About the Book: Volume 1 : In Chapter 1, the development of political, cultural, instructional communication along with language, literature, dance and music, architecture, crafts have been traced from prehistoric times to the Indus Valley civilization (2500 B.C.); then the Vedic and Upanisadic period (1600 B.C.-600 B.C.) through the beginning of the historic period (600 B.C. - 200 A.D.) to the classical period (320-750 A.D.). The first stage saw the dawn of communication activity in India; the second and the third stages reflected the full morning glory and noon day splendor. The next period between 750 - 1000 A.D. mark the shadows of the decline of indigenous Indian communication while dusk sets in with the next stage (1000-1300 A.D.) then follows the darkness of the long night (1300-1525 A.D.) and which continues to envelop it in 1526-1707 A.D. and 1707-1818 A.D. With the Modern period from 1818-1947 A.D. communication in India took several turnings amalgamating within itself the various Western influences of communication, as all the modern media of communication had been established in India. In Chapter 2, the intellectual entrepreneurship of thinkers like Gautama, Kanada, Kapila, Patanjali, Vatsyayana and Badarayana established the different schools of Philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, Yoga, Purva and Uttara Mimamsa in the ancient Period. In the modern period, Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhwa established the Advaita, Visistadvaita and Dvaita schools of philosophy. It is against this background that a philosophy of communication of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who occupied the Oxford Chair of Philosophy, is described. In Chapter 3, Hinduism, Sex and STD is analyzed as it started with Dr. Sowmini, MMC, Head of the Department of STD asking the curious question as to why India alone produced the Kama-Sutra and started Sundari K. on her first research journey in the very first year of her academic career. In Chapter 4 a critical analysis is attempted of health for the individual and society as health is the chief basis for the development of the ethical, economic, artistic and spiritual sides of man. Health is also of importance to society because it often loses valuable man-power due to the ill-health of its citizens. A joint venture of the Indian Society for Training and Development with the Planning Commission catalyzed this exercise. In Chapter 5, the Indian Society of Health Administrators and International Hospital Federation (London) brought experts together to provide a game plan to achieve the Alma Ata goal of Primary Health Care for All by 2000 A.D. A plan has been devised using management tools of coordination, integration and adaptation in different levels of health organizations. In Chapter 6 the health of high risk groups: women, children and elderly are studied with sensitivity, statistics and empathy. Not being able to get powerful lobbyists or power groups to speak for them academicians, social workers and researchers have to speak for these vulnerable groups. Chapter 7 uses cartoons and humor to bring out the difficulties of studying and applying principles of health management. While personnel, marketing, finance and even human resource management have a lot of takers, health management has very few takers in management schools and even lesser avenues of recruitment or employment in India. In U.K. and U.S.A., Health Management is a flourishing area of study and employment. Chapter 8 outlines in great details through dialogues, exercises, games and methods the different tools and techniques of communication that an Ayurvedic, Siddha or any other indigenous medical practitioner has to equip themselves with in order to compete in the crowded marketplace of medical practice. EXIM Bank and Ayurvedic colleges and institutes in Tamil Nadu and Coimbatore participated in these communication workshops. Chapter 9 is yet another attempt to level the playing field for Indigenous medical practitioners by providing modern tools and techniques of Health Management and Health Communication. Chapter 10 also analyzed the National Health Policy from the State perspective and involved several NGO`s and sent their findings to the State Department of Health. Volume 2 : Mahatma Gandhi said, `as human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.` Armed with this inspiration and being enlisted in the directory of the Indian Society of Training and Development in 1975, I launched as a trainer to entrepreneurs starting up social and economic enterprises; employees in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME`s); members of Co-operative Societies and Community Based Organizations (CBO`s) and many more. Firmly believing that the `re-making` of individuals and enterprises, therefore even big businesses was possible through `training` and `development` I set out on a journey, which is still going on, after nearly four decades through different parts of India. `Incredible India` may be the popular brand name for the travel destinations in historic and cultural India but to me it connoted `Incredible Indians`: with their incredible native intelligence, faith, integrity, ongoing labor and courage to keep going in vocations like farming, dairying, crafts of every material possible from grass, jute, to leather and every possible metal, handicrafts, weaving producing textiles of a range and variety , not seen in any other part of the world- awoke in me a realization that training and technology used by Indians through nearly five thousand years of civilization had much to offer to the world at large - be it Schools of Management, Professional Societies and most of all every type of Business organization. Chapter 1 has captured the training and technology that existed in India for centuries be it in architecture or arts, crafts or commerce and it is of no wonder that with such intelligent human resources, ancient India had captured 15% of the world exports and businesses; no wonder traders and businessman flocked to the Indian bazaars for gold, silk , muslin and spices! Chapter 2 through a very detailed and step-wise process