Chandigarh – Tibetans visiting Mcleodganj, temporary abode of Dalai Lama, are seeking nirvana in the city – freedom from disease and suffering.
Proximity to Dharamshala along with good medical infrastructure has led to a boom in medical tourism in the city as large number of Tibetans are seeking treatment in government and private sector.
Good presence of Tibetan students in the city – especially at PU has also contributed to more and more Tibetans seeking medical treatment here.
Dr Cl RK Sharma, a surgeon at a corporate hospital told Times of Chandigarh, “In the past one year, I have seen nearly 100 Tibetan patients and operated upon at least 40 of them.
Most of them visit India to go to Mcleodganj near Dharamshala. The visit is timed in such a manner that it allows them to seek treatment as well.” Sixty-eight-year old Tenpa, a Tibetan farmer, came to India to visit Mcleodganj.
He had been complaining of a fullness of food pipe after consuming solid food. On his visit his condition worsened to an extent that he could not take solid food at all.
He came to a private nursing home in Sector 17 where he underwent biopsy which confirmed cancer of food pipe. “The MRI test showed that there was no evidence of cancer spreading to other parts which made him best candidate for surgery.
Although it was a challenge to operate upon such a complex case in a nursing home – we decided to go ahead,” said Dr RK Sharma who operated upon Tenpa.
Eight hours of surgery led to extraction of tumour from the stomach and gave a new lease of life to Tenpa who has since been discharged.
“Majority of Tibetans reporting to us come with complaints of stones in bile duct, gall bladder, piles along with requirement for surgery. Often we face lingual problems but given a translator – maybe one of the attendants who can speak in English or Hindi, saves the day for us,” said Dr S Gupta, in PGI’s department of general surgery.
Most of the Tibetans reporting to city hospitals come only after they have tried their own system of medicine. “There is a strong faith in charms, herbal extracts and roots and concoctions which have been passed down the generations and are almost ancient.
It is only after patients fail to benefit from these that they opt for Indian system or allopathic system of medicine,”said Ginzpa, a Tibetan seeking treatment for gall bladder stones at PGI.
“You find so many things worn on their bodies when they come to us – threads around necks or different kind of things around affected areas of the body which they believe have healing powers,” said Dr Sharma.
