The Lord Buddha destigmatizes mental illness.

The authors describe the encounter of Lord Buddha with a greatly mentally disturbed woman named as (literally in : "the shameless" or "the naked" woman). His reception of her in spite of the dislike of the listeners of his discourse, his explanation of her difficulties, and consolation are mentioned. Her elevation as one of the great as "The One with Discipline of the Mind" is an outstanding example of destigmatization of mental illness.

Kilpauk Mental Hospital: The Bethlem of South Asia - A recall of its history prior to 1970.

Period Of Custodial Care Only: The magnificent "Institute of Mental Health" has its history almost from 1795 when the East India company appointed Surgeon Valentine Conolly to be in charge of a "House for accommodating persons of unsound mind." After a few transitions, backed by a government order for the construction of a lunatic asylum in a 66 1/2 acre site, the asylum started functioning from 1871. The period of about six decades from its inception could be referred to as "the period of custodial care.

of South India: A psychiatric scanner.

, the other important Hindu tradition besides , gained importance by the movement sprouting from the Tamil land in the 7-9 centuries Common Era and spreading all over the subcontinent, and as preached by the , which is discussed along with the evolution of the Godhead of Lord Vishnu is briefly mentioned. The maternal care of the divine child Sri Krishna by as described by the Alvar, Perialvar, is summarized. The mysticism of and the religious experiences of other two , and , are sketched in this study.

- The Mad Lord: A perspective.

The eccentricities of Lord Shiva, especially His attire, behavior - particularly the midnight dance at the cremation grounds surrounded by various strange beings, fondness to remain naked, and love for strange pets such as snakes and fawn, have attracted the loving and devout attention from His various (devotees). This has resulted in the outpouring of their love for their Lord in the form of and , , , , and . Along with these writings, the background are mentioned.

Homosexuality - leaves from antiquity: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population: A Tamil perspective.

Homosexuality has been present in human civilization from ancient times, and the condition as it existed in the Tamil land is described along with a reference to the terminology, concepts, and description. Some instances appear in the old Tamil classics and poems. The present legal status of this sexual orientation is also mentioned.

Manimekalai: The ancient Buddhist Tamil epic, its relevance to psychiatry.

This article refers to materials of psychiatric interest found in the Manimekalai written by the 2(nd) Century CE Buddhist poet Sathanar. From the early description of a wandering psychotic in the streets of Pukar, the ancient maritime capital of the Cholas it is opined that this description fits that of present-day schizophrenia. A drunkard making fun of a Jain monk and a cross-dressed individual are also found in the same streets.

Drinking habits in ancient India.

Consumption of one or other form of intoxicating substances has been present throughout the history of the world. This article traces such use in the Indian subcontinent, both in North and South India. References to the use of intoxicants are to be found in the Vedas, the Great Epics, and the ancient Tamil literature.

Treatment of the mentally ill in the Chola Empire in 11(th) -12(th) centuries AD: A study of epigraphs.

The paper deals with the epigraphs of the Chola emperors Veera Rajendra Deva (1063-1069 AD) and Raja Raja III (1216-1256 AD), found at the temples of Thirumukkudal and Vedaranyam, with emphasis on the treatment given to the residents of the attached hospitals with special reference to treatment of mental disorders.

Psychiatric morbidity in the Chola royal household.

This article deals with the presence of hysterical astasia abasia in the father, and cyclothymic disturbance in the elder brother of the great Chola emperor and builder of the Big Temple at Thanjavur, Raja Raja.

Literary destigmatisation of mental illness: A study of the writings of Jayakanthan.

National and international associations of psychiatry are busy formulating and executing anti-stigma measures and activities. Literary works of creative artists could be utilised for this purpose. This article based on the writings of a popular Tamil writer Jayakanthan discusses some of his works in relation to this.

Poet Bharathi, touched with fire.

Substance use among creative artists is very common. In this paper, such use by the great Tamil poet, Subramani Bharathi, is considered.