outlines the different players and parts in the Communication Process from the sender of a message through an appropriate medium of communication to a receiver-s and then in turn receiving a feedback. Dialogues, narratives, self-learning exercises with decoding keys and marking, video-feedback and expert guidance by trainer - are all built-in devices to enhance the training and development experience. Chapter 3 critically appraised the service sector which is ubiquitous in today`s inter-dependent world. Communication in health organizations operates at 4 basic levels: individual, interpersonal, group and organizational. Communication serves at least 3 primary functions: coordination, integration and adaptation. By combining these two analytic features into a 4 x 3 matrix, we get 12 combinations of level and type, each component contributing to the overall efficiency of the health-care delivery system. Chapter 4 critically describes the importance of Public Relations (PR) or `total wall-to-wall organizational communication`. PR is considered as a management function much like: production, marketing, human resources or administration and is important for every organizations - business, service or government sector. Again a communication-mix of tools is utilized to increase the area of learning-development. Chapter 5 extenuates the importance of mastery of oneself, the group we constantly work with and the organization in which we work. A terminology of the `three rings` is borrowed from the traditional artist and craftsmen of rural India, who said that the kula (joint family), jati (caste) or economic guild and grama (village), were like three layers that cocooned them and provided them with a space to live and be secure in a livelihood. Management and communication tools are used to impart the skills of self management, group management and organizational management. Chapter 6 highlights that at present there is a great societal commitment to resolve the productivity lag. Communication can help solve this problem. Through numerous problem solving techniques and organizational communication it is possible to raise productivity. Long range communication strategies for the organization as a whole can offer a comprehensive approach to productivity improvement. Mark Tully, BBC`s Chief of Bureau in Delhi in his book, `No Full Stops in India` opens by stating that. `The greatest temptation journalists face is to regard the stories they write as their own`. I too, as a writer, suffer from this syndrome. The concepts, theories and skills are drawn from many sources in real life organizations; the stringing together as a sutradhara is mine. If the concepts are clear, credit goes to the timeless sources; if there are mistakes, they may be credited to me! Volume 3 : In January 2020, the U.N. Focus on women in COVID stated: `as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, the lives of women and girls everywhere are changing. While some spheres of work and personal life are on pause, others face increased strains and new challenges. Millions of women worldwide are part of the essential workforce on the front lines of COVID-19. Globally, women make up the majority of workers in the health and social sector. Nearly one in three women work in agriculture, and women do three times as much unpaid care work at home as men. From farming to first-response services and everything in between, women are playing an outsized role in keeping their communities safe and resilient in the face of COVID-19`. (Source: https:--www.unwomen.org-en-news-in-focus-in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19). Volume Three focuses on work life and its myriad facets and tries to capture the different areas in which women work. Chapter 1 started as a study of new technologies, changing organizations and cultural barriers and their impact on the life of secretaries, but has grown into an understanding of life in an office. Chapter 2 pen portrays the tumultuous work life of nurses, and other health professionals, who battle with death, disease and life on a daily basis, in order to provide good service to their customers - the patients, through dialogues, critical - incident techniques, games, exercises and reflections. Chapter 3 through a research questionnaire, probes the `sticky floor` and `glass ceiling`, which women in executive positions face, on a daily basis and the statistical profiles provide the evidence. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 analyze the use of information communication technology (ICT) for women empowerment. The women in rural India have emerged as powerful change agents, equipped with knowledge, armed with the right attitudes toward change and girded with socio-economic-political skills to forge development in their personal and professional spaces in the family and community. . Chapter 7 through six feet by four feet poster, designed by the writer visually communicated the geographic, economic, socio-cultural and other borders that a girl child crossed to grow into an educated Indian woman ready to take on the challenges of development. ICT, corporate houses now taking up village development projects, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and other changes, have brought a new scenario to village India, which the women are quick to capitalize. Chapter 8 rounds off the book by providing through narratives, self-learning, group- learning and trainer facilitated sensitivity training, the work ethics, work etiquette, standard English usage, which has to acquired and used in a work environment which is now globally competitive yet locally based. `First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win!` - said Mahatma Gandhi and this appropriately applies to women working in India today. Contents: Volume 1 : History of Communication in India Philosophy of Communication Hinduism & Sex Education Health Communication Volume 2 : The Communication Process Interpersonal and Group Communication Organizational Communication Public Relations Volume 3 : Communication in Offices Communication in Nursing Information Communication Technology and Women Work Ethics and Work Etiquette