A
Professor of Pharmacology speaks as an author
Brief profile of the
author: Dr. P.C. Dandiya obtained the Ph. D. degree
from the University of Toronto after having the B. Pharm. and the M. Pharm
degrees from the Banaras Hindu University. He started his teaching career at
the S. M. S. Medical College, Jaipur where he became a full Professor (and
later) Head of the Department of Pharmacology at the age of 35 and trained
scores of M.D.’s and 19 Ph. D.’s in Pharmacology. For his researches in Phycho-neuro-pharmacology
he received numerous awards from the Medical Council of India and the Indian
Council of Medical Research and was elected the Fellow of the Indian Academy of
Medical Sciences, a rare honour for a non-medical person. He has been the
President of the Pharmacy Council of India, Indian Pharmacology Society and the
Indian Pharmaceutical Congress and the Pro-Vice Chancellor and even
Vice-Chancellor for some time of the Banaras Hindu University. Professor
Dandiya has worked in many countries and has been a Visiting Professor at the
Universities of London, Houston, Hawai and Copenhagen. In the last few years he
extensively lectured at a number of Chinese Universities as a Guest Professor
of Nanjing University. His students and associates, spread all over the globe
whom he has immensely endeared have floated an Endowment Trust which holds an
Oration in his honour every year besides promoting research activities in
Pharmacy and Pharmacology. He has written many books, his Family Medicine Book
has sold 5 lakh copies in 10 editions, and amongst them is a beautifully
written, highly interesting autobiography, that can be seen at most book shops
in the country. Presently he is an Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the
SMS Medical College, Jaipur where he completed 64 years of teaching the Medical
Students and now he is teaching the grand children of those whom he taught more
than 50 years back. He is also a WHO consultant on the Rational use of Drugs.
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Q Your book “A Professor
remembers” giving details about your days at the famous BHU, Varanasi, (INDIA),
appears to have been well received. What has been the average response/rating
of the readers and reviewers for this book?
Some of the responses of the readers
and reviewers for this book are:
“A browser’s choice. He
recalls days in Jaipur in his childhood when the Maharaja found a third wife…….
He also talks of his experience with LSD.”--
The Hindu (An English Daily with a 12 million circulation)
It
is a rare autobiography where the word “I” is missing. He talks of the events
and the people who came to his life.
--Rajasthan
Patrika, (an Indian language daily-circulation 7 million)
“A highly interesting work by an
academician that reads like a novel, takes you in the interior of the country
and also a tour round the world in a style spiced with wry humour. His
characterization of the three women who came to his life is masterly.” -- Indian Journal of Pharmacology
“Every part is readable and highly
interesting.”-- Ranjit Roy Chaudhury (W.H.O. Consultant)
“I could not put down the book for a
week. It is difficult enough to live an interesting life. It is more difficult
to write an interesting book about one’s life.”-- P.K. Wanchoo (Professor of
Surgery)
“It
is a wonderfully well written autobiography. It reflects the author’s mastery
at expressing thoughts and his ability to recall events.” -- Pushkar Kaul (Professor at
Atlanta University)
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Q What is your own assessment
about this book?
Actually, the book sold out very fast
and a new edition of the book has come last week. For me, it was of great
satisfaction that I was able to write at length on the BHU, Pt. Malviyaji, Sir
S. Radhakrishnan and many other co-students of that time, some of who have
occupied very prestigious positions in this country and at other places on the
globe. It was very exhilarating and I tell you, at times, I enjoy reading this
again even after 13 years.
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Q What exactly prompted you
to pen down your memoirs in the form of this book?
A lady friend of mine, Girija Vijay, a
voracious reader of books, who presently lives in Las Vegas, USA had suggested
to me and if you remember I have given tribute to her in the beginning of the
book for having made that suggestion that worked out wonderfully well.
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Q How many months were
needed to complete the script of this book?
About 14 months.
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Q Who has been your role
model for achieving excellence in writing?
I have been an admirer of Kushwant
Singh.
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Q In writing career, which aspect(s) do you
generally give more weightage, money, award, admiration or popularity?
