Science, Stories and Sevagram: A Physician-Teacher's Reflections
SP Kalantri Reading Time: 2 minutes๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป 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
Reading Time: 3 minutesDr. 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
Reading Time: 2 minutesRecently, 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
Reading Time: 3 minutesIt 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
Reading Time: 6 minutesIn 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
Reading Time: < 1 minute๐ญ 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
Reading Time: 3 minutesIn 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
Reading Time: 2 minutesAfter 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
Reading Time: 2 minutesA medical college, known by any other name, would still produce MBBS and MDs. Wasnโt it William Shakespeare who wrote in Romeo and Juliet: ‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Well, it does matter. ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ certainly sounds better than ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ. Back in 1969, … Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutesIn November 1981, I earned my MD in Medicine from the Government Medical College, Nagpur. Guided by Dr. BS Chaubey, known for his razor-sharp mind, clinical acumen, and rapid-fire diagnoses, I underwent rigorous training. His witty and incisive remarks during ward rounds were a hallmark of his teaching style. Spending two-and-half years in Ward 23 … Read more