On the list of many inspiring who women illuminated R. Ravi Kannan's life path, stands the wife of a patient from Tripura. Her husband needed medicines worth ₹5,000, and she requested the doctors to go ahead with the treatment while she arranged the money. When she returned to the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in Silchar with the cash, the doctors told her that he would have to stay on for a few more days for additional treatment. She started crying, begging for his discharge. Kannan, the director of the centre in Assam, tried to understand the reason behind her resistance and discovered that she had pledged her son to a landlord in the village to raise money.
The memory gives Kannan goosebumps. It became a turning point in how the centre approached patients. "We had quoted a cost that she could not afford. Since then we have become extra sensitive and ask patients where the money will come from. We tell them not to pledge their fixed assets. I am sure we continue to make mistakes that cause distress to our patients," says Kannan.
The renowned surgical oncologist is a recipient of the 65th Ramon Magsaysay Awards. The citation describes him as a 'Hero for Holistic Healthcare, Providing hope and healing in cancer care'.
This is just one more award in a long list of recognitions including the Padma Shri, but the doctor says he received them just as the 'face' of a large team that works with him to provide cancer care. "I will be an idiot to think that all this was achieved just by me," he says.
Denne historien er fra October 01, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 01, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
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
