ENT Surgeons

“Lend us thy ears”, the six wise men from the class of 1973 would demand from the rest on 21 December. They share one thing- they all are Otolaryngologists! Interestingly, all six practice in Maharashtra- four in Vidarbha and two around Nashik. Dr Prakash Wakode has the distinction of being the Dean of Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur. Very aptly chosen to lead the Medical College. For, he lends his patient ear to everyone who visits his office and has a nose for spotting trouble in the college!

Physicians

34. The number of Physicians (MD, Medicine) the class of 1973 gave birth to. Interestingly, only 1 of 33 physicians is a woman: Sujata Sawangikar-Bhalerao. Born and brought up on Davidson, Cecil and Harrison, this group spent its formative years in the three GMC wards: 13, 23 and 25 and infectious disease wards (37 and 38). Four of the physicians are working in academic institutions, one in a non-teaching government organization and the rest opted for practice in private sector. Four of them are Cardiologists (Aziz Khan, Kishore Kedar, Anil Sharma and Sharad Jaitly); three, hematologists (Shriram Kane, Harish Motwani and Dilip Gohokar) and three are Neuro Physicians (Jayant Pande, Siddharth Biswas and Chandrashekhar Meshram); one obtained specialization in Epidemiology and Public Health (SP Kalantri). Three of the 34 are abroad (Sujata, Sharad and Vikas Chitnavis); two are in Delhi (Garg and Gadpayle); one each is in West Bengal (Biswas), Tamilnadu (Maitreyan), Chhatisgarh (Ganjare), Madhya Pradesh (Chandorkar), Mumbai (Sharma), and Pune ( Motwani). And Vidarbha is home to as many as 23 Physicians.

Surgeons

Surgeons are typically creative, courageous, confident and conscientious- they cut organs, deal with bleeds, operate in emergencies and spend long hours in operating rooms. No wonder that their scalpel wielding skills evoke awe and adulation in the society and they are often the role models of medical students. The class of 1973 went on to produce as many as 15 surgeons! Very proud of them, for they have always provided relief to their patients- quickly and effectively.

Ophthalmologists

There is more to the bunch of 7 ophthalmologists from the class of 1973 than meets the eye. And what a geographically diversified group: Archana in Aligarh,Vinay Kumar in Chennai, Arun in Mumbai,Sanjay in Rajkot, Prabhakar in Yavatmal, Inder in Parbhani, and Shyam in Nashik! All eyes shall be on them when they come for the reunion. After all, how can anyone turn a blind eye to an Ophthalmologist? Indeed this specialty is an apple of the eye in the society, for without them we simply won’t be able to see eye-to-eye.

Primary care Physicians

39. The number of primary care physicians the class of 1973 produced. Spread over the 11 districts of Vidarbha, they committed themselves to the primary care, and dedicated their lives- offering tender loving healthcare to the people, addressing their voiced and unvoiced health concerns, treating them with warmth and compassion, ridding them of pain at their doorsteps and acquiring the status of friend, philosopher and guide of the families that they so passionately served over the years. They worked hard- often in resource limited settings- turned a blind eye to the glamour and glitter of technology dominated medicine, and brought smiles on the lips of thousands of children, men and women they cared for. We salute their selfless service and acknowledge their huge contribution. These are the real doctors of the class of 1973- they went to the people, lived with them, loved them, started with what they knew and cared for them. We are very proud of them.

Gynaecologists

And here are women-gynecologists from the class of 1973. You might find their last names- before and after marriage- floating around randomly in this image. I did so deliberately- for this is what they do – bringing order into a chaotic world. Salute to these specialists who are trained to convert agonies of half the world into ecstasies. And how quickly do they ease the pains of women in the labour rooms-screaming with the worst pain of their life- and create an environment filled with sense of fulfillment, exultant joy and indescribable happiness. A labour of love for them.

And here are Male Gynecologists- six of them- from the class of 1973. Back in late seventies, they took the path less traveled by- and that made the difference.

“राज़ की बात है, महफ़िल में कहें या न कहें …निगाहें मिलाने को दिल चाहता है “- साहीर लुधियानवी की कलम, आशाजी का स्वर , रोशन का संगीत और राज साहब का अभिनय! “दिल ही तो है” का यह मशहूर गीत याद दिलाता है १९६३ की जब ये फ़िल्म रिलीज़ हुई थी । एक दशक बाद हमारी कक्षा में भी एकसाथ आठ राज (राजीव से खेमराज तक ) आयें । उम्मीद है कि ये ८ राज २१ दिसंबर को भी नागपुर की महफ़िल में अवश्य पधारेंगे !

गवर्नमेंट मेडिकल कॉलेज की १९७३ बैच में तीन प्रदीप थे । आजकल एक पूना में अपनी बेटी की शादी की तैयारीयों में व्यस्त हैं; दुसरे मॉरिशस में अनेस्थेसिओलॉजी के प्रोफेसर हैं और तीसरे कुछ वर्ष पूर्व कोल्हापुर से लंदन चले गयें: वे भी पेशे से अनेस्थेसिओलॉजी की प्रैक्टिस करते हैं । शायद प्रदीप ऑपरेशन थिएटर के इर्द गिर्द ही बसते हैं – यही वजह होगी उन्होंने ने ऐसे पेशे चुने ! अफ़सोस इस बात का है कि हमारे स्नेहमिलन में दो प्रदीप आ नहीं पाएंगे! काश वे आ जाएं।

Four boys from the Class of 1973 shared a common name- Nandkishore. No questions asked this time- let me spill the beans straight away!

A Commercial Pilot, a Train Conductor in USA, a Professional Singer and an International Lawn Tennis Player… the sons of the class of 1973 have taken paths less traveled by, and that surely will make a huge difference. Everyday I talk with our classmates- over the last few months I have already spoken to 156 of 189 classmates – I discover facts that are interesting and amusing. Name the four classmates who still are not able to explain what made their sons take such unusual careers!

Where they are now?

Of the original cohort of 204,189 survivors of the class of 1973 live in as many as 76 cities or small towns, worldwide. Fifteen from our class left for heavenly abode; 169 are in India and 20 sought greener pastures, abroad (not sure if the grass is indeed green outside the country).Here is an image that captures the diversity of the locations of the class of 1973. My newly acquired skill- created on my desktop!