Science, Stories and Sevagram: A Physician-Teacher's Reflections
Reading Time: 3 minutesHow did students get into MGIMS five decades ago? I asked a senior professor of pharmacology—an alumnus of the MGIMS Class of 1970—and he shared his story. It’s a charming throwback to simpler times, full of serendipity, sincerity, and a touch of destiny. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙎𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 The year was 1969. … Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesIn my last post, I told you how deputy prime minister Morarji Desai in 1968 agreed to fund a medical college in rural India. But there was a catch—a formidable one. The hospital would need to raise 25% of the funds itself. Not just once, but every year. Forever. The formula was simple on paper: … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesBetween 1966 and 1969, Indian politics was a storm in motion. Indira Gandhi—once dismissed by Ram Manohar Lohia as a “goongi gudiya” (dumb doll)—defied expectations. Not only did she win the 1967 general election, but she also consolidated power and emerged as a formidable Prime Minister. The Congress party soon split: the old guard became … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn May 1964, after Prime Minister Nehru died, Lal Bahadur Shastri assumed office. One day, during an informal conversation, Shastriji shared a concern with Union Health Minister Dr. Sushila Nayar: “We produce thousands of doctors every year, yet our villages remain without care. These doctors are trained in cities. And stay there. Why can’t we … Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesLast Thursday, a plane crashed in Ahmedabad. In just a moment, 274 lives were lost—people on board and on the ground. As the news scrolled across my screen, something stirred deep inside me. A long-healed scar began to ache again. In that moment, I was transported back 25 years—to another plane crash, another tragedy, another … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday’s 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, 𝗟𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁 Mahajan … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen 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 work—rescuing abducted women from the violence of riot-torn Punjab. Something inside her had broken. She had lost Bapu. And with him, the compass … Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesBhupendra Nath Das—widely known as B.N. Das and one of the earliest members of the MGIMS library team—called me this morning. Now in his early 80s, his voice quivered with emotion as he reminisced about Dr. R.V. Agrawal’s role in establishing the MGIMS library. B.N. Das, then a 24-year-old from Calcutta, would later retire from … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesAugust 8, 1968. A date like many others in the national calendar—almost 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 Delhi—famoulsy frugal. Beside him sat Vasantrao Naik, Chief … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesExactly a week ago, I landed in Indore to visit my elder sister. But my heart tugged in another direction—toward 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 … Read more