Saturday, February 23, 2008

Outsourcing Wombs

Want to rent a womb, come to India



Increasingly NRI are flocking to India to find a womb on hire in India.

Many couples in India see it as an opportunity to cash on and have some nice kitty in bank.

I don’t know how to respond to the trend. Indian women who are ready give womb on rent get about $ 15000 to $ 25000 and seem to be happy about it.

Some couples are so much sold on the idea that they have moved out from joint family and taken up the venture.

There are stories that parents do not know about it, it’s a secret shared between husband and wife alone. Then the time to deliver the baby comes they will move to other city. After delivery of child its handed over and couple goes back and announce delivery of a dead child or some thing of that sort.



There are few families where whole fertile women folks have taken to hiring wombs.





Foreigners are lining up to rent a womb in India. But they will soon have to face legal regulations being planned by the ministry of women and child development (WCD).

Surrogacy, an area unregulated till now, meant that childless couples from abroad as well as in the country could get away with renting a womb at terms often to the disadvantage of a needy women who stood the chance of being exploited.

Women and child development minister Renuka Chaudhary said that the ministry was considering a law to regulate the business of surrogate motherhood and sperm banks on the lines of similar laws in other countries.

Women's organizations have long been demanding a law on surrogate motherhood and hiring of wombs in India.

"The sensitive issue of surrogacy in the absence of laws or regulations has become a free playing field for unscrupulous intermediaries who lure and push uneducated and poor women into surrogate motherhood," a WCD ministry official said, emphasizing the need for the law.

It is argued that there was every possibility of misuse of children born out of surrogacy for terrorism, prostitution or unethical genetic engineering research as the foreigners who pay for the child would not have any emotional bonding with the kid.

India is emerging as a major destination for surrogacy as childless couples from US and Europe are lured by the prospect of a surrogate child for around Rs 100,000 ($2,250) to Rs 225,000 ($5,060) each pregnancy compared with some $40,000 or even more in the US. Many say the country can become a centre of "reproductive tourism".





Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman agrees to carry a pregnancy, which is genetically unrelated to her, to its full term. She delivers the child and hands it over to the genetic parents. Since couples fear that strangers who act as surrogates could pose legal problems, they often rope in relatives or friends to carry the pregnancy.
In one case, when a couple needed a surrogate for their child, it was the man's mother who carried the pregnancy. Strange and inconceivable but true as such things do happen in various parts of India.

There are some unbelievable incidents too, a woman in labor was brought to a hospital for the delivery.

But a couple who accompanied her informed the hospital that the pregnant woman was only a surrogate for their child, so her name should not appear on official records.

The ICMR clearly states that a woman, carrying a child biologically unrelated to her, must register as a patient in her own name and mention that she is a surrogate mother.



http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2503791,prtpage-1.cms

Recruitment Mayhem

So it has happened again and will continue to happen across India. Two people including a tourist got killed in mayhem created in CISF recruitment drive at Jaipur. It seems authorities never learn and organize such recruitment drives totally unmindful of these horrors. I still remember horrific events witnessed during an earlier Army recruitment drive few years ago. They come from all over, from distance towns and villages and spilled over around army area. All the rattling buses to city had to bear large burden of hopefuls with out tickets occupying the roof top and no one could dare to object.

The fate of trains was no different with large youthful crowd singing and sitting on the curved dangerous roofs. The moment these trains entered the city limits the youth took out stones from the pockets and bags and bombarded the houses near railway tracks. The glass panes got shattered, earthen pots vanished with bangs and few child, aged and women got hurt. The crowds in our Mera Bharat Mahan have mind of their own and reaction pattern feared by all, larger the crowd heinous crimes go unpunished forever. It has become too safe for many to let out the boiling prejudices, thrash and even kill any one and do collectively whatever one could not have guts and opportunities to indulge in alone.

The large crowds confer the coveted unanimity which propels some to indulge in unimagined violence and gore. Its is very disturbing that how simple, otherwise docile people get attracted to such violence, some of it reserved for young girls and women. The new recruitment for men was scheduled the next day. The army area near by was surrounded by the eager, starry eyed young men looking for a career in Indian army, one of the coveted occupations for many of the sturdy youths. But there has been stampede and deaths resulting for the huge unmanageable crowd. But the lesson has been not been learned and the area of city was slowly filled by large number of youth. They come with one Rexene bag, a leaking plastic water bottle, and papers.

For more compelling were lots of dreams and hope to make it and change their uneventful life for ever. Being a solder in India army remains one of the best career options for so many. The allurements are heady and dreamy aura about being a part of a glorious occupation, defending the nation, being able to wear a dashing uniform, postings in faraway exotic places and other material benefits pull the strings. The residents of the area were rudely shaken by crowd of boys occupying the space of both sides of the roads. The space to walk, park vehicles was gone with boys sleeping there and singing mournful ballads. Early morning jogger many of them women hurried back home to escape the loud leering, whistles and cat calls. Come hot afternoons and the boys opened gates and perched under shed of drive ways and cool lawns. The lame objections of the residents were ignored with contempt such city bred indifference deserved.

They banged doors and asked for cool refrigerated water again and again till such supplies were no more possible. The girls and women of the house were imprisoned in back rooms, far away from being able to hear the bawdy rustic jokes and lusty songs they sung with clear purpose to make their intensions as naked as possible. The air got fouled as the crowd eased themselves sitting on high walls of many empty plots. There were no solutions in the offing as the crowd grew large and every open space was filled by these harassed boys. The police was not foolish to try to restore any order in the huge unruly mob. The vendors smelled business and converged to sell refreshments and sundry merchandize sought by the hungry youth. Few greedy vendors were given a befitting thrashing because of over the rampant pricing and rudeness shown to would be defenders of the borders.

