G-I-A-N-T-S Go Giants Go

What a Superbowl! I woke up about 7:15 during the middle of the 3rd quarter. Patriots were ahead, 7-3 which really, I think was the best place to pick up with the game. Who would've thought Eli could pull it off? Maybe it was Gisele. Maybe she was the curse. You know how those Hollywood girlfriends can ruin everything. Or, maybe it was just world-class play of the New York Football Giants. In any case, I'm glad we were able to celebrate in the historic win. Of course, the post-game coverage was promptly cut short to get back to the cricket so there was that much celebrating.

I couldn't have celebrated that much anyway seeing as I had to get ready for my first golf lesson. I planned to meet Gaurav at the driving range at 10:30. I knew where the golf course is but I had never actually been. It's behind a main road, close to the airport but you can't actually see it from the main road. The area where it is, is rather run down (although a brand new, huge mall just opened a few blocks away) so when we pulled onto the side street, I wasn't too surprised to see the tin roofed huts clustered together just a few feet from an 18 hole golf course. Still, seems "other worldly" to have to drive through slums to get to a lush golf course. We pulled into the large parking lot and up to the front of the club house. Chandan dropped me off and the women at the desk, not so politely, told me the course was closed. I told her I was supposed to meet an instructor down by the driving range. She sized me up and down, silently, before finally saying, "ok, the driving range. Follow the path to the left." I walked down the winding path to the driving range and asked for Gaurav.

He had longish, wavy, black hair that kept coming untucked from behind his ear, bluish gray eyes and spoke with what sounded like a British accent. Between the accent and the light eyes, I wasn't sure if he was from India but he said he was. We immediately got to work on the "fundamentals" of the game. He seemed to know what he was talking about and was encouraging so after 45 minutes and about 75 balls, I felt I got my $10 worth. When it was time to go, he told me to keep practicing, even if not at the driving range and gave me some "drills" I could work on. I'm supposed to call him a day before I want to go again. I thought it might be a bit much to ask him about coming again tomorrow so I just said I would let him know. I'm obviously very busy keeping up with the problems of India and the world...

There was a big article in today's paper about the rise of female infanticide (almost as if "they" knew I was blogging about it). The subtitle of the article states: "Seethalakshmi looks at how doctors in Karnataka abort female foetuses in flagrant violation of the law." It talks about how the ratio of males to females continues to grow further apart mostly because of amoral doctors. They say that since there are still people who are willing to pay to know the sex of their child, there are plenty of doctors who will continue to provide the service. The law is not protecting the babies nor are they scaring doctors into stopping. In the 1990s, they tried to go to the manufacturers of ultrasound equipment and told them not to sell to doctors/clinics who have been accused of misusing the equipment but all that accomplished was a black market for the equipment and a large portion of unregistered doctors who just bring the equipment to rural areas so they don't get caught. I think in an effort to make it seem as though it is a problem that is "fixable," or that at least, the government is trying to control, the article leaves the reader with four steps "recommended by the Union ministry of health and family welfare."

• All doctors must maintain records or all patients who undergo an ultrasound scan in their clinics. Ok, but presumably the honest doctors are already doing this. How is this going to stop the unscrupulous doctors?
• All courts trying such cases will assume that the woan was compelled by her husband or the relative to undergo the sex-determination test.
• State supervisory boars headed by respective state health ministers to have powers of a civil court to search, seize and seal any clinic indulging in unethical medical practices. Meaning they didn't already have this power?
• Women who undergo a sex-determination test will be punished with three years imprisonment and fine of Rs 50,000. Ok, but if you're going to assume she was "compelled" by her husband or a relative, why not lock up the husband or relative too?

How any of that really going to help? What about education programs? But I guess these "quick fixes are a start. According to Sabu George, an expert on the subject says, "If the child sex-ratio was 927/1000 in the 2001 census, it will be below 900 in the next census in 2011. And by 2011, we will have India eliminating one million girls every year."

So the problem isn't getting any better.

Not that the US doesn't have it's share of problems...looking forward to Super Tuesday.