizophrenia and depression. “We’ve found the functioning of brain neurotransmitters becomes more synchronized with yoga therapy. It helps release chemicals like endorphins and controls release of stress hormones like cortisol,” says psychiatrist Dr Nimesh Desai, who heads IHBAS.
    But it may not be suitable for all mental illnesses. “We recommend against using it for obsessive compulsive disorder, early onset of schizophrenia, severe depression and severe anxiety. It can complicate their symptoms. It is best suited for mild to moderate depression, anxiety and schizophrenia under medical supervision,” says Desai.
    A 2012 analysis on ‘Yoga Therapy for Schizophrenia’ by experts at Nimhans, published in the International Journal of Yoga, has some interesting inferences. Specific yoga packages for patients with psychosis based on the Panchakosha model were found useful. These include some asanas and pranayam but not meditative practices. Doctors have found meditation can worsen or provoke psychosis in schizophrenics.
    The analysis concluded that yoga therapy reduced psychotic symptoms and depression, improved cognition and quality of life, and produced neurobiological changes such as increased oxytocin levels, a powerful hormone associated with love and communication.
PACKAGING IT Nimhans’ yoga package culled from traditional texts
They chose asanas recommended for improving cognitive abilities
Compilation sent to 12 yoga experts, then tried on elderly volunteers before clinical trials on patients
Package has 8-10 asanas and pranayam. Two of the most useful are bhujangasana and trataka

India, along with China and Brazil, has recorded the fastest growth of single-person households

SINGLE, BUT NOT LONELY

India, along with China and Brazil, has recorded the fastest growth of single-person households. Purvaja Sawant asks Eric Klinenberg, the author of Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, why urban dwellers the world over are choosing to live alone

    IN the past 50 years, living alone has become one of the most rapidly increasing social trends. Listed by Time magazine as the #1 idea that is changing and shaping our lives, the single life — for men and women — isn’t viewed as a social taboo anymore. On the contrary, it’s becoming one of the most popular lifestyle choices all over the world. In his book,
Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, Eric Klinenberg, sociology professor at New York University, talks about the fascinating rise of sassy singletons, and reveals why solitary living is actually a sign of accomplishment.
Excerpts from an interview…
Most people confuse living alone with being alone... Living alone, feeling alone, being lonely, and being isolated are four distinct conditions, but we often combine them. Singletons — my term for people who live alone — are generally neither lonely nor isolated. They are actually more likely to spend time with friends and neighbours than married people, and volunteer in civic organisations too.
A lot of people, even sociologists, believe that living alone is a sign of the disconnected world we inhabit these days... Social isolation is worrisome, and so is loneliness. But living alone need not be. In fact, we can see it as a sign of accomplishment, because it requires affluence, social security, freedom of women, and cultural tolerance! It’s hard to go solo in a poor nation or neighbourhood; in contrast, it’s now ubiquitous in the world’s most developed and open societies.
Do you think people who live alone for a long time find it difficult to adjust to living with a partner or spouse later? Yes, it takes adjustment. But there’s no evidence that it’s harder for people who’ve lived alone for a long time to stay married.
Why are more and more people finding the singleton life so appealing?
First, let me say that very few people want to live alone forever. It’s not a life goal, but something that people choose to do at certain points in their lives. Most people do live with a partner for at least some part of their lives. That said, living alone comports with many of our most sacred modern values — freedom, control of one’s own time and space, the search for solitude and the capacity to socialise on our own terms, which is appealing to millions of people around the world. Today, people live alone wherever they can afford to do so and have the freedom to determine their own fate.
Is this generation more equipped to deal with the challenges of a solo life? Yes, it’s more common today because there’s less stigma. Also, this generation has mostly grown up in a private bedroom, which means they know how to be alone. Moreover, social media has ensured that people live alone yet stay intensely connected to others — not just on the screen, but face-to-face as well. For all our anxieties about the problem of internet addiction, the heaviest users of social media are actually the people most likely to spend time with others face-to-face.
What’s the most common reason people gave for choosing to live alone? It beats living with the wrong person — particularly a romantic partner, but also roommates and parents.
It’s often thought that soloists are people who haven’t found their match and are always on the lookout. Did people in your research talk about this misconception? Probably, most singletons are interested in finding the perfect partner, but they are not always on the lookout. They get annoyed when their married friends and family members talk to them as if that’s all that matters. Too often, we project our own anxieties onto single people, rather than simply trying to understand their own desires and needs.
Which gender handles living alone better, and why? Women are more likely to live alone, mostly because they outlive men. Women also do a better job of maintaining relationships with friends and family. They are less isolated, and more socially active.
Are people who live alone happier and enjoy life more than their married counterparts? It’s hard to say. People who are successfully married do relatively well on conventional happiness measures. Do they enjoy life more? I don’t know how to assess that. But then there are all those who marry and then divorce or separate. People who live alone tend to be happier than them.
What are the disadvantages of leading a single life? The disadvantages are that it’s expensive, sometimes impossibly so. It can be lonely, and if you get depressed while living alone, the problem can spiral out of control. Also, aging alone can be brutal, particularly if you are frail and poor.
    Then again, one of the most powerful things people told me in interviews is that, as hard as it can be to go solo, there’s nothing lonelier than living with the wrong person. And human history is full of people living, trapped, in marriages that are lonely and isolating. Living alone can be a way of escaping that.
You said in your book, many divorcees could choose to move in with roommates or family but prefer to stay on their own. Do you think people fear living with the wrong person more than living alone? I wouldn’t say that. We are an optimistic species! Ever hopeful, we continue looking for the right person, even when we’ve been hurt in previous relationships.
Singletons are also largely perceived as selfish people... It’s an old cultural baggage. The stigma of singlehood is already less biting than it used to be. It should continue to diminish in the coming years.
Are you advocating living alone? No. Let’s be clear that Going Solo... is not a work of advocacy. I’m not championing living alone — after all, I’m married with two children, so that would be hypocritical. I’m trying to understand why so many people are going solo, and what this change means for our families, communities, cities, and personal lives.
What do your critics say about the book? Some think it’s too optimistic, others think it’s actually sad and bleak. I think the book’s become a cultural Rorschach test. People have strong feelings about the issue, and the challenge is to suspend your pre-existing beliefs and see what the evidence really shows.
Did you reach any conclusion after researching for your book? The conclusion I drew is that it’s our interdependence that makes our independence possible. Since we are more social and connected today, singletons find it easy to live on their own.
 

“Living alone comports with many of our most sacred modern values: freedom, control of one’s own time and space, the search for solitude, the capacity to socialise on our own terms. This is appealing to millions of people around the world”
— Eric Klinenberg

Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw from the hit TV series Sex and The City, glamorised the solo life