Give them a chance

pick up a newspaper without experiencing a twinge in the back. The difference is not in miracle pills or elixirs for longevity or New Age exercises – it’s a matter of lifestyle.

Our ancestors lived off the land, eating vegetables and fruit, while we stuff ourselves with fried chicken and calorific snacks. Our ancestors led active lives. They worked hard and were always occupied, while we

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sit in a chair and stare at a computer 10 to 12 hours a day and believe we are living healthily when we walk along Marine Drive in track shorts and stop to gulp down “kola kenda.”

The main difference is that our ancestors lived happy, relaxed and fulfilled lives, while most of us in the present context are dissatisfied or depressed.

Moratuwa

A lot of noise is being made about the Malabe Medical School. The issue is the lack of a hospital for teaching medical students.

It should be pointed out that the Colombo Medical School was an outcome of the General Hospital, Colombo and not vice versa. It was a fee-levying institution and term fees had to be made in one payment. Students who passed the matriculation examination were invited by letter to join the school to follow the LMS (Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery). There was no guarantee of employment in the state medical service after you passed out.

Those who could afford it went to England to do the MBBS or LRCP, its equivalent at the time, and started their own practice. It was at this time that men of the calibre of Professors G. A. Wickramasuriya, W. A. Karunarathne, and Milroy Paul were produced, and their work was quoted in textbooks at the time.

When the North Colombo Medical College was started by a group of doctors, some professors sponsored a campaign to stop it, saying the students entering were not qualified to do medicine. When it was closed, students who could afford it went abroad. I know of one such student who is now a professor in an American university.

The same arguments are trotted out again to halt the Malabe venture. One argument is the qualifications of the teaching staff. This is something that can be rectified. Instead of giving a helping hand, people are throwing brickbats at the venture. Give it a chance to stand on its own feet and then pick holes when necessary. After all, the Colombo faculty has come a long way – 120 years – to be what it is.