Dr. T. Rama Prasad's Scribblings...: ABOUT ME and MY SCRIBBLINGS

Sunday, April 30, 2017

ABOUT ME and MY SCRIBBLINGS

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ABOUT ME
and
MY SCRIBBLINGS

Dr. T. Rama Prasad

‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, 75, Kalliampudur Road, PERUNDURAI – 638052, Erode District, Tamil Nadu, India.

Former Medical Superintendent (Special), R.T.Sanatorium and Perundurai Medical College & Research Centre, PERUNDURAI, Erode District, Tamil Nadu, India.

Website: www.rama-scribbles.com

Blog: Dr. T. Rama Prasad's Scribblings ... https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com

Facebook: T Rama Prasad
Twitter: @DrRamaprasadt

E-mail: drtramaprasad@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +91 98427 20393

Phones: +91 9842720393 / 04294 220393 / 04294 223849 / +91 9655 220393

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1. Sweet words from SCHOLARS about me

( May I call them eulogies while still living ! )

-- T. Rama Prasad

A DIFFERENT DOCTOR

“ ... Dr. T. Rama Prasad belongs to a distinctly different and unconventional species of doctors. He speaks sparingly and does not even display his qualifications or merits, but his innumerable published writings (he calls them ‘scribblings’ though they are ‘pearls of wisdom and knowledge’, sprinkled with a bit of humour and sarcasm) which received wide acclaim talk eloquently for him. A “Citizen Journalist”, he has contributed immensely for noble social service through his art of vigorous, critical, incisive and invasive writings of public and national interest in newspapers and magazines on a vast range of topics for over 40 years. His writings are inspirational and joyful, as he is. They would be etched in memory forever. He does his artistry quietly without expecting any reward. The distinctly different “home page” of his website is a masterpiece which proves him to be an institution in him. A different writer indeed !

The ‘Pay what you can’ Clinic where services are available for which one may pay whatever one can is a facility run by Dr. Prasad for a very long time which could be a world record -- this is so path-breaking that it may become the touchstone of medical service ... He uses both the lobes of the brain to stand apart as a genius ! ... The quality of his professional service draws people from inside and outside the state of Tamil Nadu. Despite holding high positions in esteemed institutions – Ramalingam Tuberculosis Sanatorium and Perundurai Medical College & Research Centre (served the institutions for about 35 years -- 1967 to 1999 -- Medical Officer to Medical Superintendent), he has ever remained humble and unassuming, shunning publicity. He believes that a good ‘word of the mouth’ is the best testimonial and a measure of success.

Dr. Prasad’s clinical acumen, reserved lifestyle, critical writings (he is known as ‘a silent thunder’ as his pen makes a lot of noise while he keeps his mouth mostly shut) with a tinge of humour (epigrammatic yet educative) and sarcasm (subtle yet strident), creative gardening, innovative artwork, painting, photo- graphy, pleasing humbleness, exemplary integrity, soothing empathy and more than anything else his helpful and kind nature made him a living legend in his region and a role model for medical professionals. Never running after money, he is a rare embodiment of extraordinary style and stuff, always in an impeccable attire (I had never seen him over the past 30 years without being in a full suit). Dr. Prasad is called a ”god” by his patients, and many of them named their children after his name “Prasad” -- that is the height of recognition of goodness of a human being... “

--- Prof. C. H. Sivaraman, MBBS, FRCP, DTM&H

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EXCELLENT

“ Dear Dr. Rama Prasad,

I am sure the world will be a better place, if people understand your writings ... ‘EXCELLENT’ is the word. I cannot find any other word in this language to describe what you have written without any pretensions. You have brought out some home truths to those who care to read your website ... You are a great thinker, writer and crusader ... As usual, your messages are incisive, to the point and make lots of sense, much better than my articles …

... You are not only GREAT, but are a true missionary in medicine. May your tribe increase for the good of mankind. ….

Love,”

-- Padma Bhushan Prof. B. M. Hegde,

MD, FRCP (Lond), FRCP (Edin), FRCP (Glas), FRCP (Dub), FACC (USA), FAMS, Former Professor of Cardiology, Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London, UK, Former Vice-Chancellor, Manipal University, India, Affiliate Professor of Human Health, Northern Colorado University, USA, Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes, Chairman, State Health Society’s Expert Committee, Govt of Bihar, India and Padma Bhushan awardee of 2010. www.bmhegde.com

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MISSIONARY OF MEDICINE

“... Dr.Hegde seems to be the 'Doctor of Doctors.’ The great poets of yore were described as “kaveenam kavih” (meaning ‘poet of poets!’). Let me analyse further: You are a rare doctor yourself, but this doctor seems to be rarer, indeed, since you hold him in high esteem and he in his turn holds you higher when he says, truly of course, that you are a 'True Missionary of Medicine'. I would suggest you have it as appendage to your name on the name plate -- you've earned it, not purchased, anyway !!”

“… I am amazed to find how the book (Some of my “Scribblings”) mirrors your multifaceted personality – the sterling qualities of head and heart. It reflects the encyclopedic range of your mind. I am struck by the fact that there was no subject that is untouched – from physical to metaphysical, sacred to secular, all under the sun have been dealt with quite thoroughly, authenticated and well-documented to reveal a genuine humanist at work. … Combined with the art of healing is your art of drawing and painting. … We are amazed to see your paintings and to learn that the illustrations in the “Scribblings” are your own. …”

-- Prof. V. Prafulla,

M.A., Ph.D. (Eng.), M.A. (Hindi), P.G.T.E., Former Principal, Erode Arts College for Women, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India; Former Professor of English, Visalakshi College, Udamalpet, Tamil Nadu, India. prafullav@hotmail.com

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A GIFTED WRITER

“ My friend and a very gifted writer and person, Dr. T. Rama Prasad has one of his articles published in The Hindu which can be seen .....” visit: www. http://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/google-effect-and-kali-yuga-prophecies/-- Freelancer’s Freelancer – Google Effect and Kali-Yuga Prophecies.

“One of my friends and well-wishers of www.pentasect.com, Dr.T.Rama Prasad has written an article – one of the boldest ones I have read coming from a doctor on a medico-social phenomenon ...” visit: http://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/health-un-heath-and-fear-of-un-health/

“ Prasad, ... Your argument pierces the very heart of the ‘dog-eat-dog’ world and the umbrella of vested interests. ... Please continue your good and great work. In a room filled with darkness, the man who holds a torch is the most wealthy.

-- Pritam Bhattacharyya,

Editor-at-Large of Pentasect and Founder & Chief of Wordsmith at Wordsmith Communication, Chairman - Freelance Foundation

www.wordsmithcommunication.com / wordsmith.bengal@yahoo.co.in

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COMMAND OVER THE LANGUAGE

Dear Dr.Rama Prasad,

“..When I saw a copy (of your book titled "Some of my SCRIBBLINGS") in the medical college library, curiosity got the better of me and I borrowed it. As I went through it, curiosity turned into admiration. What struck me first and the most was your command over the language. I appreciated your interest in widely varied subjects, from pornography to piano, as the saying goes. I also realised that the interest was not just superficial, but substantial as evidenced by the statistics quoted to emphasise a point. When I finished with it, it left me wondering how you continued to sustain your interest despite having spent more than 3 decades in this place, well isolated and insulated from academic and intellectual environment...”

--- Group Captain (Retd) Prof.N.Ramachandran, MD,

Professor of Paediatrics, Perundurai Medical College Perundurai, Erode District, Tamil Nadu, India

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GREAT HOLY SOUL

16.10.2017

" ... I always wonder that we both seem to be identical in our thoughts, deeds and actions. ... I always cherish your friendship and appreciate your humanitarian attitude towards life, poor rural people and the needy. ... I went through your articles ... especially, the 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN Clinic' touched my heart, and after studying, I wondered: "What a great holy soul you are !" You are a living example of Swami Vivekananda. ... "

Dr. J.K.K. Munirajahh, M.Tech (Bolton)

Chairman, JKKM Group of Institutions & Industries

Komarapalayam, Tamil Nadu, India

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SENSE OF HUMOUR

"...A study of your work reveals how fertile is your brain and how facile is your pen. Your command of English is breathtaking. One cannot help being astounded by your encyclopaedic range of knowledge and its depth is unfathomable......Your sense of humour is very much to be appreciated. Your invaluable treasure "SCRIBBLINGS" is to be preserved for posterity....."

-- Prof. P. Lakshmi, MA,

Principal, Vellalar College for Women,

Thindal, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India

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VERSATILE WRITER

“ … Brilliantly humorous, you have a unique way of expressing facts in a jovial way! You are really a versatile writer! Very interesting! We enjoyed reading your article titled ‘Kolaveri over English’. …” … Whenever I read your "scribblings", I see the loving, passionate and humane soul behind them.

-- Prof. G. Krishnaveni,

Former Principal, SEDC, Bangalore

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NOT PRAISEWORTHY

In one of his thousands of inspiring, scathing and unorthodox writings (more than 30 books, more than 200 research papers and thousands of articles), the ‘King of Orators’, Padma Bhushan Prof. B.M.Hegde cited the following quote:

“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”

-- Oscar Wilde

“love” is the word with which Prof. Hegde always ends his letters. It is this love and affection that made the eight scholars write the above complimentary remarks about me. I am not worthy of the adulation. I am just another normal, imperfect human being ... scribbling some rubbish -- self-derogatory and self-aggrandizing as well. If you, dear reader, do not have the time and/or interest to browse through the rest of the pages of this ‘home page’ (which may be a crashing bore), you may at least read my scribbling titled “MY ‘REAL’ DEGREE CERTIFICATES” to know what I feel about such encomiums.

This informal blog, mostly, contains some of my negative comments, insignificant and otiose though, on men and matters. Many of them may be unorthodox, garbled, cynical, piquing, cryptic or quirky -- may be to needle some or to prick inflated egos. May be I am a nit-picker. Some of the comments and expressions may make many squirm in their seats; some may raise Cain and earn scorn. Yet some may make you leave the page with a sense of déjà vu. One professor of social medicine said that they are loaded with dynamite ! Diplomacy of written and spoken word is a cultivated asset. Some of my kith and kin lament that I lack that wealth. If interested, you may please browse through some of these ‘scribblings’ and write your comment.

--- T. Rama Prasad

P.S.

I happened to read recently an odd appreciation. Dr. Suneetha Sampath, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (now in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) wrote to me the following on the Facebook: “… I had never met you personally.. and no one who ever grew up in Perundurai Medical College would have known you personally! ; there used to be an aura around that small road, with your name board, that branches off just ahead of the Perundurai Medical College; ... there are great stories about you which circulate in the Perundurai Medical College -- about your clinical expertise and multi-dimensional personality.... and your fitness and enthusiasm at your age … you are really an invisible inspiration, sir...”

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2016 2016 2016

2017

Preview YouTube video Dr T Ramaprasad.Dr T Ramaprasad.

DISCLAIMER

Some of my writings included on this blog were published in newspapers (mostly in THE HINDU and THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS), medical journals and some magazines. Some are transcripts of my radio talks. And some are unpublished writings. I acknowledge and thank the publishers and the All India Radio for the opportunity given to me to put forth my views in their media.

I am taking the liberty to put that material and including a little of other related material from some sources, including some cartoons and 'Google images' on this blog. I gratefully acknowledge and thank the sources, and apologize to them for any violation of copyrights. Some of the publishers didn't reply when permission was sought to include their copyrighted material. I suppose that they don't mind, as the purpose is for intellectual enrichment and not for commercial mileage. Perhaps, they may even appreciate. Chetan Bhagat may appreciate for reprinting a page from his book in one of my 'scribblings' titled 'Good Old Days' instead of suing me for violation of copyrights !

I take the liberty in view of the following. Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. If anybody has a copyright issue, please let me know by E-mail so that I may delete the matter of issue.

In this connection, I recollect a funny incident. My article headlined "Of tea, coffee and commerce" ( http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/openpage/of-tea-coffee-and-commerce/article5567951.ece. ) was published in The Hindu on January 12, 2014. This article was reproduced on January 13, 2014 without my permission in a news paper in Jammu & Kashmir (Journey Line) with byname (name of the writer} alone changed to "Hiranmay Karlakar" ! When I brought this to the notice of The Hindu, they said that as the copyright rests with me, I only can take legal action against the publisher. I didn't take the action as the wrongful publication only served the purpose of spreading knowledge to the public, and as I have no monetary interest.

-- T. Rama Prasad

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2. LIST OF SOME OF MY WRITINGS AND TALKS

--- Dr. T. Rama Prasad

List No. 1

1 Drug Resistance in Tuberculosis - Journal of the Indian Medical

Association, Vol. 64, pp. 264-267, 1975.

2 Digital clubbing and Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy -
Pathogenesis - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76. pp. 213-215, 1979.

3. Childhood Tuberculosis - Part I - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76, pp. 449-504,1979

4. Childhood Tuberculosis - Part II - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76. pp. 567-574, 1979

5. Yellow Nail Syndrome - Chest (U.S.A.), Vol. 77, p.580, 1980 -- http://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)40458-7/fulltext

6. Short-course Chemotherapy - The recent Advances in the Treatment of Respiratory Tuberculosis - Current Medical Practice, Vol.24, pp. 41-46, 1980.

7. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Thioacetazone - The Antiseptic, Vol. 77, pp. 99-102, 1980.

