Dr K. Srinath Reddy is a cardiologist, perhaps India’s best known ambassador in the global public health arena and a prolific columnist. But first and foremost, he is a teacher. Pulse to Planet published by Harper Collins, is that teacher at work, breaking down complex concepts of interplay between environmental factors, gene modulation and the human system – each of which can be the subject of several books or perhaps even a whole library – within the space of a few hundred pages.
In his preface, Reddy writes about how inspired he is by young people like environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Nobel prize winner Malala Yousufzai. The book is written for the future Thunbergs and Yousufzais and not “health experts” as the author specifies at the very beginning. Neither is it meant for students of advanced biology. It is a primer that distills decades of Nobel winning scientific achievements into a coherent series of cause and effect relationships that add up to the perfect whole for young people, still on the fence about what career to pursue, but curious about the big picture and saving the planet. The author attempts to take a bird’s eye view of the vast and diverse system that is simplistically referred to as biology, presenting it as a vector sum of multiple societal and political determinants that constitute a larger system encompassing individuals, governments, corporations, admen and microorganisms.
Dr K.Srinath Reddy. Pulse to Planet. Harper Collins (2023).
One of my favourite paragraphs from the book covers, in one fell swoop, the wide expanse between embryology and epidemiology. “As the foetus, developing in the womb or the child in the early years of life experiences undernutrition, epigenetics change the programme of the body’s metabolism to spare the limited nutrition available for the growth of the brain and nervous system, as survival depends on brain function. Other organs shrink in size and the lean muscle mass develops insulin resistance to spare glucose for the brain. As the child grows, this metabolic programming through epigenetic controls becomes counterproductive when there is an increase in dietary intake. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease manifest in early adulthood. A small lung size reduces the respiratory capacity for exercise and loads the dice against survival when severe respiratory infections strike.” All of a sudden, India’s second wave nightmare is framed not just against the dominant narrative of infrastructure shortage but also chronic malnutrition of women and children.
The author largely steers clear of any observations that might raise domestic political hackles – both malnutrition and Covid-19 death toll are red flags – but he does delve into the larger politics of healthcare, choosing a little known example of the World Trade Organisation blocking attempts by the tiny Pacific Island of Samoa to ban the import of turkey tails (73% fat) from the USA that led to widespread obesity and diabetes in the islanders.
Reading the book, one sometimes wishes the examples were closer home but then it is clearly written for the future global citizen with diverse interests who transitions smoothly from Barbara Streisand in the context of making of health policy to biomimicry where nature’s ingenuity is harnessed in the laboratory to create scientific marvels such as airplanes and velcro. It is an erudite, even if a tad bit sanitised world view for the consumption of a mind that is still being formed.
That is also why the thought that Reddy leaves us with is “What will the young persons of 2051 say”, the year a reference to his own birth year of 1951, hoping to “stir up a discussion” that will eventually lead to the better upkeep of this planet he describes as “not lonely but only”.
Abantika Ghosh is a former journalist and author of “Billions Under Lockdown: The Inside Story of India’s Fight Against COVID-19”. She is currently working with Chase India. She tweets @abantika77.