Science or Surgery- an unnecessary debate!

I recently encountered a raging controversy on the semantics of a dentist's degree. Simply put, the question was whether a 'master of science' degree should be considered inferior to a 'master of dental surgery'. To explain the background, one must understand that in the USA, a master of science is designated with the acronym MS, whereas in India ( and all commonwealth countries) the same is designated as MSc. For the record I might add that MS in India generally refers to Master of Surgery and by logic the MDS is called a Master of Dental Surgery. The case in question refers to a gentleman with  MS in Orthodontics ( as it is referred to in the USA) is today being challenged by one of his colleagues because he has a 'science' degree and not a 'surgery' degree and therefore ineligible to call himself an Orthodontist. Orthodontics, strictly speaking, is not a surgical persuasion. It is an important specialty that deals with non surgical correction of dental and facial deformities. The surgical corrections are done by another specialty. Notwithstanding any of these, in India they are all designated as Master of Dental Surgery. For instance Oral Medicine, Preventive Dentistry and Oral pathology (which are all obviously non surgical specialties) are also designated as MDS. It is just a nomenclature to which we have not appended much thought. It certainly does not matter too! All specialties are important.
To me, the whole controversy about the expansion of a degree ( MS or Msc) appears  puerile and immature because the course content and structure of the syllabus are exactly the same and the regulatory body in India (DCI) has clearly recognized the MS from the particular US University as being equivalent to the MDS. So you can see that the bone of contention is in the expansion of the acronym after the dentist's name!
Science is perhaps the greatest persuasion in human endeavor and surgery is just a part of this great ocean of collective knowledge. Then why do we consider science to be somehow inferior to surgery. It is unfortunately an uninformed world view that makes people clamor after a title that incorporates the word 'surgeon', not realizing how limiting that term can be. I am a Maxillofacial surgeon (a surgical specialty of dentistry) but I would feel more pampered to be called a scientist rather than a surgeon. This is because it would be an acknowledgement that my professional abilities extend beyond the realm of purely using a knife to cure people. In fact until the last century, surgeons were looked down upon because they achieved much less in health care than the other health professionals. In fact even today the surgeons in the UK are called 'Mr' and not 'Dr'. Have you ever wondered why the AIIMS is called the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Does the word ‘science’ seem inferior for this institute? The same applies to NIMHANS and several other national institutes of higher medical training.
Surgery is just a small aspect of the higher calling of science which encompasses a greater understanding and application of knowledge. We must remember that to become a surgeon, one must first embrace science. Surgery is just minuscule arm of the broader subject of science.

The many headed hydra called 'anonymity' !

Many of you must have heard of the arrest and incarceration of a young man in Chennai, who works for a well known dentist and oral surgeon. He was arrested for illegal use of cyber space under anonymity, to spread canards and lies about several honorable professionals. His employer, a famous dentist and accused number two in the FIR was given anticipatory bail after it was dismissed on a previous occasion. The long arm of the law has finally caught up with the cowardly crime of anonymous assault on the reputations of respected professionals. Having been the subject of these cowardly mails by anonymous persons, I am supposed to feel happy. Ironically, I feel no joy. Not even hate. There is however a pall of sadness that engulfs me. I feel sorry for people who could have used their publicity building abilities to do a great service for humanity. Instead they chose to use their resources to disseminate hate, lies, vulgarity and petty schisms in the hope of destroying the reputation of others. Letters under assumed names and anonymous blogs have been created to defame people. Technology has been twisted on its head to perpetuate hate and misdemeanor. Only a detailed investigation will bring out the whole conspiracy and the people involved. The authors of such venality may well find themselves wallowing in their own machinations. It is a lesson for all of us. The trail has not ended and many more are likely to feel the fall. I am also aware that my complaint to the authorities may make me vulnerable to retribution. These are politically powerful people- remember!

Dissent and righteousness are noble persuasions when one can stand up and be counted for his/her views. However fallacious rumour mongering and puerile lies under the veil of anonymity is a narrative of the deep seated evils that plague human personality. Half truths are disingenuous attempts to give life to a lie. Here I need to quote Criss Jami ( American philosopher and lyrical poet) who said “Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” I can believe that!

 For the last couple of years I have waited patiently to see the perpetrators of these lies, about me and several others, to be exposed. I even thought I would be happy to see the culprit being apprehended. But when it finally happened I feel remorse and revulsion. The remorse is for the people who trusted the person- his family, his friends and the professionals who work with him. The revulsion is reserved for the person himself and those who colluded with him in systematic character assassination. Choosing to defame and indulge in anonymous character assassination is a reflection of a particularly dark personality. The singular feature of such persons is cowardice. If folks do not have the courage to stand up and speak, they should remain silent. It is a much more virtuous option.

Most importantly, we must all learn to shun anonymity when we see it. Anonymous letters belong to the waste basket (in modern times to the trash folder). I have been surprised by friends of mine who actually sought my clarification about absurd allegations. If indeed there was any truth, why would anybody want to be anonymous in revealing the same?  We cannot ignore their crime. But we must learn to ignore their scurrilous message. I cannot help quoting Criss Jami again “The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.”

