Dear Dr Aravindan,

I am deeply touched by your tributes to Dr Soman. I knew him for 72 years as i happen to be his Kochettan. He was my great pal throughout his life. We spent our childhood on the banks of Meenachil at Nagampadom, played tennis ball cricket together, went to M.T.Seminary & later to University college together. To day I am like a ‘chirakodinga pakshi’. It was all too sudden.

For the past couple of years, the first thing I used to do every Sunday morning was to call him from Mumbai and talk to him for a long time, almost the entire conversation, sharing his excitement about the activities of HAP. Saanthwanam was his pet topic and he thought that it had the potential to be replicated throughout our country and may be throughout the developing world. He was equally proud of his illustrious students and considered it his greatest ‘reward’. I liked the way you mentioned about the innumerable awards Soman did not win. That never crossed his mind. He just did not have the time to bother about such things

Two months have gone by after Soman left us so unexpectedly. For many of us who admired him and loved him the reality may never sink in.

Can I go down the memory lane with you?.

Soman was moulded by Kottayam, its fascinating institutions and above all its secular culture where religious barriers were practically non existent. As we grew up we were greatly inspired by our father in many ways. He (Prof C.I.Raman nair) was an exceptionally gifted man. We were born into a home library of nearly ten thousand books English and Malayalam, all collected by my father, who had virtually gone from house to house begging for books. He had the unique distinction of teaching Malayalam through the the English language. A voracious reader and writer himself he taught in CMS college throughout his life.

We were five in all, Soman was the fourth and I was third, 2 years older than Soman. From early childhood he would sneak out to the veranda with a book at midnight and read past two in the morning before he will crawl back to sleep by my side. Many times he will talk to me about what he was reading, introducing me also into the fascinating world of art and literature. In later life, he will spend a significant part of his income in buying books. My father would have been proud of the wonderful library Soman has built up himself. Every time he visited us in Pune he will gift my three little girls, thought provoking titles, with a ‘ love uncle’ note.

They were the post war days. Food was scarce for everybody. About two months back Soman told me the story of his meeting with His Highness Sri Chitira Tirunal at Kavadiyar
Palace. Soman was invited to advice His Highness on his nutrition. He was taken aback by the grace and simplicity of the Maharaja, whom we all admired as children. Soman, in his school days, had read a book, written soon after His Highness’ visit to Europe. He read about the palace life style and the fact that there was an official ‘food taster’ in the palace who will taste (of course will eat) every item to be served to the King. Soman told me that, after reading that book, he dreamed himself to be the food taster and was so disturbed that the dream will haunt him for a long time. He said, in the growing up years he was always hungry and will rush to the kitchen and mom will scold him by taunting him ” Enthada, vayattil kozhiyum kunjum ondoda” and drive him away. The sensitivity he developed in later life, about the poor and under-nourished had its origins there- perhaps.

Yet another incident in our childhood is fresh in our minds even today and Soman even wrote about it some where. It was during the war days. We were hand to mouth- mother in her unparalleled ingenuity used to manage the food mostly through her kitchen garden. Hewever, her people at Kollam heard about our struggles. They were relatively better off . Appoppan managed to send (smuggle) one full bag of rice to meet with our crisis, by hand cart all the way to Kottayam. All were excited. But the excitement did not last long. Father promptly called another hand-cart and took the bag of rice, all the way to CMS college junction, little Soman was perched on the bag of rice. There dad distributed the entire rice among the poor people . Soman always used to tell the story of what happened back home when he returned . Mother was silently wiping her tears. There was no Kanchi in the house that night. We have discussed this episode over and over but still have not been able to say who was right, mom or dad. Having said that, it is relevant to mention that father had already set up an organisation called ‘Kerala Seva Sangham’ those days. Perhaps the genes were passed on to llittle Soman.

I must tell you about our mom who died at the age of 101, three years back at Pune at my home. Kochu Karthiyayini was a small, frail woman, a matriclate of those days, 10th of the 14 children to her parents, darling of her father, who kept her as his accountant till she married.Living with my dad was not the easiest thing for her. Dad was in a different world of art and literature,dreams and romance. He spent almost every evening with his friends, who were mostly journalists, under the coffee plants in our sprawling compound. L.C. Issac of Deepika, K.C.Zacaria of Keralabhushanam, Vallathara of Powradhwani and M.P.Paul were the regulars. They will smoke beedies, drink toddy and talk and laugh. It was Soman’s job to light beedies in the kitchen and rush it to them. Once in a while these sessions got out of hand and would shatter the peace at home. We both were at our impressionable years and no wonder both of us became teetotalers and Soman became a passionate anti smoking and anti drinking campaigner in later life. It was difficult for mom to balance the budget and that is where she started raising her extensive vegetable garden. Her father again sent her a cow which lived with us for the next ten years. When there was surplus vegetables Soman and I would take it to the market and sell it. Without our realising it, we both recognised the dignity of labour which became a hallmark in our later lives.

When we were enrolled in the school no caste name was appended, it was just, Ravi (our late eldest brother who was a journalist), Sreedharan and Soman. Both dad and mom were absolutely secular in their hearts. The late President K.R.Narayanan acknowledged it in one of his articles, how when he approached my dad to get admission to CMS College my dad wholeheartedly helped him to fulfil his dream.

Dad rarely talked to us, but one of the things he used to say is that his children should marry from other religions. So when Soman wanted to marry his colleague and sweetheart of many years, Eleyamma, we welcomed the decision. They stayed with my parents for over a decade.

