The following is a list of some of the titles of my 'scribblings' on this blog. A click on any title would open the corresponding 'scribbling'. -- Dr. T. Rama Prasad
ABOUT THE AUTHOR,
Dr. T. Rama Prasad
Dr. T. Rama Prasad is the WORLD RECORD holder of authoring 28 articles related to COVID-19 in 30 months, published in a medical journal (The Antiseptic – www.theantiseptic.in -- Indexed in IndMED), and reporting in the same journal the WORLD’s FIRST CASE of ‘Yellow Nail Syndrome’ associated with COVID-19, PT & DM (https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/yellow-nail syndrome_28.html ). He wrote his first article in the premier journal, The Antiseptic, four decades ago. Many of his articles written over half-a-century may be accessed at https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/dr-t-rama-prasad.html & https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-in-newspapers_28.html & https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com . He is the former MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT (Special) of R.T. Sanatorium & Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre.
KINDNESS and EMPATHY COST NOTHING
Scientific integrity is crucial to promote both trust in science and trustworthy science.
The integrity manifests only by refraining from hype and by being transparent about conflicts of interest. “Ethics in medical practice is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” Good science and kind practice are the twin towers for medical progress. Tentativeness is the hallmark of science and one must adopt what the philosopher of science Lee McIntyre calls a scientific attitude – an openness to seeking new evidence and a willingness to change one’s mind. All the same, we have to keep in mind the following quote:
“Philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds.”
-- Richard P. Feynman
RAMAYAAN
CHANDRAYAAN - 3 made history on 23-8-23 (a numerically interesting date) by 'landing India on Moon' which is 3.8 lakh kilometres away, and making India the first one to reach close to the lunar south pole. The moment was one of the most inspiring of this century when millions glued to the digital screens with bated breath to watch the live telecast. The Moon is as mysterious as it is fascinating. The Earth's eternal celestial peer and the only natural satellite has to its credit volumes written both by scientists and poets as well.
The INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (Isro) is in the limelight. The Isro scientists are on cloud nine. India is on the Moon. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who was abroad, landed in Bangalore straight from Greece on August 26, 2023, after attending the 'Brics summit', to congratulate the Isro team personally for the monumental achievement.
On this occasion, Modi announced naming of the ‘Moon-landing spot’ of the lander ‘VIKRAM’ along with the rover 'PRAGYAN' as ‘SHIV SHAKTHI POINT’ (point of strength of ‘Shiva’). He also declared that August 23 would be celebrated as ‘NATIONAL SPACE DAY’.
'Chandrayaan' is a combination of two Sanskrit words, 'Chandra' (Moon) and 'Yaan'(Vehicle). Interestingly, the 'Yaan' transported the 'Lander' and the 'Rover' of Chandrayaan - 3 in the 'Shravan season' when believers propitiate the god 'Shiva', who is also known as 'CHANDRACHUD', because a crescent moon adorns his matted locks as a crowning glory. 'Shiva' is said to control the waxing and waning phases of the Moon. It is believed that 'Shiva' as 'Adi Yogi' would guide the astrophysicists who are floundering in the 'dark matter' of the universe -- to progress towards the light in the dark.
The naming kicked up a storm as though India owns the land there on the Moon ! Anyway, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” William Shakespeare used this line in his play Romeo and Juliet to convey that naming of things is irrelevant.
We seem to be adept in kicking up wordy storms -- on October 17,2023, a minister, in the presence of Isro Chairman, S. Somanath, released a reading module of the National Council forEducation Research & Training for middle school students on India's successful Chandrayaan-3 mission which reads "Did this scientific achievement happen only now ? Didn't it happen in the past ? Literature tells us that it can be traced back through Vymaanika Shastraa : Science of Aeronautics, which reveals that our country had the knowledge of flying vehicles in those days." The State Secretary of Breakthrough Science Society promptly refuted saying that "The research at the Indian Institute of Science proved that it was not possible for those planes to fly according to the laws of aerodynamics and Newton's laws of motion."