8. Yellow Nail Syndrome - The Indian Journal of Chest Diseases & Allied Sciences, Vol. 22, pp. 69-72, 1980.

9. Highly Purified Insulins - An Assessment - The Antiseptic, Vol. 77, pp. 3455-347, 1980.

10. Diabetes and Tuberculosis - The Medicine and Surgery, Vol. 21, pp. 10-12, 1981.

11. Tuberculosis Control in India - In Press

12. Tuberculin Test - Relevance to diagnosis in India today - In Press

13. Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis - The Antiseptic, Vol. 75, p. 194, 1978.

14. Drugs in the treatment of Tuberculosis - The Antiseptic, Vol. 75, p.678, 1978

15. Chemotherapy of Tuberculosis - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76, p.248, 1979.

16. Streptomycin in Tuberculosis - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76, p.516, 1979.

17. Health of the citizen (Special article) - The Hindu, Vol.99 A, No.198, p.8, 1976

18. How effective is the TB control programme ? (Special Article) - The Hindu, Vol.100, No. 274, p.8, 1977.

19. Five years Plans and TB Control Programme (Special Article) - The Hindu, Vol.101, No. 275,

20. BCG vaccination - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76, p. 726, 1979.

21. Genetic Selection - The Antiseptic, Vol. 77, p.258, 1980.

22. National Tuberculosis Control Programme - views presented, on invitation by theTuberculosis Association of India, at the 32nd National Conference on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases, 1977.

23. Correlation between Geomagnetic Activity and Haemoptysis - paper presented at the II Tamil Nadu State Conference on Tuberculosis & Chest Diseases, 1980.

24. Snakes.

25. AIDS - the disease of the decade - Radio Talk - All India Radio, Coimbatore, Feb. 1,1986.

26. AIDS - What next ? - Radio Talk - All India Radio, Coimbatore, May 24, 1986

27. BRAIN FEVER (Encephalitis): taming the scourge - Radio Talk - All India Radio, Coimbatore, February 14, 1987.

28. HEALTH OF THE HIGH RISK GROUPS: Mothers, Children and elderly - Innovative Health Care Programmes, Paper submitted for Scientific Session of the National Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Health administrators.

29. SAVING THE YOUNG - healthcare of the children in developing countries - Radio Talk - All India Radio, Coimbatore, January, 1988.

30. MEDICINE and MONEY - Co-Chamber Journal, Vol. 5, Issue 8, p.8, 2010,

31. THE INDIAN SUPERBUG - Co-Chamber Journal, Vol. 5, Issue 9, p.15, 2010

32. SWINE FLU - Co-Chamber Journal, Vol. 5, Issue 10, p. 13

33. HEALTH CHECK-UP: how healthy is it ? - The Hindu, Open Page, Jan. 15, 2012 - ……http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open page/article2801701.ece

34. THE ‘GOOGLE EFFECT’: may be good, may be bad - The Hindu, Open Page, April 22,2012
...http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article3340116.ece

35. OF TEA, COFFEE and COMMERCE - The Hindu, Open Page, January 12, 2014 …

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/of-tea-coffee-and-commerce/article5567951.ece

… http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/openpage/of-tea-coffee-and-commerce/article5567951.ece.

36. A BAD PATCH - The Hindu, OPEN PAGE, March 15, 2020 ... https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/a-bad-patch/article31069356.ece

37. MODERN MEDICINE: how good is it in India ? - Co-Chamber Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 5, p. 23 …… June 2016 & Vol. 11, Issue 6, p. 18, July 2016

38. WORLD TB DAY: March 24, 2016 - Health, Vol. 94, No. 5, p. 20, May 2016

LIST No. 2

List No. 2 contains references to about 1000 writings which may be found on my Website.

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”

--- Nelson Mandel

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'SCRIBBLINGS'

Most of the following are excerpts from some of my 'scribblings'. The full text of the 'scribblings' may be found under respective headings on this blog. Some text and photos are yet to be added to the script, and a lot of editing is to be done.

-- T. Rama Prasad

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8. MY “SCRIBBLINGS”

“I don’t open my mouth,

My writings do the talking.”

-- T. Rama Prasad

After decades of procrastination, I have now decided to put some of my scribblings, albeit insignificant ones, on a public domain so that I can revisit and reflect upon them now and then to boost my ego which may perk me up ! In these frenetic days, many do not enjoy reading long write-ups as they don’t seem to have an attention span of more than 160 characters. Even my kith and kin would not have read the “scribblings” which were informally compiled into a book form, titled: “Some of my SCRIBBLINGS.” Trivia they are.

Occasionally when I show a piece of my published writing to my better half, Rajyalakshmi, she hurriedly scans through it most disinterestedly with twisted brows and looks askance as though saying: “What’s new in this ?”, let alone appreciating the humour, sarcasm, satire, style of writing, nuance, etc. Seemingly cursing that my intrusion had taken more time than the ad break in the TV, she at once gets back to watching the TV serial, ‘Thendral’ / ‘Chellame’ / ‘Madhubala’ / Kumkum Bhagya / Iru malargal which my piece of nonsensical writing interrupted ! I repeat, ‘Readers are a heterogeneous lot, some just flip through the pages and at once consign them to the waste-paper basket without wasting time, and some make a scholarly study and preserve them for posterity’ !

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7. WHO AM I ???

“I AM JUST A DROP IN THE OCEAN.”

That is all what I have to say about me.

--- T. Rama Prasad

ABOUT THIS “ home page”

As clichéd it may sound, that’s what I am – a drop in the ocean. This is not a conventional account "about me" or the usual informative “home page.” No, I am not writing an autobiography, not a CV, neither a memoir nor my business brief. Few would be interested to read about ordinary imperfect people like me. And I have little to write about me – a nonentity who marched to the beat of his own drum, and lived his life mostly on his own terms. It would be depressingly banal to read when and where a nondescript person is born, educated, married, worked and so on. A routine lifeless stuff. Already too much good was written about me by eminent men and women through their generous comments quoted in the previous pages under the heading “Sweet words from SCHOLARS about me.”

I ‘scribbled’ informally in a semi-text format, some random thoughts that have been crossing my mind, not necessarily about me, but which may give some clue to my inner self and mindset. While conflicting ideas may coexist harmoniously in the mind, when we put them in cold print, contradictions and criticism crop up. This was written simply in an unpolished fashion with rough edges which might hurt many. While it may ruffle a few feathers, it may also garner some appreciation from some quarters. I smoothened the edges to make it less hurtful and edited out certain candid expressions which moulded and compressed this into a cold clinical stuff. This might have robbed off the emotion. The narrative might have descended into the pedantic at times, making you leave the page with a sense of déjà vu. Like the ‘Tower of Pisa’ it is off the balance. If searched for, there may be a few chips of humour like mica glittering in sand.

Though I intended to limit this to only a few pages, it ran into a few hundreds, inadvertently, due to adding a few lines now and then over a period of time. The large window of period of time was available because of procrastination in uploading. Chronology and continuity in expression is thus lacking in this ‘scribble’, as these are jottings of thoughts, mostly of disgruntlement, occurring over a long period of time – a time that has seen several grand ingresses and inglorious egresses. This must be like reading a ‘page’ ‘about others’ rather than ‘about me’. Sounds somewhat oxymoronic, huh?

And also you would find the pen straying over several issues over tens of pages with a monotonous sprinkling of dull facts and statistics, and repetitious platitudes, crossing the conventional boundaries and giving vent to emotion and passion on an issue or two – I didn’t learn to keep a lid on my mouth (pen) when I differ or while ensconced in passions. I didn’t respect the golden words: “BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT AND THE SECRET OF READERSHIP.” The Shakespearean quotation that says ‘brevity is the soul of wit’ may not hold good always. It may be said briefly that “The sun is rising in the east.” In flowery language the same meaning may be conveyed by “The golden disc of the sun cut off by the eastern mountains seemed to be emerging from behind the mountains like a fiery ball shot from nowhere.” But people, these days, don’t seem to have an attention span of more than 160 characters ! Appropriateness of the usage depends on the context.

The lack of a specific plan or purpose in writing this page made it a lengthy cocktail of comments on current and past affairs -- unorganised, imbalanced and, perhaps, biased. You may find it funny or even downright silly; otiose or even insane. Some may ridicule this as a piece of ‘auto-hagiography’ ! It takes a certain amount of loin-girding to read essays of this nature.

Obviously, this doesn't make for easy reading, crammed as it is with data, facts and figures presented in a semi-pedantic style of pseudo-scholars.

Cut to the chase, this page is nothing but a documentation of a conglomeration of some of my random thoughts, recorded facts and my comments, over public and personal matters, occurring over a long period of time.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

8. The value of my “SCRIBBLINGS”

“I don’t open my mouth,

My writings do the talking.”

-- T. Rama Prasad

Beckett said: “Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.” I am a man of few words – very reticent. I leave the talking to my pen. I don’t shout – the noise you hear is from my ‘scribblings’ of high decibel acerbic criticism. Some call me by an oxymoron – a ‘silent thunder’ ! “Silence is a source of great strength,” said Lao Tzu. I don’t crack jokes – occasionally my ‘scribblings’ do. After decades of procrastination, I have now decided to put some of my writings, albeit insignificant ones, which I call “scribblings” on a website so that I can revisit and reflect upon them now and then to boost my ego which may perk me up ! In these frenetic days, many do not enjoy reading long write-ups as they don’t seem to have an attention span of more than 160 characters. Even my kith and kin would not have read the “scribblings” which were informally compiled into a book form, titled: “Some of my SCRIBBLINGS.” Trivia they are.

I repeat, ‘Readers are a heterogeneous lot, some just flip through the pages and at once consign them to the waste-paper basket without wasting time, and some make a scholarly study and preserve them for posterity’ !

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3. A LEADING EXPERT !

“Failure should never go to HEART;

Success should never go to HEAD.”

THIS DAY THAT AGE -- more than 35 years ago (1979), I was projected indirectly as a leading expert by an editorial in a medical journal (THE ANTISEPTIC, Vol.76, No.12, December, 1979) by including me as one of the four leading experts giving opinion on the efficacy of BCG vaccination. The other leading experts included in the editorial are Prof. K.V. Krishnaswamy, Director of the Chest Institute and State Demonstration and Training Centre, Madras; Prof. G.M. Devanayakam, Government General Hospital, Madras and Dr. Rajnarain, Former Deputy Director General of Health Services, Government of India – who were all nationally recognised heavyweights.

And, I was invited by the Tuberculosis Association of India to present my views on National Tuberculosis Control Programme at the 32nd National Conference on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases in 1977 at Trivandrum.

I was a bit amused, as, at that point of time, I was at the most a junior specialist. Now (2016), I am glorified undeservedly as a ‘senior specialist’ simply because of my greying grey matter ! A 'leading expert' was made out of a 'junior specialist' ! Even in academic circles, a larger than life image was created of me. I was not elated with these ‘honours’.

I had learnt to accept both the good and bad with equanimity. We are sometimes praised and sometimes pilloried. We should neither bask in the glow of success nor sulk in the shadows of defeat.

After all, we are tiny transient particles in the universe. We do not know much of this world or the ‘outside world’. We know only a little about the 9 planets, 204 countries, 809 islands, 7 seas and about 7 billion people ! Man thinks too much of himself, though, in fact, he knows nothing more than a bit of the tip of the iceberg.

Until recently (2015), we didn’t even know that a very tiny (as small as a small dot – 0.16 mm) flying insect called ‘Kikiki huna’ (world’s smallest insect) is present in India (http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/yercaud-home-to-a-unique-insect/article7545101.ece ).

“Notwithstanding the tremendous strides that man has made on the scientific and technological front, he is still groping in the

dark corridors of knowledge and wisdom.”

-- T. Rama Prasad

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4. ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic

“Thena thyakthena bhoojithaha”– Ishopanishad

( Translated by Prof. B.M. Hegde as: “Rejoice in giving.”)

True to this quote, I have been rejoicing at what little I could give. Defying stereotypes, this clinic has been in existence for a long time, sans glitz, blitz, ads, microphones, speeches and noise. As a matter of my policy, publicity is shunned. The reason is simple. Good work needs no noise and nonsense. In fact, there was no name board for this clinic until recently.

My clinic – ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic – has been known, apart from a degree of professional quality and transparency, for two main characteristic features. One is the ‘pay what you can’ facility and the second is the mesmerising ambience of exotic horticultural set up. That the second one has mostly vanished now is a different story. A little vegetation is still there hanging on to the walls of the reception area. Some of my writings and a few amusing calculations like “Do this multiplication and see the result – your age x 13837 x 73 = ? and 111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321” also adorn the walls to make waiting a tad less painful.

The rockery in the waiting hall for the patients, with gorgeous flowering plants, waterfalls and an aquarium.

My consultation fee is not decided by me. It is the patients’ choice. It is optional. The patient may decide on the amount and drop it into the "hundi" (box to deposit offerings) kept for that purpose, just like the "hundi" in a temple. If one does not have sufficient money, he or she need not give any. For investigations like ‘X-ray’, pulmonary function tests, lab investigations and treatment, an amount of their worth is suggested by the staff, but the patient has the choice to pay less or more – whatever he / she can. And a part of the money thus received is used for charity to help the needy.

Display boards at the clinic about the fees:

My ‘Hundi’

This is my ‘not-for-profit’ ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic. This clinic is proposed for entry into a book of ‘Records’, being the only one of its kind run by an individual specialist in modern medicine for such a long period.

The concept of “pay what you can” is that the consumers pay a reasonable amount, sometimes less and sometimes more, so that the rich would indirectly give a discount to the poor and give the ‘not-for-profit’ facility an economic viability. The success of the scheme depends upon the conscientiousness and the sense of social responsibility of the consumer. The idea is to develop a ‘non-business and no-nonsense’ image to the medical practice, with humaneness as the front runner.

