August 8, 1968. A date like many others in the national calendarโalmost forgotten. But in a modest meeting room in Delhi, something quietly historic stirred. Three minds met. The agenda: to build a medical college in Sevagram Morarji Desai, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, was from Delhiโfamoulsy frugal. Beside him sat Vasantrao Naik, Chief …
Sevagram
The Dark Room
This evening I was walking past the old Kasturba Hospital buildingโthe one that now houses the Department of Community Medicine. I had walked past it hundreds of times, but today, something made me stop. There it was: a small, weather-beaten board that read โ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ผ๐บ.โ It hung askew on the aging wall, its rusted edges …
A Vist, A Downpour and a Suitcase Full of Yesterdays
Exactly a week ago, I landed in Indore to visit my elder sister. But my heart tugged in another directionโtoward someone I had to see. Dr. Karunakar Trivedi. That morning, I dialed his number. His voice, gentle and warm, hadn’t changed with time. He welcomed me without pause. By noon, I was standing before Trivedi …
Gandhi and the Mystery of Blood Pressure
โYesterday, I took three drops of Sarpagandhaโmorning and evening. Walked and talked. Still, my blood pressure was 196/ 112. But thereโs no cause for worry.โ โI took three drops of Sarpagandhaโmorning and evening. Walked. Talked. Still, my blood pressure is 196 over 112. But thereโs no cause for worry.โ A letter. Dated October 28, 1941. …
Anaemia Story 1942
This afternoon, while leafing through the brittle pages of a dusty medical journal, I paused. There it wasโa paper from ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ป๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ, dated August 1942. The author: Dr. Sushila Nayar. I blinked. Could it be ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ Sushila Nayar? The physician who walked beside Gandhiji and founded ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ MGIMS? The young doctor who became …
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐
“Enough is enough,” thundered Dr. Sushila Nayar, her voice cutting through the hall.“No more free PG seats for MGIMS boys and girls. If they want postgraduate degrees, they must first serve two years in the villages.” She meant it. In 1969, Dr. Nayar had built MGIMS on a dream: to raise doctors who would live …
The Man Behind the Keys: The Story of Manilal Pathak
Every institution has its unsung buildersโsome lay bricks, others teach, a few lead. And then there are those who, in quiet corners, type history into being. One keystroke at a time. Mr. Manilal Pathak was one such man. He was born on 5 February 1944 in Jethwara, a village in Uttar Pradeshโs Pratapgarh district. His …
April 22. One Year.
22nd April. One Year. Exactly a year ago, in the quiet hours of the morning, Dhirubhai left us. He was 86. It still feels unreal. Time slows when I think of him. When Dr. Sushila Nayar invited him in 1982 to take charge of MGIMS, he hesitated. โI couldnโt even pronounce the names of half …
Dr. K.N. Ingley
(December 9, 1931 โ April 19, 2025)Dr. Keshao Narayan Ingleyโknown to all as Dr. K.N. Ingleyโwas born on December 9, 1931, in the dusty heartland of Buldhana. As the eldest of five siblings, he learned early what it meant to lead, to share, and to wait his turn. The home was always fullโvoices echoing through …
The Mother and the Daughter
Once, in the bustle of Ashok Nagar, Wardha, near the now-quiet ruins of the old Model High School, lived a woman named Pramila. Born on October 3, 1976, in Gondia, she grew up like many othersโwrapped in the routines of daily life, with little warning of what lay ahead. She married Ramesh, a mason with …