Editor's Note: A very Happy New Year to all from rural south India! In this issue, we speculate if art could be a basic need of rural folks as a small village in Karnataka has demonstrated; and if doctors could create their own direct, deeply caring relationship with their patients as a "startup doctor" has proven in the valley. --Ragu & Nisha

In the quiet village of Heggodu in Shimoga, 350 km from Bangalore, it is not uncommon to hear local farmers, cart drivers and shopkeepers rattle off names of literary greats and their theatrical works without batting an eyelid... From literary debates between local residents and shop keepers to lively dialogue exchanges between farmers as they work in the fields, everyone in Heggodu has made literature and theatre a part of their lives.

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My whole life is somewhat accidental, but directionally I know that being a good doctor and taking good care of people is my North star. How you get there in a system that doesn’t want you to do that, a system more interested in cycle time, is the question... We spend time trying to understand what matters to you in the context of what’s the matter with you. I often argue that there is no evidence for ‘evidence based medicine’ when you’re dealing with a single patient. The evidence that we often refer to is used to manage populations… I don’t manage populations, I advocate for people, in all their unique glory.

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Be The Change Idea

Like Air, Sun, Water and Food, what if Art becomes your basic need? What small practices could create that perspective in you? Outside of systems and institutions, what direct connections can you make with people who you want to serve?