In Sevagram, some medical students chose roads no one expected. They arrived at MGIMS in 1969 and the early 1970s with one aim. To become doctors. Yet life, with its quiet nudges and sudden jolts, steered them elsewhere. What unfolded were stories richer than fiction, each marked by the sacred soil of Sevagram.
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Take ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ, a Gujrati boy from a small village in Rajlot who joined the first MGIMS batch in 1969. After his MBBS in Sevagram and MD in Community Medicine from Bombay, he practised dutifully for years. Then, in the mid-1990s, came a spark. At a workshop, watching applause rain down on a motivational speaker, Jitendra thought: If he can, so can Iโbetter.
That night he opened ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐, and his life tilted. His first lectureโjust him, a blackboard, and an eager crowdโended with a standing ovation. Soon, he was no longer only a doctor but a teacher of the mind. Today he has spoken to millions, written over a hundred books, and travelled the world. And yet, he always points back to Sevagram, where his foundations were laid.
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From teaching the mind to healing the heart, we turn to ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น ๐ง๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ, who entered Sevagram in 1970. A cricket lover who once shared the field with Sunil Gavaskar, he moved to America after his MBBS and built a conventional medical career. Then came the shock. A heart attack.
During his angioplasty, Akilโs heart stopped. โIf they hadnโt shocked me, I wouldnโt be here,โ he said later. That near-death moment turned the doctor into a patient, and then into something else altogether. Eight months later, he ran his first half marathon. Soon came full marathons in Chicago, Boston, Mumbai; mountain climbing, triathlons, even bungee-jumping and skydiving.
But the real transition was deeper. He discovered that medicine alone could not heal the heart. Yoga, pranayama, long walks, and good sleep became his prescription.
Today, he speaks across America, urging people to embrace lifestyle as the strongest medicine. His message is clear: the heart can heal twiceโonce in hospital, and again in how we live.
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If Akil turned to fitness, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ from the 1969 batch turned to faith. For years he practised in Miraj, until a classmate found him transformed. Gone was the stethoscope. He found his classmate, now a ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐, dressed in a simple white ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต๐ข and ๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช with a pheta on his head and a shawl over his shoulder. Spiritual symbol of the humility of his new calling.
Sharad now led ๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด in packed halls, trading wards for devotion. For him, the music of the soul spoke louder than the hum of machines. Today, he spreads the names of Vitthal, Rukmini, Dnyaneshwar, and Tukaram through ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ดโprescribing not pills, but prayer.
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Where Sharad found solace in song, another Sharad from the 1972 batch found it in silence. Born in Gondia, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ trained in anaesthesia and led a steady hospital lifeโuntil tragedy struck. His wife, also a doctor, died of ovarian cancer. Through her illness she walked the path of ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข with courage. After her passing, grief drove Sharad to a Vipassana retreat.
What began as solace soon became his compass. He embraced ๐๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ข fully and grew into one of its torchbearers, teaching across India and abroad. โMedicine treats the body,โ he often says, โbut peace comes only when the mind is stilled.โ His wifeโs death had opened a second doorโone that shaped him as much as medicine had.
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And then, ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, alumnus of the 1979 batch. Born in a small village in Wardha to parents who sold fruits and vegetables, he grew up counting every rupee. Against the odds, he entered MGIMS, completed his MBBS, then MD in Radiology. For years he taught in Sevagram before setting up a radiology centre in Yavatmal, bringing ultrasound and CT scans to a district that had none.
But success did not bind him. Drawn to Osho, ๐๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ข, and Buddhist teachings, he gave up his practice, donned the saffron robes of a ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฌ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ, and founded a meditation centre near Yavatmal. He gave away most of his earnings and now guides seekers through yoga, meditation, and self-discovery. His life is a rare arcโfrom survival to transcendence.
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And so, journeys that began in crowded classrooms and wards have ended in lecture halls, marathon tracks, ๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ halls, meditation centres, and global stages. Five doctors. Five roads. Each less travelled, each unforgettable.