Mom was also honest to a fault. We were tenants of Kunnel Palli and there were large number of coconuts trees in the compound. Every month about 50 to 60 dry coconuts will fall and mom will collect them religiously and hand them over to the supervisor when he comes to pluck the coconuts. Then at the end of the day she will buy from him 30 coconuts. Nothing was spoken about this seemingly innocuous act but in later life when we were in responsible positions and there were temptations galore to make a quick buck this silent act of mom used to guide us on the right path

We had planned to visit Nagampadom during my next visit to Kerala. That was not to be. Now I don’t want to do that. I can now talk to my Kochaniyan ,any time anyware.

Kochettan

Dr.C.R.Sreedharan crsree@gmail.com ]]> http://www.hapindia.org/?feed=rss2&p=268 http://www.hapindia.org/?p=219 http://www.hapindia.org/?p=219#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:43:06 +0000 admin http://www.hapindia.org/?p=219 drsoman-tribute.pps

Dear All,

We are indeed grateful to you for your kind words on the occasion of the sad demise of Professor C.R.Soman, which is a great consolation to all of us in the HAP family.  The sudden and untimely loss of Professor Soman, the soul behind this institution, leaves behind a big gap which is difficult to fill up.  He had a vision in developing this institution and we, who were closely associated with him before and after setting up of HAP, are striving hard to continue the activities initiated by him.

A greatly value your association with HAP which is a source of inspiration and strength to all of us.  We look forward very much for the continued association and support in the years to come.

With ward regards

Yours sincerely,

Dr. K.Vijayakumar

Secretary

Research remains the core activity of HAP. At present HAP is involved in various research projects both independent and in association with world-renowned academic institutions.

Population registry of life style diseases: PROLIFE. A prospective cohort study involving the long time follow up of 1, 60,000 subjects in rural Kerala undertaken by HAP.

PURE: Prospective Rural Urban Epidemiology Study

PURE is a multinational, multi centered study guided and coordinated by McMaster University, Canada. HAP is one of the study partners in India and has already recruited over 4700 subjects, against the target of 5000.

INDADE (Indo-Danish Collaboration on Diabetes Epidemiology) that HAP has fostered a partnership with the University of ODENSE and Novo Nordisk to undertake pioneering studies on epidemiology of diabetes, with special emphasis on social and economic costs of diabetes mellitus.

Study on the incidence of injuries in a rural population: Undertaken with department of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, McMaster University.

What is Saantwanam programme? 

Hon. Min Paloli Muhammed Kutty

1. Height

2. Body weight

3. Body Mass Index

4. Body fat

5. Blood Pressure

6. Blood glucose

7. Cholesterol

8. Triglycerides

9. Urine Sugar/ Albumin

The equipment needed for carrying out the services are;

                1. Anthropometric rod

                2. Weighing balance and fat monitor

                3. Automated digital Blood Pressure apparatus

                4. Glucometer

                5. Accutrend GCT [Roche]

                6. Non stretchable fibre glass measuring tape

                7. Body Mass Index calculator

                                 Tests                                                   Rate

                 1. Blood Pressure                                            10

                2. Blood glucose                                               25

                3. Blood Cholesterol                                      60

                4. Triglycerides                                                60

                5. Urine Sugar/ Albumin                             05

                6. BMI [Includes Height, Weight & Fat] 10

The success of the programme depends on access to the services. It is possible only if the Saantwanam caregiver has mobility and reach. These can be assured through the provision of a scooter and a mobile telephone.

The Saantwanam caregiver will assist the person in proper positioning for height measurements, posture for reading BP and taking precautions for weight/ body fat determination. Sterilized, disposable needles and swabs (individually packed) will be used for finger prick blood collection. They will also be supplied with test strips for using Glucometer. The volunteer will give the results in a pre-printed stationery.

Population registry of life style diseases: PROLIFE. A prospective cohort study involving the long time follow up of 1, 60,000 subjects in rural Kerala undertaken by HAP.

Health Action by People acts as the prime mover of this project in India. We are a group of competent public health professionals with a wide range of teaching and research experience. It would be our endeavor to act as a catalyst in making learning of community medicine an enjoyable experience for the students. The success of the programme depends on the leadership provided by the host faculty in each college.

During the workshop, the students identify ‘problems’ which are then developed into research protocols under the guidance of facilitators. After the workshop, the faculty selects a few protocols for implementation. The projects selected can be assigned to a group of students. Usually 3-4 students can work in a project. After completing the study the students have to present their work in a reunion workshop.

Regarding the support that HAP gives to participating colleges, please be assured that we pay at the rate of Rs.1000/ per completed project, subject to a maximum of  Rs 30000/College. The money will be disbursed on receipt of copies of the project reports of the first workshop. From the second workshop onwards, we will again support the activity financially, but in slightly diminishing terms.

From the institution we expect the following inputs;

·         Institution’s lecture hall/ auditorium (for two days), where plenary sessions can be held.

·         An audio-visual setup and a good projection screen. If possible, arrange a computer with CD drive and a LCD projector. 

·         It would be nice, if Organisation expenses, Local hospitality including food, accommodation, and local transport is available for external faculty members.  

·         HAP will bear the travel expense for external faculty, PSBH materials and support money for completed projects.

Please feel free to get in touch with us for any clarifications. info@hapindia.org

Date	Institution	Participants
January 2008	Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	100
June 2008	Subharati Medical College, Meerut, UP	102
July 2008	P S Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat	103
August 2008	Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal
October 2008	CSI Medical College, Karakolam, Kerala	50
October 2009	MGM Medical college, Indoor	122

]]> http://www.hapindia.org/?feed=rss2&p=87 http://www.hapindia.org/?p=63 http://www.hapindia.org/?p=63#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:16:56 +0000 admin http://www.hapindia.org/?p=63 Health Action by People

TC 7/1724. Temple Road, Kochulloor, Trivandrum -695011                       Phone: +91-471-2552774 Email info@hapindia.org

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