Science, Stories and Sevagram: A Physician-Teacher's Reflections
“One should retire when people ask why, not when they ask why not.” These wise words from Vijay Merchant, a brilliant Test batsman and a keen reader of the game, still ring true today. Ravichandran Ashwinโs decision to hang up his boots suddenly and fly back to Chennai has left everyone in shock. Why did … Read more
โSo, tomorrow youโre going home?โ I asked gently, turning to my patientโa 48-year-old woman fighting advanced breast cancer. The disease had spread to her liver and abdomen, leading to fluid buildup, and she had been admitted for an abdominal tap and basic blood work. Now, she was eager to return home. She was frail, her … Read more
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ต๐๐ถ๐ป has decided to hang up his boots today. Itโs a bittersweet moment. I still vividly remember his debut Test against the West Indies. Wasnโt it in 2011? He got out for a duck in his first inning, but it didnโt take long for him to prove he was no ordinary cricketer. Six wickets … Read more
Dr. B.J. Subhedar, the legendary physician, passed away at 96, marking the end of an era. How do you sum up the impact of such a life? His legacy is deeply ingrained in medical history, and his passing brings back many memories of how he shaped the careers of countless young doctors. I still remember … Read more
Recently, we cared for a frail man in his late fifties. He came in gasping for air. His heart raced, and each breath was a challenge. His lungs crackled with every inhale. Both his face and feet were swollen. The ECG was very abnormal, and the chest X-ray showed fluid in his lungs. When he … Read more
It was a quiet morning in Sevagram, a village 20 kilometers from where Gopal (name changed), a small farmer, lived. As dawn broke, his peaceful life took a sudden, violent turn. He woke up with severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and a feeling of extreme weakness. There were no warning signsโno heavy meals, no alcohol, none … Read more
In 1970, a young man arrived at Gandhijiโs ashram in Sevagram. A year later, he joined a medical college, not as a student but as an artist. Although he left the college after twenty-five years, he left behind footprints in the black cotton soil of Sevagram. The medical institution was ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ, and the young man … Read more
๐ญ On Doctor’s Day, with pride we stand, At ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ, we guide medicine’s art firsthand. Through patient care and hands-on grace, We nurture skills that that time can’t efface. ***** ๐ฎ India has 700 medical schools, is MGIMS just one of them? No, we boast a five-decade tradition of fame and name. MGIMS? Shakespeare would … Read more
In 1982, I began my medical career as a senior resident in Medicine. By 1983, while living in Wardha with my parents, 8 km away from the medical college, I began teaching the 1979 batch of students from MGIMS. That summer, Sevagram faced a severe water shortage. Wells dried up, rivers shrank, overhead tanks emptied, … Read more
After my recent Facebook post, Dr. Bajrang Prasad Pandey, an MGIMS graduate from the 1970 batch who later became a Pharmacology professor at BHU, Varanasi, shared an interesting story about Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s visit to Sevagram in the early 1970s. Mrs Gandhi had come to MGIMS to speak to a handful of medical students … Read more