To read something about 'SHIVA', go to my 'scribbling' : https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/shiva-krishna-ramanuja-ramanujan_30.html .
If one is interested to know about the research activity in India on 'MOON MISSIONS', here is an excellent article : https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2023/aug/27/moon-gateway-for-future-planetary-probes-2608987.html
'Aditya' in Sanskrit means SUN. Close on the heels of Chandrayaan-3, Isro successfully launched, on September 2, 2023, the India's first solar space observatory mission called ADITYA - L1. The probe is planned to reach Lagrange Point -1 (L1), about 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth (1/100th of the distance between Earth and Sun), in four months, and go around the Sun like a satellite. A very lengthy journey indeed like going through 'Ramayana'.
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The word 'RAMAYANAM' is colloquially and jocularly used in some parts of India to refer to lengthy documentations like 'RAMAYANA', a Sanskrit Indian epic of 24,000 verses. Though not at all comparable to the epic in anyway, the undue length of my 'SCRIBBLINGS' on this BLOG brings 'Ramayana' to memory.
Hence, my BLOG may well be called 'RAMAYAAN', a vehicle which may transport one to a myriad topics ! The ‘scribblings’ which I wrote over a period of time, numbering over 100, are not in a classified order or edited. Coming as they are from me, a drop in the ocean, they may not be of much interest to anyone. However, a list of the titles / links is provided above. One may click on any of them and go to the desired one to read. The following link (the text running to around 20 pages !) is a brief introduction to me and my 'scribblings' on this blog or elsewhere.
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2023/08/ramayaan.html
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com
– Dr. T. Rama Prasad +91 9842720393
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com
A brief introduction
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... ”
The WORLD’s first case of YELLOW NAIL SYNDROME (YNS) associated with COVID, PT & DM is reported from India by
Dr. T. Rama Prasad in the Journal of Medicine & Surgery, THE ANTISEPTIC of March 2023 –Indexed in IndMED; www.theantiseptic.in
Rama Prasad. T., Yellow Nail Syndrome and COVID-19 : a case report and discussion. The Antiseptic,2023 March, Vol. 120, No. 03; ; P:07-14, Indexed in IndMED – www.theantiseptic.in
Rama Prasad. T., https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)40458-7/fulltext -- Yellow Nail Syndrome - Chest (U.S.A.), Vol. 77, p.5, 1980
Rama Prasad. T., Yellow Nail Syndrome - The Indian Journal of Chest Diseases & Allied Sciences, Vol. 22, pp. 69-72, 1980.
“Incidentally, Dr. T. Rama Prasad holds the WORLD RECORD in medical journalism of authoring 28 articles related to a single disease, COVID-19, which were published in a single medical journal, THE ANTISEPTIC, in a time span of 30 months, during the COVID pandemic. This article titled ‘Yellow Nail Syndrome (YNS) and COVID-19 …’ is one among them.”
An anecdote & Motivation
During my childhood, one of my schoolmates had huge nails. Her name was Gowri. We nicknamed her as ‘Goru’ (meaning nail of a finger or toe in Telugu). They used to say that her huge nails caused a problem in her heart. It might be a case of ‘Digital Clubbing’ (abnormal nails present in some ‘Congenital Heart Diseases’). After one summer vacation, ‘Goru’ didn’t come back to the school. It was learnt that she died due to the nail / heart problem, and that heart surgery couldn’t be done as they didn’t have money to pay for it.
Perhaps, this incident prompted me to look at everyone’s nails from that time which might have led me to report the first case of ‘Yellow Nail Syndrome (YNS)’ from India in 1980 and the first case in the world of ‘Yellow nails & Covid’ in 2023.
And perhaps, the preventable death of ‘Goru’ due to inability to pay for the treatment motivated me to start my ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic (PWYCC) half-a-century ago where patients may pay whatever they can. The credit for these case reports on YNS and the starting of my PWYCC should go to ‘Goru’.