People may think that one would go bust or become bankrupt by this system. It is not so. Generally, people are good and generous. Some may underpay due to poverty, some, including the very rich, may take undue advantage and exploit, but some do drop generous amounts into the ‘hundi’. On the whole, it is fine; lots of professional satisfaction; sufficient income for one who is not greedy.

In appreciation of this “Pay what you can” system and in a rare gesture of encouragement, a philanthropist thought of “Donate what you can” and wrote the following poem on the envelope containing a hefty amount on March 19, 2012:

“Pay what you can

To a deserving man

Whose dedication

And love for his profession

Are for the others to learn.” --- IAKOKA N. Subramaniam, Coimbatore.

Of course, this is a very rare gesture. Many a rich are not helpful like Subramaniam. In fact, contrary to expectations, it has been the middle income group which helped the poorer sections more in this clinic, indirectly. Sometimes, at the end of a consultation, when I say " don't pay anything, it is free," many of the poorer people insist on depositing some amount into the 'Hundi', while most of the wealthy patients 'deposit' a flashy broad smile of satisfaction and exit, but not before taking another chunk of my time narrating their connections with some big shots.

Ideally, medical service should be a non-commercial service, with compassionate outlook and passionate commitment, the way in which it was in the Hippocratic era. Due to economic compulsions, commercialisation and corporatisation have come into play gradually, mostly all over the globe. I would have given fully free service if I had the needed funds.

Money is not the main thing in the minds of most of my patients. They come to me because of the confidence in treatment outcome and the psychological comfort -- not just for the “pay what you can” economy. Trust is the bedrock of this clinic. Money is secondary to them, and to me too. With the name, fame, professional standing and the official positions I held, I could have made a substantial fortune, rightfully or wrongfully, through professional activity or official decisions (I was the Medical Superintendent of a huge sanatorium and a medical college). But I didn’t. I went against the grain of conventional wisdom. Many dream of becoming a king or queen of a giant hospital, not of a ‘pay what you can clinic’. But eulogies are always about what sort of a person we are, and what mark we made in the world. That planted the seed of the idea in me, and I may have made a mark. I may be branded as a fool or a philosopher – read about my foolishness under the headings “FOOL OR PHILOSOPHER” and “RICHNESS AND HAPPINESS” on this ‘home page’. Prof. Patnaik described me as a “poor people’s poor doctor in rich-looking attire.” I dared to be different because I love to be different !

Pritam Bhattacharjee, Editor-at-Large of Pentasect and Founder & Chief of Wordsmith at Wordsmith Communication started an online teaching platform called www.wordsmithuniversity.com which is akin to a ‘Pay as you can’ University. I was invited to teach online via webinar at this university. In appreciation of my ‘Pay what you can’ service and my myriad of writings, Pritam Bhattacharjee wrote to me the following:

“ ... It is heartening to know that, as our living and working is increasingly coming under the animalistic doctrine of “Work – Consume – Die” culture, dressed in subtle and gross deceptions, there are many people like you who are aspiring for higher life and higher objectives. ... Let your pen (er, keyboard) contribute more !” (April 25, 2012).

-- Pritam Bhattacharjee,

Editor-at-Large of Pentasect and Founder & Chief of Wordsmith at Wordsmith Communication

wordsmith.bengal@yahoo.co.in

I am not alone in this type of thinking and doing. There are many more in this world. About a decade ago (2003), an acupuncturist, Denise Cerreta from Salt Lake City started a “Pay what you can” ‘not-for-profit’ cafe (“One World : Everybody Eats”) which made a story of human compassion, love, trust and cooperation. In these eateries, customers may eat whatever they want and pay whatever they wish and can. Soon, Denise inspired many more in the US to start such service centres like “So All May Eat” cafe in Denver, “Comfort Cafe” in Northwest Denver, “Cafe 180,” etc. I am told that in Singapore also there is one eatery in a food court where one may eat whatever one wants and pay whatever one can. The concept has been appreciated for the non-monetary benefits of fellowship cementing the community. Contrary to expectations, these eateries are said to be doing well financially too.

We should look forward to the day when this concept of ‘Pay what you can’ becomes widespread and extends to various fields of service like health, education, food, etc. to promote goodness, generosity, fellowship and integrity in this world. All this is antithetical to what has been going on -- for example, the global arms trade exceeds $400 billion a year. Is it necessary to spend such a huge amount to facilitate killing of enemies ? Should we not use that amount for the welfare of the people rather than for warfare? The grammar of the planet should be changed. Replace the ‘coercive hard power’ of warships, bombs and missiles with the ‘soothing soft power’ of kindness, empathy and compassion. Did not the ‘soft power’ ended the 53-year-old war which claimed 220,000 lives in (South) America (Colombia--2013-- www.srisriandfarc.com) ?

Of course, mine is a small initiative to offer medical service with a “Pay what you can” facility. And, this system augments happiness for both the provider and the consumer. Happiness is a state of mind – it is within us, only we have to discover, share and enjoy – we need not become “big and rich” to be happy; life is short; take joy in the simple things in life. This forms the basis of my philosophy. And we need not look far away for happiness. It is here, within us, within you. It is available ‘locally’ and almost all are available locally, including medical aid. We need not go far. That is why the following sentence is printed on my prescription papers: “CONSULT YOUR LOCAL DOCTOR BEFORE RUSHING TO ME. MOST AILMENTS CAN BE CURED AT LOCAL LEVEL.” And the sentence “THE MOST PLEASANT REWARD FOR A DOCTOR IS THE PATIENT’S SMILE OF RELIEF” is the bottom line printed on my prescription papers.

“I Shall pass through this world but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do, let me do it now, let me not defer it, nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -- Etienne De Grellet

"Don't wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly... lead the way!"

-- Steve Maraboli

“Kindness costs nothing; Think kind, help needy.”

“Blessed is the hand that giveth than the one that taketh.”

“We make a living by what we get; but we make a life by what we give.” -- Winston Churchill

"Give to the world the best you have; the best will come back to you.”

Remember the Aristotle’s concept of “enlightened self-interest”, which means that the more you benefit others the more you are benefitted yourself.

"We need not run after money. If we are meritorious and compassionate, money would run after us, and it eludes us if we run after it.”

-- T. Rama Prasad

“Richness is not having lots of money. It is the feeling that one has enough of it. Contentment sans comparison is what makes one really rich.”

-- T. Rama Prasad

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the award ceremonies on July 3, 2016 and August 7, 2016

In the ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic

Yes, I do things in a different way. I had been caring for the plants in this photograph for a long time. I christened the tall cactus, Ferrocactus ferrerae, as “Sivalinga spiralis / God cactus” as it looks like ‘Sivalingam’ and has spirally oriented ribs, and gave it a divine look by adding ‘pooja’ items like bell, ‘deepam’, incense sticks, etc. You may read more about it under the heading “My lost (last) paradise” on this ‘home page’. -- T. Rama Prasad

"Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently.”

--- Shiv Khera

*****************************************************************************************************

On the occasion of the DOCTORS' DAY on July 1, 2014, the following article about the unique service of Dr. T. Rama Prasad is published in the July 2014 issue of the Telugu monthly magazine, SAHITHI KIRANAM. The article is written by the multi-lingual scholar, Prof. V. Prafulla Kumari, MA, PhD (English), MA (Hindi), PGTE, former Principal, Erode Arts College for Women, Erode and former Professor of English, Visalakshi College, Udamalpet

Dr.Rama Prasad garu,

Congratulations and felicitations on your commendable work and service for the common man. May God give you all the good things you richly deserve. Thanks to Prafulla garu for introducing you to the readers.

Shridevi Muralidhar, SAHITHI KIRANAM

*************************************************************************

Reprinted from the FACEBOOK

FB id: T Rama Prasad August 11, 2016

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Dear Friends,

Yes, these photos were taken on the occasion of presenting the “LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD” to me by the Coimbatore Respiratory Society at the “CRSCON III 2016” National Annual Conference held on August 7, 2016.

Customarily, I was requested to say a few words on the occasion after the conventional introduction. I said something like this:

“ … Thank you all for the love and affection. I am not eminently worthy of the adulation and the encomiums showered on me. I am just a drop in the ocean. All the same, I am grateful to all those who lead me to this award. Perhaps, my greying grey matter is my eligibility for this honour !! I had learnt to accept the good and bad with equanimity. We are sometimes praised and sometimes pilloried. We should neither bask in the glory of success nor sulk in the shadows of defeat.

When I joined this speciality of Respiratory Diseases, half-a-century ago, our tools for diagnosis and the armamentarium for treatment were not sophisticated. Now, we have advanced to PET scans, bio-electronic technology, lung transplantation and the like. Notwithstanding the tremendous strides we made on the scientific and technological front, we are still groping in the dark corridors of respiratory diseases. For example, respiratory diseases like allergy, asthma and COPD are making life miserable with no cure in sight for most of the patients. And, even the well-understood disease, tuberculosis (TB) is killing 1,000 persons everyday in India today. Moreover, India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of ‘Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis’ (MDR – TB) cases in South East Asia.

Should we be proud of sending space vehicles to Moon and Mars, or hang our heads down while 1,000 persons are dying every day in India due to TB alone ? We need to ruminate on this. … Thank you all.”

These are some of the few words I uttered to make the gathering of the specialists in Respiratory Medicine at the CRSCON III – 2016 Conference to think outside the box. A rare respiratory disease evokes great interest and discussion. A single death due to Dengue or Swine flu or Ebola or Zika hits the headlines. But 1,000 deaths everyday due to respiratory TB do not even raise an eyebrow !! Read my article titled “TB: an invincible scourge” for a view outside the box. This is one of my 1,000 articles !

The conference was well-organized and well-attended with excellent academic content. It is a memorable one.

Dr. T. Rama Prasad,
drtramaprasad@gmail.com, 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN' Clinic, PERUNDURAI, Erode Dt., TN, India., Former Medical Superintendent (Special), RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre.

Reprinted from the FACEBOOK

FB id: T Rama Prasad July 3, 2016

PERUNDURAI is the "RATHINAM"

Perundurai is unique in many respects. Generally, it is a place of good-hearted, hard working, intelligent and ambitious people. In a short span of time it has become the hub of educational institutions and business enterprises. This evening (July 3, 2016), I had the pleasure of attending a grand function arranged by the "PERUNDURAI PUBLIC." It was impeccably organized and excellently attended by eminent personalities and a huge enthusiastic gathering of the public as well.

At this function:

(1) A book of historical documentation (about Perundurai and some of the personalities of the zone) titled "PERUMAIMIGU PERUNDURAIIN VARALARU" authored by Thiru T.K. Subramaniam is released.

(2) Some, including me, are honoured with the title "PERUNDURAI RATHINAM" in recognition of service rendered and the efforts made to enhance the image of Perundurai.

(3) Several eminent and outstanding persons delivered exceptionally interesting speeches.

(4) A 50-page-compendium of excerpts from my 500-page-'home page' is released to mark the opening of my website of my writings. The first copy of the booklet is received by Dr. Nalla G. Palaniswami, MD, AB (USA), Chairman, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH), Coimbatore. This 50-page reading matter will be mailed to you, if you send a request to my mail ID -- drtramaprasad@gmail.com

On being conferred by the honorific title "PERUNDURAI RATHINAM", I said that I came to Perundurai half-a-century ago as a newcomer and took up the job of a Medical Officer with the idea of staying here for a short period just to experience the social and work culture here. I extended my stay, year after year, and lived here for 50 years (half-a-century) because the people in this geographical region are good, courteous, respectful, polite, helpful, loving and affectionate. It goes without saying that my wife Rajyalakshmi (who knows more people than me by virtue of her teaching job in the Vellalar College for Women, Erode) also feels the same about the people around here. After all, It needs two hands to clap ! She has been the pivot around whom we (family members) revolve. During my career, I had indirectly facilitated establishment of the Perundurai Medical College in this campus by the Ministry of Transport.

Thus, the people here made us PERUNDURAI PRASADS -- natives of Perundurai.

Thanks for the reverence and the goodness of the people of Tamil Nadu, we did not go back, though we could have gone back to our jobs. Rajyalakshmi was in a science college and I was in a medical college / health service, in Andhra Pradesh, before coming to Perundurai. And my father, a doctor, had a hospital of his own, for me to step into his shoes. I further mentioned that my goodness is a reflection of the goodness of the people here, and that they made us good, if at all we are good. To be a GOOD HUMAN BEING is the first virtue one should strive for.

“A man’s true wealth is the good he has done to his fellowmen.”
--- Mahatma Gandhi

I was introduced at the function with overwhelming adulation. And, glorifying encomiums were showered on me. I am not worthy to be honoured to this extent. I am just A DROP IN THE OCEAN -- just another normal imperfect human being. Thanks to Prof. Dr. K.P. Muthuramalingam and Thiru D.N. Chenniappan for the kind words and for thrusting me into the limelight. While I am glorified now as "Perundurai Rathinam," Perundurai has already been a "Rathinam" all along.

PERUNDURAI highly deserves to be documented to be put on a grand historical pedestal. And it is done now. We, PERUNDURAIANS, are proud of it. CONGRATULATIONS & THANKS to all those who made it happen. Thiru T.K. Subramaniam deserves accolades for his painstakingly done scholarly research and the documentation. The appreciation is evident in the last photo of this album (a warm hug).

I don't know how to thank you all.

