AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when it would appear that the growing popularity of cricket is also exposing more and more fans to cyber cheating. For a Saturday following the week the effect of the cold and damn whether on those who suffer from spine and muscular discomforts. For a Saturday following the week when living heroes are being featured in school textbooks. For a Saturday following the week when the BRIC summit was held in Rio de Janeiro which is the capital of Brazil. For a Saturday following the week when the Opposition seems to have united against the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls, just before the Bihar election. For a Saturday following the week when we are feeling the pinch of disappearing family doctors, particularly in urban areas of Goa.

CYBER CHEATING
AND a few stray thoughts on what would appear to be the growing popularity of cricket and also exposing more and more fans to cyber cheating. The digital world, including WhatsApp, is filled with conmen offering innocent users an opportunity to make quick money. I know of several young people who are tempted to gamble on the results of a cricket match. There is betting on every stage of a cricket match including how many runs a batsman will score and how many wickets a baller will take.
I recall a caretaker of mine Amit Kumar, posting that he had won money on cricket bets even while a match was going on. A 27 years old software engineer from Hyderabad has exposed the scams in cricket gambling. Apparently, fraudsters deceived cricket fans, telling them they could earn crores of rupees by a guaranteed toss fix. This refers to the toss that is taken before a match to decide who will bat first.
The conman has infiltrated WhatsApp and invites the victim to become part of the WhatsApp group. They are then induced to take bets. In the beginning, the victims are allowed to win small amounts. Subsequently, they are induced to bet larger and larger amounts. The bogus influencers work with the conman to rob cricket fans who think they can make a fast buck. There are reports of victims who lost Rs60 lakhs on cricket betting and committed suicide.
The Hyderabad-based software engineer poses as a representative of betting sites and tracks down the people behind the cyber frauds. The entire mafia of betting sites influencers and so-called match fixers have been exposed by the Hyderabad software engineer, who remains anonymous because of the threats to his life. This is strange that people continue to fall victim to cyber fraud. Almost every day and every hour of the day there are morphed pictures of even Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, inviting you to invest in a get-rich-quick scheme. Then there are those who fall victim to digital arrest. There are conmen who will call you and say that they are from police and that you have been linked to some fraud or the other. It is mostly senior citizens who are losing money to many of the petty and highly skilled cyber fraud infiltrating into our digital payments, life, be cautious.
AND a few stray thoughts about the effect of the cold and damn whether on those who suffer from spine and muscular diseases. It is a well-established fact that cold weather aggravates conditions like arthritis and any other kind of muscular pain. Senior citizens who suffer from bone density loss are the most vulnerable to the cold effect. The cold winds blowing into your house, along with the humid weather alternating with the rainfall, compounds the situation.
The problem is that there are no real medical remedies for such problems. The worst affected parts of the body are the joints. Dehydration increases joint sensitivity. The remedies suggested are apart from wearing warm clothes, take to using heating pads. You have to however, be careful when you are using heating pads because they can cause burn injuries if you leave them close to skin too long. I discovered this when I was using a heating pad for my frozen shoulders and forgot about it.
You are also advised to eat anti-inflammatory food stuff like fish, turmeric and fresh green vegetables. The ultimate secret is to keep moving. Gentle movements keep joints flexible. Local sprays such as “Move” help relieve stiffness in the joints.

LIVE HEROES IN SCHOOL TEXTS
AND a few stray thoughts on featuring living heroes in school textbooks. The state education department has introduced new Konkani textbooks focusing on Goan heroes. They have done well to celebrate the lives of sporting heroes like Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, the legendary football goalkeeper of Goa. Brahmanand was the captain of the Goa football team which won the National Santosh Trophy twice. Brahmanad had almost to give up his football career due to a severe hand injury. He however fought back and worked very hard to become complete fit again.
Brahmanand talks about how he was totally focused on his career in football and would practice four to eight hours a day. He is the only Goan football player to have won the Arjuna award. Brahmanand has inspired thousands of young Goans to take up football. The class teacher of the LP Samant Memorial High School in Porvorim had the brilliant idea of inviting Brahmanand Shankwalkar, who is featured in the 5th standard textbook, to meet the students.
Understandably, the students were very excited to meet the hero in their textbook live in their classroom. The students queued up to get his autograph. Full credit to Prajakta Gaokar, the teacher who got the idea of inviting Brahmanand so that students could meet their real-life hero.