None of the above. Only self
satisfaction.
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Q What are your other publications?
I have written 15 other books and
the Family Medicine Book of mine has done ten 10 editions in 36 years and sold
more than 5 lakh copies. It is a great
satisfaction.
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Q What are your future plans
for writing books?
I have just finished and published
the new edition of the book in discussion with 18 new chapters.
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Q Your efforts for writing
by using a lap top, must be causing aches in the fingers. How do you manage to
keep yourself fit in this respect?
When I started writing this book in
1998, yes I had problems with the computer but in course of time I was able to
write a chapter and email it straight to my publisher in Delhi.
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Q Now for some time the
average life of the human beings appears to be increasing, meaning that the
Longevity is increasing. What are the factors responsible for this increase?.
What exactly has been the role of medicines in increasing the Longevity?
Some time back, I gave a lecture at
the Mahatma Gandhi Medical University, Jaipur, on this very topic. For
answering to this question I would like to say that in the Bronze Age, the
average life span was about 28 years, but with better living conditions it went
on improving. During the last 50 years, the life span of the global population
has changed considerably. It has increased to 67 years in men and 73 for women.
The highest longevity is in Japan, men 79 and women 86. In India also it has
increased to 63 for men and 67 for women. Interestingly, the relative figures
for China are higher than those of us in India by about 8 years. Even Pakistan
and Bangladesh are marginally better than Indians. In the 19th and early 20th
century, the increase in life span was primarily due to improvement in hygienic
conditions. Even in countries of Europe infectious diseases like tuberculosis,
typhoid and others were rampant in the 19th century.
The availability of reliable and
effective medicines has played a major role in increasing the life span of the humans. The big killers of the
humans in India are solid fuels, smoking, low fruit intake, pollution,
hypertension, diabetes, infectious diseases and high cholesterol. The first
fours are yet to be taken care of but the last four have been considerably
controlled by medicines. Some drugs do a lot of work, become very important,
and settle as the favourite of doctors and at times, of the patients as well.
At times, these may disappear from the scene because more effective & safer
drugs are discovered. Digitalis, phenacetin, diazepam and sulphonomides, which
were freat medicines at one time, have almost disappeared from the scene in the
last 30 years or more.
The
medicines that have made very significant influences in our lives are:
(i) The penicillins have been very effective in
the treatment of pneumonia, syphilis, gonorrhoea, wound infections, tetanus,
and gas gangrenes. The cephaelosporins are effective even where penicillins
fail and have proved wonderful medicaments.
(ii) Insulin discovered in 1922, has saved
millions from diabetes & allowed diabetics to live a new normal life.
(iii) Aspirin, used for more than 110 years, though
basically for pain and fever, is today the most widely used single medicine for
preventing heart attacks and brain strokes by lowering blood clotting. It works
as a wonder drug in angina, bypass surgery and kidney related problems.
Until
the 1950s, most medicines were discovered in the universities but this has
changed. Lately the pharmaceutical companies have discovered and marketed many
a block-buster drugs which can be prescribed by any physician (even a
non-specialist) and bring about great benefits to the patients. These are:
(i) Statins like atorvastin lower cholesterol,
decrease heart attacks & thus prolong life of millions.
(ii) Beta-blockers have replaced Digitalis, the
two century old drug and allowed management of angina an easy and life saving.
(iii) Steroids are powerful inflammation lowering
drugs and save life from allergic shock and bronchial asthma.
(iv) SSRIs have made treatment of mental depression
an easy game. Fuoxetine has allowed millions to live a normal life.
(v) ACE Inhibitors lower blood pressure and save
the patient from deterioration.
(vi) Omeprazole has helped a long number of
patients to live normally without surgery.
(vii) Anti-malarials like Quinine, chloroquine and
the artemisinins have cured millions of malaria but for this, more effective
medicines have yet to be discovered.
A lot more has to be done particularly
for cancer, AIDS, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The Melinda -Gates Foundation
is doing a wonderful work towards finding more effective remedies for these
diseases.
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Vijaiksharma
