The priority of showing news in our TV channels and a tribute to Dr. V Shanta

 Hello again,

                    January 19, 2021 will go down as one of the important days in the history for the Indian cricket. India or our cricket team won the 'Border -Gavaskar ' test series in Gabba, Brisbane with not so nail-biting finish. What made the win so special is that the last match was won with the absence of major stars like Viraat Kohli with the help of unbeatable score of 97 from Rishabh Pant. One of the players had to encounter racial attacks against which a police case has been filed. Of course, a win is always doubly sweet when it is won in a foreign soil and beating the hosts! Indian team won against all odds. It was celebration for whole of India which is united at least once with cricket as a religion. It is of no wonder, almost all the news channels were in the celebratory mood throughout the day! I have nothing against this game but I stopped following cricket matches for a long time except during world cups. There were forwards in a lighter vein like "If a boss is on leave, it should be short enough for the team to miss him, but not long enough for the team to realize it can function well without him." 

                                                      Another prominent news is the preparation at Capitol Hill for the swearing in of the new president Joe Biden on January 20th with his team which includes 1st woman Vice president  'of Indian origin' as seen by Indians.  Of course, Donald Trump's exit was most dramatic and controversial in the American history and the super power entertainer will be missed.:) :) Everybody around the world knows who is the new American president , but would have forgotten the name of the president of the country they belong to! 

                                               Because of these sensational mega news items, our news channels conveniently forgot to mention a few lines on the demise of Dr. V. Shanta, an Oncologist who totally dedicated her life to making cancer care affordable to common man. When the word cancer still continues to give anyone chills, she worked hard in changing the mindset that with early detection and treatment, Cancer can be curable. She belonged to the illustrious family of Nobel Laureates Sir C V Raman and Dr. S. Chandrasekhar. But with her hard work and total dedication, she carved a niche for herself and also for the society. She joined the famous Adayar Cancer Institute in early 1950s, when lady doctors mostly specialized in obstetrics/gynecology. This did upset her family members. She focused on the study of the disease, developing more awareness on its prevention and cure, developing specialists and scientists in various subspecialties of oncology. She was the recipient of the second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan. She lived up to the  ripe old age of 93 being active till the end. She died on January 19, the same day India won the series at Brisbane. Except for news channels in Tamil Nadu, no other channels reported her death and describing her achievements, especially her valuable contribution towards the mankind. Maybe, there is nothing 'sensational' about her life other than her long and illustrious career. If she had moved to America and became well-known there, she would have got some news coverage in TV channels. It was a sad day for medical fraternity in India which was ignored. Every one in India knows Kamala Harris and try to 'root' her as much possible to India, but very few know Dr. Shanta. My humble tributes to a great doctor and a greater human being. 

Thanks,

Deepa.