Dr Chhuttani’s writing style was forceful and imaginative . A master of wordplay, he brought a touch of humour to his writings, which were close-packed with felicitous phrases, pithy expressions and apt epithets, says R.K. Malhotra

DR P.N. Chhuttani passed away on July 19, four years ago. I, like many of his admirers, always held him as a dynamo of mental and physical energy in a small, but tough human frame.

Apart from being an eminent doctor, teacher and administrator, he was an acknowledged writer and an ace speaker. The qualities of his facile pen were visible in his articles that appeared under a column ‘Medical Viewpoint’ in the late eighties in The Tribune.

The articles meant for the laity, were based on and reported the latest in medical research. He tried his best to avoid technical jargon in his write-ups.

Deeply concerned about the grey areas in our health care system, he aimed at creating awareness about the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and prevention of various diseases.

Dr Chhuttani’s writing style was forceful and imaginative . A master of wordplay, he brought a touch of humour to his writings, which were close-packed with felicitous phrases, pithy expressions and apt epithets.

I will refer to a few of his favourite topics like breast-feeding, obesity, prohibition and smoking. Though his write-ups were rich in wit and wisdom, he did not aspire to instruct or moralise.

Dr Chhuttani was an advocate of "kick the bottle." A child’s growth, he feared, would suffer if it was fed on the formulae available in the market. His standard advice was "exclusive breast feeding up to six months." He laid stress on the advantages of breast feeding which, he felt, the flighty convent-educated girls shunned for fear of losing the shape of their breasts. "They ought to know that any mother who is reluctant to give her newborn child its due is not only insulting nature, but is also harming the prospects of the infant to fight the onslaught of various allergic disorders and diseases," he argued.

"Breast milk is unique in its composition and is ideally suited for the child’s optimal genetic growth. It is free of infection. The constitution of breast milk has been finely adjusted by nature to suit the requirements of the infant," he averred.

Writing on obesity, he advised, "celebrated quintal Lals and Singhs as well as quintal Devis and Kaurs" to reduce their weight on health grounds. Though normally held as "enviable examples of good health, medical facts are heavily loaded against them," he argued. Not only does the span of their lives gets compromised, they also have a proclivity to develop a number of diseases due to their rotund appearance.

He reiterated that no diet chart could work without the requisite will power to back it. "Laddu-jalebi culture and desi ghee are ruinous for anyone who does not engage in physical work or exercise," he wrote.

Dr Chhuttani was a robust champion of prohibition. He led a crusade against drinking for he ardently felt that "gin kills genius." He wrote that affluency and alcohol went "hand-in-hand in the inevitable march to self-destruction with the enthusiastic cooperation of the victim."

He lamented that the government had no strategy to deal with the increasing use of alcohol. No wonder, it had come to stay as a "state-promoted dragon." He felt it was ironic that "the government seems to be more interested in wealth than health of the people."

The situation in India is compounded as the number of outlets selling alcohol increase every year, making alcohol an ever-expanding scourge, taking a heavy toll of health against the background of widespread malnutrition, poverty and lack of social alcohol discipline. "The nouveau riche with their black money are wreaking havoc on the health of the youth, for the tendency for alcoholism to run in families is well known," he opined.

Dr Chhuttani also waged a war against tobacco, which gives birth to the deadly cancer of the lungs, larynx, oral cavity, oesophagus and the mouth. Use of tobacco in any form causes a host of diseases. "The physical price paid by the smokers is enormous as also the profit made by the tobacco industry," he pointed out.

Even passive smoking is a health hazard. "Non-smoking wives of men who smoke have been known to suffer from a higher rate of lung cancer than women married to non-smokers."

He labelled smoking as a "slow-motion suicide." He advocated a clean break from smoking by exercising one’s will power, for "the best benefit of breaking the habit results in a fresher breath." He would say with a chuckle, "kiss a non-smoker and taste the difference."

Writing on "how life goes up in smoke," he once remarked, "even a few puffs can hurt grievously. Just one cigarette speeds up heartbeat, increases blood pressure, upsets air in the lungs and causes a drop in the skin temperature. Medically, it is a proven destroyer of health."