37. PERUNDURAI and THE ‘SANATORIUM’

About half-a-century ago (1967), I casually came to see ‘Perundurai Sanatorium’ which put up an ad for Medical Officers. Being a nature lover (I lived in crowded cities earlier), I was impressed by the serene and sprawling land of 327 acres with a lot of vegetation and gorgeous peacocks with glittering tail coverts which glow with metallic and iridescent hues (see my published writing on peacocks). It was an ‘easy-paced Malgudi-type’ ambience of the 1950s and 1960s. I had the fancy idea of staying here to experience the different milieu for a short while as a Medical Officer and get back to my service in the Andhra Medical College / Health Centre or join my father’s hospital in Andhra Pradesh.

I and my wife Rajyalakshmi liked the place and the people. The people here are very courteous, respectful, polite, helpful and loving. Rajyalakshmi got into the teaching faculty of Vellalar College for Women, Erode. We postponed our going back to our native place, year after year, and in course of time I retired as the Medical Superintendent of the institution. During my career, I had indirectly facilitated establishment of the Perundurai Medical College in this campus by the Ministry of Transport.

Later, our son, our only child, Rajeev, a specialist in Medicine, Allergy, Asthma and Chest diseases married Geeth, a specialist in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Infertility, and they also decided to stay at Perundurai and enter into practice of their specialities.

This is how we became ‘PERUNDURAI PRASADS’ -- natives of Perundurai.

The eighteen ‘Royal Palm’ trees which stand now majestically in front of the Medical College building were planted by me about 20 years ago. They stand as a testimony to my sense of belonging to the institution. I always have thoughts of the “sanatorium cum medical college” campus as my spiritual home, and the staff members there as my family members. One of the staff member’s son, A. Suresh Kumar, has been sincerely and reverentially working for decades for us at our home there in the sanatorium and here in our clinic now, having a sense of belonging to us. He didn’t leave us even when better opportunities were chanced upon.

Whenever I think of the subject of “sense of belonging to an organisation”, I remember Pfizer Krishnan. One Mr. K.P.Krishnan seemed to work more as a voluntary “ambassador” than a mere officer for Pfizer (an international pharmaceutical company). He served so devotedly for 40 years and lived as though Pfizer was his spiritual abode that he had become a legendary figure in his field, known as “Pfizer Krishnan!”

The work culture seems to have taken a different path now, particularly in the field of “software” work. It seems to be a ‘hire and fire’ affair. Neither the employer nor the employee is bothered about loyalty or honesty. Employees just jump from place to place wherever the compensation is more. There is a paradigm shift everywhere.

Some of my old patients and visitors nostalgically reminisce about the ambience of the garden around the old fashioned quarters in the Sanatorium campus where we lived and metamorphosed the house ‘unfit for good living’ into a verdant and gorgeous ‘Ooty garden house’ just by creatively developing a garden around it. People liked the creative and innovative horticultural inputs and called it a ‘mini Ooty botanical garden’. Our home gardens had been our paradises.

We were in tune with nature. Peacocks used to come calling for grains. Their resting abode was the huge banyan tree behind our quarters. And various kinds of other birds used to break the silence with their musical chirps. Of course, snakes were also the visitors, not harming anybody, not even our dogs which used to chase them out. Crows were followed by squirrels, cats and rats.

I made the following representation regarding the location for AIIMS on March 1, 2015:

AIIMS at PERUNDURAI

An All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at a cost of Rs.1,500 to 2,000 crore would be established in Tamil Nadu, according to the current budget announcement (Feb 28, 2015). The State had already identified five suitable places among which PERUNDURAI is one with more than 325 acres in the present IRT Perundurai Medical College & Ramalingam Tuberculosis Sanatorium campus. I worked and lived in this campus, popularly known as 'Perundurai Sanatorium', for more than 30 years.

Taking all the requirements into consideration, this place seems to be the most suitable one. This place is located about 1,200 feet above the mean sea level on an elevated plateau with salubrious and dry climate. It has a sprawling woody landscape with a number of peacocks around with glittering tail coverts glowing with metallic and iridescent hues. And aside from the visible merits of this place the good nature of the people in this region would be an added bonus.

The ‘Perundurai Sanatorium’ & amp; the Perundurai Medical College campus.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

5. FOOL OR PHILOSOPHER

“Success isn’t about money or fame.

Success is living a life you feel proud of.”

-- Anon

Many who read my writing on “Money & Medicine” and those who are familiar with my style of functioning would think that I am a fool or a philosopher. May be I am both. People may call me a fool; one out of tune with the present materialistic world; one of a ‘not-so-smart’ laughing stock! If you read what I wrote on this ‘home page’ under the heading “ ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic” you will know how ‘not-so-smart’ I have been. My plan in my life is not to have a plan ! So it just goes on.

I shun what people usually crave for – wealth, recognition, publicity, rewards, awards, advertisement, place on the dais, affluence, prestige, promotions, power, etc. In fact, I denied promotion to the post of the Medical Superintendent, and on great persuasion, I reluctantly accepted it. And, I turned away many TV telecasters. And I did not even care to collect the University Prize certificate and prize material of Dr. R. Viswanathan (Father of Chest Medicine in India) Prize awarded to me for top performance at my post-graduate university examination ! Eccentric, did you say ? Perhaps, I am.

It may sound strange, but I didn’t have a nameplate displaying my name, until recently, outside my consultation chamber. Also, I don’t use my degrees of qualifications after my name and on my prescription papers. Degrees have only a symbolic value, not intrinsic value. They only mean that one had formally passed the examination – not necessarily that one has the knowledge necessary to earn and hold the degree! This is a well known fact, at least, in India. Even if the degree holder has the required knowledge at the time of passing the examination, the degree does not ensure updating of knowledge as years and decades pass by when the knowledge acquired at the time of passing the examination would have become obsolete at a rapid pace. An ability to learn and unlearn, quickly, after obtaining degrees will be crucial for good knowledge and wisdom. Perhaps, using my blog / website ID after my name would be more valuable than displaying the degrees like MBBS, DTD, etc. !

“Knowledge comes from learning; Wisdom comes from unlearning.

CONTENTMENT

“Happy is the man who can

Make a living by his hobby.”

Unlike in many other professions, a doctor hardly needs any advertisement, marketing and publicity, unless one wants to make big money. People simply flock to a doctor if he/she is ethical, kind, courteous, empathetic and good at job. It is the ‘word of the mouth’ that is the best advertisement. It is only the mediocre that need props. A good doctor, in India, can be assured of a revenue return sufficient for all his/her needs, but may not be enough for his/her greed. Despite my long association with the profession, I didn’t learn to earn. Nevertheless, people think that I am rich, perhaps because of my nature of helping the needy generously. Contentment is what defines the word ‘sufficient.’ I am contented with what people give me (what they can) through my unique ‘Pay what you can’ Clinic where the amount of fees is decided by the patient, not by me.

“Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”

--Socrates

I have my own path. I repeat, the sentences printed on my prescription papers: “THE MOST PLEASANT REWARD FOR A DOCTOR IS THE PATIENT’S SMILE OF RELIEF.” “CONSULT YOUR LOCAL DOCTOR BEFORE RUSHING TO ME. MOST AILMENTS CAN BE CURED AT LOCAL LEVEL.” These are indicative of the unconventional path I followed. Why unduly worry about tomorrow ? No one is sure of waking up tomorrow.

When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege

It is to be alive, to think, to enjoy and to love

--Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (121 – 180

Continued …

The full text may be found under the title on my Blog / Website -- T. Rama Prasad

6. My real AWARDS, REWARDS and HONOURS

“We become worthy when we have something that money cannot buy.”

I am overwhelmed by the gratefulness and reverence showered on me by many individuals. Many parents named their children after my name, ‘Prasad’ --- Er. Saravana Prasad, M.E., son of Thiru P. Prabhakaran of Indian Bank, Bhavani; Mr. Naveen Prasad, son of Thiru A. V. Parameswaran, Angalakurichi; Mr. Sivaram Prasad, son of Thiru K. Chidambaram, Avilpoondurai, Mr. K. Prasad, son of Thiru M. Karthikeyan, Erode, are a few among the many to mention.

I posted the following on the Facebook:

“This photograph is taken today (January 4, 2015) when Thiru P. Prabhakaran along with his son, Saravana Prasad visited to greet me. I treated Prabhakaran more than 35 years ago (1977) long before his marriage. I attended his marriage ceremony and later he was blessed with a son. Out of a deep sense of gratitude, he cherished to include my name "Prasad" in his son's name. So he was christened as "Saravana Prasad" who, after studying ME, is now on the teaching faculty of an engineering college. Prabhakaran, who is an exceptionally good human being, had retired from the Indian Bank, Bhavani and is very happy having a son of exemplary qualities. I do not deserve the honour and the adulation he and his circle of friends and relatives consistently showered on me during the past 30 years.”

That was about two years ago. And, today (August 8, 2017), Prabhakaran and family came to invite us for the marriage ceremony of Saravana Prasad to be celebrated on September 3, 2017.

Some of the kids whom I treated are now parents and grandparents who bring their children and grandchildren for treatment. Dr. M.Vinodhini, daughter of Mrs. Karunambal and Thiru Mariappan, Koilpalayam was treated by me when she was an infant, and she must be angry with me as I could not attend her marriage ceremony. Interestingly, I came to know through a report in The Hindu of Sept.15, 2011 that this “kid”, Vinodhini got the credit of becoming the first doctor to do a Caesarean operation to deliver a “kid” for the first time in that district at a Primary Health Centre (Arudesam).

The following is a reprint of what I wrote on the Facebook:

“ … Me ? ... GOD ???

Thank you all friends for the numerous 'likes', 'shares' and appreciative 'comments' over the 'Change of my Profile Picture' on FACEBOOK (Oct 14, 2013). You have enormously complimented me by using words like 'great genius', 'unique', 'hero', 'legend', 'lion', 'pearl', 'nature lover', etc., though I am just a drop in the ocean. Swaminathan Subramanyam went to the extent of citing me as a GOD ! This comment prompts me to quote the following excerpt from one of my articles titled "GOD, RELIGION and THE UNIVERSE":

... EASY TO BECOME GOD

Interestingly, while I am writing this, my niece phoned to me from Singapore saying that she happened to see on http://www.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ramaprasad/38783 a comment by one Karun stating that I am “...JUST LIKE A GOD...” and another by Gokilavani who wrote about me as: “...HE IS MY GOD...” ! It may sound a trifle ironic, but it is very easy for any doctor to get an image like this – just by honestly extending professional help without expecting revenue returns. One can easily get good name, be called a god or whatever and be ‘worshipped’, provided one is prepared to sacrifice certain things in life.

But, most are unwilling ‘TO BE GODS’, for obvious reasons. Thus, most people prefer to be 'NON-GODS' ! Yes, it makes sense, GOOD BUSINESS SENSE !! I remained ‘poor’ as I lacked this sense. No regrets, for I am happy that the society reckoned me as a GOOD HUMAN BEING. It is important that one lives a life one feels proud of.

“Success isn’t about money or fame;
Success is living a life you feel proud of.”
-- Anon ... "

Generosity flowed in abundance when Padma Bhushan Prof. Hegde called me a “Medical Missionary” and when some doctors refer to me as “Medical Guru” and when some call me a “God” --- all this arises out of love, the most admirable emotion of Homo sapiens. While I am overwhelmed by their reverential gratitude, I do not know how to pay them back. I consider these as the real awards, rewards and honours in my life. Words fail me beyond that point. I mused: ‘magic does exist in this world’, as I am not worthy to be honoured by the encomiums. I am just A DROP IN THE OCEAN. You may read the comments posted on this subject on my 'Timeline' under the title “A drop in the ocean.”

“A man’s true wealth is the good he has done to his fellowmen.”

--- Mahatma Gandhi

Continued …

This is an abbreviated text of my 'scribbling'. The full text would be posed later. -- T. Rama Prasad

As could be seen from the rat episode, Mrs. V. S. Rajyalakshmi, M.Sc. (Botany) who was on the Faculty of Botany of Vellalar College for Women, Thindal, Erode, is oversensitive as well as over-reactive. As an assertive person with good analytical skills, she rarely concedes a point. She has been gifted, among other virtues, with the quality of being brutally frank, outspoken and decisive. She disdains status conscious snobs and the vain who condescend in their approach and deliver polished sophistry with an air of conceit. In a different way, my sister, Mrs. T. Nirmala Devi, M.Sc (Botany), is an embodiment of soft and exceedingly good nature, tempered with firmness and determination. She is a personification of gentility and humility, and wouldn’t say boo to a goose. Nirmala and Rajyalakshmi were classmates during graduate and post-graduate studies. Both specialised in the same subject -- botany, Cytogenetics being the special subject. Nirmala contributed a lot of her ideas for our garden here, drawing from her observations of flora in Singapore.

We three -- Rajyalakshmi, Nirmala and I – in 2014 – in Singapore and Bali

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

9. My "SCRIBBLES" in NEWSPAPERS

“I do not go about shouting,

My writings make the noise.”

-- T. Rama Prasad

Some 40 years ago, I wrote a letter to THE HINDU which was published to my excitement. It caused a shiver of delight in me. I felt as if I won a Booker Prize ! This 'accident' made me an ‘accidental letter writer'! That little letter in print inspired me to write more. Many more flowed. Whimsically, or so I thought, one of my well-wishers suggested my name to the Guinness Book of World Records in the yet to be listed section of medical doctors writing the largest number of “Letters to the editor” ! I was only amused by the idea, but his seriousness was evident by his citation that 3,699 letters written by an Indian, Subhash Chandra Agarwal, were published in the “Letters to the editor” columns of various publications, a feat that won him a place in the Guinness World Records in 2006.

