Medical Clowning
Who are the Palli Clowns & their Tribe?
Palli Clowns is an innovative concept of the Rohit Memorial Trust, Visakhapatnam founded in 2008, that is involved in various activities related to Cancer Awareness and Counselling, in addition to other socially responsible activities.
Dr. Meenakshi Anantram who is the Vice Chairman of the Trust along with the Trust Chairman and her husband, Mr. Anantram Ganapati, have taken this age old philosophy of laughter therapy seriously and have adopted it as a means for palliative care for terminally ill patients especially children. Medical clowning is definitely serious business and requires a person with a positive attitude to become a clown. Such clowns known better as Clown Doctors, entertain and recharge an otherwise seriously dull hospital environment into a lively, energy charged place.
Who are Clown Doctors and What do They Do?
- Clown Doctors bring laughter and smiles into the lives of children and other patients who are suffering from chronic or terminal ailments.
- They work in partnership with hospitals and medical doctors to provide the much needed diversion to the patients who are undergoing painful procedures,
- They counsel parents and families on the importance of the quality of life by sharing experiences on facing reality.
- Laughter provides therapeutic healing to the patiens and creates vibrancy in the hospital environment, and helps parents, family members and hospital staff with some lighter moments in the face of grim realities!
Our Inspiration
Patch Adams is an American physician, comedian, social activist, clown, and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971. Each year he organizes volunteers from around the world to travel to various countries where they dress as clowns to bring humor to orphans, patients, and other people.
Norman Cousins, in his book “Anatomy of an Illness,” describes how he cured himself of a debilitating disease through the use of humor. He reportedly watched old Marx Brothers movies and laughed uncontrollably. He believes his own laughter cured his disease. He subsequently lived a long and healthy life – well into his 80s!
It can be safely surmised that humor in all its forms is the much needed therapeutic healing that our current stressed out society badly needs. A lesson that we probably needed to learn from our ancestors!
Imagine a hospital atmosphere, reeking of antiseptic odour, sterile conditions, patients hooked on to tubes crying out in pain; a more depressing sight you cannot see! It is in this field of medicine that human beings face their worst fears and tend to get depressed and worried. And into this emotionally charged atmosphere come clowns to brighten up the place with their typical outlandish dresses and laughter on their faces with the sole intention of bringing smiles into the faces of the patients, their families and the hospital staff. Who doesn’t like to have a laugh break in the humdrum routine of daily life?
Anantram and Meenakshi and who go by their clown avatars, Mumpi and Bonji when they clown around, have done just that! Many other like-minded people have joined them in this initiative and their “Clown Tribe” has been bringing smiles into the faces of terminally ill children in a few hospitals in the city of Visakhapatnam like the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, the Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and the Apollo Cancer Hospital. They are now looking to introduce the concept in other cities in the country. They also wish to start training programs for persons who are interested in medical clowning, and are in the process of spreading the message to take this activity to a national level. This form of healing is practised to a limited extent in India, but is a very popular therapy prevalent across the world. It is a known fact that laughter heals and what better way to do it than clowning around!
It is interesting to note that there has been a lot of research into laughter as a therapy for healing, in addition to many references and shared experiences that have conclusively proved that laughter is a good healer. The Ojibway tribe recognized it, and even the Old Testament references the healing properties of humor: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” Although our ancestors couldn’t explain it scientifically, they knew intuitively that laughter was good for the body as well as the soul.
How does laughter and humour affect human physiology?
- Reduces pain:Our bodies produce pain-killing hormones called endorphins in response to laughter.
- Strengthens the immune function:A good belly laugh increases production of T-cells, interferon and immune proteins called globulins.
- Decreases stress:When under stress, our body produces a hormone called cortisol. Laughter significantly lowers cortisol levels by releasing endorphins and returns the body to a more relaxed state.
- Helps put life’s trials and tribulations into a healthy perspective by making them seem smaller.
- Aids us in overcoming fear.
- Allows us to take ourselves less seriously
- Triggers our creativity.
Rohit Memorial Trust
The Trust is involved in various activities related to Cancer Awareness and Counselling, in addition to other socially responsible activities. The Objectives of the Trust are to:
- Provide moral support to persons afflicted with terminal diseases including cancer
- Provide counseling to the families of such persons
- Conduct counseling sessions and camps in organizations, villages, schools and colleges
- Conduct fund raising events for the Trust
- Conduct fun events for pediatric cancer patients and their families including Medical Clowning
- Disburse funds to needy patients and to similar trusts
- Publish material useful to patients and families
- Conduct Women and Girl Child Welfare and Wellness Programs under the aegis of their Gyanlakshmi Project
- Conduct Education and Personality Development related programs and sponsor tuition fees to economically backward and destitute children under the aegis of their Gyan Pathashala Project
- Broadcast talks on Gyan Radio – a channel that is run by children mentored by the Trust with talks by them on topics of relevance to education and society
- Conduct various socially relevant programs
- Support other related NGO’s to propagate their activities.
The Rohit Memorial Trust is a Registered Trust (Reg. No. 54/2008-09) and all donations to the Trust are exempt from tax under Section 80G(5)(vi) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. All those who are interested in joining and contributing to the Rohit Memorial Trust, may contact Dr. Meenakshi at 9848191866 or Mr. Anantram at 9949627222.
Every big change in the world starts with one person.
Every big change in the world starts with one person.
The Rohit Memorial Trust is a registered trust established to keep alive the memory of a strapping young lad, Rohit Anant Ganapati who succumbed to bladder cancer in the prime of his youth, in March, 2007
