| Dr Pramod Karan Sethi |
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| Dr P K Sethi |
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| Jaipur feet |
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Dr Sethi began working on developing a more suitable or appropriate foot and leg based on the feedback received from amputees. Masterji, very much part of the staff of the rehabilitation centre was consulted and he advised on different materials and their handling. Thus it was, that Dr Sethi, highly trained in western medicine, an orthopaedic surgeon and Masterji, an illiterate craftsman who had learnt temple sculpture and the sand casting technique (similar to lost wax casting) from his forefathers, came together to form the unique partnership that was to produce the Jaipur Foot, named after the city of Jaipur in which they worked. The Jaipur foot was appealing for all the right reasons - appropriate technology based on the notion of ‘small (and local) is beautiful’, technology demystified, people walking again, traditional craft based, low cost, etc.
The first prototype was a solid rubber foot. Many methods and materials were tried but eventually rubber and aluminium became the mainstay of the foot and limb. Both were easily available and cheap and there were many people in the area skilled in using these. Natural rubber has fantastic qualities, the vulcanisation process enhanced these and it was as waterproof as skin. So barefoot walking was not a problem. Many types of rubber components such as tyrecord were incorporated into the structure of the foot to strengthen it. Aluminium was chosen for the leg piece because it is light, strong, malleable and rust proof. Masterji with his knowledge of sand casting created aluminium dies that gives the Jaipur foot its smooth and life like appearance. The medical profession and most of Dr Sethi’s colleagues felt that adopting a ‘low technology’ such as the Jaipur foot was a step backwards. They could not see the ‘science’ in it. They still believed that ‘west is best’. They were not used to the camaraderie of the workshop where the technicians chatted to the amputees whilst creating a custom made limb. They were not used to asking the opinions or wishes of a ‘lowly’ farmer or a rickshaw driver. According to Dr Sethi they are happy to continue to promote ‘blurred xerox’ copies of western products.
As more and more amputees were fitted with this limb, Dr Sethi’s reputation grew and many came to know about this revolutionary technology. People travelled from many parts of India to the centre in Jaipur. A documentary fronted by David Suzuki was made by Canadian Broadcasting for his series ‘The Nature of Things’. The Jaipur foot was also immortalised in ‘Nache Mayuri’ a Bollywood blockbuster about Sudha Chandran, a young Indian classical dancer on the verge of a glittering career who lost a leg. Her rehabilitation and subsequent success in Indian cinema and TV soap operas could be attributed to the Jaipur Foot. Every primary school child in India will read about the dancer and her artificial foot in a Class 3 English text used in the national curriculum.
In the early 80’s events took a less friendly turn. Dr Sethi was awarded the Magsaysay Award – the equivalent of a mini Nobel Prize in Asia. The discord was around the fact that the award was not shared with Masterji and there was a view that he as an illiterate craftsman was set aside by the learned doctor. This controversy proved divisive. <<back more>> |
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