Ramblings of a Doctor

The Rotary foundation was started on a small scale by Rotarian Clump.It grew very slowly until the death of Paul Harris in the year 1947. People wanted to remember the great founder of the Rotary movement and contributions poured in. I am also a Paul Harris Fellow. The amount paid to the foundation is paid back for many useful projects of such magnitude that are beyond the purvey of an ordinary Rotarian. May the fellowship grow and continue to help deserving people world wide.

Witches were popular in the eighteenth century. some were harmless old women and some were practitioners of ancient medicine and were destroyed due to a fear psychosis. Some drugs like Digoxin were obtained from a witch. Many ancient herbs and useful perfumes were obtained from witches. It is time that we realize their contribution to ancient medicine.

It so happened that when the southern part of India was in the grip of a depression in the Bay of Bengal and heavy rains. the rains were followed by flooding of many areas and power cut. Many of my friends could not see the Terrorist attack on Bombay at many locations nor the rescue operation cyclone. What a pity? At a time, when we should have shared our sorrows, we were cut off from each other and helpless. I do hope that with a new minister for Home, we will have better understanding between different parts of India. The Government is trying to establish better coordination between the Coast Guard, The Navy and The Police force.

We have just recovered from the shock of the Terrorist attack on Bombay. The terror lasted more than 72 hours before the last commando was killed. The Oberoi and the Trident were the first ones to be sanitized. I like the word. The Taj was the last one to be rendered Terrorist free. Sanitization still goes on. The whole attack is presumed to be the handiwork of Lakshari Toyba, a terrorist organization of Pakistan. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan strongly denied the allegation and suggested a lot of introspection before an open allegation. It looks as though the Minister for Internal Affairs will be axed. It is a pity, but the network of Intelligence leaves a lot to be desired. The Coast Guard seems to have given an advanced warning, ignored as usual. With a large coastal network, we need a very careful scrutiny of the coasts. Terrorists from Pakistan prefer the northern Arabian See coast and the LTTE prefer the Bay of Bengal and the Southern coast. This apart, is there a relationship to the Elections in the States. Will this attack make the people sympathetic to the Congress or BJP is difficult to predict. A strange observation was the great good will shown by the public to The Security Forces. Shouts of Bharathe Matha Ki Jai” and Vanthemadharam were heard, forthcoming spontaneously from the public. Our sympathies are with the Officers of the Armed forces, who laid down their lives in the operation and the poor people who were in the affected areas, Foreign Nationals and Indians.  A prayer for the Rabbi and his wife, who died in Nariman House.

It is a custom among Rotarians   to deliver a Classification lecture on an interesting topic. This time, I chose Typhoid fever, mainly to inform the Rotarians and Inner wheelers the importance of personal and public hygiene. Hand washing is so vital in protecting us from typhoid. The importance of the gastric acid in protecting us is another neglected method. I stressed the axiom, it must be washed, boiled,peeled or simply cast off. Ice cream is notorious for the Salmonella that it might contain. I cut short the patho physiology and other technical details.  I read out the real life story of a middle aged man with typhoid, who for want of treatment, even though the diagnosis was made, progressively became more and more febrile and delirious and disorientated and died of toxemia, surrounded by his loving family members. He was Prince Albert Victor, consort of Queen Victoria. The medical attendant was none other than Sir Edward Jenner. I recalled that the Royal consort had visited Madurai, my home town and was given a purse. He donated it back to the township and with some more contributions, the bridge across the River Vaigai was built suitably named Albert Victor Bridge. It still is functional. My classification speech was a success.

I landed in Thanjavur in the year 1968, I made a few friends, The year now is 2008 and many of my friends have been sorely affected by the ravages of time. some have been summoned to the presence of The Almighty. Some have fallen prey to debilitaing diseases. It was a surprise when one such friend invited me to her house for a get together. She could not speak as fluently as she used to. It was a great opportunity to meet a few mutual friends. She asked for an hour to be with her and on time bade us good bye and gave us a gift. Dr. Balraj Martyn who was the Superintendent of the Christian Mission Hospitl at Erode has passed away. He was a Paediatrician and looked after my son Sunil very carefully during his childhood. His wife Edith was a charming lady and a good cook. I have enjoyed the hospitality of the household on more than one occasion. The three children Dharman, Bakthan and Ruth Sangeetha were charming kids. Now they ae grown up and settled in life. Two of my close friends have lost their dads in the past few days. There have been more deaths and I have mentioned enough to give vent to my sorrow. How do we tackle these sorrowful events? Share the grief, pray to the Almighty for solace to de bereaved family, pay a call if possible. May The Good Lord teach us that life on this planet is ephemeral. Spend each day on its merit. Remember that you have to meet your maker.

