India can lead in homoepathy: US medic

KOLKATA: Joette Calabrese, the US-based homoeopath, says she feels out of place practicing homoepathy in a country where alternative medicine is practically non-existent. But she enjoys the challenge. In Kolkata to attend an exhibition, Calabrese said India could lead a revival of homoepathy and alternative medicine.
The Prasanta Banerji Homoeopathic Research Foundation inaugurated a photo exhibition on Thursday to mark 150 years of homoeopathy.Apart from Calabrese, it was attended by governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.
Calabrese believes she has been able to convince many of the benefits of staying away from chemical drugs, not only in USA, but the world over.
“My mission is to convert mothers and grandmothers for they need to realize the benefits of homoeopathy. So I teach online, write blogs and prescriptions for patients from all parts of the world. The idea is to join arms to protect our children from the harmful chemical drugs that are being pushed into our systems by the burgeoning pharmaceutical industry,” Calabrese said, adding that she follows the Banerji protocol devised by city-based homoeopath Prasanta Banerji.
A resident of Buffalo, New York, Calabrese chanced upon the Banerji protocol 20 years ago when Prasanta was attending a conference in USA. “Two years later, I had a chance to meet Banerji and his son Pratip. Their work was simply amazing and the protocol was fascinating. They have simplified medication based on data they have collated over the last 100 years. They have proved that homoeopathy can be safe, inexpensive and effective,” she said.
Even though homoeopathy has little support or patronage in USA, homoeopathic medicines are now widely available. “You can buy them from grocery stores or supermarkets. It had died in the late-1940s, thanks to the pharma industry. It was a market issue. Conventional medicine-makers didn't want any competition. But homoeopathy deserves to survive because it is natural and affordable. It doesn’t have the harmful side-effects that allopathic drugs subjects patients to,” Calabrese added. A small but significant percentage used it in the USA, she said. “We might not see a dramatic rise in use, but slow conversion is what we are aiming at.”
She receives queries from all over the world, including South America, Korea, Ukraine, Cuba and even India. “The largest number of responses to my blogs come from Australia and New Zealand, though. Interest in homoeopathy has been rising and it is surely the fastest growing alternative medicine in the world. I guess we have reached the tipping-over point, despite the huge obstacle posed by the pharma companies. India, I guess, could show the way. Kolkata, in particular, has a rich history of homoeopathic medicine and it has been traditionally practised here. The city could be the perfect launch-pad for a resurgence of homoeopathy,” the online homoeopath felt.