๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ: (๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฐ)
In my last post, I shared how Dr. Sushila Nayar secured approvals from the central and state governments to start MGIMS in 1969โand how, against all odds, she managed to get an unexpected โน2 crore grant from USAID.
For a moment, it felt like the hardest part was over.
But the truth?
Yes, the money had come through. But where were the buildings? The classrooms, lecture halls, seminar rooms? Where was the dissection hall or the labs for anatomy and physiology? The library? And before long, she would need a fully equipped hospital too.
Not a single teacher had been appointed in anatomy, physiology, or biochemistry. And yet, the first batch of MGIMS students was about to arrive.
Her troubles were far from over.
Her calm face was often clouded with worry. Sleepless nights. Furrowed brows. The clock ticked relentlessly toward July 1969.
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One day, aboard the DelhiโMadras GT Express, Sushila Nayar was returning to Sevagram. By chance, she found herself sitting next to ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฃ.๐ฆ. ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ, then head of physiology at Government Medical College, Nagpurโthough at that time, he was posted at the Government Ayurveda College.
Professor Vaishwanar? We knew him well when we joined GMC Nagpur in 1973. He was fiery, quick-tempered, but utterly inspiring. Heโd challenge usโproducts of Marathi-medium schoolsโto read ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, not ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฆ. We walked into his physiology classes with our hearts pounding, palms sweating, praying we wouldn’t be called to the blackboard.
His wife, Mrs. Indu Vaishwanar, taught biochemistry. She was his opposite in every wayโgentle, patient, kind, motherly.
We called her Mummy.
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Back to the train.
After pleasantriesโand offering him a sweet she had brought from DelhiโDr. Sushila Nayar shared her dilemma: a medical college was about to open in Sevagram, but she hadnโt found even a single anantomy and physiology teacher.
Prof. Vaishwanar listened. Then, unexpectedly, he offered to help.
What choice did she have? Beggars canโt be choosers. Dr. Nayar accepted his offer gratefully and later got state government approval to appoint him as an honorary advisor to help start the medical college.
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Years later, I got to know a softer side of Prof. Vaishwanar. Behind that stern exterior was a man full of empathy, deeply committed to helping Dr. Nayar. He drew up detailed lists of equipment and staffing needs. He suggested whom to approach for support, and named teachers who could be deputed.
And so, one by one, Sevagramโs first faculty began to arrive.
Dr. G.M. Indurkar, Dr. M.D. Kane, Dr. K.N. Ingle, and Dr. B.V. Deshkarโall deputed from GMC Nagpurโbegan teaching Anatomy and Physiology (Biochemistry wasnโt yet a separate department). In December 1970 came Dr. M.L. Sharma, Dr. M.D. Khapre (Pharmacology), and Dr. R.V. Agrawal (Pathology). Dr. Raj Kumar, Professor of Surgery, was deputed from the Bhilai Steel Plant. Dr. K.K. Trivedi and his wife Mrudula joined the departments of Surgery and Gynaecology. Dr. S.P. Nigam came for Medicine.
Dr. Sushila Nayar also reached out to her network across Delhi, Punjab, and Chandigarh. Among those who answered her call, perhaps the most significant was Dr. Ishar Dayal Singh, Professor of Physiologyโwho joined as the first Principal of MGIMS in 1969. A Principal who sat cross-legged in daily prayers, played the harmonium, sang bhajans, and wore khadi. Just like all the staff and students didโkhadi was not just a dress code; it was a spirit.
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These teachers left behind comfortable lives in big cities and prestigious institutions for Sevagramโs mud roads and minimalism. They lived in two-room quarters, used kerosene lanterns during power cuts, and walked dusty paths where no taxis or autos plied. None of them even owned a scooter.
MGIMS had no imposing buildings. No modern labs. No fancy machines.
But it had these teachers.
Their hearts, their hands, their sacrificesโthese built what bricks and cement never could. They treated the first batches of students like family and worked around the clock to shape MGIMS into what it is today.
All because of a chance meeting on a train?
Maybe.
But as they sayโwhere thereโs a will, thereโs a way.
On that GT Express in the summer of 1969, Dr. Sushila Nayarโs will found its way.
