Skip to main content

Chance, Destiny and Design

Image
By
Compared with several tragedies claiming far more lives, the recent accidental crash of an air-ambulance killing several of its occupants and 3 residents has occupied a disproportionate chunck of media attention and evoked strange emotions from citizen.
At the heart of the issue is the human tragedy of a 20 year old young IIT aspirant boy suffering from acute liver failure whose chances of pulling through without a liver transplantation were minimal, and who was being air-lifted to a premiere hospital in Delhi for this heroic and costly treament. What adds to the sense of tragedy is that in a desperate bid to save thier dying son, the family had staked all their fortunes into his treatment (cost of air ambulance Rs 3 lac, cost of liver transplantation at Apollo hospital Rs 21 lac), and sent a young healthy cousin accompanying Rahul in the plane, who died as well, doubling the family’s toll.
Was Rahul, in hindsight, destined to die at this young age? He seems to have been unlucky on several counts: he was among the rare 1% (chance) to come down with hepatitis from every 100 who get exposed to the virus (A or E) that spread in summer months through water or food. He was further extremely unlucky to be among the rare 2% (chance) of young people who slip into liver failure and coma while suffering from hepatitis, from which 98% recover spontaneously.
And at the very last, when the family was striving desperately to save Rahul, his death while being air-lifted seems most unusual (one in a million chance) as civilian air-ambulance crashes are extremely rare, making the “Theory of Chances” look unconvincing.
Also, each desperate attempt by Rahul’s family to change the course of events seemed to have led to further losses. Apart fom Rahul’s cousin, another 7 people, mostly young with their own aspirations and futures, and unconnected with Rahul, died with him. These were 2 young doctors and a male nurse working in the emergency services of Apollo Hospital, Delhi, 2 pilots and 3 women living peacefully in their Faridabad homes, till Rahul’s fate got entwined with theirs.
When too many rare events occur in a cluster, and seem to defy the laws of chance, two lines of explananation begin to emerge: a “Conspiracy theory” in the West and the role of “Destiny” in the East.
While a “conspiracy” theory, in this case, would hardly have any takers even amongst the die-hard paranoids, most would invoke the role of “Destiny”, an ill-understaood phenomenon that accounts for whatever occurs beyond the fringes of chance.  “Destiny” cannot be explained it by the laws of science known to us today. When it begins to touch our lives, we often realize that it usually defies logical deductions, and often seems to have a design and a regulatory force that shapes it. Some may call this cosmic force, God.
As published in HT City (Hindustan Times) dated 29 May, 2011.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do you like your Tea?

By
The way we drink our tea may not only reflect our taste and style, but our health as well. Tea drinking is around 4700 years old and had its origin in China. Leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis (tea plant) were in use at that time as a remedy for wounds and diseases. With the legendary emperor Shenong brewing and drinking its extracts, tea drinking became a popular habit in this part of the world. The British, impressed with the brew and the customs that go with drinking it in China and Japan, tried to emulate and evolve a tea-drinking custom of their own, and soon “tea-time”became a familiar term across the globe. Every home or cafe seems to have its own flavour. The north Indian variety of “chay” is a glass of hot creamy milk (more cream as it gets more “special”) with lots of sugar and a lacing of  “tea liquor” of strong tea that grows on lower heights (Assam, Nilgiri, Sri Lanka etc). In contrast, the Chinese and Japanese prefer light green or jasmine tea without a drop of mi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Food Fads in Liver Disorders

By
In an attempt at trying to do well to those they love, spouses and parents often enforce diets on patients of liver diseases that often turn out to be detrimental. The commonest food fad is pale insipid boiled cabbage being doled out to nauseous patients suffering from hepatitis that makes them puke even more.  The liver, in a way, is a buzzing manufacturing unit that requires lots of energy to keep its multiple functions going. And it derives all this from the food we eat. During disease, such as during an attack of jaundice, when many of the liver cells get killed, the liver attemptsdamage control by trying to regenerate quickly. For its cells to multiply however, it requires a generous supply of energy that comes from carbohydrates, and protein, the building block for its cells and tissues. Boiled green vegetables unfortunately have neither of these. Hence the situation often progresses to that of a starved liver unable to recuperate due to cut-off food suppl...
2 comments
Read more

Colas have No Class

By
Cola drinks, once a symbol of American upmarket style, is now to be found perched mainly on the shelves of road-side ‘paan walas’ and local grocers. True, there still are Americans who drink more colas than water, and consume an average of 2 bottles per day of the tangy fizzy dark drink, but it has clearly fallen in stature as offering it to visitors or serving it at parties is no longer elegant. Premiere schools in Lucknow such as La Martiniere College for girls have shunned colas from their canteen for the last 4 years. The story started with extensive campaigns by HOPE Initiative (Health Oriented Programs and Education) in 2005 creating awareness among the bright students about the long term harms of cola drinks. A heated debate followed in which the rights of an individual student  was pitched against the hazards of allowing gullible youngsters to be enticed by aggressive marketing to gulp colas and fall sick. The intelligent and alert La Marts students dcided on ...
Post a Comment
Read more