Help Professorial

To the Editors:

Professor P. Lal of Calcutta, poet, publisher, translator of the Mahabharata, comparative religionist, and mentor for Indian poets who write in English, was striken with catastrophic illness while on a lecture-reading tour in Canada and the United States. He has for nine weeks been in intensive care at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, having undergone multiple surgeries in life-threatening circumstances. At last his condition is beginning to improve, but Professor Lal is uninsured, and his hospital bills alone are approaching the $300,000 mark.

An international effort is going forward to raise a subscription to help defray some of Professor Lal’s hospital expense. Anyone wishing to make a contribution may do so by drawing a check payable to Borgess Foundation, 1521 Gull Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49001, USA. Checks should bear the notation “P. Lal Fund, patient #339960-1.” Contributions to the Borgess Foundation are tax deductible, and contributors will receive a receipt for tax purposes.

We ask those who know Professor Lal and his work to spread the word among his friends and admirers.

Sanjay Amin, Director, Specialty Fine Chemicals, Upjohn Corporation;
James W. Cook, Ph.D., Professor English, Albion College, Albion, MI;
Rev. Ralph D’Cruz, Chaplain, Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo, MI;
H.L. Kalani, M.D., Vice-President, India Association, Kalamazoo, MI;
Vijay Mehta, Process Control Supervisor, Simpson Paper Company;
Anil S. Patel, Structural Engineer, Upjohn Corporation;
Radakrishna Vermuri, M.C., Chief of Oncology, Borgess Medical Center