JOURNALISTIC BOND !! Sometimes we develop peculiar bonds, very impersonal though. The following is what I wrote in The Hindu of March 13, 2012 (Reader's Mail):

".. My bond with The Hindu becomes stronger whenever some of my acquaintances refer to me as "The Hindu man of Perundurai" because of the hundreds of my writings published in your columns over the past four decades. This sentiment bears testimony to the standard, prestige and the image of The Hindu."

-- Dr. T.Rama Prasad, Perundurai

The following is the comment on this letter by Group Captain (Retd) Prof. N. Ramachandran, MD (Paed), formerly the Professor of Paediatrics, Perundurai Medical College, Perundurai:

“Yes. As a matter of fact I knew the existence of Perundurai only after reading your letters to the editor , The Hindu -- always contemporary and thought provoking .” (March 15, 2012)

-- Prof. N. Ramachandran

FACEBOOK & BLOG

In recent years, I have been preferring to post my smaller 'scribbles' on the FACEBOOK and the bigger ones on my BLOG as the reach is wider, even internationally, publication is instantaneous, the scope for interaction is tremendous and retrieval is easy. One may go to my FB ‘Timeline’ (T Rama Prasad) and my blog (Dr. T. Rama Prasad's scribblings) and read some of the 'scribbles'. The comments on the writings may be more interesting.

Continued …

The full text of this 'Scribbling' will be posted later. -- T. Rama Prasad

10. MODERN MEDICINE -- the Good, the Bad and the Ugly !

Click on the following link for a fuller version:
http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/modern-medicine-good-bad-ugly.html

“Money is not everything, but it ranks up there with oxygen.”

-- Rita Davenport

Modern medicine, which represents the epitome of technological innovation, has wiped out dreaded diseases like smallpox, and prevented epidemics and pandemics from wiping out populations. Immunisation averts three million deaths annually. I am not writing at length about the goodness of modern medicine, remarkable contribution of drug and allied industry, and the goodness of the doctors and the excellence of their service, as it is too well-known to all.

The modern medicine could have remained entirely ‘good’ except for the societal changes -- materialistic trends, business attitudes, moral degradation, value depreciation and egoistic ambitions. Doctors and researchers are part of the society and are also human beings, vulnerable to venality. What seems to be the bane of the system globally is the fact that some in the field have largely shed their “nobleness” and started living in the ‘dog-eat-dog’ world with all the grey economy and vested interests. The industry is cleverly exploiting this ‘weakness’ through various kinds of funding, ‘grants’, ‘support’, ‘sponsorships’ and ‘offers’ – overt and covert. Many hospitals across the globe are profit driven and run on business models, and as such modern medicine is often overused and misused. In the name of “Evidence-based Medicine” needless exhaustive investigations and procedures are carried out, creating a delusion of relevance. More and more people are subscribing to the “animalistic doctrine of ‘Work – Consume – Die’ culture, dressed in subtle and gross deceptions.” Good and bad is present in every field, but we can’t ask for a replacement of a limb or life as in the case of a car or a machine when the repair work fails. While we cannot expect the professionals to be insulated from the defining materialistic ethos of our times, a reasonable humanitarian attitude would restore the ‘noble’ image of the profession. When greed is the principal motivator, concepts like ‘health for all’ lose all meaning.

SCENARIO IN INDIA

Perhaps, the same holds good for medical profession also !

For politeness’ sake, I do not want to write on the Indian examples of ‘the Bad and the Ugly’ of 'modern medicine' and the malfeasance (to be polite to Indian medical fraternity and India), for it may ruffle a few feathers, may raise Cain and earn scorn, may make many squirm in their seats or may offend some personalities. I don't want to hurt the feelings or sentiments of anybody. However, I am prompted to make a rare foray into this subject and write these few lines as this has become a national and international issue exposing us to the glare of the public and to social opprobrium -- national, because of the Supreme Court’s incisive intervention following the stinging indictment by the Parliamentary Committee (vide infra); international, because of the shocking and furious reaction of medical experts abroad and the threat by developed nations to boycott Indian doctors (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…/articlesh…/44372779.cms?). We can no longer hide behind the facade of "Noble Profession", nor cover ourselves with glory of the past.

While I am chary of writing on the Indian scenario, certain sordid happenings in India that baffled everyone abroad are too serious to ignore. And the loud projections in the media made many aware of the malaise. And the media are too eager to dip into the reservoir of sensations though they may be mere aberrations.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

11. WHAT DOCTORS ARE NOT TAUGHT !

“One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicines.”

-- Sir William Osler

“What Doctors Don’t Get to Study in Medical School” --- is a fascinating book of magnificent contribution to our minds which are closed by the time-honoured reductionist modern scientific medicine which sidelines holistic medicine. Prof. B.M. Hegde has the profound knowledge and chutzpah to author this book. Love him or hate him for his forthright pronouncements on various topics in medicine, you have to admire his chutzpah. On this book, Richard Smith, MD, FRCP, Former Editor, British Medical Journal, London commented that “this is not a textbook as the author says but, in my opinion, this is a “Holy Text” of medicine and is a must read for everyone who deals with sickness.”

Prof Hegde mentioned: “None of the medical interventions, including drug therapy, is without some danger lurking in the corner. While there is no pill for every ill, in the long term, there certainly is an ill waiting to strike after every pill. Today, medicine has become a business and the consumer, the patient, has to be an informed customer, lest he/she should led up the garden path to the misty world of hi-tech medicine.”

We discover more when we go deeper. We now banned some drugs which we thought, with scientific evidence, to be ‘most effective and least toxic’ a decade ago. Vioxx, Zelnorm and Baycol were such drugs. Recently (2013) the anti-diabetic drug, Pioglitazone was suspended (banned) by the government in India and within weeks the order was revoked. Do you think that there are genuine and scientific reasons behind the decisions. You bet not. Lies, damned lies and drugs !

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

12. INVENT NEW DISEASES & SELL MORE DRUGS

“The whole imposing edifice of modern medicine

is like the celebrated tower of Pisa -- slightly off balance.”

--Prince Charles

“New diseases” are often not found by doctors, but by the long arm of the drug industry marketing department to sell more drugs. They do this by exerting great influence on organisations that formulate guidelines and recommendations through “paid orchestrated opinion” of the members of the committees and by creating “scientific” data through “paid research.” They create new definitions and new sub-titles for the existing diseases -- from high blood pressure to high cholesterol to osteoporosis to obesity -- to “create” patients from hitherto normal population (by bringing them under the new definition) for selling more drugs

GOOD BUSINESS SENSE !

‘Osteopenia’ (low bone density like osteoporosis, but without any problem) is a ‘new disease’ ‘invented’ by drug industry, indirectly, to help themselves by peddling bone density testing machines and the potentially dangerous bone density increasing drugs (Fosamax, Actonil, etc.) which may or may not prevent osteoporosis in the future.

‘Female sexual dysfunction’ (female impotency ?) is another ‘new disease’ under “invention” with an eye to create a “female Viagra !” If ‘Viagra’ could fetch $11.2 billion in a year, the gullible females would throw away ten times that amount. It makes great business sense to invent this ‘disease’ !

‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a ‘new fashion’ diagnosis in children to soak them in dangerous drugs. American psychiatrist, Dr. Leon Eisenburg stated, a few months before his death, that ADHD is a fictitious disease which is created for the benefit of drug manufacturers and listed as a new disease in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases” of the American Psychiatry Association.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

13. GENETICS, CANCER and COMMERCE

We don’t know why the legend, Steve Jobs, the most incredible ‘digital brain’ behind the

APPLE (iPod, iPad, iTunes, & iCloud) died of cancer.

Incidence of cancer is said to be increasing day by day. Bad lifestyle; bad foods; bad habits; bad industries; bad gadgets; bad luxuries; bad modernity; bad consumerism; bad cosmetics; bad business; are said to be the promoting factors. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently (2013) added the polluted air which we are breathing to the list of cancer-producing agents ! Quit the planet ! Instead of ‘cleaning’ the planet and ourselves we are focussing on medical and surgical ‘cleaning’ of the affected people, by establishing a $1.72 trillion cancer business.

The word ‘genetics’ reminds me of the American Hollywood star Anjelina Jolie (aged 37 in 2013 and named Hollywood’s highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 & 2011) who was in the news in May 2013 all over the world – not for her Hollywood fame, but for making public about the surgery to get her both breasts removed to prevent development of breast cancer (preventive double mastectomy). The details are published in the op-ed article in the New York Times (May 14, 2013). The news went viral all over and her medical choice has the world up in arms. A Time cover story titled “The Angelina Effect” observed that she has put BRCA predictive gene testing on the spotlight.

Needless and harmful treatment is often extended to too many with ‘indolent lesions’. A recent study (2016 – Annals of Surgery) by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, US, shows that the conventional ‘Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy’ (removal of healthy breast on the other side along with cancerous breast on one side) is not only unnecessary but also may result in complications and psychological problems. Then, how about Angelina Jolie and thousands of other ‘normal’ women who got their both cancer-free breasts removed ?

And, aggressive, expensive and painful surgical treatment / radiotherapy / chemo therapy is often given to patients with advanced disease only to prolong the suffering in the name of prolonging life. Many of these patients would definitely prefer euthanasia, if they know what is happening. When the immune system fails we “rarely cure, mostly comfort and always console.”

Curiously, in a study by Nir Barzilal (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York) about 500 persons who were in the habit of smoking, drinking and eating junk food were found to be in the age group of 95-109 ! The researcher said that they possibly posses “additional longevity genes” to buffer them against the bad lifestyle. Genetics may have an edge over habits, but it should not be a statistical excuse for indulgence. And, genetics need not be a cause for worry for those whose relatives succumbed to cancer. I know of some who left the world prematurely due to that worry rather than the anticipated cancer. No last word is said about the cause or cure for cancer. That is what makes it a wonderful field for commerce !

“The world famous not-for-profit Mayo Clinic, Rochester, US which spends $500 million a year on research concluded in 2009 that data about harnessing the immune system to fight cancer had been fabricated, resulting in the retraction of 17 papers in nine research journals.” Incidents of fraud in medical research are far too many to be ignored.

“Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud

and that the major cancer research organisations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them.”

Linus Pauling, Ph.D. (Two-time Nobel Prize winner)

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

14. THE SCHOOL EDUCATION CONUNDRUM

School education in India is one of the most difficult conundrums. At State and national levels, many quality improvement strategies have been conceived and implemented which didn’t yield expected results. Revolving around “Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)” took us nowhere. By and large, we have an institutionalised and highly regimented type of education in the conventional mould that suppresses innovation, creativity, enthusiasm and risk-taking ability.

School education, in India, has mostly become an exercise of training students to memorise subjects and parrot back information under duress at theoretical examinations to achieve stellar results, often at the cost of true education. The plague of rote learning devoid of understanding leads to a disconnect between education and life. Scoring high marks at the school leaving examination has become the barometer of high intellect. The ‘only marks’ criteria of our system to select candidates for higher education is the cause for the malady. The system produces ‘centums’ sans sense.

The craze for marks and wealthy careers has a bearing on the general socio-economic level of the country. When the socio-economic level is low, it is natural that people crave for economic security and the struggle starts from the kindergarten level, and finally when one becomes a professional the priorities would necessarily be for personal financial stability rather than professional ethics, values or service. Deplorably, this trend has crept into the ‘noble profession’, the medical field also.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

15. OPEN DEFECATION

The cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar has been named (Nov. 28, 2013) the regional brand ambassador for South Asia by the UNICEF to promote its Total Sanitation Campaign in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Actress Vidya Balan stresses on the need to have toilet in every household through UNICEF sanitation advertisement. It is sad to note that 36 per cent of the world population do not have access to proper toilets and that 1600 children die every day due to diarrhoea. In South Asia, in 2011, 2.3 million children under the age of five years died and 70 million children (39 per cent of all children), under the age of five years are stunted.

World Toilet Day was celebrated on November 19, 2015 and India was abuzz with ‘Swachh Bharat’ slogans. If the focus is only to meet toilet construction targets rather than changing hygiene behaviour of people, the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ activity will also end up like the previous experiments such as ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan’ and ‘Total Sanitation Campaign’. People’s hygiene behaviour is such that open defecation is much ‘cleaner’ than using toilets at home. That is the reason why many toilets previously constructed free of cost were being used for storing fodder and grains. It is imperative that primacy should be given to change the hygiene behaviour. Open defecation is not just some “third person singular number” any more as this affects the height, health and productivity of the population in the country as a whole.

That is the long and the short of open defecation.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

17. A WORLD OF CORRUPTION

Teacher: “Where is the capital of India ?”

Student: “In Swiss banks, sir !”

In all my years in the medical world, I had hardly spared a thought for this subject. And no one in my medical circle did either. I would not have touched this topic at all except for the tremendous media buzz on corruption these days (2011 to 2014). Corruption seems to have become so humungous that various editorials, articles and debates in media called India as “the nation of corruption” where endemic corruption and crony capitalism took deep roots. Never in the history of India (why, even of the world) the word “CORRUPTION” was so extensively repeated in print and talk as of now. The world seems to have become tolerant of venality all around. Few would spurn the lure of pelf, power and patronage.

