THE HINDU newspaper & ME
MY 'SCRIBBLES' in THE HINDU
This ‘scribbling’ titled ‘Tuning into the radiogram’ is more significant to me than the hundreds of my published writings including those 28 articles published in a medical journal on ‘Covid’ in 30 months which made a ‘World Record’ in medical journalism.
It may be because it relates to my ‘love life of music (muse)’ 55 years ago ! To those who know me only as a medical professional, this real story may look like fiction, more so the contents of my blog article titled ‘Our Love Story’. Read on.
There is the OPEN PAGE in The Hindu published weekly, open to the pens of the readers. Interestingly, there is the 'PEN' in the OPEN PAGE ! Think about this metonymic adage : "PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD." It means that the seemingly benign intellectual (pen or grass blade) is stronger than the malignant warrior (sword or weapon). In English, personification, onomatopoeia, imagery and metonymy are used to emphasise a point. Long live the pens of Kofi Awoonor and Mariska Taylor-Darko !!!
THE HINDU -- OPEN PAGE -- May 14, 2023
T. Rama Prasad
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/tuning-into-the-radiogram/article66823991.ece -- E-paper format
( PREMIUM SPECIAL ARTICLE, available exclusively to the subscribers of THE HINDU )
Tuning into the radiogram
A dirge to the big-sized, now-outdated gadget
May 14, 2023 12:38 am | Updated 12:38 am IST Author : T. RAMA PRASAD
For most people of those good old days, radio was the only source of home music in India. The rich had gramophones. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
It was 1965. MBBS was just added to my name and I was receiving 100 rupees as monthly stipend during my internship in Visakhapatnam. She was studying M.Sc. in the same city. We were not yet married. We went window-shopping one day when we were thrilled to see a just introduced two-in-one model. It was a radiogram, a combination of a radio and a gramophone, which plays three types of recorded vinyl gramophone discs (plates). By the standards of those days, it was of a small compact size (size of a medium-sized suitcase), priced at a whopping 700 rupees.
We ventured to go inside and had an impressive demonstration of it. Intoxicated by the music, we looked at each other and walked out as the price was far above our means. Surged by dopamine and serotonin, the happy hormones, infused by the pleasant music, we walked into a nearby jewellery shop, sold the small gold chain she was wearing and bought the HMV Conquest radiogram. We took turns to keep it in each of our hostel rooms. Her problem was to face the questions about the absence of the gold chain when she goes home on the next vacation.
For most people of those good old days, radio was the only source of home music in India. The rich had gramophones. There were no tape-recorders, no TVs, no cellphones and the myriad music devices of the present day.
In those halcyon days of “Ceylon’s Binaca Geetmala”, we, the raucous youth, used to rapturously sway to the Hindi film songs on Wednesdays in our hostel’s radio room, though we did not know a bit of that language.
The songs Achcha To Hum Chalte Hain (Aan Milo Sajna), Bindiya Chamkegi (Do Raaste), Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana (Andaz) and many others from Rajesh Khanna films made a lasting impression.
April 22 was observed as World Record Store Day. In 2016, after a two-and-a-half-decade lull, there was a serious activity to revive manufacture of “33 rpm long-playing records (LPs)” for unknown reasons — perhaps, audiophiles demand fidelity over clarity. That initiative does not seem to have succeeded much.
Long ago, we sang the dirge of all those outdated big-sized gadgets. The youngsters of today would not have seen those disks and gadgets since they are relics of the past. They must be wondering how people lived in those days without the currently available electronic gadgets and other entertainment facilities. By a stroke of serendipity, we still have that prized possession of the 1965 HMV Conquest gadget along with a wooden stand we got made for 30 rupees after getting married half-a-century ago and four years after buying this radiogram.
drtramaprasad@gmail.com www.rama-scribbles.in
This radiogram was purchased by us for Rs. 700, in 1965. This hotel’s room rent per day was Rs. 10, In 1969 when we married.
If interested to read more of this story, please go to : https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-love-story-good-old-days_30.html
Here is the first paragraph of this blog article :
One year ago (May 18, 2016), I and my better half (I always wonder why 'she' is not called "worse half" ! ) Rajyalakshmi walked into an ice-cream parlour (Corner House) at Mysore where there were 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 and Pista with Lychees and Apricots topped with ice cream, jelly, mangopal and strawberry syrup, costing Rs. 180 per cup ! The lowest price for a simple Vanilla ice cream here was Rs. 60. And recently, a new ‘avatar’ has emerged in the name of ‘Tava’ icecream, made like a ‘mini-dosa’ on a ‘freezing‘ pan in Ahmedabad ! We used to pay two rupees for one ice-cream and share it in 1960s !!!
