Sevagram Reflections – Page 8

Of Kachha Chiwda and Aloo Bonda

Don’t forget to eat that 𝑎𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎,” he said again, his voice steady now. “I will,” I replied with a smile, stepping away. Only a week earlier, his son had wheeled him into the hospital OPD, visibly anxious. A driver in our hospital, his face betrayed his helplessness as he pushed the wheelchair into my room. “Sir, my father isn’t …

The Silent Surrender

In our quiet ward, a son softly asked, “Can I take my mother home?” Usually, such requests mean relief. Patients leave with hope, their struggles behind them. Grateful families thank the doctors, smiling. It feels like a victory. But this time, there was no joy. No happiness. His question wasn’t about hope—it was about saying goodbye. His mother was dying. …

Delay. Delay. Delay.

This Diwali, Ravi (name changed) turned 19. He lived in a small town, 100 km southeast of Sevagram. Fresh out of his teens, he had completed his tenth grade at a local school and enrolled in a technical college. A promising future awaited him—steady income, a stable life. His parents, both laborers in the fields, dared to dream of a …

The Middle Path

For decades after completing my MD residency and becoming a physician, I held firm to a belief: diagnose accurately, treat effectively, monitor diligently, and ensure that patients followed my advice. This was the creed I practiced in OPDs, wards, ICUs, and even during cross-department consultations in the hospital. And it worked. Most of the time. There is no greater reward …

There is no answer, only silence

She stood there, eyes fixed on the motionless figure before her. Her brother, just 23, lay on the hospital bed. His eyes were shut. His body still, but his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath. The monitor beeped steadily, a reminder of the fragile line between life and death. She was three years younger, but their bond was …

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘆𝗲

Recently, 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 arrived at our ICU, we …

Life and Death in Sevagram: The Day the Snake Bit

It 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 signs—no heavy meals, no alcohol, none of the usual causes of …

𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗦: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺

In 1970, a young man arrived at Gandhiji’s 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 𝗠𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗦, and the young man was Sitaram Vooturi. As fate …

On Doctor’s Day

𝟭 On Doctor’s Day, with pride we stand, At 𝗠𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗦, we guide medicine’s art firsthand. Through patient care and hands-on grace, We nurture skills that that time can’t efface. ***** 𝟮 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 have shrugged, “What is in …

𝗠𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗦 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟯: 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸

In 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, and taps ran dry. The …