The large administration teeming with highly educated snooty officers was blissfully unaware of the havoc being played in the capital. News papers reported that the long awaited recruitments were due next day but forgot to tell the whole story. They some how had no idea of the inconveniences experienced by the residents of the area. Most of the people were forced to stay indoors as the dangers were so large and it becomes impossible to walk or take vehicles out on roads. Every inch of space got filled with swarm of young hopefuls spilling in every hour. They ransack the small and big railway stations, looted whatever comes their way. The vehicles got turned; people got beaten by the surging and rampaging mob with patriotic objectives. The interview time neared, the fences were pulled down, and barricades were run over.

The recruitment drive to Indian Army was now in the full patriotic glory. Out of blue two young girls riding a scooter materialized from a side lane and stood still, undecided. They were shown the way to enter the crowd and assured of a safe get away. They were too naives. The hungry crowd pounced on them, their cries lost in the shouts of young men eager to feel, grope and maul female bodies. People watching from nearby house tops were too stunned to react. An army officer noticed and took out his gun on the hoodlums and shouted them to leave the girls. The cowards trying their luck to defend borders just ran away. They loathed leaving those two young girls crouching on tar road, every piece of cloths they wore were gone, stripped naked by the large demented crowd. They had blood oozing from nose and scratched flesh all over. Only a few yards away a young woman driving a car was also incited to enter the crowd and she met the same gruesome fate.

Her sari was pulled away making her turn in the car surprised with mortal fear. They pounced on her with naked depravity and she too turned it to mass of blood and bruises. A rifle aimed from a retired army man from rooftop made the ruffians ran away. These were too gory sights to forget but were never reported in news papers, reasons still unknown. Fate of a school bus filled with deaf and dumb children was no different only the occupants were helpless kids barely able to comprehend what was happening. The school management and parents perhaps misjudged the depravity of the crowd and made a big mistake their wards will not forget easily ever. The bus was made to halt and hungry young men boarded the bus with clear objectives in mind. They snatched away the tiny Tiffin boxes of wide eyed challenged kids with ferocity reserved for enemies of Mera Bhara Mahan. They looted as the teachers and crew sweated in fears, the lady attendant was groped with intense severity. All these people will never forget the scars of these beastly behaviors ever. Do the army top brass is aware of severity of these repeated incidents across country and have the lessons have been learned? Why can't they plan the small recruitments aimed at cluster of villages and towns? I do not know but do read such incidents repeatedly and go over those horrific moments witnessed.

Creative Smoking

Creative Smoking

So at last Mr. Shah Rukh Khan has decided to quit smoking.

But he might continue to use his so dearly held creative freedom to smoke on the screen.

He may not even smoke a real cigarette during film shooting and yet will surely influence his teen aged fans to imitate him in real life.

How ever there are few important points to be noted:

1. The Health Minister is not wrong in suggesting to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and
Mr. Shah Rukh Khan to avoid smoking in movies.

2."Creativity just cannot escape public scrutiny and even admonishment, if it tantamount to social evil. In this case, it is an unadulterated invitation to death itself," Shekhar Salkar, General Secretary, National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), said reacting to Shahrukh's contention.

Shahrukh, had earlier responding to Union health minister Ambumani Ramadoss's appeal to Amitabh Bachchan and Khan to stop setting bad example by smoking in public and in films citing that children have their first puff due to celebrities, said that actors could not be asked to curb their 'creative liberties'.

3.Now lets get back to the basic question of the Creative Freedom.

How important it is to use smoking character to make a point in a film scene?

It is in fact an easy stereotyped tool to project a macho image and other variety of dramatic elements.

4. The film directors and actors use it as a handy prop so often.

The concept again revolves around few stereotypes:

a. A smoking man looks macho.

b. A smoking woman looks liberated.

c. A smoking woman also project promiscuity.

c. A smoking character looks really thinking hard.

d. A smoking character projects being in control.

There are other variety of scenic needs which are immediately solved by putting a cigarette in hand.

5. Lets have a look at the definitions of the words create and creativity:

Create

: to evolve from one's one thought or imagination to make by investing with new character or functions.

Create

: author, bring into being, compose, conceive, parent, form, give rise to, throw together

Creative

: generative, ground-breaking, innovative, originate, handmade

Creativity:

creativity creativeness, formativeness, innovation, inventiveness, originality, productivity, craftsmanship, authorship, creatorship

Creativity involves the translation of our unique gifts, talents and vision into an external reality that is new and useful. We must keep in mind that creativity takes place unavoidably inside our own personal, social, and cultural boundaries.

5. Now where is the creativity in real sense?

6. Creativity with out being innovative boils down to stagnant stereotypes and pathetic repetitions.

7. And we also know Hindi films and so called creative film makers love repetitions and proven formulas to produce a hit and most of times they fail.

8.So what ever creativity Mr. Shah Rukh Khan may be referring to is in fact enveloped in thick layer of easy formulas.

But then Hindi films are rarely known to be creative in real sense.

It also seems quite clear that these hugely popular film stars have little or no sense of any social responsibility.

But if they are found to be otherwise we will all only benefit.