எண்ணம்

எண்ணும் எண்ணத்தை எண்ணி எண்ணியே

எண்ணம் போனதால் எண்ண வேண்டியவற்றை

எண்ணத் தவறிவிடும் எண்ணச்சூழல் ஏற்படின்

எண்ணமே தவறோ? எண்ணுபவர் தவறோ?

A Winner All The Way

Dear Friends,

This is an article that I wrote about my grandfather, with inputs from my family members, for printing in the invitation card for the Inauguration of K T Venkatarama Reddy Endowment and the 1st Endowment Lecture. The invitation scans and further details are linked to the title of this post. I welcome one and all to the event on Saturday, July 3rd, 2010, at The Residency Hotel, Coimbatore at 6 PM.

I hope I have done some justice to my illustrious grandfather by trying to summarize his numerous achievements and outstanding personal virtues in a few words. I would be happy to know from you if you think I have succeeded in my humble attempt.

Thanking you,

With regards,

Dr J Vijay Venkatraman.

Shri K T Venkatarama Reddy

Founder, KTVR Vijaydeepa Group

(03.06.1924 – 07.07.2008)

“A Winner All The Way”

Kolathur Thippi Reddy Venkatarama Reddy was born on 03-June-1924 in Kolathur, in present day Mettur Taluk, Salem District, in a poor agricultural family. He was the eldest son of Shri Thippi Reddy and Smt Gowri Ammal, amongst 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Though he was an outstanding student particularly in Mathematics, family situations forced him to quit schooling with 8^th standard, but he never gave up learning for life. He metamorphosed himself from an agriculturist into a small businessman, a change that required him to strenuously travel far and wide throughout South India. A keen observer, he went on to become a building contractor in succession, implementing the knowledge he gained in the process of networking with builders and masons. Self-confidence, perseverance, honesty and unshakeable belief in his vision were his only partners.

As a building contractor, some of his landmark buildings include the Mettur Hydroelectric Power Project, Dharmapuri collectorate, Paalaaru Bridge, Chembarambakkam Lake, College of Agricultural Engineering (in The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University campus, Coimbatore), Civil Aerodrome (Coimbatore), etc. With the support of his younger son Er V Loganathan, he moved on to promotion of apartments and introduced the concept of ownership flats to Coimbatore – Vijaydeepa Apartments in 1980. He was honoured for his achievements in the construction industry by being unanimously elected as the Founder Chairman of the Builders’ Association of India - Coimbatore Centre in the same year. He constructed 25 apartment and other building projects in Coimbatore during his lifetime.

With a burning desire to provide medical service to the community, he inspired his daughter Dr V Suseela and elder son Dr V Janarthanan to take up medicine as their profession. This formed the base for the realization of yet another of his dreams – KTVR Group Hospital, a multispeciality hospital in the heart of Coimbatore city on his birthday in the year 1990. He was a competitive first generation entrepreneur but at the same time considerate to one and all to such an extent that he never hesitated to teach the tricks of his own trade to any interested person. Unconditional support from his loving wife Smt V Siddhammal played a quintessential role in the successes he saw throughout his life.

An ardent believer in Gandhian philosophy, he always wore only khadhi. He contributed a lot to the community during his tenures as Ward Councillor and Panchayat Board President of Kolathur. He drew inspiration from his acquaintance with great leaders of yesteryears such as Shri K Kamaraj, Shri R Venkataraman, Shri C Subramaniam and a host of others in public life. Having started his construction career from Kolathur Panchayat water tank, he supported the local people in building high schools, temples and also promoted quality houses at a nominal cost next to Gowri Theatre and Thippi Reddy Thirumana Mandapam, which he constructed in memory of his parents in 1986 and 1995 respectively, in his hometown.

After achieving success as an agriculturist, entrepreneur, builder and healthcare promoter, he initiated his dream project – KTVR Knowledge Park for Engineering and Technology, in 2007 at the age of 83 years. As a man of word that he was, he saw to that the engineering college began to function, even as he was in the last few days of his life. He passed away as an educationalist on 07-July-2008 at the age of 84 years. Even after his life, he inspires his family members and admirers to follow his footsteps.

Shri K T Venkatarama Reddy’s life is full of encouragement for today’s younger generation. It is yet another proof that hard work coupled with practical wisdom and righteousness never fails to attain long-term success.

KTVR was truly a class apart – an era by himself.

A winner all the way!

On Ilaiyaraaja's 67th Birthday

"புதிய மெருகோடு பழமை விலகாமல் ஜொலிக்கும் உன் பாட்டு" says Kavignar Vaali in the song 'Oru murai kettaale' (Movie: Inime Naanga Dhaan - Released in 2007) - This is the best verse that I could think of on Ilaiyaraaja's 67th Birthday!

பகுத்தறிவும் பேரறிவும்!

'பகுத்தறிவைப்' புகழ்வோரை நான் கண்டதுண்டு!

பகுத்தறிந்து புகல்வோரால் நெஞ்சம் மகிழ்ந்ததுண்டு!

'பகுத்தறிவைப்' பற்றிப் பகுத்தறிதல் மறந்தமனங்களைப்

பகுத்தறிந்து புலமைதந்து காத்திடுவாய் பேரறிவே!

