Science, Stories and Sevagram: A Physician-Teacher's Reflections
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn todayโs world, naming a baby is almost a competitive sport. Parents meticulously curate lists, debate meanings, consult astrologers, and even conduct online polls before settling on the perfect name. But in the 1970s, in the sleepy yet bustling medical campus of Sevagram, things wereโฆ different. Dr. Shashi Prabha Ahujaโbetter known as Dr. S.P. Ahujaโwas … Read more
Reading Time: 7 minutesIn August 1969, the first batch of medical students arrived in Sevagram. Sixty of them, to be preciseโforty-six boys and fourteen girlsโarmed with dreams, duffel bags, and probably very few clues. But there was one small problem: Where exactly was the college? And more urgently: Where were they going to live? The answer lay just … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe girl was born in Gondia, the youngest of six, the apple of her fatherโs eye. While her family thrived in business, she set her sights on medicine. She pursued her MBBS at Government Medical College, Nagpur. The year was 1966. During her undergraduate years, one man recognized her brillianceโDr. G.S. Sainani, the head of … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesCan a doctorโa family friendโsteer you from engineering to medicine? Can a few words make you trade certainty for the unknown? Yes. Dr. R.V. Wardekar did just that. But he was no ordinary doctor. In the 1940s, he left the bustling metropolis of Mumbai for the quiet simplicity of Sevagram โand reshaped public health. In … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn the good old days, life in Sevagram was simple. The roads were dusty, the air always hot, and the village felt far removed from bustling cities. Yet amidst this simplicity, something rare filled the airโhumility. Once upon a time, the heads of departments and deans were more than just figures of authority. They were … Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesThat old black phoneโsolid, heavy, a relic of a time when voices travelled through wires, not airwaves. Each number on its dial, a small circle, waiting for a finger to spin it. No speed dial, no saved contactsโjust memory and precision. Calls were brief, words measured. Every minute cost money. The phone perched on a … Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe namesโKabir, Ramdas, Vivekanand, Guru Nanak, Ramkrishna, Dharmanand, Martin Luther King, Patel, and Birlaโare more than just colonies in Sevagram. They hold memories of beginnings, struggles, friendships, and quiet acts of courage. Each name has a story to tell. Yesterday, a thought crossed my mind, almost by accident Dr. Sanjay Diwan had asked whether the … Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutesIt was a typical Thursday, my OPD day. After completing rounds, I settled into the clinic, surrounded by my medical residents. The waiting hall buzzed with life, crowded with patients, many standing near the door, each waiting their turn. Mornings like these felt routine, but they never lacked purpose. Our hospital, a beacon of hope … 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: 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