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Health for All – can it become a reality?

A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.      – Dr Albert Schweitzer, a great German physician and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 It is an irony that a nation like India that boasts of soon becoming a superpower is home to the largest number of malnourished children in the world. And given the current situation this unfortunate social segment is likely to produce even more malnourished children in the years to come — we are adding further shackles in our already feeble feet. According to World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease … Read entire article »

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Sevagram to Shodhgram: Journey in search of health for the people

Dr Abhay Bang has done pioneering work in the realm of ensuring health for all. He, and his wife Dr Rani, are globally respected for their work on child mortality. Here Dr Bang is narrating his life story, his journey from Mahatma Gandhi’s Sevagram ashram to his current abode Shodhgram in the tribal district of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. The article is extracted from a speech he had delivered at a convention in Calgary, Canada, and is translated from Marathi by Dr Arvind Gupta. Mahatma’s Magic I spent my childhood in Gandhiji’s Sevagram Ashram in Wardha. The place where I now live in Gadchiroli is called Shodhgram. Today, I’ll recount my journey from Sevagram to Shodhgram. Gandhiji’s influence on … Read entire article »

Medical Health in India – a Sojourn

Dr Sanjib Mukhopadhyay believes that the privatization of the healthcare is not an answer to the needs of this large country and allowing the healthcare to become an industry is anti-people. He maintains that when you do that, the private operators would naturally toe the usual ‘business’ line of ‘maximizing profit’ through use of unnecessary, sometimes irrational medicines, tests and therapies. All this would result in depriving the masses from affordable healthcare.   “Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art.  It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very process of life, which must be understood before they may be guided.” Philipus Aureolus Paracelsus C 1541 The pre-independent India witnessed … Read entire article »

Murderous Attack on Hippocrates

All medical practitioners, when they enter their noble profession, take an oath known as the Hippocratic Oath, named after the pioneer of that profession. There are examples of doctors who genuinely live up to that oath. But more often than that there exists a huge gap between the ideal and the practice. Sarwottam Thakur writes about some gap experiences. Many readers will find that their own experiences are similar.  You may not believe it, but some years back when I was a school-going lad, our generation would look up with genuine respect, admiration, reverence and love to three professions – politicians, teachers and doctors. One may agree or disagree with them, accept or disregard their advice, … Read entire article »

Think Green, Live Green

Pravir Bagrodia shares his impressions about Environment — An Illustrated Journey, the latest in the series of books written by Dr R Rajagopalan.  Environment — An Illustrated Journey covers the state of the global environment, with a focus on India. Targeted at school students and ordinary citizens alike, the book is a simple yet comprehensive guide for both the beginners and the confused. The Contents The book describes concepts such as ‘global warming’ and ‘greenhouse effect’, ‘peak oil’ and ‘ecological footprint’. The glossary explains common terms used in the context of environment. For researchers, the pages contain a useful list of references — books and periodicals, films and websites. Relevant laws and agreements have been cited. Many organisations working in … Read entire article »

Success Comes to Those who Dare and Act

Capt Rustom Bharucha from Pune has been personally making indigenous anaesthetic ventilators since 1970 for hospitals. His ventilators have proved to be highly reliable and cost far less than the imported variety. Moreover, they can be locally maintained. His invention has saved several lives and has considerably eased the burden of patients who need to be put on ventilators but find the cost prohibitive. Khursheed Dinshaw profiles an inventor who has received the National Entrepreneur Award in 1986 and was also awarded the International Einstein Award for Scientific Achievement in Great Britain last year. “Is this a suicide, euthanasia or murder? Thousands of patients who are unable to breathe on their own and who need ventilator … Read entire article »

Art and Today’s Superpower China

The link between the art scene in a country and its development is often over-looked. Ravi Paranjape writes about Wu Guanzhong, a renowned Chinese painter, and his restoration in China after decades of persecution and finds a link between this respect for the painter and economic wonders China is achieving.    Melody carved in stone is a sculpture. The sculpture in melody is music. Music with paint becomes a painting. And the sculptured music painted with words is the highest in literature. -         Swami Chinmayananda It was in the mid-eighties. I was strolling through the familiar arcade along the Mahatma Gandhi Road in the Fort area of Mumbai. An issue of Orientation, a renowned Asian magazine for art, caught … Read entire article »

Retirement: A Blessing or a Curse

With half of her population under 30 India is rightly described as a nation of the young. The demographic advantages of this are also often written about. Firoze Hirjikaka argues that even age has its own advantages.   One of W.H. Davies’ most celebrated poems begins thus: What is this life, if full of care We have no time to stand and stare The tragedy of the values modern society imposes on us is that to just ‘stand and stare’ is regarded as a waste of time (does not generate any tangible value, you know. What are we, accountants?) This, after all, is the age of multi-tasking. What a horrible concept that is — reading an e-mail and simultaneously answering … Read entire article »

Russia’s Transition towards Democracy and Capitalism

“I promised you we would win, and we won,” Vladimir Putin said, with tears rolling down his cheeks. He added, “Glory to Russia!” He was addressing the large crowd gathered to celebrate his massive victory in the March 2012 election for Russian Presidency. As he sets to lead Russia for four more years, by securing almost 64 per cent of the total votes cast, what issues are ahead of him? Professor Ashok Modak offers some useful perspective on Russia which was once described by Winston Churchill as ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’. In December 1991, in the aftermath of the collapse of USSR, emerged the free sovereign Russia along with the other … Read entire article »

Treating Anaemia in Women

Anaemia is a social disorder. The attitude of the society, not only that of men but also that of women towards each other, is what matters the most. Dr Bhagyashree Barlingay, who practices in US, conducts regular camps in rural India where haemoglobin can be tested at a very low cost and anaemia can be cured with iron supplements. The demon of daily routine guards the gates of my consciousness, not letting the past memories float in. Images of India still filter through – images of women smiling, hardworking, and non-complaining! An immigrant’s heart carries the burden of nostalgia but these images bring an extra dimension to my life as an American-Asian Indian, as an Indian … Read entire article »