Tribal medicine expert gets Padma honour
Ms Lakshmikutty lived in a small palm leaf-thatched hut in a tribal settlement in the deep forest.
Thiruvananthapuram: Four Malayalis will receive Padma awards this year. Bharatiya Vichara Kendram director P. Parameswaran receives Padma Vibhushan while Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma Metropolitan got Padma Bhushan. Renowned palliative care physician M.R. Rajagopal and tribal medicine expert Lakshmikutty of Vithura have been conferred with Padma Shri. Mr Parameswaran, 91, a Hindutva ideologue and orator, is also the president of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari. He is one of the founder members of the International Forum for India’s Heritage (IFIH). He is the senior most RSS pracharak in Kerala.
Born Philip Oommen, the metropolitan bishop of the Mar Thomas church has been a bishop for 64 years, eight months and two days, which makes him the longest-serving bishop in India. He is addressed and referred to as Chrysostom Thirumeni or Valiya Thirumeni. He turned 100 in April 2017. M.R. Rajagopal, MD, is a palliative care physician who is the founder chairman of Pallium India, a clinic for the distressed. The 71-year-old is often referred to as the 'father of palliative care in India. A documentary film based on Dr M.R. Rajagopal’s life, titled Hippocratic: 18 Experiments in Gently Shaking the World was released by Moonshine Agency, Australia, on World Palliative Care Day, October 14, 2017.
Rajagopal’s advocacy has contributed to amendment of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of India 2014 and in its implementation — a critical step in reducing the suffering and allowing millions to access pain relief.
He, along with Dr Suresh Kumar and Ashok Kumar, unofficially started Kozhikode Pain and Palliative care in 1990s. Later, in 1993, it was transformed to a registered society. Palium India was formed after he moved to Thiruvananthapuram. Currently it is functioning in 15 states with 60 employees and nearly 100 volunteers.
Ms Lakshmikutty who prepared 500 tribal medicines from memory has helped the recovery of over a thousand people of snake bite and insect bites. She gives lectures on natural medicines in institutions across south India. She was a teacher at the Kerala Folklore Academy, Kallar centre. The knowledge was passed on to her by her mother. Ms Lakshmikutty lived in a small palm leaf-thatched hut in a tribal settlement in the deep forest. She was the only women in her area who attended the school in 1950.