Peace!

George Paul

Bhuvaneswar, Puri and Konark- A Travel story

This year I did something different at the National Conference of my specialty. After several years, unburdened by official work, I took half a day off to do some tourism. This was my first visit to

Bhubaneswar, for that matter, Odissha. Kumar, Anjan, Sunil and I did a quick visit to Puri and Konark, places I had only heard about.

Pic 1 (above) Picture of the Jaganath Temple (down loaded from Wikipedia as no photographs are allowed)

Pic 2&3 The Sthumba in front of the temple with a section of the devotees outside and the sweet Khaja on Sale.

First, the Jaganath temple at Puri. It is of course famous for the annual rath yatra when the three gigantic deities are paraded through town. It commemorates the visit of the three deities to Gundicha Temple (their aunt’s house).  It would be impossible to visit the town during the event because of the sheer number of devotees. 

 However, it is the only time that non Hindus and foreigners (even if they are Hindus) can see the deities. Since the visit to Mausi only takes place in July, I would have to come another time to see the deities. In any case, at this time of the year things were expected to be quieter and I went nevertheless. This small town gave the English language a rather large, new word in the early 20th century-Juggernaut. I can imagine a colonial Englishman with his sun toppee  squinting up at the gigantic temple car on its annual Rath and exclaiming under his breath “ Juggernaut..” (the Englishman’s (mis)pronunciation for Jaganath) and thereby enriching the English language with another word for ‘enormous’. I must admit that I went to Puri with no hope of seeing the temple. As I said earlier it is one of those exclusive temples that do not permit non-Hindus entry into its premises.  Was it worth the trouble then? Well! Yes and no!
The panda (priest retained by my friends as guide and guardian angel) was kind enough to find me a little shade in a sort of waiting room adjacent to the temple. I would spend the better part of the next two hours watching the immense devotion of hundreds of ordinary people seeking solutions to their everyday problems. As a rather tolerant (and sympathetic agnostic) I was moved by the ordinary person’s quest for peace and salvation. In the 'waiting room' I had a few priests for company and they lounged around in various positions on the floor. This included a big mustachioed giant of a man and a young lad, both of whose legs were amputated. I suspect that they were not priests, but had some other kind of privilege in the temple complex. The young chap kicked of his artificial limbs (Jaipur foot, I believe), leaned it against a corner, plugged in his ear phones connected to a mobile phone and spent the rest of the morning humming a tune! 

Pic 4 The waiting room (note the Jaipur foot in the
 corner)




Sitting on the steps and looking a tad incongruous in my jeans and tee shirt, I decided to watch the milling crowd in front of the temple. It was an excellent vantage point from which to watch the devotees arriving and ‘cleansing’ themselves with a sprinkle of water and a ‘wade’ through running water.  In addition to the devotees, there appeared to be several others with some interest in the temple activities. Beggars and vendors were doing brisk business in the full knowledge that devotion does loosen one's purse strings. There were also persuasive priests selling their services. The system works like this. New visitors retain a recommended panda (temple priest) to protect them against other Pandas (also temple priests). If it sounds a little like a protection racket, Well! It is a little aggressive. ‘Selling’ is a mild word. They just point at themselves and inform you that they will be the ‘panda’ for the day. If one is timid, he will spend the next few hours shelling out money on one pretext or the other!  Kumar and Anjan later told me that the ‘friendly’ panda priest, who came well recommended and at a price, was almost a necessity because one can be pretty badly hassled by the resident  priests who rule the premises. The temple however also has its benevolent side. Free food is prepared and given away to the devotees and also to the poor from a large kitchen. The food is apparently prepared from 56 ingredients. The kitchen is apparently a huge affair with hundreds of cooks and assistants who prepare the food in earthen pots which are destroyed everyday (disposable and biodegradable). Anjan, the inveterate foodie, had a glint in his eyes when he narrated these facts and also the possible recipes that can be made from 56 ingredients.  It was lunch time, remember! I am not sure of the significance of the magic number. Earlier, sitting on the steps, I viewed the heaps of a yellow, fried, sugary snack that is sold all over the premises from small kiosks. This is called khaja and is a popular snack, the recipe for which was personally revealed by Lord Jaganath himself- the story goes! I had already tasted  it the previous day. I remembered the delightful quality of crispy sweetness that it had and  was tempted to buy some. Seeing the flies (who also obviously found the thing delightful), I chose to avoid the dangers lurking beneath its sweet exterior. After about an hour the giant with the fiery mustache lay down for his siesta. The amputee had also dozed off lying on his back. The other priests stepped out into the crowd and I saw one of them imposing himself on some hapless devotee who was making a vain attempt to shake him off. My ‘waiting room’ was now an island of peace in the otherwise intense activity outside. One of the striking aspects of the crowd was the complete absence of foreigners (as in Caucasian visitors) which is a common site at these touristy temples. The reason obviously has to do with the restriction on entry. And there were a fair number of bulls that wandered elegantly, unruffled by the pandemonium around them, dropping off large patties of steaming fresh dung that one had to watch out for- particularly when walking barefoot.