Of late, a series of events, in homeland and abroad, have rapidly dovetailed into each other and dragged individuals, officials, politicians, sportsmen, professionals and even countries into a morass. By and large, this is a ‘dog-eat-the-dog’ world with only a few for whom money and power hold no allure.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

18. GOD, RELIGION and THE UNIVERSE

“Free man is by necessity insecure, thinking man is by necessity uncertain.” --- Eric Fronam

It might be considered presumptuous if I write on God. I write this with trepidation and certain gumption as the subject is a sensitive one about which I know very little. There is a huge potential for being misunderstood. I am putting forth some observations (not analysis, not judgment) from a low parochial platform of a layman who has only a smattering of knowledge. All this may look absurd, immature and telescopic to those at a high spiritual platform. Don’t get me wrong. I am trying only to provoke thinking, not to pontificate. We need to ruminate on this subject. Though I dealt with the subject in general, many citations may be related to India where Hindus constitute 80 per cent of the population.

INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE

We, human beings are adept in creating divisions and infighting, though all religions preach the same thing -- ‘be good human beings’. It is curious to see the same number (6) of alphabets in TEMPLE, CHURCH and MOSQUE; and the same number (5) of alphabets in GEETA, BIBLE and QURAN !! Even the letters are in harmony, why not we ? Why not we have a ‘fraternity of faiths’ ?

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, known as “Missile Man” of India, held bombs and missiles in one hand and 'Gita' and 'namaz'' in the other, with no sense of incongruity. A legendary scientist with profound knowledge and firm conviction, he was an embodiment of the eclecticism of India's heritage of diversity - a complete Indian and more than anything else a simple and true good human being. After lighting a ‘deepam’ at a ceremony, he said something like this: "A 'Muslim Kalam' lighted a 'Hindu Kuthuvizhakku' with a 'Christian candle' !"

The great existentialist philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre said:

“Human existence is the pivot around which all customs, conventions, traditions and above all, God and religion revolve.”

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

19. OF GODMEN / GURUS

Don’t get me wrong -- the media are abuzz with stories and fierce debates on this subject right now which made this subject a matter of huge topical interest today -- that is the reason why the inquisitive bit of my brain searched for information on this subject and acquired a little bit of it. And this made me comment so much on matters of god in the preceding pages and a tad on a sample of a few god-men / gurus in the following pages. The extensive media coverage made me go that extra mile to comment on this subject. The more we dig into the anecdotes connected with godmen the more they seem to be apocryphal.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

20. “AHIMSA”

A news report I read this morning (October 3, 2011) reminds me that we live in a self-centred world of hypocrisy. For 364 days in a year, we kill and eat millions of animals, birds and fishes. On the remaining one day in a year, Gandhi Jayanthi Day (2^nd October), in reverence to the “Ahimsa” advocacy of the “Father of the Nation,” vendors were instructed to close the meat shops.

Blood-curdling sacrificial ‘slaughtering’ of nearly 5,00,000 animals including water buffaloes, pigs, goats, chickens, rats and pigeons took place at Gadhmai in Nepal on a day despite global appeals against it. “Life is life – whether in a cat, or dog or man,” Aurobndo said. We have to ruminate on this also: “Deliberate cruelty to our defenceless and beautiful little cousins is surely one of the meanest and most detestable vices of which a human being can be guilty.”

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

21. MEDICINE IN RURAL INDIA

“Education should aim at making healthy minds

And not just making wealthy careers.”

--- Padma Bhushan Prof. B.M. Hegde

When Titanic sank, most of the passengers of high income group (1^st class ticket holders) could be saved while most of those from lower income (3^rd class ticket holders) group could not be. Life boats were limited in number and the 1^st class ticket holders were given preference. Same is the case in our health care sector also. Only the rich with deep enough pockets can get ‘good’ treatment in high-end smart hospitals in urban areas. A smart hospital catering to the urban elite in India has a smart lady ushering you into your hospital room with a “welcome kit” containing bath soaps, a pedicure kit, a shaving set, hair gel, comb, a ’complete guidebook for a comfortable stay’, etc., and a dietician comes to take note of your food preferences ranging from soup to palak. At the rural end we have health services which are severely anaemic. Ironically, India has emerged as a major destination for ‘medical tourism’, while the poor rural Indians have no place to go.

The presence of doctors and facilities is skewed -- the urban areas are better served than rural areas. Though most of the population in India is in the sprawling rural hinterland, most of the spending on healthcare is in the urban areas. And most of the doctors prefer to live in urban areas and much of the good medical infrastructure is in the urban zones.

Compassion, passion to serve the humanity, empathy, sympathy, sacrificial attitude, aptitude to do good, motivation, soft skills, decorous behaviour and magnanimity make a good doctor. In a nutshell, he/she must basically be a GOOD HUMAN BEING.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

22. SILENT, ISOLATED and INSULATED

“The world suffers a lot

Not because of the violence of bad people

But because of the silence of good people.”

- Napolean

Friendship is my weakest point. The word “hermit” may come to the mind when somebody sees my way of behaviour and living. I am a loner -- silent, isolated and insulated. I am alone, yet part of the larger scheme of things. And that is comforting. I wouldn’t say boo to a goose. I do not talk much too. Reticence is my characteristic feature. I am so reticent that people misunderstand me to be proud and arrogant. But, my writings may make a lot of noise and nuisance as well. They are also a cause for fierce arguments, polemic fights, a frenzy of rage, misunderstandings, and what not ? They may provoke and make many squirm in their seats, and may raise Cain and earn scorn. They may prick inflated egos. But I am silent, isolated and insulated.

I am so 'silent, isolated and insulated' that I introduced myself to the ‘Emergency and Critical Care Physician’ during a luncheon party on ‘Aayudha Puja Day’ when I came to know that he was appointed some time back in “our” hospital ! And, long time after he resigned, I came to know that he left the hospital.

I was as pleased as Christopher Columbus when he discovered the “New World” of the Americas ! I am an inveterate non-conformist. The 'Nursing Superintendent / Matron' contributed her bit of amusement when I learnt from her that she was appointed some time ago. Understanding my status of keeping myself out of the loop on mundane matters, the hoardings on the roads often gave me the first hint of some medical camps to be conducted here. And I came to know on the day of departure that eight of my close relatives were on their way on a tour abroad. And there is that hospital which bears my name ... came to know about it through an ad ... as pleased as Manmohan Singh when he was allegedly made a 'puppet prime minister'. And more … and many more amusements ….. That is the height of keeping myself ‘silent, isolated and insulated’ through my aloofness! I had all this fun by virtue of keeping myself out of the loop always. Sometimes, my 'Post Office' (my better half) acts as a conveyer of information !

And here is the latest, though can't be the last. This evening (05.09.17), I came out of the house to go to the clinic. There was a new face by the side of the 'watchman'. I asked the stranger as to who he was. 'Your driver', he said. Then I wanted to know his name. He said 'Murugan'. I thought that 'Lord Murugan' sent this Murugan to put an end to our endless prayers to him over decades to be blessed with a full-time driver. I was as pleased as having Lord Murugan darshan ! All these years we were engaging 'Acting Drivers' as we didn't have divine blessings for a full time driver. Then I went inside our home to share this 'Lord Murugan Miracle'. I was a tad disappointed as the news didn't evoke much of a pleasant surprise to my better half and the two Mysore relatives present at that time. I learnt that they already knew that Murugan was appointed a few days ago !!! Hats off to my aloofness !!!

The real boon for me is the goodness which chooses not to pester me with insignificant matters, to respect my love to be aloof, to keep me in a warm cocoon of love and to understand my philosophy in running my ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic.

I enjoy all this as a former medical superintendent of a sanatorium and a medical college where we had a blend of rigid norms of administration and meaningless niceties in the dormant corridors of staid existence. I was a witness to situations that were compassionate and insensitive; serious and lackadaisical; stable and volatile, all at the same time.

I keep myself informed, uninformed and sometimes misinformed, and enjoy the whole thing just as Sir Isaac Newton when he found colours of a spectrum from white light.. And as the Bard of Avon said: ”There’s nothing Good or Bad in the world, only thinking makes it so.”

Continued …

The full text of this 'Scribbling' will be posted on this blog later -- T. Rama Prasad

23. RICHNESS and HAPPINESS

"Little money gives lots of sweet little pleasures

Big money gives loads of big bitter problems.”

--- T. Rama Prasad

What is richness ? According to Swami Vivekananda, “richness is not earning more, spending more or saving more; richness is when you need no more.”

“Richness is not having lots of money. It is the feeling that one has enough of it.

Contentment sans comparison is what makes one really rich.”

.--- T. Rama Prasad

Once, somebody asked Bhagwan Buddha: “I want happiness. What should I do ?” Buddha smiled and said: “It is very simple. ‘I’ stands for ‘ego’ – give it up. ‘want’ stands for ‘desire’ – give it up. Then, what remains in your ‘I want happiness’ is pure ‘happiness’!”

Happiness is the most undefined feeling in this world. What is rubbish for one may well be a ruby for someone else. Spontaneous happiness is fast disappearing from this world. We have to create happiness. That is why it is aptly said: “The happiest person doesn’t have the best of everything in life. He is only just good in making the best of everything that life brings along his way.” Little events. Little things. It is the little things in life that matter. Life is short. Take joy in the simple things in life. They are alluring, amazing, mystical and bold.

Fortunately (for my better half !), I am not an epicure with tastes for dainty delicacies. Not being fastidious about food, I thankfully eat, even today, whatever is available without complaining -- hot or cold; spicy or bland; less salt or more salt; a bit undercooked or overcooked. I feel bad when food is wasted in hotels, ‘receptions’, ‘kalyanamandapams’ and even at our home, but – you guessed right – there is nothing much I can do to prevent the gratuitous waste. Do you know that every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted ? The first in the table manners to be taught to children must be: “Never waste food, think of the world’s starving children.”

I am acutely aware that if I have some food to eat, some clothes to wear, and some shelter to sleep, I am richer than 75% of the people on this planet. A third of the world’s 820 million chronically hungry people live in India. Just think about the homeless children who are surviving by scavenging leftover food from Rajdhani Express or Leela Palace Hotel. Less fortunate children scavenge from smaller hotels, kalyanamandapams and garbage bins.

AKBAR: “Tell me one sentence that makes a happy person sad and a sad person happy.”

BIRBAL: “This moment is not permanent in life !”

“How come they are so happy ?”

“ HE does what SHE likes

SHE does what SHE likes !”

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

24. A MIX OF PRINCES and PAUPERS

In India, we have an amusing economic mix of warp and weft (some, of course, due to flaws in statistics). We have private affluence amid public squalor. On one hand, we think of fighting growing obesity in Indian children; on the other, we are aghast to read the headline statement of the Prime Minister of India (The Hindu, Jan. 11, 2012) that 42 per cent of Indian children are under-nourished and underweight (Hunger and Malnutrition – HUNGaMA – report by the Naandi Foundation), despite the projected impressive growth in India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent years !!

We have a mix of lows and highs -- India ranks 6^th in the number of billionaires per country. It is also home to 1/3^rd of the world’s extreme poor -- some mendicants starving to death and some cloistered aristocrats sipping single malts like Glenfiddich and blends like Denwar while savouring coveted delicacies like caviar-topped pizza at Qube, the restaurant in Delhi’s Leela Palace Hotel. You may be flummoxed to know that the caviar-topped pizza costs Rs.10,000/- per serving and that caviar is priced at $10,000/- per kilogram. Caviar is essentially the roe of the sturgeon fish from the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. A culinary profligacy indeed ! In Hamlet, Shakespeare likened caviar to something only the rich and powerful could appreciate !

“O miserable abundance, beggarly riches !”

-- John Donne

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

25. PHILOSOPHY OF TIME and OLD AGE

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege

it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

--Marcus Aurelius

Age is just a number. The adage seems to perfectly sum up the exploits of the tennis legend, Leander Paes who, at the age of 42, is now (2015) looking forward to the US Open, after being in the professional circuit for 25 years and playing in six Olympics and winning two Grand Slam titles in 2015. When one is like that at 42, why not the ordinary elders who need not compete be more alive and kicking ?

Ageing is a complex multifaceted phenomenon that comprises of tangible and intangible aspects of our life. When you are old, to be happy you should be emotionally healthy, taking joy and sadness in a balanced way. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Just look beyond the mundane. Take things easy as you are just passing by this meteoric journey. Every soul on earth, virtuous or vicious, shall perish. Enjoy the little pleasures that are always around you. Be alive and kicking, but don’t crave for things beyond the horizon. Don’t expect 70% efficacy in your 70 year-old machinery. Be happy that the systems are still working to some extent. Think positively even while in a wheel chair. Keep your spirits up even in adversity. Do your best and take things as they come. Along with age should come the equanimity to accept both the happy and the sad alike.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

26. FOOD, EXERCISE and SLEEP

“There are three golden rules to healthy living – eating a well-balanced nutritious diet, exercising well and sleeping well.”

The rules appear vague – how much food ? How much sleep ? How much exercise ? And the needs depend on the individual’s biological constitution, activities and circumstances. On an average, per day, 6 to 8 hours of sleep, about 10,000 steps of walking and a quantity of balanced diet to keep the weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) within normal range are considered to be part of good lifestyle. It goes without saying that smoking and other bad habits are to be eschewed.

There is nothing new about the ideals on ideal lifestyle. There is a yawning gap between ideal and real. Most of us, yours truly included, do not follow what is ideal. Many don’t practise what they pedantically preach. It is human weakness. It is not the dearth of literacy or knowledge, but the application of it leaves much to be desired. Scenario in developed countries is an example. Men eat, drink and smoke excessively. So do the women. The high literacy and awareness did not bring down bad lifestyle habits there to the expected extent. Some say there is an increasing trend.

Ironically, nowadays, we are fed with a lot of 'scientific' evidence in favour of bad foods through sponsored (? ‘paid’) research. Not a day passes without the report of a scientific study making us think that the unreal is proved to be real, and the real is proved to be unreal ! Industry takes advantage of this. Media also give distorted impressions to sensationalise study reports.

