Mudpacks and Prozac: Experiencing Ayurvedic, Biomedical, and Religious Healing by Murphy Halliburton

Author:Murphy Halliburton [Halliburton, Murphy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Psychology, General, Ethnopsychology, BODY; MIND & SPIRIT, healing, Social Science, anthropology, Cultural & Social
ISBN: 9781598743982
Google: jy9mswEACAAJ
Publisher: Left Coast Press
Published: 2009-08-31T23:42:46.334521+00:00

Rajendran and His Wife: The Clerk Who Skipped Work

Kavitha and I interviewed Rajendran and his wife at a private allopathic psychiatric hospital in Trivandrum where Rajendran was receiving treatment. Rajendran is a 47-year-old, university-educated, Hindu man who works at a bank as a senior clerk. Rajendran does not feel that anything is wrong with him, although his wife and son brought him to this hospital out of concern that he wasn’t sleeping or eating normally. He had also missed work and had taken to writing strange things.

After learning how Rajendran rose from cashier to become senior clerk over his 24-year career at the same bank, Kavitha asked him about his educational qualifications:

Kavitha: Until what level have you studied? Have you done “degree” [bachelor’s degree] and all?

Rajendran: Yes. After completing my “degree course,” I did not attempt the exam. But I have a feeling that someone wrote the exam using my number because when I wrote the exam the second time and passed, the result was “withheld.”

Kavitha: I see.

Rajendran: At that time, I couldn’t inquire about it in the university. I was busy. After that, I have been without a “degree.” I did not write the exam in March [many years ago]. In March, some friends wrote it for me. After that, I wrote, but did not “pass” the exam. I completed “degree” studies. I did “maths main” for my “degree.”

People’s educational histories are major topics of discussion in Kerala, and this is a relatively modest and concise answer to a question about educational achievements. Some younger male informants we met spoke for fifteen minutes or more explaining how they did on each exam on each attempt and where they ranked in their class at different stages. The educational pressure in Kerala begins in elementary school when students are expected to study three languages and several disciplinary subjects, and pass exams in these areas. Although most people do not study beyond secondary school, high school and university enrollment have increased dramatically in the last few decades.15

We then changed the topic of conversation to Rajendran’s reason for admission to this psychiatric facility, and he explained that he was unaware of any problem that might be afflicting him:

On March 31, we had to do some “overtime” work on “government treasury bills.” So I was preparing for that, but in the end no one asked me to work “overtime.” So I thought that was good and went home and took rest. Working overtime will be a “strain” on our body and mind. After that, I had to go back to the bank on the second, but I was tired so I couldn’t. My wife thought that I was doing it intentionally. I hadn’t gone to work for overtime, and on the third they took me here. I don’t know what complaint they have about me. I don’t know what there is to “complain” about. I did not go to work on the second. That’s all.

When we asked whether Rajendran had had any problems in

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