The seeds of creativity and the soil of poet Kannadasan.

The links betweencreative genius and insanity have been studied by numerous experts and famous writers. Recent studies by several psychiatrists have revealed an increase in psychopathology in creative artists, especially writers and poets. The cyclothymic temperamental traits of a Tamil poet, Kannadasan, are studied here.

Facets of morbid jealousy: With an anecdote from a historical Tamil romance.

Morbid jealousy is a symptom which occurs in many psychiatric conditions. The complex emotional aspects of jealousy have been discussed by earlier authors. The clinical, cultural, social, and forensic aspects, are touched upon.

Neuro syphilis: Portrayals by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The developments in neuro syphilis in the 19 th century are integral parts of the history of psychiatry. The delineation of various aspects of neuro syphilis by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in three of his stories is discussed in brief.

Transgenderism: Facts and fictions.

The nosology associated with transgender phenomena is undergoing rapid revisions. This phenomenon is mentioned in ancient cultures and the allusions to it are variously described in the Indian literatures. The trials and tribulations of the isolated segment of the human population are surmised from two autobiographical accounts of writers.

Private psychiatric care in the past: With special reference to Chennai.

The 'madhouse' managed by Connolly and Dalton, situated in Chennai, prior to the opening of the Madras Lunatic Asylum in 1871 is described. The status of the private madhouses of England that existed before the county asylums were established in 1845 is briefly touched upon. A legitimate criticism of the shortcomings of this system along with the need for reorganization was forcibly brought by writers such as Defoe and others.

Psychiatric thoughts in the Tamil culture.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PSYCHIATRIC THOUGHTS IN TAMIL CULTURE IS BROUGHT FORTH WITH RELEVANT HISTORICAL AND LITERARY EVIDENCES: psycho-physiological aspects of emotions, descriptions of severely disturbed individuals, attitude of the society towards the mentally ill and epigraphic material describing hospital care of psychiatric patients in the first millennium are alluded. These references unravel the advanced psychiatric medical knowledge in the Ancient Tamil system of Medicine namely the Siddha system. The mythical origin of Siddha Medicine, attributes of the Siddhars (knowledgeable persons) and short biographical notes of eminent siddhars like Agathiyar, Bogar, Therayar and Thirumoolar are cited.

Seizure disorders-views of the Indian medical systems.

The deschptions, etio-pathology and some aspects of treatment of the seizure disorders in the three Indian Systems of Medicine, namely The Siddha, The Ayurveda and The Unani are briefly mentioned. "If more or less, three humors cause disease, The learned count the wind is the first of these."Medicine, Thirukkural.

Asylums and artists.

Relationship between genius and mental illness has always been an issue of interest and controversy. Creative people in arts have been more prone to mental illness as compared to the men of science. Asylums of yesteryears in England, France and Spain have had eminent artists such as Hogarth, Dadd, Van Gough and Goya either as residents or as records of the scenes in those hospitals.

A psychological study of spinal cord injured patients involved in the Madras Paraplegia Project.

The psychological features of spinal cord injured (SCI) patients involved in the Madras Paraplegia Project are described. Three hundred and twenty-eight patients were studied. Based on personality tests, 11% were extroverts, 14% were introverts and 76% were neither extroverts nor introverts.

The psychiatry of the assailants of ohe Tamil Nadu chief ministers.

The mental make up of assassins or assailants of V.I.P's.

Discrimination of emotional States amongst the tamils.

Leff has concluded from his analysis of the JPSS Study that the emotions of anxiety, depression and irritability are poorly discriminated amongst the population using non-Indo-European languages. The present author after analyzing similar data from the ICMR Multicentred Collaborative Study of Factors Associated with the Course and outcome of Schizophrenia that the Tamil population using Tamil, a non-Indo-European language is able to discriminate these emotions as well as the brethren speaking Hindi of lndo-European origin.