As Hippocrates said: “Thy food shall be thy remedy.” And as Thiruvalluvar said: “The best medicine is to avoid food which is unsuitable to your body.” This reminds me of one proverb in Kannada which says: “Oota ballavanige rogavilla; maathu ballavanige jagalavilla”. It means that “One who knows how to eat properly will have no disease; one who knows how to talk properly will have no quarrel.”

“If you have no time for exercise

You will have to find time for hospitals.”

Marathon walking in Singapore – 2015

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

27. ADs, COSMETICS & GULLIBLE MODERN FOLK

Marketing is all about inducing the consumer into believing “chalk is cheese”

When conventional wisdom takes a headstand, mischievously, technological and scientific evidence is twisted and presented out of context to cash on the gullibility of the ‘modern folk’ hypnotised by the heady perfume of desire – look at the glorified and bewildering range of cosmetics, anti-aging products and anti-obesity quick solutions; age-reducing ‘miracle’ creams and health-promoting gadgets; food supplements and exercisers; strength, height, memory, marks and intelligence enhancing beverages; dark to fair complexion in 7 days; obese to slim in 4 weeks; growing or getting rid of hair in 3 months; fake ‘commercial’ centres of massages, meditation, yoga and spiritualism and you name it – none of them delivers most of what their promoters promise and advertise. But gullible people that we are, we succumb to the alluring ads and the products promoting activity of winsome young women who make one headier than sparkling champagne. The gullible folk fall hook, line and sinker, losing all the common sense. Despite regulations, they are naively bought in to the fashion industry’s whims by clever business barons who have the last laugh by laughing all the way to the bank. There should be more regulations on advertisements and sales of such stuff with incomprehensible and pretentious jargon.

If Katrina Kaif and the like endorse a product, our vulnerable public believe that the secret of the virtues of the celebrity lie in the products and start wasting money. The celebrity would not have even cared to open the complimentary packs of the products she endorsed !

If the skin whitening preparations are effective, the US Vice-Consul, Maureen Chao would not have an occasion to utter the words “dirty and dark Tamils” on August 12, 2011 !! Later, she expressed deep regret over her comment, and the American Consulate in Chennai termed the comment as “inappropriate” (TNIE, 14 August 2011). Sometimes the dark racial discrimination peeps out of the white make-up !

The pictures above reveal how gullible the people are to fall for fashion

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

28. SEX, MATING and MARRIAGE

“Indian court rules that any couple who sleeps together is considered married.”

The mere mention of sex will conjure up various pictures for the average Indian, but for a jurist it has many ramifications. A recent (June 2013) judgement of Justice C.S. Karnan of Madras High Court equating live-in relationship (or is it even just sexual consummation ?) with marriage raised one’s eyebrows and prompted widespread debates.

MATING IS MARRIAGE

Coming as it did from the Indian judicial process which is considered to be impeccably unimpeachable in its verdict, the judgement has become a global news and even the Washington Post of June 18, 2013 published the news under the headline: “Indian court rules that any couple who sleeps together is considered married.” This is a tad unexpected from the US, a country where individual preferences are valued much and relationships are more fragile; where the not uncommon live-in relationships are not much frowned upon by their society or law; where permissiveness is pervasive; where arranged marriages (just 10 per cent) are anathema; where more than 50 per cent of marriages end up in divorce; where about half of the families are ‘fatherless, single-parented or unwed parents with children; where 41 per cent of the children are born to unwed mothers (PEW Centre; Human Rights Council of UNICEF).

Scenario in India is also changing gradually. Psychologists say that spontaneity in sex is evaporating and is being replaced by “life style programming” tuned by ego, selfishness, comparison and competition. This may be another cause for increasing discontentment and divorce. It would be evident if you go through the articles, ads and “apps” in the magazines focussing on ‘fashion’ and ‘female’.

A cultural programme during the sex workers fair in Sept 2015

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

29. PARADIGM SHIFT -- ‘Kali Yuga’

Tempted as I am to wax eloquent about the phenomenal advancements made during the past few decades, I shall desist and have a look at the other side of the coin. A peculiar shift in human behaviour is discernible during the past two decades, as a result of social and technological changes in the realm of social media. This might have manifested in our inclination to broadcast more than what we converse. We are unable to hold a conversation with real people. But we spend hours and hours conversing on sms / chat / skype / g-talk or whatever. The scene now is like this:

I wrote in the preceding pages under the heading ‘INTERNET (Google) EFFECT’ (.http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article3340116.ece ) about the changing scenario of communication in the world today. In this context, it may be interesting to read the comment on the link: www. http://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/google-effect-and-kali-yuga-prophecies/ on the subject of trends in ‘Kaliyuga’.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

30. MY PRESENCE ON THE INTERNET

(without a website)

I am writing these few lines not to project myself as ‘big’, but only to reveal my ‘backward’ brain’s awe of technological innovations. When I casually typed my name, “T.Rama Prasad” on Google and searched (absolutely not expecting any result), there appeared on the screen a listing of some of my writings which included, notably, the one published 30 years ago (1980) in CHEST, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, of my report of the first case from India of Yellow Nail Syndrome (http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleid-1051872).
http://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)40458-7/fulltext

http://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)40458-7/fulltext

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

32. MODERN PARENTS and TRENDY CHILDREN

“We are people, not programmed devices.”

Children start their life with neither prejudice nor expectation. That makes them good learners. The unalloyed affections of a child must advantageously be made use of in moulding the child’s habits and mindset. Children, in general, typically imitate and acquire the habits, mindset and mannerisms of their parents, especially mothers, in their early childhood. If parents follow a bad lifestyle, it is very natural for their children to emulate them ... if parents are kind and empathetic, the mindset of children gets automatically moulded that way. If parents pray regularly, children may develop a spiritual orientation. If parents relish junk food and unhygienic street food, their children would recognise such items as good foods. If parents don't exercise regularly, and are addicted to junk food and electronic screens, well, their children would become models of 'Couch Potatoes'. If children behave badly and live a bad lifestyle, don't blame the children ... after all, it is a reflection of their PARENTS and the SOCIETY around. Influence of society is paramount. In a permissive society, drinking and dating may be considered as normal. When the parents and the society are on a wrong path, rules and regulations have only a weak influence ... for instance, CBSE and UGC (August 2018) issued notifications to schools, colleges and universities to ban sale of junk food on their campuses ... what would be the result ?

Rapid societal changes, invasive environment, economic uplift, evolution of nuclear families, decreased interaction among family members, hectic pace of life, increased individual egos, excessive use of electronic gadgets, excessive information, decreased tolerance, increased materialistic ambitions and the gradual ‘flattening of the world’ with faded red lines, tram lines and cultural values have brought down in a quantum way the protected walls of India’s family structure that was there before 1970s resulting in a new genre of trendy, programmed, smart, articulate and worldly-wise, yet imbalanced, modern children, and also modern, obsessive and machine-driven parents. The overarching shield of conservatism, calibrated expectations, measured ambition and social restraint too have gone out of focus. Unbridled activities ensue from unrestricted exposure to media and other sources and the information obtained is often typically limited, false and unduly glamorized. Adolescent children tend to allow media messages to colour their future and goals. Hypocrisy seems to be the main stay of civilisation. The trend is ominous.

The childhood is undergoing tumultuous shifts with the present generation being raised on the staple diet of electronic screens and junk food in air-conditioned ‘boxes’ even when cool fresh air is available aplenty around. Once in a way, one may have a treat and indulge in pleasing the palate. But, some parents are to be blamed as they themselves set a bad example for their children by excessively indulging in junk food, delectable tarts, sugary treats, street food, packaged drinks, TV, electronic screens, alcohol, smoking, etc. They soak the children in junk foods and antibiotics alternately throughout their childhood. Many children, nowadays, are grown on unhealthy junk food which may promote obesity and sickness which in turn makes them take antibiotics frequently. And a research study from Pennsylvania has found recently (2015) that children who are given antibiotics frequently become fatty. For more on this, read under the heading “FOOD, EXERCISE and SLEEP” on this ‘home page’.

Some snobbish parents are over-possessive and overprotective of their children and make them self-centred. They disdain others, even other family members, as an inferior rabble and discourage their children mingling with them. These children are brought up as sons and daughters of parents, not as grandchildren of grandparents, even though they all live under the same roof. Exposure to the elders is consciously discouraged and limited, lest the children may acquire 'non-modern' culture, language and habits ! This contingency does not mostly arise as most of the modern live as nuclear families. The parents pamper the children too much with all the embellishments and hyperboles and shower expensive gifts creating a superiority complex in the young minds. They splurge on things due to affluence and ego. And they don’t correct their impertinent behaviour and bad manners. It is no wonder that some of such children don’t deflect their gaze from the TV screen when guests walk in, let alone going to the door to invite them in or to see them off. This type of brought-up blocks sociability and establishes a parent dependent trait. An unduly pampered child grows into an adult who expects pampering by others. They get disillusioned when people don’t care for them later in life.

Many children in very well-to-do families are grown in the culture medium of servants, tuition teachers, coaching centres and electronic screens in air-conditioned spaces, with parents away at work and grandparents in old-age homes. They are more connected to the Internet than to closely related humans. With massive westernization of Indian culture they never play with mud and water in the sun and rain. They are insulated, isolated and ensured of all the comforts of life. They lose resilience and build callous ego of enormous proportions. Due to this, they may have to struggle with problems later in life, especially as they would have had no experience of struggling during childhood. Moreover, their thinking and action may become abnormal due to exposure at a tender age, to scenes of romance, sex, rape, violence, murder and crime, over the electronic screens. A struggle to bridge the gap between 'reel' and 'real' ensues.

Exposure of children to scenes of violence, crime, romance and sex has become inevitable as the whole family watches them daily on TV and home theatres, and children have their own access to the graphic content, resulting in devastating impact on their psyche from a tender age. The impact on the development of the mind will affect their behaviour and attitude even later in their life. Read about the dangers of “digital love” under the heading “THE INTERNET (GOOGLE) EFFECT” on this blog. Some of the “modern” families are “junk food centric” and, naturally, the food culture is just passed on to the next generation. When the first button of the shirt is in a wrong buttonhole it would be wrong all the way down. Faulty parenting arises out of ignorance, arrogance, affluence, hypocrisy and ego. If the educated parents are ‘educated’ one can pull oneself up by the bootstraps (an American cliché ). Needless to say, the need has arisen to go around hospitals regularly to soak in hazardous medicines.

No doubt, the children, nowadays, are enriched very early with good general knowledge, better IQ, excessive information and immense confidence through electronic gadgets and by tethering themselves to a global network. But, the ready-made intellectual food available through the boon of technology has made it a bane by stunting the ability of the children to think on their own and to be more creative and innovative. Survival skills fail to evolve in such a situation. Mollycoddling and excessive care and pampering by parents has been promoting “entitlement mentality” and “dependent handicap” which may sometimes lead to ‘Freud’ or ‘Prozac’.

Struggles help all of us, that's why a bit of effort goes a long way to develop our strength to face life's difficulties!

As parents, we sometimes go too far trying to help and protect our kids from life's harsh realities and disappointments.

We don't want our kids to struggle like we did.

Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Dan Kindlon says that over-protected children are more likely to struggle in relationships and
with challenges.

We're sending our kids the message that they're not capable of helping themselves.

To quote clinical psychologist,
Dr. Wendy 's Moral:

"It is Our Job to prepare Our Children for the Road & Not prepare the Road for Our Children"

Don't over protect children.

Much of what is written here may be applicable mostly to the rich-snobbish-modern-urban-elite, not the rural poor.

Continued …

The full text of this article would be posted later. --- T. Rama Prasad

33. On RAPE, rhetoric needs to meet reality

Yatra naryastu puiyante ramante tatra Devata

(Gods make their home where women are honoured).

This is how we reflect upon our glorified past and boast of the respect we give to our women. But not a single day passes without the news of a woman being raped or a girl baby (born or yet to be born) being killed.

A verdict was passed on October 30, 2015 to hang Sanap for committing the extremely barbaric brutality of raping 23-year-old Esther, killing her, burning the body and abandoning it to be eaten by animals. A Mumbai-based techie, she had fallen a victim just after returning to Mumbai for work from her native place, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. At Lokmanya Tilak terminus, Sanap, unknown to her, offered to drop her at her home in Andheri for Rs.300. On the way, the unbriddled lust took over. Poor girl, she even gave her consent for marriage to be arranged by her parents, before her journey from her native place. The national shock created by this incident was just parallel to the one evoked by the “Nirbhaya incident” in Delhi.

Crime and violence are touching new heights in India. Thomson Reuters Foundation Survey (2011) adjudged India as the “fourth most dangerous country in the world for women to live in.” Women tourists abroad are sometimes advised against going to India as though they would promptly be set upon by gangs of priapic assailants as soon as they land !

“One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that

The evils in this world are to be cured by legislation.”

-- Thomas Brackett Reed

34. “INCREDIBLE INDIA !”

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex,

and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of

courage to move in the opposite direction."