BRIC SUMMIT
AND a few stray thoughts on the BRIC summit which was held in Rio de Janeiro which is the capital of Brazil. BRIC’s stands for a forum founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China for mutual cooperation. I recall being present for the first BRIC summit at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil way back in 2006. I have travelled with the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, for the BRIC summit, and subsequently the non-aligned summit in Havana in Cuba.
In Brazil I discovered that a lot of money could be saved in petrol and diesel with the usage of the mass production of ethanol. Ethanol is made from molasses which in turn yields by-products of product of sugarcane. Far back as 2006, all the petrol available in Brazil was a 50-50 mix of petrol and ethanol. Since petroleum has to be imported at a heavy cost, this results in major saving to the country and users of motor vehicle.
I recall that major contracts were signed between Brazil and India to promote the technology of ethanol in India. With its large sugarcane production India can develop alternative sources of energy for motor vehicles and reduce dependence on petroleum. This is all the more important now since supply of imported crude from which petrol and diesel are made, have been disrupted because of the ongoing conflict between Israel, Iran and the US. Though there is a temporary truce the situation is volatile and may flare up again. The crude prices have risen very sharply.
Unfortunately, in India molasses are use to make “daru” and not ethanol. Among the highlights of the BRIC summit in Brazil in 2006 was a cultural program featuring our own pop star Remo Fernandes. Brazil is among the many countries where Portuguese is spoken. Elections in Brazil are very well organised with morcha even stopping at traffic lights. Brazil also is a home of football legends and has won the World Cup several times.

ELECTORAL ROLLS
AND a few stray thoughts on how the Opposition seems to have united against the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls, just before the Bihar election. The Opposition parties have pointed out that the revision of the electoral rolls shifts the burden of eligibility on individuals. For the first time the Election Commission has stipulated that Aadhar and ration cards will not be accepted as proof of the identity of the voter.
Traditionally, voter ID cards have been issued primarily on the basis of the Aadhar card and the ration card. It is feared that five to ten existing voters may be removed from the electoral role in the light of the special revision ordered by the Election Commission. It has also been pointed out that the one month time frame fixed by the EC is not practical.
The charge is that intensive revision is aimed at to deny vote to Muslim migrant workers and the marginalised communities of SC and ST. Muslims and Dalits form a large part of the electorate in Bihar. The Opposition parties have approached the SC against the intensive revision of the electoral roles ordered by the EC. The Opposition parties including in Goa the Goa Forward should be careful as the state government may order a similar revision of the electoral roles targeting the minority and the migrants.

FAMILY DOCTORS
AND a last stray thought on disappearing family doctors, particularly in urban areas. Up to two decade ago Panaji had a number of family doctors commonly referred to as general practitioners. Many of the old GPs of family doctors only have an MBBS degree. They were the reference point for families for common illnesses. They also helped to detect serious medical conditions to refer them to a specialist. But apparently the number of family doctors have diminished sharply and everyone wants to go to the super specialists.
At least in Panaji it is easier to get an appointment with a super specialist than a family doctor. In any case the old fashioned family doctors have long queues in their clinics. The only family doctors whom I can think of are Dr Rajendra Bhapat who operates from Caranzalem, Dr Mahesh Amonkar who functions from his clinic above the Ritz Classic Hotel and Dr Oscar Rebello who is available for consultation at Campal Clinic.
There was of course Dr Marian Godinho at Dona Paula but unfortunately since he has become a senior citizen, he comes in now only thrice a week even though he has his own little hospital. Dr Godinho is not sure of his daughter who has also passed out of GMC will take over his practice. There is a increasing trend of doctors choosing careers outside medicine. We understand that the daughter of the former dean of the GMC, Dr Shivanand Bandekar, opted to walk in her mother’s profession as an engineer. In the case of Dr Sydney Pinto Rosario, his daughter has stepped in to take over the oldest maternity home in Goa. While the elder daughter of Dr Kedar Phadte is an orthodontist, the younger daughter is a software engineer. Medicine seems to have lost its charm for the younger generation of the children of our doctors’ fraternity in Goa.