Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Strains that provide a healing touch

Special Correspondent

STRIKING A CHORD: A Coimbatore Medical College Hospital employee playing instrumental music for patients at the hospital's telephone exchange on Thursday. Dean T.P. Kalaniti is also in the picture. — PHOTO:S. SIVA SARAVANAN

COIMBATORE: It is music for the ears of the ailing at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital with soft instrumental music providing a soothing touch to more than 1,000 inpatients and a few hundred employees.

"We started off two months ago with violin music and it became a hit," says Dean T.P. Kalaniti. "Now the notes of veena and jalatharangam fill the air."

Asked about patient response, he says: "They become impatient if there is no music in the evening. Around 6 p.m. they ask the control room at the telephone exchange to start playing it."

And who benefits the most out of the music?

"It is a hit with the psychiatry and de-addiction wards," says the Dean. "Patients, their relatives and our staff enjoy it." The net effect is less frayed tempers.

Those with the knowledge of carnatic music even ask for specific ragas. "I am in touch with a former student who is in Boston, studying music as a therapy. B. Shankar is a pianist and I have asked him for cassettes of piano music based on our ragas," Dr. Kalaniti says.

So, there is more music in store for those at the CMCH - a pleasant one.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

They look for good roads, clean city
Best business person awardees felicitated
Peace brings youth together
Strains that provide a healing touch
BSNL revises tariff for services
Medical representatives' plea on working hours
Seminar on pumps and valves
A new series
One file nomination
Beginning the journey
Around the City
In Coimbatore Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu