Dr. U. Rama Rau was one of the most prominent personalities of Madras of the early and mid-20th century. Apart from being a medical practitioner, he was greatly public-spirited and wore several hats with ease. He was a member of the Madras Legislative Council (and later, its President as well), an elected member of the Council of State, the President of the Indian Medical Association etc. He was one of the founders of the St. Johns Ambulance Association and strove for the establishment of the South Indian branch of the Indian Red Cross. An ardent patron of the arts, he was the Vice-President of the Suguna Vilasa Sabha and also the first President of the Music Academy. September 17 this year marked his 150th birth anniversary. This piece is a brief profile of the two magazines that he founded and edited, Antiseptic and Health.
Born in Udipi in 1874 in a family that had once seen better times, Rama Rauwas given in adoption as a young child to a kinsman, U. Krishna Rau. After his early schooling in Udipi, he came to Madras while in his teens and studied at the Madras Christian College and later the Madras Medical College, where from he graduated with a LLM degree. He set up practice in Thambu Chetty Street in George Town and soon gained a reputation as an excellent physician.
The cover of the Jan 1932 issue of the Health magazine.Rama Rau took a deep interest in matters involving his profession and was instrumental in several initiatives for its betterment and by extension, its service to society. It was thanks to his continued agitation through the press and public platforms that the scheme of medical inspection in schools and colleges was formulated by the Government of Madras in 1924. He played a key role in getting the Madras Medical Registration Act,1914 passed. He served as the Vice-President of the Madras Medical Council, which was the statutory body set up under this Act. He strove for the improvement of the lot of rural medical practitioners and actively worked for the formation of a separate Public Health cadre in the State. An ardent Congressman, he set up a hospital exclusively to treat those injured in lathi charges during the civil disobedience movement. He published health tracts in English, Tamil and Telugu, besides authoring a book titled First Aid in Child Birth.
In 1904, Rama Rau founded a journal titled Antiseptic along with Dr. T.M. Nair, a colleague equally passionate about the medical profession. Nair, who was senior to Rau by a few years had obtained his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1896.
Back in India, he held several public offices in Madras, representing Triplicane in the Corporation of Madras between 1904 and 1916, besides being elected to the Madras Legislative Council in 1912. He was also appointed a member of the Labour Commission setup by the Government of India in 1908. Just a couple of years before his death in 1919, Nair co-founded the South Indian Liberation Front, more popularly known as the Justice Party in collaboration with Sir Pitty Theyagaroya Chetty and Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar.
The first issue of Antiseptic, which was edited by T.M. Nair came out in May 1904. That the journal sought to work for the betterment of the profession is evident from the fact that the introductory piece contained a review of the various classes of medical men in India, right from the Indian Medical Service to the Hospital Assistant, private practitioners etc. Interestingly, the first issue of the journal contained an article by yet another prominent doctor of Madras, Dr. M.C. Nanjunda Rao, on intestinal atony. Post Dr. Nair’s demise in 1919, Rama Rau took over the mantle of the editor.
In 1923, Rama Rau started Health, a magazine to educate the lay public in matters of health and hygiene. A perusal of the various issues available online serve as a true reflection of this commitment. The articles published were shorn of complicated medical terminology and instead focused on easy-to read and understand topics of general health awareness, such as importance of proper nutrition in day-to-day diet, clean water supply, proper sleep, simple exercises to keep fit, etc. The magazine also discussed and commented on topics such as public health policies, health education in schools etc. The special number of the tenth volume, published in January 1932 mentions that the magazine also made an earnest attempt at correlating and interpreting the traditions and customs of the Indian household in terms of modern science to the extent possible. The magazine was published in four languages viz., English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada and was co-edited by his son, Dr. U. Krishna Rau. In 1933, a separate printing press, known as the Antiseptic Press was established in Thambu Chetty Street, from which the magazines came out.
Dr. U. Rama Rau passed away in 1952, just a couple of years before the golden jubilee of the Antiseptic. Following his demise, both magazines continued their journey under U. Krishna Rau and later, for a very long time under the editorship of Rama Rau’s grandson, U. Vasudeva Rau.
It is not clear as to when the change in management took place, but today, both Antiseptic and Health continue to come out as online magazines, published and edited by Dr. R. Lakshmipathy of the Dinamalar group of publications.