Nearly two decades ago, when Dr Renuka David visited her father-in-law in the ICU, she found that there were young people admitted there, primarily due to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and coronary vascular disease. Until then, she had spent much of her medical profession as an active gynaecologist, as well as a frontline doctor attending to injured soldiers. “I felt these patients, mostly in their 30s and 40s, really needed counselling first and foremost. They were focussing so much on careers and were so stressed, that they neglected taking care of their health. This really hit a chord, and was a strong calling to me,” she says. Wanting to take heed and do something for a generation with so many lifestyle diseases, Dr Renuka David switched tracks at 40 to start the Radiant Medical Services in Chennai, focussing on preventive healthcare. It was open to people – especially women - of all age groups, backgrounds and social strata.
“Today every family doesn’t just have diabetes and hypertension, but also cancer. You’d also be surprised to learn that people have a bad gene for some of these diseases, which can be inherited and get triggered. If you detect this gene early on, you can prevent some of these diseases. Even if you’re afflicted, you can be aware of early signs and symptoms. I also wanted to educate people on how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, to improve efficacy of life. Two decades ago, no one was speaking about this – I was a lone voice. I’m glad that today, there is some awareness,” she explains.
Dr Renuka David has worked not just in urban India, but also with women, children and soldiers in rural and tribal India. She recalls being at Chungthang, a district at Sikkim three hours from Gangtok as a frontier doctor, in a 30-bedded hospital, with some absolutely unique cases that would be unheard of in cities. “There was a tribal woman who brought in her son, with some discharge coming out of his nostril. She had tried medicating him for a cold, but nothing worked,” she reminisces. “I took him out in the sun, looked at him, and it turned out there was a sprout growing out of his nostril! He had put in a seed a while ago and that had germinated into the nostril!”
She also recalls her experiences treating women’s health issues and delivering babies in far-flung areas, with very little infrastructure. “I feel that awareness and education are still lacking for tribal women in remote areas across India. They are extremely hardworking, bright, strong and diligent, but they need more awareness on their own personal hygiene, especially menstrual hygiene. Secondly, they should be informed and educated, especially on matters such as family planning,” she says.
In 2015, Dr Renuka David felt that alongside the Radiant Medical Services, she needed a bigger platform and greater audience to talk to people about wellness matters. That’s when the idea of a wellness conclave got its seed. The Radiant Wellness Conclave featured the nine dimensions of wellness. “The idea was to get national and international speakers, since the content was the hero. Over the years, we’ve had Nandita Das, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Shashi Tharoor, Vijay Amritraj, Lisa Ray, Meghna Gulzar, Madhavan and Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, among other people of eminence,” she explains. “The feedback has been excellent, and people have come up to me after the conclave saying that they read a lot about wellness, but the kind of things they learn on this platform haven’t been discussed anywhere else. That’s makes me feel positive that we are making a difference.”
Over two years ago, when the pandemic hit, she realised that there was a lot of unrest around her and a need to address emotional well-being. “People were losing their lives and livelihood, and the negative mental impact associated with this usually gets swept under the table. I enrolled at the Harvard Medical College to complete a course in Mental Wellness. Since then, I have conducted various counselling sessions for women and students on the importance of mental health. In fact, I have had the privilege to address all the Air Force Officer’s wives and widows across India, since some of them really do face a lot of trauma,” she says.
Dr Renuka David believes that one size doesn’t fit all as far as Indian women are concerned. They cut across categories, each with their different problems and hurdles. “I do feel though, that women are now more vocal about what they need and want, and they’re also taking key decisions in their families,” she adds.
Her biggest inspirations are Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey, women who fell down, picked themselves up, dusted themselves and marched on. “This is the biggest takeaway all of us as women should have,” she says. “Nothing should be able to dissuade you, other than you yourself. That power lies within us alone. To all you strong, beautiful, women out there, everyone has a spark. Look inwards, ignite it, then you’re unstoppable. You’ll also illuminate the lives of those around you. If you want something badly enough, the universe conspires and world comes around to help you.”