Dr. Pangaonkar’s Blog

A brilliant boy of 10 wrote a story during one of my evaluation protocol . He described a boy of 10 years as the only son of working parents.  He portrayed the boy  as very sincere and obedient  and exceptional in many abilities. Once when  this hero of the story was leaving his home for school after locking his house he saw an old, ill clad peasant shivering in cold. This boy felt pity and to express his  feelings he went inside his house and selected the best option to help the old peasant. He took some oil from his house and also helped the peasant to apply on his body. Other options like providing blanket or making him stay inside were ruled out logically by the intelligent hero . Satisfied with his work and taking the hearty blessing from the peasant he proceeds to the school. No sooner he Read More..

I have heard sophisticated people saying this in their speeches “ A child  is the father of mankind”. I don’t know who has said it originally and I doubt whether these speakers know about it? But, I did pondered on this thought and also on the perception and cognitive process of its originator. Who is a child ? A miniature of human being or an omnipotent creature  about to bloom into a limited form called adult ? Or an immature form of human who on timeline of age express its potentials? Or a matrix of body mind which is currently is purest unconditioned complex and  is slowly growing vulnerable to conditions? Or simply a fully developed software with no data base? What makes this child a father and that too of  the universe called mankind? Let us focus on the concept of “mankind”. For this we need to go through Read More..

“And you shall see by your own eyes that the water makesth your path” when Aristotle said to his disciple, neither of them were warriors or travelers. They were discussing medicinal use for some disease in a patient who was bloated. A venom kills venom and iron cuts iron. These are legendary words to provide solutions on many occasions. But what it has in it is the ability to provide relief. Now how can the cause of problem and its treatment be from the same agent. It is true if we think on gross matter. It is true for physical illnesses. And Hahnemann developed a science in medicine called Homeopathy totally based on this principle. Sometimes I introspect on this problem as a student of behavioral science. Now, sometimes our own beliefs are poisonous or disease causing. Can this principle be applied to provide relief to the sufferer. The sufferings Read More..

He shall become a King  said the Prophet. And lo he did become one. Now, how did the prophet predict this 20 years ahead? What did he see in the new born ? Are there subtle signatures of fortunes that are read by experts? May be we are talking of diagnostic skills. Skills that made me a clinician. And later a Child and Adolescent psychiatrist. Yes we do predict the outcomes of disease and also their treatment plans. We follow the rules of relevance in temporal and spatial framework. Consolidated  by our experience and statistical evidence our eminence grows to confidently predict the future outcomes of each case. But, these are classified cases of illnesses. What the prophet predicated was a course of life. He could foresee  success, wealth and power , popularity and pride. This appears quite baffling or even as an untrue anecdote. My logic says there are Read More..

When the lightening strikes again at the same point, it becomes a phenomenon. This happen in brain every day and hence  our human brain is phenomenal. The matrix of neurons , synapses, neuronal circuitry, perception, sensation and motor outcomes all provide  each brain a lightening or even a storm than churns and runs every millionth second to creates a phenomenon of wise human behavior. Human behavior  has been studied for ages. New dimensions and paradigms have evolved to study this naked ape to resolve only  one  query “ Why did he or she ever thought that he or she is naked?” As a clinician I am challenged by some simpler queries in diagnoses and management of difficult cases. Last 20 years of practice in child psychiatry and behavioral  sciences  has made me travel beyond the comfort zones of text book knowledge. And in last couple of years I am struggling to find Read More..