Yesterdayโs Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad, where 241 lives were lost within moments of takeoff, has left the nation grieving. For many of us, the news brought a wave of shock and sorrow. For some, it also stirred the memory of another flight, another heartbreak, from a time long past. In January 1966, ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ Mahajan …
Sevagram
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ
When Gandhiji was assassinated in January 1948, the world Dr. Sushila Nayar had built her life around collapsed. She was just 33. In the chaos that followed, she threw herself into relief workโrescuing abducted women from the violence of riot-torn Punjab. Something inside her had broken. She had lost Bapu. And with him, the compass …
More than Books: A Tribute to MGIMS Library and Dr. R.V. Agrawal
Bhupendra Nath Dasโwidely known as B.N. Das and one of the earliest members of the MGIMS library teamโcalled me this morning. Now in his early 80s, his voice quivered with emotion as he reminisced about Dr. R.V. Agrawalโs role in establishing the MGIMS library. B.N. Das, then a 24-year-old from Calcutta, would later retire from …
A Voice that built MGIMS
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 …
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 …
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 …