Thanjavur is a small town. The doctors in the town are well known to each other. The most popular Ophthalmologist Dr. J.Muthiah Pandian passed away a couple of days back, leaving behind a large family and a large number of patients and professional colleagues to grieve him. He was responsible for the development of the Department of Ophthalmology in The Thanjavur Medical College. His two sons are themselves Ophthalmic surgeons. His daughter is also a medical doctor but is now deeply involved in caring for souls. His wife died a year ago and was a popular lady involved in social service and devotional service. He has donated a Gold medal to the best student in Ophthalmology in the Thanjavur Medical College.He continued private medical practice almost till the very end. His grand father Rao Sahib Abrham Pandithar was a noted personality, talented in Carnatic Music, Photography and Ayurvedhic Medicine. His products were available in the market for many years. He has compiled and published a work in Carnatic Music ” Karunamirdha Saharam” which is an authoritative work. He has organised a music festival in Thanjavur with the famous musical Trinity of the bygone years. He was also a pioneer in Printing and his Press was the first such item in Thanjavur. I have no doubt that the name of Dr.J.Muthiah Pandian will live in the memories of the people of Thanjavur.

David.

In the life of Jesus, many came to ask him for guidance. One such interesting character is a young man who came and asked Jesus, Good Master, What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus commended the commandments for his notice. The young man said may be a bit smugly, I have followed these commandments, since my childhood. Jesus took compassion on him and said Sell all your belongings and follow me. The young man being wealthy and liked being rich, left looking annoyed. Another young man asked Jesus a similar question and Jesus asked him which of the commandments did he consider important. The young man gave a nice reply Love The Lord, Thy God and Love Thy neighbor. Jesus congratulated him and said follow these rules. Again the young man asked Jesus, who is my neighbor. To explain this Jesus narrated the parable of the Good Samaritan. In real life, we come across many who may merit the titile” Good Samaritan”.

Let me tell you the incidence which touched me most. I am withholding the name of the person. He is an Indian, who lived in my town and he was touched by a local gentleman, who had been his mentor. Years later, when he came to India and to his native place, he found his mentor in poor circumstances and in poor health. He took him to a doctor, got him investigated and treated. Like the Good Samaritan, he left money with the doctor to attend to the health needs of his mentor. He also found another  friend who agreed to supply the monthly requirements for his household maintenance. He keeps in touch and continues tolook after his mentor. May The Almighty bless this good samaritan who remains nameless, to all but his close friends. I am sure The Lord will remember him on the day of judgement, you found me poor and helped me, you found me sick and visited me, hungry and fed me, thirsty and gave me to drink. May there be many such good samaritans.

I was shocked to see a case of Tetanus a couple of days back. Tetanus is now so uncommon. Every human receives protection from Tetanus, while in utero, as the mother is given her antenatal shots. Thereafter with the immunization schedule, Tetanus toxoid is given. With every injury in the school, house or play ground, a shot of tetanus Toxoid is usually administered. My patient was a poor agricultural laborer and had hurt himself with a spade. He has received no treatment whatsoever. He presented with features of early Tetanus, ten days after sustaining the injury. I had him admitted in the Tetanus ward of the Government Hospital, which was under my control, many years back. It made me sit back and think, all infectious diseases are lurking just an injury or a droplet away before hitting you. Please join in me in praying for the speeddy recovery of the poor man with Tetanus.

David.

Professor K.G. Seshadri recently completed his eightieth year. He is a Professor of English, currently holding the post of Dean, Humanities in The Sastra University. He has served as Principal in a couple of colleges in Government service. He is dedicated to his work and is a great scholar of Shakespearean English. He can quote from the bard any poem or couplet to suit the occasion. I was astonished when he quoted Shakespeare to explain the anguish that he was suffering due to the sudden demise of his wife. He has also done a number of translations of literary works in Tamil to English and vice versa. He is a great teacher and could hold the students spell bound even when he is handling drab sections. He is catholic in his views

though he is a devoted Saivite. His works could adorn the shelves of many institutes of education. His students abound in numbers and would join me in wishing the revered Professor many more years of useful service to the student community and the litterateurs in English and Tamil. Long Live Prof. K.G.S.