Q.Apollo Hospitals has emerged unscathed during the pandemic and also significantly rebounded. What helped you hold up against the tide?
A/ We realised the implications of the pandemic and designed Project Kavach to break the chain through interventions at every stage: detection, testing, isolation and treatment. The goal was to not use hospital beds for people with minimum symptoms. This year, we extended the project to cover vaccination, post-Covid management and also focused on using digital tools for continuity of care of our existing patients, especially those with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
We launched Apollo 247 to offer virtual and telephonic consultations with doctors at our hospitals so that patients could access care from their homes and hospitals could focus on in-patients. Post the consultation, the patient could get the prescription and delivery of medicines and schedule collection of samples for any diagnostic lab tests. This was particularly beneficial for expectant mothers, those with chronic diseases and for geriatric care.
We developed a ready reckoner of best practice guidelines, The Red Book, which encapsulates a standard protocol of Covid management. We set up stringent iron curtain infection control protocols to separate Covid and non-Covid patients in the hospital so that the latter do not avoid visiting the hospital for fear of catching an infection.
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The Bengali Film Industry Has Become Bankrupt
Goutam Ghose is one of the last remaining stalwarts of the Bengali parallel movie movement, along with Sandip Ray. Although he is a product of the new wave cinema, his style is quite different from that of doyens of the industry like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Ghose talks about the masters of the new wave movement and the dramatic decline of Bengali cinema.
Not All Of Ray's Films Are Equally Great
Having a conversation with Girish Kasaravalli at his home in Bengaluru is not easy as his replies often get drowned out in the din of the traffic outside. The globally acclaimed director has a clear opinion about the evolution of Indian cinema and the contributions by eminent directors like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Kasaravalli says although Ray’s cinema language was unique, it was missing in his final few films.
Bengali Literature No Longer Fit Enough To Make Movies
The second wave of the pandemic robbed film buffs of the chance to celebrate the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray. This year, however, people from all walks of life are flocking to 1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road, Kolkata—Ray’s home for the last two decades of his life—to pay homage to the maestro. Ray’s son, Sandip, who is also a famous director, stays here now. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Sandip opens up about his father and explains the attempts being made to preserve and protect his legacy.
From Ray To Decay
Satyajit Ray influenced mainstream Bengali cinema like no one else did, and he drew inspiration from Bengali literature for his works. Seven decades after his Pather Panchali, Bengali cinema seems to be lost. A parallel decline in Bengali literature could be key to this free fall
SEA DREAMS
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Delimited franchise
Despite the allegations of gerrymandering against the BJP, the opposition is keen for elections
What happened to Dabholkar and Kalburgi can happen to me
ON JULY 11, 2016, a mob of upper-caste men at Una town in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district attacked seven members of a dalit family who were skinning a dead cow.
PATHER PANCHALI WAS THE FIRST GENUINE CINEMA TO COME OUT OF INDIA
A door Gopalakrishnan, one of India’s greatest filmmakers, has been among the stalwarts of the country’s new wave cinema, pioneered by Mrinal Sen. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, he speaks about his friendship with Satyajit Ray, his admiration for the maestro’s craft and the declining standards of Bengali cinema.
LOSING THE PLOT
Poor technical quality, inane insertion of song and dance, nonsensical dialogues and contrived plot lines have dealt a body blow to Bengali mainstream cinema
HOW POLITICS POISONED THE CHURCH
THE EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT SPENT 40 YEARS AT WAR WITH SECULAR AMERICA. NOW IT'S AT WAR WITH ITSELF.
Desire for Face Time Revives Business Travel
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Level Ground
A dairy farming father's love for his family lives on in the tools that he left behind.
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An Overview of Namibia's Agri Sector
In a recent report, the Namibia Agricultural Union outlined the state of that country’s agriculture sector, and how it has been affected by COVID-19 and other factors.
Left Behind By Long Covid
As the world pretends the pandemic is over, at least half a million children in the U.S. are struggling
Shanghai's Black Eye
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Lockdown Hell
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a GOOD READ
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VOICES AS TOLD TO LIFE'S Work
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