Bangalore is considered Karnataka’s Mecca of Medicine, but Shimoga, with hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories and chemists on almost every city centre road, comes a close second. It isn’t that Shimoga has a lot of ill people, but that healthcare here is broadly perceived to be as, if not more, patient-friendly and sophisticated as in Bangalore. Shimoga also caters to surrounding areas like Hassan, Chickmaglur, Mudigere, Shringeri, and even Mangalore.
The shining star of Shimoga’s medical firmament is Dr K A Ashok Pai, the son of late advocate Kateel Appu Pai and home-maker Vinodini Pai. Born in Shimoga on December 30, 1946, Pai wanted to become a psychiatrist right from his high school days. He graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belgaum, and went on to do a post graduate degree in psychiatry from NIMHANS, and later a fellowship and diploma in behavioural medicine, counselling and psychotherapy from the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine at Dallas in the United States.
Dr Pai joined Kasturba Medical College at Manipal in 1975. He was the founder member of the college’s pyschiatry department. He continued his efforts to develop a psychiatry department at Shimoga’s government-run McGann Hospital, and in 1979 founded Manasa Nursing Home, making psychiatric care available in Shimoga for the first time.
With the support of his wife Dr Rajani Pai, Manasa blazed a new trail in bringing psychiatric care down from its urban pedestal. Well recognized in India and abroad for its comprehensive approach and extended mental health programmes, the nursing home has had around 1,75,000 in-patients over the past three decades, which may well be a world record.
His “injections” of humour when talking about psychiatry also make Dr Pai a much sought speaker. As a Rotarian he is known for philanthropy, including encouraging Manasa employees to further their educations, and helping some get married too.
Dr Pai is as adept at wielding the pen, drawing the attention of those interested in psychology and psychiatry, as well as general readers, with his prolific writing. His forays into film-making have been a great success as well. He ventured into the field with Kadina Benki, a film that won him national and state awards, and followed it up with the filming of his novel Prathama Usha Kirana that won him the state award and a Filmfare Award besides being shown in many foreign countries. His other movies include 'Aaghatha' that won a special state award, and Antarala, a nationally televised Hindi teleserial.
His wife Dr Rajani Pai, a gynaecologist, is calmness personified, of whom Kuvempu University Professor Rajendra Chennai said at a public function: “If 90 per cent of the patients admitted to Manasa Nursing Home are cured by Dr Ashok Pai’s treatment, the remaining 10 per cent tough cases are cured by Dr Rajani Pai’s smile.”
Honours have came quick and in abundance to Dr Pai. The Dr B C Roy Award was of course the most prestigious. Earlier, he received the Dr S S Jayaram Award for his essay on examination phobia. Then followed the Dr H Narasimhaiah award for his book Chitta-Chetana, the International Gold Star Award, London, by the International Forum of NRI’s, the Beechi Award for his article Humour in Psychiatry, the Sushruta Award from Vijapur’s International Yoga Convention, and the Sadvaidya Award for lifetime service to the medical field. Apart from these he has also been appointed a member of the governing council of the Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences.
Dr Pai’s relentless efforts made medical professionals sit up and take notice. What was considered an out-of-bounds small town was immediately recognized as a hub of medical activity. Physicians, surgeons, pharmacists and lab technicians flocked to Shimoga, turning it into a centre of excellence in a short time.
Dr Pai is known for his no-nonsense approach. A restaurant opposite Manasa used to charge `30 per meal. Dr Pai thought that many of his patients could not afford a lavish meal when all that they wanted was a simple rice-sambar and buttermilk. The restaurant owner said that lowering the price would not work so Dr Pai bought the entire site housing the restaurant and started the Manasa Restaurant that provides meals from Rs 10 to 30.
Karnataka nominated Dr Pai for the Padma award in 2005-10. He chaired the World Kannada Cultural Convention at Kuwait in 2001, at Abu Dhabi in 2004 and at Bahrain in 2005.
“In India, 2 per cent of the population are psychotic, 4 per cent are neurotics, 4 per cent have personality disorders like drug abuse and related problems, two per cent have cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities, which brings the total of the mentally ill to 12 per cent,” says Dr Pai.
This means that 14 crore Indians need mental healthcare. The available resource is 6,000 psychiatrists, half of whom are abroad. Dr Pai wants Karnataka to show the way, by setting up schools for the mentally-challenged and a rehabilitation centre with 50 beds in every district of the state.