by Divvy Kant Upadhyay
Mangalore, May 31: It is a matter of honour and pride for the city as one of its distinguished residents, Dr Arunachalam Kumar has earned the distinction of becoming the highest paid blogger in India.
The maverick professor of Anatomy better known as 'ixedoc' on the Internet is one of the most widely-read writers on the World-Wide Web and his articles have a world-wide readership with over nine lac page visits. No wonder that recently an American site reported that every six minutes someone or the other logs on to read the Mangalore professor's blogs.
Most of Dr Kumars blogs appear on the website Sulekha.com. The USA-based website has a million strong membership and connects the Indian diasporas world-wide. He has been ranked the number ONE blogger by the Sulekha.com, with a readership that is far wider than any other author writing in English.
An alumnus of the Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore Dr Kumar says that 'what started as a hobby, has unexpectedly turned out to be good source of regular income.' Google search throws up an amazing 22,000 entries for 'ixedoc'-an astounding figure for someone who earns his keep only through teaching and administration at a local medical academy.
The widespread range of subjects and themes that Dr Kumar's articles concern are indeed very surprising. He has written on natural history, philosophy, current affairs, romance, personal anecdotes, fiction, science, politics, religion, and sports. The thousands of comments posted on the websites stand proof of the various emotional responses he evokes in his readers.
Previously Dr Kumar had shocked the nation by predicting cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's back injury in 1999 by simply analyzing the batting meastro's playing style.
More recently the international and national media had widely covered Dr Kumar's prediction, theory and analysis of the Tsunami disaster that hit the world.
Dr Kumar's intellect is evident from the fact that the Limca Book of Indian Records acknowledged him as the most 'versatile researcher in the country'. He has been recipient of the Karnataka State Rajyotsava award for medical service(2002) and the prestigious Dr T M A Pai Gold Medal for Medical Research(1984).
He has also written and co-authored several fiction and non-fiction books apart from a couple of scientific books related to Embryology and Histology. More than 175 articles of his, on various themes have been published in newspapers, magazines and journals in India and abroad.
This yet another achievement has brought great happiness to his friends, students and most importantly this city of Mangalore in which he settled almost 40 years ago.