Hypoglycemia in patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a common health disorder characterized by a myriad of clinical features that share the common denominator of increased blood sugar levels known as hyperglycemia. The term hypoglycemia refers to the state in which the blood sugar level drops below the acceptable lower limit of the normal value. In this article, we shall see how hypoglycemia, stands out as an important topic that every diabetic patient should be aware of, in lieu of the significant toll it could take on their health.

Normal blood sugar levels in human beings usually range from 70 to 140 mg/dL depending on various factors throughout the day. Hypoglycemia is generally experienced when blood sugar levels drop lower than 60 mg/dL. It is almost always seen only in diabetic subjects on treatment with insulin or with some types of oral anti-diabetic medications. It is seldom encountered in a normal non-diabetic person or a diabetic subject who is not on any drug treatment for diabetes. Exceptions may be times of starvation or unusually intense physical activity, which occur more often in children than adults.

Hypoglycemia occurs in a diabetic patient due to one or more of the following scenarios:

1. The patient takes the drug but does not have the meal at the right time in relation with the drug intake as advised by the doctor.
2. The patient chooses to fast or has very little food on any given day after taking the regular medications.
3. The patient delays any meal for long hours. For example, it is common for people having a late lunch after taking medications in the morning to experience hypoglycemic episodes at noon.
4. The dosage of the medication is high or the patient’s drug requirement has recently decreased due to improvement in their blood sugar control.
5. The patient is dehydrated due to vomiting or diarrhea.
6. The patient subjects themselves to unaccustomed physical exertion.
7. The patient has kidney problems leading to poor excretion of the anti-diabetic medications leading to repetitive low sugar episodes.

Sudden hunger, shivering, palpitation and sweating are the initial warning signals of a hypoglycemic episode. Left untreated, hypoglycemia can lead to loss of concentration, drowsiness, confusion, speech difficulty, incoordination, visual disturbance and even to loss of consciousness. Frequent hypoglycemic episodes can cause memory loss in the long-term. Hypoglycemic episodes occur more frequently and are more severe in intensity in type 1 diabetic subjects than those with type 2 diabetes.

The immediate treatment for a hypoglycemic episode is to administer oral glucose preferably in a liquid form, i.e., either to give normal table sugar or glucose powder mixed in any beverage or in the worst case, with water. This is advocated rather than just pouring solid sugar crystals into the patient’s mouth because as the hypoglycemia becomes severe, the saliva in the mouth dries up and so, it is difficult for the sugar crystals to get absorbed. If the patient comes back to normalcy within a few minutes, no other treatment is required. But once a patient becomes unconscious or reaches a stage wherein it becomes impossible to feed them orally or develops repetitive hypoglycemic episodes, emergency hospitalization is mandatory because glucose has to given through injections and the patient also needs to be evaluated for other causes for the coma.

In order not to risk becoming hypoglycemic in public, diabetic patients on drug treatment are requested to always carry chocolates with them whenever they go out of the house. This helps a lot because they can take a chocolate immediately after they sense the initial symptoms of their low blood sugar level instead of allowing it to progress into a full-blown hypoglycemic episode.

Hypoglycemic episodes pose a big challenge in patients having diabetes for a long time because they are more prone to develop a condition called Hypoglycemia Unawareness in which they do not experience the classical alert signals of the condition while their blood sugar level is already much lower than normal. This condition occurs due to the patient’s nerves being affected due to long-term diabetes. These patients need to be more careful than others in taking their medication and food at the right time, as they run a higher risk of developing severe and serious complications due to hypoglycemia.

To conclude, hypoglycemia is something like a necessary evil for one who is on drug treatment for diabetes. Best results of diabetes management are seen only with good sugar control but good sugar control always comes with a little risk of hypoglycemia. If we avoid medications for the fear of hypoglycemia, we are almost always sure to face the severe complications of diabetes. But, if we learn to tackle the episodes of hypoglycemia prudently, we can be sure that we are striking the right balance. Balanced diet and right lifestyle are significant factors that influence blood sugar control positively. Needless to say, due to the complicated medical issues involved with diabetes and its treatment, a patient must never self-medicate and should always make it a point to regularly review with their doctor so as to maintain the expected level of sugar control with negligibly minimal low sugar episodes.

'Hit' Song!

I'm told that song is a 'hit'!

Yet to me, it's a "super hit" -

Not on the telly's charts, but hard

On my poor little heart!

While I hear it as glorified noise;

Some term it youth's voice!

Hmmm! What do I say when they

Declare it the music of their day?

I'm surprised, with musical bombs

Exploding to applauses of aplomb,

How music could get so re-defined

With its soulful content quarantined!

Hot or sweet, a song needs to convey

The intended flavor in its genuine way!

With no power and life seen in reflection,

How can it be a musical composition?

நன்றி

எதனை எதனுடனும் ஒப்பிடாமலும் - அது

உயர்ந்தது இது தாழ்ந்ததென்று தீர்ப்பளிக்காமலும்

அதனை அதுவாய் இசையை இசையாய்

உணரும் வரம்தந்தமைக்கு என் நன்றி!