At 22 years, Indian is UK’s youngest doc

London: At the age of 22, India-origin Heenal Raichura has qualified to become Britain’s youngest doctor and is all set to practise medicine.

Daughter of Nalin and Shobhna Raichura, Heenal was accepted into university to study medicine in 2002 when she was 16.

Six years later she has passed her degree and is all set to start work at University College London Hospital where she hopes to become a surgeon.

Heenal said: “It’s quite a surreal feeling to actually, finally, become a doctor after six years of a degree. To finally come out at the end and say, ‘I’m a doctor’, my childhood dream, is an indescribable feeling. PTI

Extracts from Daily Telegraph

Heenal Raichura was accepted into university to study medicine in 2002 when she was 16, after a school career which had seen her several years ahead of classmates.

Six years later she has passed her degree and is to start work at University College London Hospital where she hopes to become a surgeon.

Dr Raichura said: “It’s quite a surreal feeling to actually, finally, become a doctor after six years of a degree. To finally come out at the end and say, ‘I’m a doctor’, my childhood dream, is an indescribable feeling.

“All I remember from when I was younger is wanting to be a doctor.

“My parents tell stories about how I would come over and put my head against their chest because I didn’t have a stethoscope to play with.

“I was always interested in trying to figure out what was going wrong with the body.”

At just nine-years-old, Heenal joined MENSA with an IQ of 170 and became the youngster person to start secondary school.

She took her GCSEs examinations early at the age of 14 at the France Bardsley School for Girls in Romford, Essex, and got 7A*, 3As and a B – the best results in her school that year.

In 2002 she notched up four grade As and one B at A-Levels at the Coopers’ Company and Coborn School in Upminster.

Her proud father Nalin from Rainham, Essex, 65, said: “She encountered immense difficulty in finding universities that would accept her at the age of 16 because the minimum age at entry is 17 years 6 months.”

She was offered a place to study medicine at St George’s University in London where she six years later she has graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree.

She received her degree at a presentation ceremony at The Barbican Centre in London in June this year (2008) and is believed to be Britain’s youngest doctor.

On top of the normal five years of medical study Heenal also spend an extra year to get a degree in Anatomy and Developmental Biology from the University College of London.

UN project gives Parsis hope of swelling numbers

Ketan Tanna | TNN

Mumbai: It was a casual request from Bombay Parsi Punchayat chief Minoo Shroff that resulted in gynaecologist Anahita Pandole taking on the assignment of helping Parsi couples battling infertility.

Three years down the line, she has handled 200 cases of whom 80 women have conceived. One woman had triplets while 10 others bore twins.

Thirty-four-year-old Anahita Hakim is one such mother of twin girls — Katrina and Karina. ‘‘For the last five years, I wanted children. I had even thought of adopting children before I came to Dr Pandole who helped me have Katrina and Karina,’’ says Hakim, 34.

The fertility treatment did not come cheap and Hakim had to spend between Rs 6 and 7 lakh. The initial consultation was free and the treatment tab was picked by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. For those who cannot pay, donors within the community pay for the fertility treatment.

Pandole’s project is part of United Nations-backed project called Parzor, which is headquartered in New Delhi. The Parzor project, since 1999, has undertaken research in various fields, working towards the promotion and preservation of the Parsi Zoroastrian heritage.

The demography project, under the larger aspect of Parzor, has thrown up interesting facts about the declining Parsi population. According to the 2001 census, India’s Parsi population had fallen to 69,601 from 76,382 a decade earlier. According to the 2001 census, the child-woman ratio, which is a key indicator of fertility, is 578 per 1,000 in India. Among the Parsis, it is 85 per 1,000.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, a study on Delhi Parsis concentrated on Parsis married to Parsis, intermarriages, unmarried and the youth. The demographic profile of the Parsis in Delhi tends to appear more in favour of the 30-50-year working group rather than the ageing picture seen elsewhere. In view of the fairly unique position held by the Delhi Parsis, a study was proposed to inquire into their migratory history, their current situation, and record their views and attitudes pertaining to various issues and problems facing the community.

According to Shernaz Cama, honorary director at Parzor, it was a qualitative study based on interviews.

An interesting aspect of the study revealed that the demographic profile of the Parsis of Delhi tends to appear more in favour of the working group of 30-50 years rather than the ageing picture seen elsewhere.

All those interviewed realized that the community is in flux and that someone must do something. However, very few were willing to be that someone, the study rued.

The study’s findings include:
— 40% of those interviewed had intermarried.
— Since 25 years, there has been an attempt at inclusiveness in the Delhi Parsi Anjuman.
— Youth of mixed marriages are predominantly closer to customs and lifestyle of the father’s faith.
— Among children of mixed marriages, the study found cultural differences caused confusion and led to contradictory religious identities.
— The exclusion of the non-Parsi parent from the Agiary has led to a decline in the zeal about their Parsi roots.

It is obvious that there has been a slip up.

The church has apologised and that should end the matter.

But will it?

IN BAD TASTE?

Jesus with beer and cigarettes in church journal sparks row

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram: In what seems like a big faux pas that may snowball into a controversy, the official journal of a Catholic diocese in Kerala carried a picture of Jesus Christ with a beer mug in one hand and a cigarette in the other on the cover page of its June issue.

The picture, which has invited strong reactions from the Christian community in the state, appeared in the June 5 edition of ‘‘Vachana Jyotis’’ — the magazine published by diocese of Neyyattinkara, on the outskirts of the state capital.

Pushed on the back foot, the church has withdrawn the issue and stopped publication till further notice. Vincent Samuel, secretary to the local bishop, said ‘‘the mistake’’ had crept into the magazine as an oversight. ‘‘It happened without the knowledge of the clergy.

Both priests and laymen constitute the editorial board of the journal, but the former are concerned only with the content. Design and layout are done by laymen,’’ said Samuel. He added that no such error had ever occurred in the past 12 years of its existence.

‘‘The picture in question seems to have been downloaded from the internet and blown up,’’ he said, adding that ‘‘the publication of the journal has been suspended indefinitely’’. Asked if any action had been taken against any employee, he said since the magazine has stopped publishing, the employees are naturally out of job.

Fighting hard to hide the embarrassment, church officials refused to reveal the name of the magazine’s editor. As protests intensified, the diocese issued an apology and promised to look into the issue.