Heaven, the abode of the Gods of the Hindu pantheon, is after all not so heavenly, going by an article in the souvenir released at the recent first annual conference of Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India.

The article holds up Lord Ganesha as the very first to be afflicted with diabetes mellitus, the dreaded disorder that leads to more serious health problems including heart ailments.


The case study narrated in the souvenir mentions that the Lord was overweight because of lack of exercise in addition to having sweet tooth. He is said to have sought solution to his problem from none other than his own father, Shiva, who suggested the use of some herb apart from tips on keeping healthy.


The souvenir also quotes Valmiki Ramayana where the vanaras (monkeys) serving Rama suffered from diabetes due to overeating sweets and foods with high sugar content.


The organisers have made it a point to claim that people need not worry about diabetes as it figured even in Garudapurana. The good news is that the centuries-old knowledge of the sages has come down to us. That should come as some consolation to the 32 million Indians plagued by the disease.