Nobody Names Their Child Sanjay Anymore
SP Kalantri, a physician at MGIMS, Sevagram, founded in 1969, studies 3,978 alumni names over 55 years and discovers how first names changed over the last two decades.
Dr. Dilip Chotai
Arriving alone from the Gujarat coast with 27 doctors already in his lineage, Dr. Dilip Chotai became the quiet academic anchor of the “Gujarati Republic” at MGIMS—a surgeon whose hands were later forged in the high-pressure wards of Mumbai’s KEM and the resource-constrained hospitals of post-independence Mozambique.
Dr. Jolly Mathew
After a journey of a thousand miles from Kerala, Dr. Jolly Mathew nearly abandoned his medical dreams at the sight of Sevagram’s modest wards—only to find, during three transformative hours in Gandhi’s Ashram, that the “visual grammar” of medicine mattered far less than the quality of a doctor’s listening.
Dr. Yadunath Telkikar
Added to the inaugural batch at the last possible second on an airport runway, Dr. Yadunath Telkikar’s journey from a reluctant BAMS student to a dedicated paediatrician was a masterclass in fortunate accidents—defined by the discipline of a well-tucked mosquito net and the radical trust of a canteen owner’s keys.
Dr. Saroj Taksande
From a missing admission form found in the Sevagram dark to standing her ground as Medical Superintendent during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, Dr. Saroj Taksande’s career was defined by a steadfast presence—a woman who learned early that a doctor’s post is never abandoned, no matter the hour or the cost.