If interested to know about Rajyalakshmi’s love for the music of SP Balasubrahmanyam, please go to :
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/spb.html
( This is the 1st page of my BLOG article titled “THE HINDU newspaper & ME”. To see the full article, please go to :https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-in-newspapers_28.html )
Print-paper format
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OPEN PAGE -- THE HINDU, August 28, 2022 -- A ‘Web Special Premium Article’
COVID questions
T. Rama Prasad https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/covid-questions/article65803119.ece
AUGUST 28, 2022 01:08 IST
UPDATED: AUGUST 27, 2022 14:16 IST
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Often, patients find themselves f material when they go looking for medical i
The pandemic has given rise to a breed of inquisitive patients who want to know all about the infection
A patient asked me whether she may have ‘Corbevax’ as a ‘booster’. I said: “Why not, it’s available in India since August 12, 2022.” Seemingly unconvinced by my answer, she said that the WHO had not approved it. She then wanted to know whether COVID vaccines would protect her. I said: “Why not, because of the vaccines we are now able to move about freely.” Came the answer: “But, doctor, the highly cautious American President Joe Biden, British Queen Elizabeth II, and the young U.S. Surgeon-General Dr. Vivek Murthy got the infection after multiple vaccinations.”
To convince the patient of the goodness of the vaccines, I explained: “Occasionally, ‘breakthrough’infections may occur, but the disease won’t be severe.” She then queried if ‘Paxlovid’ may be taken in the case of such infections. Surprised by her knowledge on COVID treatment, I again said: “Why not, it must be beneficial.” Betraying a tinge of derision, she said that Biden had ‘Paxlovid rebound’ infection. I didn’t say it out loud, but this is the problem in handling ‘Internet-educated’ patients.
After all these questions, the patient wanted to know whether it is safe to take ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’. I said: “Why not, we gave them to most of our eligible population with a good safety profile.” With an expression of amusement, she pointed out that many countries stopped using ‘Covishield’ (Oxford AstraZeneca) for some time due to dangerous blood clots, and that the WHO had suspended supply of ‘Covaxin’ through United Nations agencies. Even before I started to explain, she said three Canadian doctors “had died after taking COVID vaccine, all within a week in July 2022”. With clinical coolness, I countered that the deaths were stated to be not related to vaccination. With a wry smile, she made a sarcastic comment: “Yes, yes, it was stated that the death of our comedian movie actor Vivek, one day after being vaccinated, was also not related to the vaccine.” I decided not to get into the quagmire of controversies.
She then wondered if the vaccine was so dangerous that Novak Djokovic preferred to forego the French Open and Wimbledon titles rather than getting vaccinated. I curtly said: “There are stupid people who opposed measles vaccine and let their children die. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that COVID vaccines would convert people into crocodiles. Former U.S. President Donald Trump touted hydroxychloroquine and wondered why disinfectants are not injected into people.” The patient reinforced her stance saying that some recent reports said that polio was spreading in rich countries through the ‘Oral Polio Vaccine’. I said I didn’t know anything about it.
She was curious to know whether ‘Remdesivir’ had any role in treatment. I said, “Why not, in a few cases it may be beneficial.” She commented that the drug was grossly overused to the tune of ₹593 crore from June to December 2020 in India where the need might have been only a fraction of that amount. She asked me whether taking medicines was safe at all. Defensively, I said: “Why not, millions of lives are saved every day.” She remarked that the risk of being harmed during medical treatment is one in 300, while it is one in 1,000,000 in air travel, and that 750 older adults are hospitalised every day due to side effects of medicines in America alone.
Then she went on to question about the validity of studies on COVID published in medical journals. Meekly, I said: “Because of the evidence-based publications, millions of lives could be saved, and life on Earth could become almost normal within three years after the onset of the pandemic. We should say hallelujah.” With a winning smile, she cited the infamous articles that were published and retracted in famous journals like The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine using allegedly fraudulent and fabricated data generated by the Surgisphere. I said: “Of course, that’s an aberration, black sheep are there in every field from paleontology to nanotechnology.” She took a dig at my profession, saying that modern medicine is getting a taste of its own medicine.
Then she wanted to know about the utility of “lockdowns”. I said, “Lockdowns contained the disastrous spread of COVID and prevented a lot of deaths.” Unconvinced, she asked: “Did not the lockdowns indirectly kill a lot more non-COVID patients and would not they continue to kill more in the future as a fallout of the economic downslide?”
Finally, she asked me why I had spent so much of my time talking to her. I said: “At the age of 80, I am not ‘young and ambitious’ to build up practice; now, I usually give appointments for only two patients a day.” All the while, she was doing the questioning and I’d been answering her patiently. Now, it was my turn to ask her: “What’s your medical problem, madam?”
She replied that she had come only to get to know something about COVID and inquired about the consultation fee to be paid. I said: “You are not a patient and I didn’t treat you. You need not pay anything. Even if you are my patient, this is the ‘Pay What You Can Clinic’.” She looked at me as if I were a fool kicking away a pot of gold, and then wanted to know more about the clinic, me and... COVID.
1. How effective is the TB control programme ? (Special Article) -
The Hindu, Vol.100, No. 274, p.8, 1977.