-- T. Rama Prasad
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This is not an ad, it’s about an odd service.
GREETINGS from
‘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 very 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. My ‘SCRIBBLINGS’ on related topics may be accessed at: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com or www.rama-scribbles.in
My consultation fee is not decided by me. It is the patient’s pleasure. The patient may pay (donate) whatever he can and what he wishes. If one is short of money, he or she need not pay anything. And the money thus received is used for charity to help the needy, the poor and the less fortunate. If interested to know more about this facility, go to: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/pay-what-you-can-clinic.html
"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.
Dr. T. Rama Prasad, Director, ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, PERUNDURAI, Erode Dt., TN, India. Former Medical Superintendent (Special), RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre, Perundurai, Website: www.rama-scribbles.in , Blog: https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com, Email:drtramaprasad@gmail.com, Facebook: T Rama Prasad, Twitter: @DrRamaprasadt, WhatsApp: +91 98427 20393
AUTHOR Dr. T. Rama Prasad
A short list of some of the published articles in The Antiseptic (a premier Medical & surgical journal),
‘The Hindu’ (a national Newspaper), etc. authored by Dr. T. Rama Prasad.
1. Digital clubbing and Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy -
Pathogenesis -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 76. pp. 213-215, 1979
2. Childhood Tuberculosis - Part I -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 76, pp. 449-504,1979
3. Childhood Tuberculosis - Part II -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 76. pp. 567-574, 1979
4. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Thioacetazone -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 77, pp. 99-102, 1980
5. Highly Purified Insulins - An Assessment -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 77, pp. 3455-347, 1980
6. Is the "Lockdown Medicine" too toxic ? -- The Antiseptic, Vol.117, No.10, pp. 13 - 15, 2020
7. Antiseptics, Disinfectants and COVID-19 -- The Antiseptic, Vol.117, No.11, pp. 26 - 28, 2020
8. Disastrous Second Covid Wave in India -- The Antiseptic, Vol.118, No. 6, pp. 20-27, 2021
9. Covid Variants -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 118, No.5, pp. 11-14, 2021
10. The Conundrum of COVID-19 Vaccines -- The Antiseptic, Vol.118, No. 1, pp. 10-17, 2021
11. Covishield or Covaxin ? -- The Antiseptic, Vol.118, No. 4, pp. 12-16, 2021
12. 40+15 Hypoxia Test in COVID-19 -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 117, No.12, pp. 13-17, 2020
13. Mucormycosis and COVID-19 in India -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 118, No. 7, pp. 21-26, 2021
14. Vagaries of India’s Covid Vaccination Policy – The Antiseptic, Vol. 118, No. 8, pp. 10-16, 2021
15. India’s Third Covid Wave -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 118, No. 9, pp. 14-20, 2021
16. Covid, Children and Schools -- The Antiseptic, Vol. 118, No. 10, pp. 08-18, 2021
17. The Science and Nonsense around COVID -- The Antiseptic, Vol.118, No.11, pp. 08-14, 2021
18. Covid and Tuberculosis – The Antiseptic, Vol.118, No.12, 2021
19. Tea and Covid -- Health, Vol. 98, No.10, pp. 4-6, 2021
20. Fear and Covid -- Health, Vol. 98, No. 11, pp. 31-32
21. HEALTH CHECK-UP: how healthy is it ? - The Hindu, Open Page, January 15, 2012 –
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/Health-check-up-how-healthy-is-it/article13379235.ece
22. THE ‘GOOGLE EFFECT’: may be good, may be bad - The Hindu, Open Page, April 22, 2012
23. 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
24. A BAD PATCH - The Hindu, Open Page, March 15, 2020 ...
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/a-bad-patch/article31069356.ece
