Around 9pm on April 25, 2020, Dr Balram Bhargava received an SOS call. Dr Manmath Das, a retina surgeon from a hospital in Bhubaneswar, was calling in for advice on a peculiar case. Bhargava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) was all ears.
A 30-year-old diabetic with complete loss of vision in the right eye had arrived at Das’s hospital, travelling 120km. For a year, he had been using his left eye without much trouble, but that particular day he sensed a sudden drop in vision in the left eye, too.
Das knew that the man had to be operated upon the next morning, or he could lose his remaining vision. But he was apprehensive as he did not know the patient’s Covid-19 status, and with the limited testing available then and the time it would take for the report to come, it would be too late. Many cautioned him against doing the surgery, as he stood the risk of getting infected and passing it on to his two small children and aged parents at home. But Das’s conscience did not let him rest; he knew that the surgery could give the young man a new lease of life. Time was running out and a decision had to be made quickly.
Bhargava immediately checked the case load of the block from where the patient hailed. It was a green zone, meaning there were zero Covid-19 cases. He then asked if the patient’s family members or the vehicle driver had any symptoms; none, said Das. Bhargava needed no further information. He asked the surgeon to take all possible precautions, for himself and the patient, and to go ahead with the surgery. The operation was a success and the patient’s vision in the left eye returned to normal.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
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RECRUITERS SPEAK
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MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
