Editorial:
April Come She Will” [i] & the Buds Begin to Bloom……
Dr. Nikunj Jani,
Joint Editor
The month of April has a lot of significance. The origin of the word April is rooted in the Latin Aprilis which is derived from the Latin aperire meaning “to open” – which could be a reference to the opening or blossoming of flowers and trees, a common occurrence throughout the month of April in the northern hemisphere. All across the world, April stands for the bloom and riot of colours, the launching of the New Year in most Indian communities. April also stands for Resurrection, the month when Christ was raised from the dead. For all us Homoeopaths across the globe, April is the month when the founder of our Science, Dr Samuel Hahnemann, was born.
After the harsh winter, the spring sets in, the bloom occurs and nature is at its best. The most symbolic image of a bloom is the image of cherry blossom in Japan, which usually starts in the first week of April. When one looks at this image, one feels the warmth within.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/236720524136981255
I am reminded of a haiku by an award-winning Romanian poet, Eduard Tara, who beautifully describes the cherry blossom bloom:
“blossom by blossom—
the old cherry tree
gathers light”
Eduard has won many awards for his haiku in several languages, including English, Russian, German, French and Portuguese. He is also a PhD in Algebra and is a mathematics teacher in Iasi in Romania. The poem is a beautiful, yet understated image that speaks to the time of day and the quality of light when the cherry blossom seems to glow with a light of its own. It also contains a sense of wabi sabi (beauty in something imperfect and transient), and a metaphorical sense of recognizing and celebrating inner beauty. There is a quietly beautiful sense of time passing in this haiku that makes it subtly powerful.
Earlier the ICR and now the MLDMHI, have over the years produced Homoeopaths who have always believed in Hahnemannian Homoeopathy and have stayed true to the cause of development and nurture of scientific evidence-based Homoeopathy. This third issue of the JISH can be called the “Alumni Issue”. The grand tree of the ICR, which is now firmly rooted, and the growing tree of MLDMHI, have produced blooms. Every author whose papers is published in this issue has been a student or is a student of both these grand institutions and when April comes, what a bloom do we have……
We have a bloom in all the diverse areas, areas which a decade ago were not so much ventured into. A bouquet of diverse papers; the team of (old and new) Dr Bipin Jain and Dr Nandan Daptardar share the case series on Homoeopathic management of paediatric neurological emergencies. The diverse challenging cases explore the role and potential of Homoeopathy in a specialized area, the learnings from which will surely go a long way in enabling us to realize how working with the aid of modern health technology in a hospital setting is vital in getting astonishing results in a difficult area of clinical practice.
The case series by the team of (again old and new) Dr Anand Kapse, Dr Janhavi Kapse, and Dr Kavita Jadhav talks of the holistic management of infertility with Homoeopathy. The cases have diverse clinical presentations and the paper will surely strike us as a classical reminder of how it is crucial to focus on the couple as a unit when tackling a vexing problem that afflicts so many unfortunate couples. We hope to bring to you the story of how these core experiences led to the creation of the Homoeopathic Infertility OPD at the Rural Homoeopathic Hospital (RHH), Palghar.
The buds are blooming; two of MLDMHI’s alumni are exploring different avenues for the spread of Homoeopathy. If Homoeopathy has to come into the mainstream, then it has to reach the small villages of our country. Acceptance of Homoeopathy in rural areas will go a long way in mainstreaming our science. Our alumnus, Dr Ravindra Shinde from Akluj, Malshiras, Sholapur District of Maharashtra, shares the heart-warming journey of his efforts to take Homoeopathy to the rural areas. His steadfast adherence to the principles and the knowledge acquired in the Institute is indeed a true testimony to the timeless values and principles on which the Institute’s community work is based. This paper will surely serve as an inspiration for all of us.
Another of our alumni, Dr Keyur Vakharia, is working to help the spread of Homoeopathy in a completely different area – the digital medium. We live in a world that is increasingly becoming digital (including our journal!) and if a Homoeopath has to share the right information, then they must establish their digital presence. In his paper, Dr Keyur guides us on how to go about in this endeavour. He will be following up with an online survey to gauge the interest of the readers in the initiative that he has pioneered.