25. Yellow Nail Syndrome - Chest (U.S.A.), Vol. 77, p.580, 1980
https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)40458-7/fulltext
26. Yellow Nail Syndrome - The Indian Journal of Chest Diseases & Allied Sciences, Vol. 22, pp. 69-72, 1980.
27. Drug Resistance in Tuberculosis - Journal of the Indian Medical Association, Vol. 64, pp. 264-267, 1975.
References to more articles by Dr. T. Rama Prasad may be found in: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com
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
CLICK ON THE HEADINGS BELOW TO ACCESS THE “SCRIBBLINGS”
· ABOUT ME and MY SCRIBBLINGS (2) 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN' Clinic
· MY LOVE STORY & good old days (4) BETTER HALF (4) SHIVA, KRISHNA, Ramanuja & Ramanujan (5) MOTHER-IN-LAW (6) YOU ARE NOT OLD (7) MODERN MEDICINE -- the Good, the Bad and th... (8) Dr. Peon, PhD (9) MEDICAL CONFERENCES & Clinical meetings (10) RUN ON MONEY (11) MEDICINE IN RURAL INDIA (12) RURAL ARE THE REAL (13) INTERNET EFFECT (14) MARKETING TRICKS & INNOVATIONS (15) INCREDIBLE INDIA ! (16) SCHOOL EDUCATION (17) DEVALUED DEGREES (18) TEA, COFFEE and COMMERCE (19) SEX. and MARRIAGE (20) THE CHANGING WORLD (21) RAPE (22) SEXUAL HARASSMENT (23) DRESS SENSE (24) OPEN AIR DEFECATION (25) ONAM 2017 (26) TEST-TUBE BABIES and TERMINATION BABIES (27) TEST-TUBE PUPPIES (28) ASTHMA, ALLERGY & COPD (29) GIRL CHILD : GOLDEN CHILD (30) MY REAL AWARDS (31) TREES and PLANTS (32) PERUNDURAI MEDICAL COLLEGE & SANATORIUM campus (33) SOPHISTICATED CHEATING (34) NIPAH & ZIKA viruses (35) SWINE FLU -- A (H1 N1) influenza (36) INDIAN SUPERBUG (37) HCQ, IVERMECTIN, CORONAVIRUS and FRAUDS (38) YOGA (39) CORONA and CHARLES DARWIN (40) GOD, RELIGION & UNIVERSE (41) LOCKDOWN MEDICINE (42) CODUP (43) GOD-MEN (44) DOGS (45) CANCER (46) SMILE and STRESS (47) CIVIC SENSE & MANNERS (48) MY ART (49) TUBERCULOSIS in India (50) DIABETES (51) FOOLED TO BELIEVE (52) DENGUE, ZIKA and MOSQUITO (53) COMPLEXION (54) BAHUBALI (55) VINAYAKA chathurdhi 2017 (56) SUNDAY LUNCH ... Dec 3, 2017 (57) ABDUL KALAM (58) BIRDS and DRUGS (59) YELLOW NAIL SYNDROME (60) RICHNESS and HAPPINESS (61) FISHES (62) KMCH (63) MY 'SCRIBBLES' IN NEWSPAPERS (64) To live in INDIA or ABROAD ? (65) SILENT, ISOLATED and INSULATED (66) PONGAL FESTIVAL (67) SPB (68) CESAREAN DELIVERY (69) POLLUTION, Disease and Deepaavali (70) HAPPY 2018 (71) BRINGING UP CHILDREN (72) SINGAPORE (73) STAFF & STUDENTS. -- photos (74) "AHIMSA" (75) GRADUATION DAY -- 2018, Perundurai Medical Col... (76) PERUNDURAI is the GEM (77) WORLD CANCER DAY ..February 4, 2017 (78) INDIAN ENGLISH (79) FOOD, EXERCISE and SLEEP (80) Nurses Day 2017 (81) DEEPAAVALI (82) PUTHAANDU -- Tamil New Year Day - 2018 & 2017 (83) COMPUTER. ILLITERATE (84) SMILE and LAUGHTER (85) REMOTE ANCESTORS (86) ODD things ... wow, whacky & weird ! (87) FACEBOOK 'scribbles' (88) HANDWRITING (89) MY QUOTES
The following is the comment written by the internationally renowned scholar, Pritam Bhattacharyya (Editor-at-Large of Pentasect and Founder and Chief of Wordsmith at Wordsmith Communication, Chairman of Freelance Foundation, ) on the blog article on Coronavirus and COVID-19
(1) https://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/health-un-heath-and-fear-of-un-health/
(2) https://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/google-effect-and-kali-yuga-prophecies/
wordsmithApril 12, 2020 at 10:42 PM
“One of the best articles I have read on this theme and having balance, measure and proportion. Miss Corona in hindsight is really kind and benign in a sense - Nature has rolled a dice with fatality of 2-3%. She is under no obligation not to roll a dice of fatality 40,50,60% with Ms. Corona being "size zero" and "air-borne". Consider what would have happened ?