2. Five years Plans and TB Control Programme (Special Article) -
6. A BAD PATCH - The Hindu, OPEN PAGE, March 15,
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/covid-questions/article65803119.ece
8. ZERO-COVID STRUGGLES -- The Hindu, OPEN PAGE,
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/zero-covid-struggles/article66105508.ece
LIST OF SOME OF MY WRITINGS AND TALKS --- Dr. T. Rama Prasad
Pathogenesis - The Antiseptic, Vol. 76. pp. 213-215, 1979.
...http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article3340116.ece
3. 10 Rama Prasad. T., The long and the short of COVID in India. The Antiseptic, 2022 June; Vol. 119; No. 6; P: 14-27; Indexed
in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
4. 11 Rama Prasad. T., COVID Fear and Paranoia. The Antiseptic, 2022 May; Vol. 119; No. 5; P: 09-17; Indexed in
IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
5. Rama Prasad, T., Post-OMICRON Peregrination. The Antiseptic, 2022 April; Vol. 119; No. 4; P: 06-14; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
6. Rama Prasad, T., COVID – still an enigma. The Antiseptic, 2022 March; Vol. 119; No. 3; P: 20-25; Indexed in IndMED -- www.antiseptic.in
7. Rama Prasad, T., OMICRON – A Paper Tiger. The Antiseptic, 2022 February; Vol. 119; No. 2; P:12-21; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
8. Rama Prasad, T., Ominous Omicron of COVID. The Antiseptic, 2022 January; Vol. 119; No. 1; P:25 – 29; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
9. Rama Prasad, T., COVID and Tuberculosis. The Antiseptic, 2021 December; Vol. 118; No.12; P: 11-17; Indexed in IndMED -- www.antiseptic.in
10. Rama Prasad, T. The Science and Nonsense around COVID. The Antiseptic, 2021 November; Vol. 118; No. 11; P: 8-14; Indexed in IndMED -- www.antiseptic.in
11. Rama Prasad, T. COVID, Children and Schools. The Antiseptic. 2021 October; Vol.118; No.10; P: 08-18; Indexed in IndMED -- www.antiseptic.in
12. Rama Prasad, T. India’s Third COVID Wave. The Antiseptic. 2021 September; Vol.118; No.9; P: 14-20; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
13. Rama Prasad, T. Vagaries of India’s COVID Vaccination Policy. The Antiseptic. 2021 August; Vol.118; No.8; P: 10-16; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
14. Rama Prasad, T. Mucormycosis and COVID-19 in India. The Antiseptic. 2021 July; Vol.118; No.7; P: 21-26; Indexed in IndMED -- www.antiseptic.in
15. Rama Prasad, T. Disastrous Second COVID Wave in India. The Antiseptic. 2021 June; Vol.118; No.6; P: 20-27; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
16. Rama Prasad, T. COVID Variants. The Antiseptic. 2021 May; Vol.118; No.5; P: 11-14; Indexed in IndMED -- www.theantiseptic.in
17. Rama Prasad, T. Covishield or Covaxin ? The Antiseptic. 2021 April; Vol. 118; No. 4; P: 12-16; Indexed in IndMED – www.theantiseptic.in
18. Rama Prasad, T., Versha Rajeev. The Conundrum of COVID-19 Vaccines. The Antiseptic. 2021 January; Vol.118; No.1; P: 10-17; Indexed in IndMED – www.theantiseptic.in
19. Rama Prasad, T. 40+15 Hypoxia Test in COVID-19. The Antiseptic. 2020 December; Vol. 117; No. 12; P: 13-17; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
20. Rama Prasad, T., Versha Rajeev. Antiseptics, Disinfectants and COVID-19. The Antiseptic. 2020 November; Vol.117; No.11; P: 26-28; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in
21. Versha Rajeev., Rama Prasad, T. Fear and COVID. Health. 2020 November; Vol.98; No.11; P:31-32
22. Rama Prasad, T., Versha Rajeev. Tea and COVID. Health. 2020 October; Vol.98; No.10; P: 4-6
Rama Prasad, T. Is the “Lockdown Medicine” too toxic ? The Antiseptic. 2020 October; Vol. 117; No. 10; P: 13-15;
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, (awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2021)
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
In the words of Prof C H Sivaraman, FRCP (London):
“ ... 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. 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. 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... ”
On this day, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Coimbatore edition of THE HINDU, the newspaper published a special supplement with the reproduction of the front page of the newspaper published 50 years ago (July 27, 1969) -- see the attached photo. The newspaper is in its 91st year now (2019), and brought out the Facsimile Edition in Coimbatore, the first of its kind in India at that time, on July 27, 1969, 50 years ago -- the year when I got married and when man landed on the MOON for the first time.
THIS IS AN ABRIDGED TEXT OF MY ‘SCRIBBLING’. FULL TEXT WOULD BE POSTED LATER. -- T. Rama Prasad. |
Iam honored, Dr Rama Prasad sir knows me
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