A Life Interrupted Too Soon

At the stroke of midnight on 12 August 2005, MGIMS lost one of its most admired alumni. Dr. Ashish Kulkarni, beloved physician, teacher, and friend, died in Aurangabad after suffering an acute myocardial infarction and undergoing angioplasty a few hours earlier. His death at such a young age stunned everyone who knew him. He had spent his life practising medicine with honesty, restraint, and compassion, and for many of his colleagues, he represented the kind of doctor they hoped to become.

Those who knew him remember not only his sharp clinical mind but also his moral clarity. In an age when medicine was becoming increasingly commercial, Ashish stood apart. He lived simply, worked quietly, and remained deeply committed to the idea that medicine was a calling rather than a business.

Childhood in Jalgaon and Nanded

Ashish was born in Jalgaon on 6 October 1954 into a family of teachers. His childhood unfolded across several towns in Maharashtra, each leaving its own mark on him. He spent much of his early life in Nanded, a town that would later become central to his personal and professional life.

Friends remember him as a restless boy with large, bright eyes and an endless curiosity about the world around him. He moved through the lanes of Nanded carrying a school satchel that looked too large for his small frame, wandering between school, home, and the dusty streets where children spent long evenings at play.

Later, he moved to Hinganghat for his ninth and tenth standards. Those years marked the beginning of a more serious intellectual life. He had started reading beyond his textbooks and had begun to imagine a future that stretched beyond the boundaries of the small towns where he had grown up.

For his pre-university course and BSc Part I, he returned to Nanded, where he lived with his aunt, Mrs. Lele. Nanded remained an emotional anchor through those formative years, with its slow trains, familiar neighbourhoods, and the reassuring presence of extended family.

Entering MGIMS Sevagram

In 1972, Ashish entered MGIMS Sevagram as part of the MBBS batch of that year. The institution was still young, but it had already developed a distinctive identity. It expected students not only to excel academically but also to embrace simplicity, discipline, and social responsibility.

Ashish thrived in that atmosphere. He was a serious student who combined intelligence with quiet determination. By the time he completed his MBBS, he had already earned gold medals in Obstetrics and Gynaecology as well as Preventive and Social Medicine.

Yet, despite his academic achievements, one disappointment awaited him. At that time, MGIMS did not offer postgraduate seats. Like many of his classmates, he had to leave Sevagram and look elsewhere for further training.

He went to Pune, where he joined B.J. Medical College and completed a Diploma in Child Health. Although he benefited greatly from his training there, Sevagram remained close to his heart.

The Fight to Return to Sevagram

A few years later, MGIMS introduced an MD program in Medicine. For Ashish, this was more than an academic opportunity. It was a chance to return to the institution that had shaped him.

By then, however, the year was 1982, and the new MD program was admitting students from the 1977 MBBS batch, five years junior to him. Ashish applied anyway.

He had excellent marks, an outstanding academic record, and the confidence that merit would prevail. But when he met the Dean, Dr. K.S. Sachdev, he was told that the rules would not allow him to compete with students from later batches.

The decision deeply disappointed him. He had been denied a postgraduate seat earlier only because none existed. Now, when seats had finally been created, he was being told that he was too senior.

Standing in that modest office in Sevagram, with a ceiling fan turning slowly above him, Ashish argued his case with dignity.

“Sir,” he said, “when I completed my MBBS, MGIMS had no postgraduate program. That was not my fault. My marks then were weighed in gold, and that gold still glitters today.”

When persuasion failed, Ashish decided to fight.

He took the matter to court.

His lawyer assured him that the merit in his case was so obvious that it would prevail in a single hearing. That is exactly what happened. The court ruled in his favour, recognising the unfairness of denying him an opportunity simply because he had completed his MBBS too early.

Ashish returned to Sevagram as an MD student in Medicine. Importantly, he did not displace anyone else. An additional seat was created, allowing both him and Dr. Samir Mewar to join the program together.

His batchmates in the MD program included Dr. K.P. Madhusudanan, Dr. Rakesh Sood, and Dr. Samir Mewar, who would later become a cardiologist in the United States.

Ashish’s struggle was not driven by ambition alone. It reflected his deep belief that merit deserved recognition and that unfair systems should be challenged. By fighting for himself, he also opened a path for others who might otherwise have been denied a fair opportunity.

Building a Practice in Nanded

After completing his MD, Ashish settled in Nanded and built a flourishing practice in internal medicine. Over the next two decades, he established himself as one of the most respected physicians in the Marathwada region.

He developed a special interest in airway disorders and became known for his sharp diagnostic skills. Patients trusted him because he listened carefully, thought deeply, and never rushed to conclusions.

Yet his reputation rested on more than clinical excellence. What truly distinguished him was his unwavering commitment to ethical medicine.

He never believed in ordering unnecessary tests, prescribing expensive drugs without reason, or exploiting the anxieties of patients and families. He practised medicine in a manner that was scientific, rational, and deeply humane.

At a time when private healthcare was becoming increasingly commercial, Ashish showed that it was still possible to build a successful practice without compromising one’s principles.

A Family of Values and Service

Ashish’s values did not emerge in isolation. They were shaped by the family into which he was born and the people with whom he built his life.

His father was deeply influenced by the teachings of Vinoba Bhave and wrote books on Vinoba’s philosophy. From him, Ashish inherited a belief in simplicity, service, and moral courage.

His wife, Dr. Meera Joshi, was herself a distinguished doctor. A graduate of GMC Nagpur from the 1976 batch, she practised as a gynaecologist and shared Ashish’s belief that medicine should remain patient-centred and ethical.

Together, they created a life built on common values. They showed that one could remain professionally successful without surrendering to the pressures of commercialisation.

Meera’s father, Dr. Nana Joshi, had spent nearly fifty years working for leprosy eradication and community education around Wardha. After his death in 1998 following a disabling stroke, Meera and her sister wrote a moving biography that captured his extraordinary life.

Surrounded by such people, Ashish remained firmly rooted in ideals of selfless service and social commitment.

A Friend Remembered

For those who worked with Ashish, memories of him remain deeply personal.

He was just a year senior to me. When he joined the Department of Medicine at MGIMS as a postgraduate student, we became friends almost immediately. Over the years, that friendship deepened.

Whenever I visited Nanded, we would sit together for hours, talking about medicine, ethics, books, family, and life itself. There was never any pretence in him. He spoke with warmth, clarity, and humour.

I had planned to call him again for one of those long conversations that we both enjoyed. But fate intervened before I could.

Even now, years after his death, it is difficult to think of him without feeling the weight of that loss.

The Legacy He Leaves Behind

Dr. Ashish Kulkarni’s life offers a powerful reminder of what a doctor can be.

He was academically brilliant, clinically sharp, and professionally successful, yet what people remember most is his integrity. He believed that medicine should be guided by science, compassion, and fairness. He believed that doctors should live by the values they preach to others.

That is why the title fits him so well.

He practised what others preached.

His patients remember him with gratitude. His colleagues remember him with admiration. His friends remember him with affection.

Though he is gone, the example he set continues to endure.