Dr K.V. Desikan, a legend in leprosy, passed away on 23rd October, 2022. He was ninety six. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Dr. Desikan invested considerable effort and time trying to understand the mystery that shrouds leprosy. He began working in an area few others cared about. Leprosy, in the early fifties, …
Dr BC Harinath
The passing away of Dr BC Harinath evokes so many memories. He came to Sevagram in 1970, fresh with a PhD in Biochemistry from the USA. Sevagram was a small village then and young Harinath had trouble adjusting to Sevagram. The first batch of medical students had arrived only a year ago and Dr Harinath …
This is Not Cricket
A few days ago, Saurabh Ganguly switched off the IndiaโPakistan match after the 15th over and watched the Manchester Derby instead. Iโm not surprised. As a medical student in the 70s and 80s, I grew up watching Pakistan at its peakโImran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Sarfraz Nawaz, Abdul Qadir, Mudassar Nazar, Wasim Akram, Waqar …
Bappa and Joshi: The Gentle Legends of MGIMS Stage
I still remember that evening in Sevagram in 1974 as if it happened yesterday. The dusty courtyard of the hostel had been swept clean, a few strings of yellow bulbs hung across bamboo poles, and students kept rushing about with last-minute instructions. We were ready to stage Kaka Kishyacha, a Marathi play that had already …
Five Doctors, Five Roads Les Traveled
In Sevagram, some medical students chose roads no one expected. They arrived at MGIMS in 1969 and the early 1970s with one aim. To become doctors. Yet life, with its quiet nudges and sudden jolts, steered them elsewhere. What unfolded were stories richer than fiction, each marked by the sacred soil of Sevagram. ______________________________________________________ Take …
An Evening in Sevagram, 1974
Yesterday evening, in the quiet of the MGIMS library, I found Sushrutaโthe student magazine from 1974. Its cover was worn. The pages were yellow, some torn at the edges, faded with age. They carried the smell of time. As I turned them, I reached the Marathi section edited by Dr. Narayan Daware (class of 1971), …
The man behind the Lens: Surendra Gujar
Last week, I shared a post about Surendra Gujarโthe ever-present photographer who arrived in Sevagram in 1970 and went on to serve MGIMS for more than two and a half decades. In 1997, he turned off the flash and walked into the light. He was more than just a photographer. With a simple camera, steady …
Shramdaan in Sevagram
Sevagram, 1970. Dr. Sushila Nayar, ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ช ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ช, stands among medical students, passing a basket of waste from hand to hand. This was ๐ด๐ฉ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ข๐ข๐ฏ. Not an occasional gesture, but a way of life on campus.She arrived in Sevagram in 1938, fresh from Lady Hardinge, to treat Gandhijiโs high blood pressure. But what she truly learned here …
Babulal: Bhamashah of Sevagram
If you ask any MGIMS student from the 1970s or โ80s about their Dean, or even most of their professors, the memories may be hazy. Names of many classmates might have slipped away too. But mention Babulal, and the recollections come rushing back. In those days, Babulalโs canteen was their ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข, their little world in …
The Anatomy Professor
This morning in Kolkata, I finally checked off the firstโand most cherishedโstop on my list: a visit to Dr. S.K. Ghosh. For nearly two decades in Sevagram, he wasnโt just my next-door neighbor. He was a dear friend, a quiet philosopher, a family confidant, and a guide who brought warmth and wisdom into everyday life. …
A Monsoon Morning in Kolkatta
Yesterday, I was in Kolkata for just a few hours. I called her on the phone and told her I was in Alipore. โAlipore, sir?โ she said, โIโll come right over.โ She hadnโt even finished rounding on her patients, but she made time to meet meโfor a single cup of tea. I hadnโt realised how …
The Man Behind the Lens
It was 1970. A restless, curious man walked into the MGIMS campus, a camera bouncing on his chest and his eyes already chasing the light. The college was still young, still growing. But Surendra Gurjar, newly hired and unsure, already saw stories. Stories in light, in shadows, in faces. He didnโt pose people. He didnโt …