There is a an amazing novel by the Carl Sagan called the Pale blue dot! Yes! In the wide or broad scheme of things, the Earth is simply a small blue colour speck in the Solar System! In fact the whole solar system is a small part of dust in the constellation of stars!
Now now, do not feel down! This is the only ‘dot’ which is blue! And this is the only blue dot with life which is human! Of course it also gets inhuman sometimes!
The novel though talks about this fear or the unknown which causes more damage than the fear itself!
This is the story of the Marsh of Camarina!
Camarina was a city in southern Sicily, founded by colonists from Syracuse in 598 B.C. It was surrounded by a dirty Marsh!
It was suspected that the marsh was the source of the strange illness and the idea of draining the marsh to end the epidemic became popular (the germ theory of disease was very far along but it did make common sense to associate a dirty stinky marsh with disease! Like my Grand doctor Mama used to say, “Common sense is not that common!”)
Now with the thought of getting rid of the stinky thing in mind, the ‘wise’ old town oracle was consulted.
Surprisingly in a rare twist of events, the oracle advised the leaders not to drain the marsh, suggesting the plague would pass with time! It could also be a ploy to get the cleaning contract later for the Oracle’s brother or just a ‘GUT’ feeling though!
But the discontent was widespread and the most important factor was the thing which spreads so fast that no one can stop it!
Yes! Fear! The fear of a danger is more dangerous sometimes than the fear itself! So the so called leader took a mammoth effort and collected men and machines to start the clearing and draining of the Marsh!
Amist cheer and fanfare and some mild hiccups, the Marsh was finally drained! The joy of clean and non stinky air was short lived though!
Once it was dry, there was nothing stopping the Carthaginian army from advancing. In 552 B.C., a Syracusan force crossed over the dry land where the marsh had been, slaughtered every man, woman, and child, and razed the city to the ground in level with the Marsh! The oracle may have escaped though!
But, from then on, the marsh of Camarina thus became proverbial for eliminating a perceived danger in such a way as to usher in another bigger and real danger!
Now danger is not unfamiliar to the heart surgeon when he or she is racing against time to make the heart beat again! That is why Kotturathu Mammen Cherian is the pioneer who performed the India’s first coronary artery bypass surgery and first heart-lung transplant and was of course a pioneer Pediatric cardiac surgeon in the country!
He will me missed but his legacy will never be forgotten!
A great son of this amazing soil of Bharat!
A very great Republic day to dear Indians in the country and out!
Shubh ratri!
Jai Hind!
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