Doctors treating the Dalai Lama in Mumbai (Bombay) said on January 29, 2002 that he has shown marked improvement in his health but will remain in the hospital for some more days until his antibiotics course is complete.

In a medical bulletin issued on January 29, 2002, the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, where the Dalai Lama is being treated, said, “We are very happy to state that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had a normal breakfast this morning. The diet has shifted from a liquid diet to a soft diet today. The investigations show further improvement. His appetite is also comparatively better. His Holiness had a restful sleep last night. As far as his stay in the Hospital is concerned He would be required to be here till he completes the entire course of antibiotics prescribed.” The Bulletin was released by the Bureau of H.H. the Dalai Lama in New Delhi.

“He has some weakness and until he has completely recovered, the hospital will not allow him to go,” Prakash Mhatre, operations director at the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, where the Dalai Lama is being treated, told Reuters on January 29, 2002.

“There’s absolutely no cause for alarm,” Mhatre told Reuters. “He is recovering” from the bowel infection.

Mhatre said the Dalai Lama, 66, had carried out his morning meditation on January 29, 2002 and that when he saw him he was smiling. “His smile is like a child’s,” he said.

The hospital, one of Bombay’s leading medical institutions, has been flooded by well-wishers’ calls from around the world asking about the Dalai Lama’s health. According to the Hospital Bulletin, Indian President K.R. Narayanan, Maharashtra State Governor P.C. Alexander, Indian Minister Shanta Kumar, President of BJP (Ruling party in India) K. Jana Krishnamurthy have conveyed their good wishes and prayers for the Dalai Lama’s speedy recovery.