-- E. F. SCHUMACHER

We need to be proud of our motherland, India, a humongous country with very rich cultural, aesthetic and ethical values and heritage; with multiple religions, more than a dozen major languages and numerous ethnic groups. In a country that takes pride in its art and culture, we have become adept at ignoring its heritage. We have inherited a glorious past, with awesome achievements in the past - recent and remote. We should be proud of our record from ancient times to the present – ‘Vymanika Sastra’ to Indian Space Research Organisation; ‘Pushpaka vimanam’ to ‘Mangalyaan’; Aaryabhattaa to Ramanujam to C.V. Raman to Sundar Pichai; elephant head transplantation to pig heart & lungs transplantation (claimed to be done by Dr. Dhaniram Baruah – 1998 – India); Vasudev’s impregnation of Devaki by ‘mantras’ to the world’s second ‘test-tube baby’ (claimed to be created by Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay – 1978 – India) -- some fictitious and some real achievements. It is quite another matter that we tend to unduly eulogise and glorify our past, even by creating false evidence ( http://www.thehindu.com/sunday-anchor/sunday-^anchor-grounded-^before-takeoff/article6775677.ece ). Yes, it is “INCREDIBLE INDIA.”

But, how had been the things going on after gaining independence ? We made spectacular advancements in certain fields. We had, and we still have very honest and patriotic politicians and officials. They did, and are doing great service to the nation. We should be grateful to them. But that is not the whole picture. We have not covered ourselves with glory all the way. We have black sheep as elsewhere in the world. We have shameful happenings too. Abysmal also. They dangle utopian chimeras in front of us. ‘Incredible India’. It is yet another in the never-ending litany of qualifications. Some of the negative things are focussed below. And some of our patriotic Indians consider criticism of happenings in our country and its systems as blasphemous. If it causes displeasure and wounds self esteem, so be it. Self-criticism is good for progress. Good governance should not just be an aspiration but an imperative for India.

Some may be patriotic nihilists. But no amount of spin and gloss can hide the bitter truth. There are black sheep in all the fields, but when things go beyond a limit the credibility of everyone is in doubt. Everyone is a suspect. There is a credibility crisis.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

35. HUMOUR and LAUGHTER

“Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.”

-- Ellla Wheeler Wilcox

Somewhere in our mechanical and mundane lives, laughter slipped off creating our grumpy selves. Cliched as it may sound, laughter could indeed be the best medicine. It is essential to add a dash of humour to our social recipe. There is a scientific basis for this. Laughter alters the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain – increasing the level of ‘serotonin’, the ‘happy-feel-good’ hormone; increasing the level of ‘endorphins’, the pain-modifying group of hormones; reducing the levels of ‘catecholamines’ / ‘cortisol’ and ‘epinephrine’ which are stress-related hormones associated with elevated blood pressure, sleep disturbances, palpitation, run-down feeling, psychiatric problems, etc. Nothing is more needed than the serenity that a tranquil mind provides in today’s frenetic consumerist age of intense stress, consumer-oriented economic expectations, urban lifestyles, high academic expectations, insufficient family support structure, long working hours and fierce competition. Stress kills – kills the ‘real’ quality of life. Modern society lives in stress and in the hypocrisy of ‘unreal’ good quality of life. People love to pretend that their life is exciting.

Any child would chuckle, smile and laugh. As one grows up, nowadays, the sweet smile is fading away and the roaring laughter is locked up inside. Busy with inexorable smart phones, not interacting with people is a new age thing to do. In this modern era, stress and anxiety have replaced the sweet smile (genuine smile, not the artificial smile which is abundant everywhere) and the roaring laughter. Patience level is almost touching zero, timelines are getting shorter and stress levels have shot up steeply. Consequently, illness has increased. Then, when you go to a hospital the ‘catecholamine’ level goes further higher up what with all the laundry lists of investigations, procedures, drugs, etc. You are in a whirlpool, you can never come out of it. Remember that the world is driven by money. The modern day stress starts from Pre-KG and ends only at the graveyard. A day may come when we have to send our kids to coaching classes to learn how to smile and laugh !

WORLD LAUGHTER DAY

SMILING STAFF

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

36. TB: an invincible scourge

About half a century ago (1967) I entered the campus of a tuberculosis (TB) sanatorium as a medical officer. It was a sprawling campus of more than 350 acres with serene atmosphere and salubrious climate where about 300 in-patients used to stay.

And though poverty and TB have a mutually reinforcing relationship, the wealthy are also affected by TB as the disease spreads through air, and as even an aristocrat can’t have private air though he may have a private jet aeroplane. Kamala Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Lennec, Lady Roosevelt, John Keats, Shelly and a host of other celebrities succumbed to TB !

Many do not know that TB has been killing 1,000 persons every day in India, even in 2015. Even the 'tsunami' could kill only 1/20 th (18,000) of the annual toll taken by TB! The authorities which kept on painting a rosy picture had a shock when a report released on the eve of World TB Day (2012) by the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that India presents a dismal picture having the highest number of MDR-TB cases in South East Asia. Should we be proud of sending space vehicles to Moon and Mars or should we hang our heads down when 1,000 persons are dying every day due to TB in India as it is today?

Lot of noise is generated about TB control in India, periodically. All the theatrical activity dissipates quickly, much like the fizzling out of the effervescence from a soda bottle. Bedaquiline has just stepped in, unduly glorified as a wonder drug, which may not do wonders to control the scourge in our present set up. Hackneyed gestures and lackadaisical efforts are common. One who follows up these acts would see the great farcical dimensions. Grand pronouncements and rhetoric do not meet reality. Then, what is the effective solution?

If we take all the factors into consideration, it would be obvious that the most important plan to prevent and control TB is to detect all the cases of TB and treat them properly to make them all non-infective, if necessary, in a dictatorial way as is being done in Singapore or China. To carry out this plan, the people at the helm of affairs should think outside the box of RNTCP and radically pursue a different course rather than just trying to prop up unsuccessfully again and again through revisions of the Programme. The following is the only surest way of containing TB in India:

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

37. PERUNDURAI and THE ‘SANATORIUM’

PERUNDURAI

About half-a-century ago, I casually came to see ‘Perundurai Sanatorium’ which put up an ad for Medical Officers. Being a nature lover (I lived in crowded cities earlier), I was impressed by the serene and sprawling land of 327 acres with a lot of vegetation and gorgeous peacocks with glittering tail coverts which glow with metallic and iridescent hues (see my published writing on peacocks). It was an ‘easy-paced Malgudi-type’ ambience of the 1950s and 1960s. I had the fancy idea of staying here to experience the different milieu for a short while as a Medical Officer and get back to my service in the Andhra Medical College / Health Centre or join my father’s hospital in Andhra Pradesh.

This is how we became ‘PERUNDURAI PRASADS’ -- natives of Perundurai.

I made the following representation regarding the location for AIIMS on March 1, 2015:

AIIMS at PERUNDURAI

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

38. MY LOST (last) PARADISE

Much saddened over the disappearance of what had been a vital and prestigious part of our lives, around which our lives had been built for a long time, I am prompted to write this piece as an eulogy for how our garden stood as a symbol of identity for ourselves.

“Gardens are the real paradises on earth.

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. “

-- W.E. Johns.

True to this quote, we anticipate the buds of today to transform into exotic blooms of gorgeous colours and exquisite shapes, filling the air with fragrance tomorrow. We anticipate the creepers to grow longer, leaves to become bigger, trees to grow taller, fruits to get ripened and so on. Anticipation. It is an eternal thrill to realize the anticipation every morning when we stroll around our garden around our home.

Come monsoon the caladiums seem to symbolise life itself -- the resting tubers sprouting to throw up a veritable splash of gorgeous leaves with a riot of colour with almost ethereal quality, like a Van Gogh painting. And the lillies which had lain supine, lifeless, for almost the whole year, would suddenly come alive and burst into pink and white flowers overnight. Rain is the real tonic and cleaning agent for gardens. Rain used to bring us a lot of joy and anticipation. In another corner was the ‘Snow Bush’ which becomes a ‘white queen’ during the season. Any time in the year, the coleus plants contributed unimaginable combinations and permutations of colour and shape of leaves offering a feast to the eye. Dianthus and carnations lag no behind in giving the pleasure of fascinating and fantastic flowers. Despite impossible odds and the reality of the all-pervasive evil around, the cacti grew into magnificent shapes in ‘poor’ soil with little watering. Life struggles to grow and blossom. It used to be a great thrill when our cacti occasionally presented amazing flowers of odd shapes and colours. We had a strange kinship with the biggest among them, the ‘God Cactus’. And more … and many more. We used to stand and stare at these marvels of nature everyday. Around the month of May, the ‘Flame of the forest’ tree bereft of all its leaves turns into a canopy of flaming red flowers matching with the flaming sun, up in the heavens, in the blazing summer. That is why this tree is also called ‘May flower’ tree. It has other names like ‘Gulmohar’ and ‘Delonix regia’.

The rockery in the patients’ waiting hall with gorgeous flowering plants, waterfalls and an aquarium

In the “Lost Paradise”

"Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently.”

--- Shiv Khera

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

39. “ INDLISH”

“I speak twelve languages.

English is the bestest.”

- Stephen Bergman

When the tiny England itself is having varied dialects of English, it is no wonder we have plenty of them, and justifiably so. I didn’t study in English medium schools which were very few in those days (1940s), and meant for those in high socio-economic echelons. Hence, I speak and write in “Indlish” (‘Indian English’) with all the howlers. I think I vaguely knew the meaning of the words “phonetics” and “phonetic alphabet” only after graduation. We used to go to school only after reaching the age of five to learn a,b,c,d, … while my granddaughter, Versha, was going for ‘phonetic training’ when she was in the first standard itself. When I feign forgetfulness, she used to jocularly say: “Thaathaa, you have ‘selective amnesia’ because of the greying of your little grey matter,” while she was in fourth standard !

The cartoon is only to kindle humour, not to point the bone at teachers.

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

40. MY ART, if it can be called art

CHEAP ART

I cut a bit of my old bath towel and pasted it on a board along with a bit of waste blue cloth. Then I cut two bits of waste ‘thermocole’ packing material and pasted on to it. And I added a few broomstick pieces and some packing threads. I finished it off with a couple of paper bits cut to look like birds in the sky. No paint tubes, no brushes, no expenditure -- cheap art indeed !

I created this "art piece" and other such ones just to show that something interesting can be made out of unconventional materials, even from roadside garbage..

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

41. DOWN MEMORY LANE

Yesterday (May 18, 2016) I and my better half (I always wonder why 'she' is not called "worse half" ! ) walked into an ice-cream parlour (Corner House) at Mysore where there are about a hundred bewildering variants of ice-cream-based items ! We relished an item called "TRIOLOGY" (perhaps adapted from ‘Shiva Trilogy of Nagas of Amish’) ice cream made of the trio of Vanilla, Strawberry & Pista with Lychees & Apricots topped with ice cream, jelly, mangopal & strawberry syrup, costing Rs. 180 per cup ! The lowest price for a simple Vanilla ice cream here is Rs. 60.

This took me down memory lane to 1960s. Half-a-century down ! The "better half" (would-be) was in the Andhra University Girls Hostel with my sister Nirmala Devi as her room mate, both of them studying M.Sc. Botany, and I was in the House Surgeons' Hostel, in the same city. We used to go to a small 'Quality' ice cream shop on the Rama Krishna beach of Visakhapatnam near a landmark stone which we code-named as 'Pigmallion Stone' for our rendezvous. We used to savour Vanilla ice cream in that shop costing two rupees a cup ! What a difference in rupee value !

And we used to buy plenty of postal envelops -- cell phones were not even in the dreams in those days. Fountain pen ink used to flow on to the quintessential ruled paper from notebooks evoking an aesthetic emotion with the subtle feel of the paper, indents from the pen’s nib, slight scuffs and rips, as well as the delicate chemical smell of the stationery, manifesting in mysterious chemistry between individuals. Perhaps, my art of writing took roots at that time though I didn’t read Wilde, Wells or Wodehouse. I am left bamboozled and baffled to realize that the era of techno-savvy communication has ditched the hand-written love and transformed post offices into nothing short of dilapidated and haunted houses.

We used to go around the ‘Dolphin’s Nose’ hill abutting into the Bay of Bengal and take photographs of nature and wild plants. Our movements used to raise one’s eyebrows. And a very conservative India it was – if a girl student chats with a male classmate, the news used to spread around like a wildfire and as fast as sex scandals; it was even considered a taboo ! In this age of ‘Apps’, our generation’s attitudes are viewed as old hat. But the impulsive human behaviour and the basic social framework are more or less the same even in this age and time, I thought, reminiscing about those days which had an air of romance, frustration and also the risk like walking on a railway track. Read the bestselling novel of Chetan Bhagat (2 STATES -- a story of an inter-community love marriage) to know why I thought so.

However, new genres, new sensibilities, new sensitivities, new goals, new expectations, new disillusionment, new behaviour, new values, new morals, new attitudes, new trends, new tastes, new attire, new ego, new selfishness, new foods, new ice creams ... cropped up and confounded the new generation, while the deep river of tradition didn't dry up much. The river is the same old one, though the flowing water is ever new every moment. It is a strange feeling harking back to ‘good old days’ and romanticizing them with anecdotes. Nostalgia ! Woody Allen had brutally put in his 2011 film ‘Midnight in Paris’ : “NOSTALGIA IS DENIAL, DENIAL OF THE PAINFUL PRESENT." A delusional denial. It is just how nostalgia affects our brains.

It’s a thrilling feeling once in a while to rewind and soak in some evergreen memories … of the days of a whale of a time … strolling down memory lane … May the "Vanilla fossils" continue to romanticize the notion of the 'good old days' !

Continued …

The full text of this article may be found on my website – www.drtramaprasad.com -- T. Rama Prasad

Due to space constraint, excerpts from the rest
of the hundreds of the 'scribblings' could not be printed here. They may be found under their respective headings on this blog / website.

-- T. Rama Prasad