“Doctor amma, am I going to die?” asked the elderly cancer patient. “No way,” said amma, aka Dr. Kamalie Sripal. “With the medicines and methods we have, you think we'll let you slip away?” The man broke into a smile. Incidents like these, Dr. Kamalie said, validated her choice of medical counselling as her main work while also being a doctor, writer, editor, social activist, animal lover, motivational speaker and excellent cook. Her message is clear: If you have a medical degree and have your heart in the right place, you can lead a full, rich life.
Kamalie Sripal had an advantage — a “concentration” of relatives to tell the girl who “enjoyed” school what she would do. “Mom's dad was a doctor, so mom won,” she laughed. Her own chance came at the time of specialisation post-MBBS. “Why only Obstetrics-Gynaecology or Paediatrics for women?” she bristled. “Two decades ago, a lot of my patients in Neelankarai and George Town where I had clinics and Sri Ramachandra, Porur where I was AMS were villagers who paid me in vegetables. Their complaints were mostly joint pain, backache and stomach ailments. They told me about home remedies. That's when I became fascinated with the Indian medical systems, which lay emphasis on disease prevention.” She started physiotherapy, asked patients to work at their diet and prevent disease. She was dispensing “holistic” treatment, she said, long before the word became the mantra of modern medical practice.
She also found her answer. She would specialise in geriatric nutrition. “I started medical counselling, telling people to think of what they can do when they are down with a condition; to not exaggerate ailments for sympathy and attention.” The “medical” in counselling expanded to include marital/kids problems. With a diploma in cosmetology, she began to write for magazines, speak on Doordarshan and go on “road shows”. “I spoke at Ladies' Clubs, schools and colleges all over Tamil Nadu. I told people, eat paying less, eat local produce. Mom crowned me the patron-saint of keeraisellers.” If colleges invited her to do HR and counselling, companies called her to talk to women employees. “Counselling, a word not yet recognised, began to overshadow my medical practice,” she said.
The diet-and-yoga regimen she prescribes works for her, just as her snap decisions do for others. Up at 4 a.m., she's at her clinic at seven, sees patients till 2.30 p.m. with breaks to oversee family lunch. Twice a week she puts in hours editing Gokulam Kadir, a Tamil monthly. Evenings are for counselling. She travels down South as a speaker, and squeezes in consultancy at some ten institutions that include the Tamil Nadu Security Intelligence Services. Along the way, she's managed to establish a Naturopathy Centre in Rajasthan and a Herbal Therapy Unit in Chennai.
She won't socialise, but is happy to count Sarojini Varadappan, Anuradha Sekar of Mangayar Malarand lawyer Vinod among friends. “Kamalie is a true friend who swallows anger and listens with patience,” said Anuradha. “She's done a lot of free service for the Red Cross,” said Ms. Varadappan. “She won't let go of her patients till they are totally well,” said the lawyer. She has her own assessment, of her work, her self: “I enjoy being challenged and I'm able to see things with clarity,” she said. “That's my strength. Visiting temples is my weakness.”
FITNESS MANTRA
• Control breath, food, words, deeds. Exercise regularly.
• Make rice a luxury; eat quality, natural, vegetable-based food.
• Do stretch exercises, do mental cleansing by sweeping out negative thoughts.
• Practise silence and spirituality.
