Saartha by SL Byrappa

I started reading Kannada novel from 2003. Saartha happens to be my first one. Last week, I finished reading the book for the second time and hence wanted to blog about it.

Saartha is relatively a newer book from Byrappa (written in 1995, while his first one "Vamshavriksha" was published in 1960s). Saartha is rich in Indian history and gives you a good insight of how India was in the 7th century AD. This was the time period when Vedic (Hinduism) was loosing its hold to Buddhism and Jainism. Islam was knocking the doors from the west. It was the time period when Adhi Shankara with his Vedantha, reunited people under Hinduism and popularized the principles across India.

The story is told by the main character - nAgHabhaTa, who is in search of his destiny. Being a well educated brahmin (under Mandana Mishra) and strong vedic follower, nAgHabhaTa still has the desire to travel and see the world. As per the Kings request, he leaves his family and travels with a Saartha (Vaishya's who travel in big group across countries buys and selling goods) to learn commerce and help build the kingdom's economy. He ends up staying in Mathura for a long period learning commerce and understanding trade to a greater depth.

Once he hears that his King has cheated him and has married his wife, his whole life takes a change. He loses his interest of commerce and gets pulled into theater to play the role of Krishna. This helps him see himself in a new dimension of love and worship. This does not stay for long and he get pulled into meditation to gain spiritual power. When he starts using the benefits for a personal gain, he ends up losing meditation. With the sole desire to gain power, he takes on Tantra. The book describes in detail of Tantra practices which would shock the new readers. Later love takes over and he gives up Tantra and adopts to Buddhism. He goes to Nalanda to learn in detail about Buddhism. The books talks about our oldest university and how people from all over the globe flocked in to learn about spirituality a Buddhism.

nAgHabhaTa then meets Adhi Shankara during his famous discussion of Vedanta with Mandana Mishra. The books talks in details about this conversation and how Shankara is challenged by Mandana Mishra's wife on Samsara, and how he manages to learn the same by impersonating the body of the King.

nAgHabhaTa is now in a dilemma between Buddhism and Hinduism. He manages to get back to Mathura, which is preparing for a battle against Islam intruders. He gets captured by the Muslims who torture him to accept Islam. That is the time period when he realizes what his destiny. Amidst all the torture, his strength and love for freedom helps him come out of it. He gains the freedom and manages to escape from the place.

If you are a Kannada reader, I would suggest you to read this.

The world is truely flat..

As Intel is preparing its efficiency plan and sacking employees, the impact is consistent across the globe. The impact is supposed to be of the same extent in Bangalore like in California.

It would be sad if such a thing would happen, but it truely depicts the global impact. As a true participator of global economy, we sure will enjoy the gain and the pain of the business.. and more closely now.

Why one needs Medical Insurance?

My father has been suffering from Asthama since 15 years, and very recently he had breathing problem. We got him admitted to MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, as it was closer to my home. As his ECG was not normal, he was sent the CCU - Cardiac Care Unit for further analysis. A scan was done and a block was identified in his heart. As it was straight forward treatment of Angioplasty, it got done quickly and my father got discharged within 4 days.

The bills came to whopping 4.1 lac. I was shocked to see such a huge amount. I enquired the administration and requested for a detailed bill. And the culprit was my insurance. I mean, I could afford so much money. So they adjusted the numbers to reach that.

What if I were to get admitted without insurance?
It would have costed 1/3rd the amount.

Who is getting the benefit - Am I as an insurance payee, the insurance company or the hospital?

These are the advantages I have found with insurance -

* You do not have to worry about money.
* Hospital management treat you good.
* Doctors talk to you like a friend and are available for a quick conversation.

The sad side

* My father was moved from CCU the moment I indicated that I need to check on how much can I afford for the operation.
* You do not know what is billed and why? - "Why should you bother, when insurance pays" is the attitude
* You go through more tests than necessary
* You are encouraged to stay longer at the hospital
* More luxury than actual treatment... (do you need a TV when you are to stay for a day)

Well.. given a choice, will I use Insurance? I will certainly be doing. The insurance has been helpful in such critical times. I cannot think of running behind financial companies for loan rather then attending the patient. But at the some point, I wish that the money is not misused this way. I hope the hospitals become more service oriented than commercial.

At the end of it, I keep getting the thoughts that, this could have been handled better if I were more proactive. Kept track of what hospital was billing me, and making my choices appropriately (like choosing right bedding as needed).

Your thoughts are welcome.