Last week, I shared a post about Surendra Gujarโthe ever-present photographer who arrived in Sevagram in 1970 and went on to serve MGIMS for more than two and a half decades. In 1997, he turned off the flash and walked into the light. He was more than just a photographer. With a simple camera, steady …
Written by
SP Kalantri
Shramdaan in Sevagram
Sevagram, 1970. Dr. Sushila Nayar, ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ช ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ช, stands among medical students, passing a basket of waste from hand to hand. This was ๐ด๐ฉ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ข๐ข๐ฏ. Not an occasional gesture, but a way of life on campus.She arrived in Sevagram in 1938, fresh from Lady Hardinge, to treat Gandhijiโs high blood pressure. But what she truly learned here …
Babulal: Bhamashah of Sevagram
If you ask any MGIMS student from the 1970s or โ80s about their Dean, or even most of their professors, the memories may be hazy. Names of many classmates might have slipped away too. But mention Babulal, and the recollections come rushing back. In those days, Babulalโs canteen was their ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข, their little world in …
The Anatomy Professor
This morning in Kolkata, I finally checked off the firstโand most cherishedโstop on my list: a visit to Dr. S.K. Ghosh. For nearly two decades in Sevagram, he wasnโt just my next-door neighbor. He was a dear friend, a quiet philosopher, a family confidant, and a guide who brought warmth and wisdom into everyday life. …
A Monsoon Morning in Kolkatta
Yesterday, I was in Kolkata for just a few hours. I called her on the phone and told her I was in Alipore. โAlipore, sir?โ she said, โIโll come right over.โ She hadnโt even finished rounding on her patients, but she made time to meet meโfor a single cup of tea. I hadnโt realised how …
The Man Behind the Lens
It was 1970. A restless, curious man walked into the MGIMS campus, a camera bouncing on his chest and his eyes already chasing the light. The college was still young, still growing. But Surendra Gurjar, newly hired and unsure, already saw stories. Stories in light, in shadows, in faces. He didnโt pose people. He didnโt …
A Lumbar Pucture and a Standing Ovation
Bombay, 1975. The air was salty, the streets bustling, and a young doctor stood quietly outside the gates of St. Georgeโs Hospital. Fresh out of internship at MGIMS, Sevagram, he had no roadmap for his future. Sevagram did not offer postgraduate trainingโits founder Dr. Sushila Nayar wanted her students to serve in villages. But government …
87 and still going strong
87 and still going strong. I saw ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐น๐ฎ๐น๐ท๐ถ yesterday in the hospitalโhe had come for his routine check-up. After the consultation, we sat down for a long chat. The moment MGIMS is mentioned, his eyes light up. Tea. ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข. His hot, cardamom-flavoured tea and crisp, spicy aloo bondas were more than just snacks. And …
The First Building Blocks of MGIMS ( Part 5)
In 1969, Dr. P.L. VaishwanarโProject Officer and Head of Physiology at GMC Nagpurโarrived in Sevagram to help build Indiaโs first rural medical college. He wasnโt focused only on bricks and mortar. He wanted to build people. Before the college could welcome students, it needed a teamโnot just doctors and professors, but technicians and attendants who …
MGIMS: Admission Stories from the 1970s
Dr. Shyam Babhulkar (Batch of 1969) It was the summer of 1969. I had just cleared B.Sc. Part I from J.B. Science College, Wardha, when I spotted an ad in Tarun Bharat, a Marathi daily. A new medical college was starting in Sevagram. I applied on impulse. Soon came the interview call. Now, I was …