A 'singing princess' on a majestic task

By Roshan Peiris

Visiting Sri Lanka last week was Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, youngest daughter of Their Majesties The King and Queen of Thailand.

The Princess's interview with The Sunday Times was unfortunately cancelled due to her coming down with a bout of fever, but the amiable Counsellor of Cultural Affairs Tosaporn Arjunaka briefed us about her.

The 42-year-old princess is startlingly slim and chic. In her privileged position as a member of the Thai Royal family she could have chosen to take on a less strenuous role as patron and figure head of various organisations and charities. But being a doctor in Toxicology (the science of poison) she has chosen instead to dedicate herself to improving the welfare of the people of Thailand. She is particularly concerned about the deterioration of the environment both in the capital Bangkok and in rural areas.

The princess apparently is not fazed by the enormity of the job for she has said that, "it is not beyond rectification, if only all Thai people made a concrete effort."

Her other pet project is the Chulabhorn Research Institute set up to deal particularly with cancer. Cancer ranks third of the killers in Thailand and she has worked hard to set up cancer research and get specialists to treat this horrendous disease. "Treatment of cancer still needs to be improved and is still quite dependent on conventional methods," she has said.

The princess has noted that about ninety percent of cancer cases could be prevented. Pollution, chemicals in food such as nitrate and even alfatoxin found for instance in the innocuous looking peanuts can all cause cancer.

The Princess Chulabhorn Research Institute is expected to fill a gap in the medical field in Thailand and may be the first centre in South East Asia to provide full service for research, training, treatment and also information dissemination on this dreaded disease.

On the lighter side, she is known as the 'singing princess' and has often quipped that when she needs money for her medical research "I will have to sing for the money."

She had recorded a number of albums, in which she sings songs such as "Near yet, so far," "If you love me" and "How do I say good bye".

She also composed the lyrics to the "Light in the Middle of the Heart" on the Simlilian Islands and dedicated it to her mother on her 60th birthday. The princess has confessed that when she found herself short of inspiration she would turn to her mother who would encourage her and wait eagerly for her composition. All the money she earns from her albums she donates to charity and research.

The Princess is married but now divorced, and has two daughters.

She is admired by both the older and the younger generations in Thailand for her adroit mixing of a career with her artistic talent, said Mr. Arjunaka.

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