Pic 5. Priests, Bulls and Vendors on the Bada danda


























The Jaganath temple is one of the four centres (Char Dham) of Hinduism, specifically Vaishnavism. Its deities are Jaganath, Ramabhadra and Subhadra. The present temple was built in the 11th century century CE by Ananda Varma Chodaganga Dev which was again modified by Ananga Bhima Deva in the 12^th century CE. Like several temples in India it was ransacked by foreigners including the Afghan emperors. I later found out that the temple not only disallows non Hindus but also foreigners, even if they are Hindus. This recently created a crisis when 3 Balinese who were Hindus ( 90% of Bali are Hindus) were not allowed because they did not look like Hindus or perhaps one needs to be born in India to be a Hindu. Remember, Sonia Gandhi has similar problems! The temple eventually permitted them entry, we are told. The reason is that the temple has traditionally been wary of foreigners, because they have been on the receiving end of foreign vandalism. The Aruna Sthambha, a pillar at the entrance represents the Charioteer of Lord Surya and was transplanted to Puri from the Temple at Konark which we were going to see later. This pillar is open for all to see!

 We drove out of the temple premises after collecting our footwear. One can leave footwear, mobiles and cameras at the numerous kiosks specializing in the 'custody' business. My friend’s cameras and mobiles however were in my safe keeping- no fee paid! The sea of humanity parted to allow the car to pass. We drove down the Bada Danda or great avenue which is also the traditional route of the annual Rath Yatra, when viewing points in the buildings are sold for as much as, take a deep breath,  Rs2000 per head. I must come back again sometime to see the rath yatra- perhaps the only way for a non Hindu to see the deities!
We were on our way to Konark. The drive from Puri to Konark was breathtakingly beautiful. We drove through well laid out roads flanked by pristine beaches, lagoons and mangroves. My friends, Kumar, Anjan and Sunil, who, having attained some state of grace in the rough and tumble of Puri, decided that we needed a little more spiritual reinforcement. I agreed. We stopped at a beach side beer parlour and got ourselves fortified.  Anjan eyed a couple of fried crabs lying in a basket and with great reluctance tore his eyes away, having decided that it would not be a good idea to eat the stuff.   

Pic 5.The famous Konark Wheel and the 'Famous Four'

Pic 6. View of the Konark Structure















We drove on to Konark which is indeed touristy in the real sense. The beach side tourist centre had numerous shops selling souvenirs and other sundries. There were also several guides offering their services. We selected a rather ancient looking gentleman who clearly had a serious respiratory problem. He informed us in breathless anxiety that he spoke English. Well! He did speak English in a telegraphic sort of way and conveyed to us the history of Konark in about three and a half sentences- between wheezes. I regretted not having googled about Konark before coming. The temple itself, built in the 13th century BCE to the Sun God (Surya), is an imposing piece of architecture in sand stone/ rock. I later learnt that it was built by Narasimha Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The structure (no more an active temple) is meant to represent a grand, albeit stationary, chariot. The Charioteer, remember was transferred out to the Temple at Puri! The structure faces east to receive the first of the rising sun's rays. The numerous wheels of the emblematic chariot can be seen at regular intervals. The Konark palace (it is not an active temple any more) is a UNESCO heritage site. It is surprising that the intricate carvings have survived the onslaught of the sea winds laden with sand. We saw restoration work in progress. It was a good sign that someone was paying attention to our cultural heritage after all. “No cement!” said the guide, revealingly. Obviously! Portland cement is after all a new building material, I thought. There is so much of harmony and symmetry in the structures.
 Pic 7 Kumar doing a pole dance


  The Konark temple is an elegant architectural wonder whose significance was both spiritual and political.  Our guide’s attempt to explain the details of the architecture in English was quite incomprehensible. He could very well have talked to me in Oriya. As we went around the temple the gentleman suddenly became animated. He found a glorious new vocabulary and enthusiasm which was lacking until that point of time. He looked around and in a conspiring tone drew our attention to intricate details of the carvings. He then burst into what we might call inappropriate language that included words we do not use in civil discussions. Only when we saw the depictions did it become clear that he was giving a running commentary on the remarkable poses etched brilliantly on the rock face. It detailed the numerous possibilities between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman and some raunchy details of a ‘ménage a trois’ and more (if you know what I mean). Our guide, for the first time found vocabulary, which I thought he lacked. In fact, I thought his breathless excitement might kill him. “Very nice time” he finally wheezed as though recalling the salacious times which were never going to come back. Kumar celebrated the viewings by doing an impromptu pole dance on the railings around the structure. Anjan tried but failed! I sort of agreed that this Sun God was a fun God after all! We rushed back just in time to have the three guys dropped off at the airport. It was an amazing drive with the sky lit up in dazzling orange by the setting sun. A fitting tribute to Surya who will rise again with a certainty that we cannot aspire for in our lives!

 Pic 8- Anjan trying to do a pole dance (check out the background)

Pic 9-With our Interpreter of 'dreams'

Pic 10- The setting sun- adieu to Surya. Driving back!












George with Anjan, Kumar and Sanjay. November 24th 2013