Date:02/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/02/stories/2009010251790300.htm

Karnataka - Gulbarga

Need for more books on medicine and health issues stressed

Special Correspondent

‘There is a demand to know about the latest development in these fields’

TRADITIONAL: B.A. Sannadi inaugurating a seminar to mark the ninth anniversary of Dr. P.S. Shankar Pratishthan in Gulbarga on Thursday.

GULBARGA: Poet and writer B.A. Sannadi on Thursday stressed the need for publishing more books on medicine and health issues as there was a demand for the latest development in medicine and health management.

Releasing the biography of Christian Bernard, who had, for the first time, successfully performed a heart transplantation in South Africa, written by Chandrappa Gowda in Kannada, Dr. Sannadi said that books on medicine, health issues, and cookery were popular among the people than novels.

Dr. Sannadi said that the first Kannada book on medicine was published in the ninth century from Malkhed in Gulbarga district under the Rashtrakuta kings.

Commending the Dr. Shankar Pratishthan for doing yeoman service in popularising medicine and health books in Kannada, Dr. Sannadi said that the biography of Dr. Bernard was also published by the pratishthan. He complimented the author of the book who, he said, had depicted the life of Dr. Bernard in a lively manner retaining the interest of the readers throughout.

Although there was no dearth of books in Kannada on medicine and health now, he said that there was a need for more books on these issues with latest information. Nearly 2,500 books in Kannada on health issues and medicines have been published and the pratishthan had published 18 of them.

Dr. Sannadi said that education and health were the two issues which helped in building a strong and value-based society and importance should be given to ensuring quality education and healthcare for an orderly and healthy growth of society.

Later, Dr. Sannadi inaugurated a seminar on “Swasta Sampada” as part of the ninth anniversary of the pratishthan.

While Murugesh Pasthapur delivered a lecture on “Live Style Diseases”, C. Sharathkumar from Mysore delivered a lecture on “Management of Infertility in both Men and Women”, and Vinod Chebbi delivered a special lecture on “Value-based Sex Education”.

Vice-president of the pratishthan S.S. Patil presided over the function. Secretary of the pratishthan S.S. Hiremath and chairperson Ambika Shankar were present.