Dr. Prasad is one of the few doctors whom I know who fall into the rare category of "healers". A healer knows the art, science and commerce of healing, i.e. allowing the innate immunity of the body to manifest itself.
One should be very careful and critical about three things in the world : Big Pharma, Big Government, Big Science. In the proverbial Kali-Yuga, all three converge with overlapped agendas and sometimes not with the best interest in mind of the end users : patients, citizens, learners.
Finally, this pandemic will also pass. The system will come to a new equilibrium. But I think a whole generation will carry this impression forward and may become saner with this.
I nurture another hope : just like pivotal events propel a whole generation (Apollo Mission and interest in space science), this may inspire many young Indians to shift their focus into public healthcare, virology, immunology, public immunity, psychological counselling and learning the art and science of healing.
Again, it was very nice to find an article of this time in the avalanche of printed words in this theme.
Continue your good work.”
From the Editor........
The Editor wishes to inform the Readers of ‘The Antiseptic’ who are interested in having correct, complete and comprehensive knowledge of the current literature on Covid, to read the above article by Dr. T. Rama Prasad, written as is usual, in beautiful, flawless and inimitable English, with numerous apt quotations.
He further wishes to thank Dr. T. Rama Prasad profusely for choosing to publish all his ‘very interesting to read’ articles on Covid in ‘The Antiseptic’ and hopes that he (Dr. T. Rama Prasad) continues his benevolence.
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“I am greatly honoured and recognised, indeed, by this special ‘editorial comment’ of inspiring appreciation by the distinguished, scholarly and erudite editor of the premier journal, The Antiseptic, which itself is a rare treasure of documentation from the eclecticism of India’s diverse medical systems, including the dominant ‘modern medicine’. My articles were published in this long-standing and reputed journal even more than forty years ago.”
-- T. Rama Prasad
The article is reprinted partly below
COVID world: 28 of my articles on the single subject of ‘COVID’ were published in 30 months in the monthly medical journal, ‘THE ANTISEPTIC’, which is a WORLD RECORD in Medical Journalism.
This article titled “COVID medical literature – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is one of them.
The last 15 pages in this file ‘about me’ and my ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic are not part of the article.
-- Dr. T. Rama Prasad, ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, India
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. COVID medical literature – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly .
RAMA PRASAD T.
Dr. T. Rama Prasad,
Formerly: Medical Superintendent (Special) of RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre,
Perundurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Presently: Director of ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, Erode District, TN – 638052. drtramaprasad@gmail.com WhatsApp +91 98427 20393 BLOG https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com
WEBSITE www.rama-scribbles.in Twitter @DrRamaprasadt Facebook T Rama Prasad
Telegram Dr T Rama Prasad
`
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND SURGERYSN
Vol. 119 No. 9 September 2022 ISSN 0003 5998
Indexed in IndMED Email: admin@theantiseptic.in www.theantiseptic.in
. COVID medical literature – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly .
RAMA PRASAD T.
.
Dr. T. Rama Prasad,
Formerly: Medical Superintendent (Special) of RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre,
Perundurai, Tamil Nadu. Presently: Director of ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, Erode District, TN – 638052.
Specially Contributed to “The Antiseptic” Vol. 119, No. 9
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ABSTRACT
Even as COVID-19 entered the third year of the pandemic, the world is no closer to know the authenticity of the huge volume of ‘COVID medical literature’ that was published for over two years. Due to lack of incontrovertible evidence for the varied conclusions drawn from various studies, both the professionals and the public are in a state of confusion. The subject has become too much of a conundrum to arrive at decisions on prevention and treatment of COVID-19. There have been good and bad studies and publications. The subject has attracted a phenomenal debate all over the world, mixed with vested interests – personal, academic, political, business, prestige, etc. Some of the aspects and perspectives of the situation are briefly mentioned in this article.
Key words: Covid-19 medical literature, Covid-19 drugs and vaccines, Covid-19 pandemic
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“We go through the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly all together.”
-- Emily Robison
Introduction
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, the title of the ‘1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western genre film’ directed by Sergio Leone, has over a period of time become a famous phrase to mean that ‘Good is good, bad is bad, but bad doesn’t necessarily have to be ugly’. In the ‘Covid medical literature’, we have been going through ‘the Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ all together. But the human trait of magnifying the bad is very evident. And ego-clashes dogged the claims of superiority of documentations.
In this context, a peep into my informal blog article titled “MODERN MEDICINE – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” may give a general perspective on this subject. Excerpts from a couple of articles published in The Antiseptic are also in this document (https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/modern-medicine-good-bad-and-ugly_30.html ). 31
COVID (SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19) has transported us all into a different world altogether. We feel captured in an unpleasant time warp. The COVID pandemic has had an unparalleled impact on every facet of our lives. The impact has been extensively modified by the ‘COVID medical literature’ which played a paramount role, as most of the activity in all the fields all over the world during the long Covid pandemic period has been critically based on the conclusions drawn from the ‘COVID medical literature’ generated through studies and research. Even the morbidity and mortality are modified by it. Globally, so far, there are around six million deaths out of around 500 million recorded cases of Covid. The numbers might have been stupendously higher if not for the interventions guided by the research and documentation on Covid. But controversial views are expressed. Good literature did good for global health. Bad publications put the authorities on wrong paths, leading to undesirable consequences.
There has been ‘the Good’, ‘the Bad’ and ‘the Ugly’ in Covid research and the related scientific papers. Some of the aspects of this subject are briefly mentioned in this article. More related details may be found in the 24 articles published in 24 months, written by a single author (T. Rama Prasad) on a single subject (Covid), and published by a single establishment (Professional Publications (P) Ltd.), in The Antiseptic, a journal of Medicine and Surgery (indexed in IndMED), and in Health, a journal devoted to healthful living. 1 to 24 (which is a world record in medical journalism). Some more references of importance, related to COVID, are provided. 25 to 58
Historical perception
There is the ancient medical literature on epidemics and pandemics like Homer’s epic The lliad (eighth century BCE) which begins with a plague ravaging the Greek army camp at Troy, and the biblical book of Exodus which describes the ‘10 plagues’ of Egypt. When plague struck France in 1722, an old novel of 1665 plague of London, titled ‘A Journal of the Plague Year’ was rushed for reprinting. The old accounts of epidemics relied on anecdotes, witnessing and testimony, rather than on scientific studies. An example of this is the .........
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THE HINDU -- OPEN PAGE -- May 14, 2023
T. Rama Prasad
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/tuning-into-the-radiogram/article66823991.ece
( 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 SPB, please go to :
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/spb.html
THE HINDU newspaper & ME
MY 'SCRIBBLES' in THE HINDU
“I don’t go about shouting,
My writings make the noise.” -- T. Rama Prasad, www.rama-scribbles.in
More than half-a-century 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 of my letters were published in many newspapers and magazines, and later some articles were also published in THE HINDU and some medical journals.
And today (May 7, 2023), I received a mail from THE HINDU newspaper informing me that my article submitted recently would be published on May 14, 2023 (Sunday, OPEN PAGE). This brought me more happiness than my recent publications in a medical journal (world's first case of Yellow Nail Syndrome with Covid, etc. and a world record of 28 articles in 30 months on the single subject of 'COVID' in a single medical journal * ).
The reason for the happiness may be that this article in THE HINDU is about my personal life, more than 55 years ago, related to a music gadget and a music-loving girl !!! What is that music gadget and who is that girl ? The answer will be in the article.
* for details about the ‘COVID’ articles, please go to the LINK below :
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/yellow-nail-syndrome_28.html
Some of my articles published in THE HINDU:
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) - The Hindu, Vol.101, No. 275
3. HEALTH CHECK-UP: how healthy is it ? - The Hindu, Open Page, Jan. 15,
2012 - ……http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open page/article2801701.ece
4. THE ‘GOOGLE EFFECT’: may be good, may be bad - The Hindu, Open Page, April 22,2012
( 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 )
COVID world: 28 of my articles on ‘COVID’ were published in 30 months in a Medical Journal which is a WORLD RECORD in Medical Journalism.
This article titled “Origin of COVID” is the 24th one.
-- Dr. T. Rama Prasad, ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, India
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. Origin of COVID .
RAMA PRASAD T.
Dr. T. Rama Prasad,
Formerly: Medical Superintendent (Special) of RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre, Perundurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Presently: Director of ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, Erode District, TN – 638052. drtramaprasad@gmail.com WhatsApp +91 98427 20393 BLOG https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com WEBSITE www.rama-scribbles.in Twitter @DrRamaprasadt Facebook T Rama Prasad Telegram Dr T Rama Prasad
`
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND SURGERYSN
Vol. 119 No. 8 August 2022 ISSN 0003 5998
Indexed in IndMED Email: admin@theantiseptic.in www.theantiseptic.in
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
"...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
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
“… 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.
WRITINGS AND TALKS of 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 the Tuberculosis 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 …
… 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
39. IS THE "LOCKDOWN MEDICINE" TOO TOXIC ? -- The Antiseptic, Vol.117, No.10, pp. 13 -15, 2020
40. ANTISEPTICS, DISINFECTANTS and COVID-19 -- The Antiseptic, Vol.117, No.11, pp. 26 - 28, 2020
41. 40+15 HYPOXIA TEST in COVID-19 -- The Antiseptic, Vol.117, No.12, pp.13 –17, 2020
42. THE CONUNDRUM of COVID-19 VACCINES – The Antiseptic, Vol. 118, No. 1, 2021
43. Fear and COVID-19 – HEALTH, Vol. 98, No. 11, pp. 13 -14, 2020
44. Tea and COVID-19 – HEALTH, Vol. 98, No. 10, pp. 4 – 6, 2020
List No. 2 contains references to about 1000 writings which may be found on my Website -- T. Rama Prasad
“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” --- Nelson Mandela
Dr. T. Rama Prasad www.rama-scribbles.in
LOVABLE RURAL FOLK ... February 10, 2018
Yes, rural are really lovable folk. Most of them have a refreshingly rural and innocent background. They have blind faith in gods, and doctors as well.
After a few decades, we may see no more of such good plain-hearted rural folk. And, even now, we rarely see the good old grand grandmother of ‘topless’ (‘blouseless’) era ! The women of that generation cover their upper bodies with a piece of a cloth only (end piece of saree) wrapped around without any underclothing like bra or blouse.
