Never does he see patients free of charge. He does charge a fee, he says without hesitation. The consultation fee is Rs. 50! In a day and age when specialist doctors are charging anything between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,500, sometimes for a consultation which is no more than a quick five minutes, the meagre Rs. 50 that this Consultant Ophthalmologist charges is not only a pointer to his personality but also his life’s work.

Italian handloom weaver Luciano Ghersi is a master of his trade. Born in Genoa in 1952, he took a degree in Philosophy in 1975. Luciano was not born into a family of weavers, but his interest in the subject led him to study the traditions of weaving. Since 1977 he has been practising and writing on the subject.