Ashok Badhe grew up admiring Prakash Padukone. “To me, he was a lion who played a terrific game,” he recalled. “I had gone to Delhi to watch him play in an international tournament, and even today I can recall his flick serves, speed and deception, smashes and cross-court drop shots — spectator’s delight but opponent’s plight.”
At GMC Nagpur, Ashok led the college badminton team. Ravi Kasat, Ajit Pradhan, Alka Desai, and Sujata also represented GMC in the inter-college Nagpur University tournament. He was born in Akola, the son of a Central Railway head clerk, attended Saraswati Vidyalaya, Shankar Nagar, Nagpur, and did his premed at Dharampeth College. He interned at Kuhi with Harshvardhan Sheorey and Milind Dangre, then completed his urban posting from GMC Nagpur.
Finding Anaesthesiology
During residency, the personalities of Dr BS Sahay and Dr George — both anaesthesiologists — determined his specialty. He obtained his Diploma in Anaesthesiology in 1981 and MD in 1983 under Dr Mrs Kale’s guidance.
He then went to JIPMER, Pondicherry, as a senior resident, moved to MGIMS Sevagram as a lecturer, and returned to JIPMER, where he rose over the following decades to Professor and Head of the super-specialty. In 1993, a fellowship in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anaesthesia took him to Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic in the United States.
In October 2012, the British Association of Indian Anaesthetists invited him to Hull, East Yorkshire, as chief guest, where he spoke on developing patient safety standards in India.
The Administrator
In 2018, JIPMER assigned him the management of the hospital itself — an institution spread across a 192-acre campus, with a bed strength of 1,500 and a Nursing College attached. He coordinated all patient care activities across the campus. More recently, he and his team were tasked with developing equipment specifications for the new AIIMS facilities under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana scheme — a mandate that requires the precision of a specialist applied to the logistics of institution-building.
His wife Dr Bhavana Badhe, Professor and Head of Pathology at JIPMER (GMC Nagpur 1980 batch), has taken the Bhagavad Gita into Vidya Niketan School in Pondicherry, conducting interactive sessions with schoolchildren on each of its 18 chapters. She wrote a book simplifying the text for young readers. Their son Sushrut rewrote the Gita in rhythmic English with Sanskrit shlokas and transliteration — thought to be the first rhythmic book of its kind based on the text. He now serves as CEO at KVM Research Labs and implements Vedic Chants Intervention Programs for children with autism.
On 31 January 2021, I superannuated as Medical Superintendent and Professor of Anaesthesia at JIPMER, Puducherry. Soon after, I served for a period as Dean at JIPMER Karaikal.
Today, I remain in Puducherry, where life has slowed into a gentler rhythm. The days are no longer ruled by hospital schedules; they unfold quietly, with time to pause, to look back, and to simply be. My wife, Dr Bhawana, continues her work as Professor of Pathology at JIPMER, carrying forward the discipline that once shaped both our lives.
Our son Sushrut and daughter Avanti run an Ayurvedic enterprise, KVM Research Lab, in Puducherry. Sushrut’s wife, Chitra, is part of this shared household, and the home is often full—of conversation, activity, and a sense of continuity.
Badminton remains a constant. I still play, and continue to participate in state and national tournaments—each game a reminder that some rhythms endure.
In the end, after years of responsibility and routine, life has found its balance—in movement, in stillness, and in the quiet satisfaction of simply being at home.