Today (February 10, 2018), one frail-looking grandmother in that 'topless' attire (see the attached photo) walked into my consultation chamber, accompanied by her grandson, but not needed to be assisted by him to walk in. She (Gowandayamml) fluently talked in the grand old style ... said she got the appointment with great difficulty (limited consultations today, as I had to spare some time to attend my granddaughter's 'food court bonanza' at her school). At the end of the consultation, she wanted a 'cough syrup' (most of the 'cough syrups' are used unnecessarily and for psychological satisfaction, and to the great delightfulness of drug industry !). I gave her a sample bottle of a cough syrup, free of cost, of course ... and lo and behold, her face was lit up with happiness. Little pleasures ... little things matter in life ... read the 'Scribbling' titled 'Richness & Happiness' on my blog. She narrated at length of her previous visits over decades and profusely thanked me for keeping her fit (in fact, it is her good old lifestyle and her constitution that kept her fit, not me !). I asked her whether I may have a photo with her. She was amused and laughed. I called the receptionist to take a photo. The lady of the old school put up a serious pose for the photo. Receptionist, Nandhini, asked her to smile ... in vain ... perhaps, the grandma thought that one should not move or smile when the camera clicks (In our school days, photographers used to instruct us not to move or smile when they take group photos in the school, with those bulky 'plate' cameras with a long exposure time !). I shall give her a print of the photo when she visits me again ... curiously, we both are of the same age group by the calendar, though seem not to be by the images ! Finally, the plain, simple, candid and 'topless' granny left my chamber. After a while, she came back with money (hundred rupees notes) in her hand to put into my tiny 'Pay what you can' hundi, as consultation fee. I had to persuade her a lot not to give any consultation fee, saying that it's a great pleasure for me to treat her free of cost ... again there was a flash of a cheerful smile across her face. This is the most pleasant reward we get in medical practice -- the cheerful smile of satisfaction.
If you wish to read more about the good rural folk, click on http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.in/2017/08/rural-are-real.html
Reprinted from FACEBOOK … go to Facebook to read comments on this.
Dr. T. Rama Prasad, www.rama-scribbles.in http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.in
'PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, Erode Dt., TN, India., Former Medical Superintendent (Special), RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre, Perundurai.
WORLD HEART DAY … September 29
Various writings and ads (with commercial colour of discounts) appeared today across the globe scaring the public about their heart health. Some of them, purported to be of educative value to the public, may have a hidden agenda of vested interests. And, some normal persons may be converted into patients ! People are confused on knowing about needless tests, medicines and even surgeries.
Much of the modern treatment may be like cutting some of the branches of an evil tree without tackling the roots. ‘Modernity’ in lifestyle brought in its wake all the adverse factors, STRESS & ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE (destruction of Nature) being the important ones, associated with money, materialism, competition, comparison, ego, hubris, hegemony, selfishness, greed, arrogance, anger, miserliness, manipulability, vanity, vengeance, etc. MODERNITY may be the root cause for the arrival of COVID. Moderns may have to mend their ways to prevent emergence of more novel viruses. Should we celebrate March 11 (March 11, 2020 was the day on which the WHO declared ‘Covid’ as a pandemic) as the ‘WORLD COVID DAY’ ?
Cell phones arrived, we forgot writing letters;
Automobiles arrived, we forgot walking;
Computers arrived, we forgot spellings;
Calculators arrived, we forgot mathematics;
Modern jobs arrived, we forgot families;
TVs arrived, we forgot cinema theatres;
Digital games arrived, we forgot playgrounds;
Modern pharma arrived, we forgot grannies’ remedies;
Speciality hospitals arrived, we forgot ‘MBBS clinics’;
Super-specialists arrived, we forgot family doctors;
Nuclear families arrived, we forgot relationships;
Junk food arrived, we forgot healthy meals;
Food courts arrived, we forgot cooking;
HEART specialists arrived, we forgot HEARTY meals !
COVID has arrived, we forgot everything else !
(I too forgot everything else, and in 30 months, 28 of my articles on COVID were published in a medical journal – a WORLD RECORD !)
Dr. T. Rama Prasad,
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com www.rama-scribbles.in
drtramaprasad@gmail.com, Director, 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN' Clinic, Perundurai, Erode Dt., TN, India., Former Medical Superintendent (Special), RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre.
RAJYALAKSHMI RAMAPRASAD and PLANTS
TREES and PLANTS -- the green gods
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“We are sometimes praised and sometimes pilloried. We should neither bask in the glory of success nor sulk in the shadows of defeat.”
