Ever since he was a child, Dr Ashwath Narayan C N wanted to enter the field of politics to bring about change, while his mother wanted him to pursue medicine. “When the time came for me to choose what I wanted to study, I picked medicine because it is a glorious profession through which we can cure diseases and save lives. Being a doctor is painful, yet touching,” he says.
After completing MBBS, Narayan ran a private practice in Nagarbhavi for two years before he established Padmashree Group of Institutions in 1995, offering various courses related to medicine and health care, and, five years later, Padmashree Diagnostics.
But, as the first doctor in his family, he still yearned to prevent diseases. The solution seemed to lie in chasing his childhood dream of becoming a politician, and Narayan entered mainstream politics, in 2004, when he joined BJP and contested the Malleswaram constituency. “I lost that election,” he says. “But after that I won, consecutively, in 2008 and 2013.”
Narayan shares that, having studied medicine, he feels he has an edge when it comes to implementation of plans and schemes. “Most people understand and think in terms of concepts, but I am able to comprehend technicalities. For example, most people know that the number of anganwadis have to be increased, I know why the step is beneficial, so I can ensure that childcare centres do their work effectively.”
“The literacy rate has certainly gone up during the past few decades,” Narayan continues. “But we also need to focus on better health of the general population.” Health problems, he believes, can be prevented only by simultaneously addressing related issues such as hygiene and malnutrition.
“Most Indians have a primarily carbohydrate diet. The national average protein consumption, per head, in a day is a mere 35gms, whereas it should be a minimum of 100gms,” he explains, adding that he has been trying to address the issue through awareness programmes about nutrition.
Still a doctor at heart, the MLA misses his practice. “It is unfortunate that one gets caught-up in a milieu of activities as a politician, and cannot take time out for consultations,” Narayan says. “Though the service I can do by contributing to the healthcare sector now is immense.”
All the same, he still cherishes the hope of resuming his practice in the future.
Ashwath Narayan C N
Doctor and MLA