If the older buds are blooming, can the younger ones remain quiet? Our young energetic alumnus, Dr Jitesh Thakur, shares how a government programme, when used well by our institute, can deliver all core missions of our institute – Patient Care, Learner Care, and Community Care – to the people who actually need it the most.
The alumni of MLDMHI carry saplings of the values and teachings of their alma mater with them, which they plant in their own backyards! Each of these saplings is slowly growing into a tree that will bloom fully. That bloom will not just beautify their backyards, but will change the entire landscape of scientific Homoeopathy across the country.
The bloom is not just in clinical cases, but also in the academic departments of MLDMHI. Evolution is the rule of nature. We will see how in the last decade the Psychiatry Department of MLDMHI has slowly been evolving – from OPD-level care to IPD-level management, to Extra Mural Research in Child Psychiatry, to setting up the Anukampa ward, then recently in Geriatric Psychiatry, and now in the area of Community Psychiatry. Dr Sunita Nikumbh shares the process of how an academic department working as a team, takes on community care, partners with likeminded institutions in the community, and takes the concept of Mental Health for All to the young in the hope of ensuring their future in mental health.
When a small sapling slowly grows into a tree, it starts to spread and firm its roots. These roots help strengthen the tree. RHH Palghar is one such tree that has been blooming magnificently. The bloom is not just in the number of its services but also in its resolve to strengthen its roots – with a mission to ensure quality care and create systems that are open for scrutiny and evaluation by third parties. Drs Anoop Nigwekar and Anand Kapse share the journey of team RHH from accreditation to excellence. Along with this, we have a few interesting seminar / symposium reports and much more. Not to be left far behind, Dr Chirag Shah shares his initial journey of exploring the NAAC accreditation for our UG and PG colleges.
We have case reports, where the old and new alumni team up and bring to us the role of Homoeopathy in cardiology – both the cases will demonstrate the utility of Boger’s Approach in different clinical conditions. The case by Drs Bipin Jain, Shalini Sharma, and Sujit Swami will show the efficacy of Homoeopathy in acute cardiac cases and how we can show evidence-based results to the world. The case of Drs Bhavik Parekh and Sinthuja K will help us apply Boger’s approach in cases having venous pathologies.
In this issue, we also bring to you the eagerly awaited part three of the paper on scientific writing by Mrs Belsare. This will surely make all of us want for more. Learning from seminars and our symposia continue to rivet our attention from the new (Dr Vansh Luniya) and the experienced (Dr Sachin Junagade).
All across the world, on 10th April there are events big and small to mark the birth anniversary of our Founder. It is a day when we Homoeopaths choose to redeem our pledge to our science. While I type this, a question comes to mind: are we doing enough? Yes, we need events, campaigns, and seminars to mark this day, as they help us in promoting our science. A lot of good work is now being done by government agencies, Homoeopathic associations, and Homoeopathic institutes to promote and popularise Homoeopathy to the public. We now need to start talking and taking care of each other. There is no better way to do that other than sharing knowledge with each other.
Here, I am reminded of a verse from a very popular poem by the revered Gujarati poet Shri Makrand Dave:
“ગમતું મળે તો અલ્યા, ગુંજે ન ભરીએ
ને ગમતાંનો કરીએ ગુલાલ….”
(It means, “If you get what you like, don’t just keep or harbour it; rather, share it with both hands.”)
We are all treating patients and doing good to them. It’s time we start sharing our experiences, publishing our evidence-based results, and learning from each other. It’s time we start demonstrating scientific Homoeopathy to the young students in Homoeopathic colleges so that they don’t lose motivation. The bloom of progress in Homoeopathy cannot be restricted to certain streets or boroughs, but the bloom has to occur all over the forest, just like how the Gulmohar blooms in April. The onus of this lies on all of us. We owe this to our Founder. So this April, let us resolve to work for Homoeopathy so that we all can proudly say, “He did not live in vain”. This April let the buds bloom…
Wishing all of you and your dear ones, a wonderful World Homoeopathy Day…..
[i] April Come She Will– A popular song by American music duo: Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon
