My own workspace evolved in tandem with the hospital, a restless migration that mirrored the growth of the institution itself. I began my tenure as Medical Superintendent in 2009, tucked away in the cavernous, high-ceilinged halls of the old hospital building. Those were the days of quiet drafts and solitary work; I sat at a weathered wooden table, often typing my own notes into the late hours, the rhythmic clack of the keys echoing through the corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2015, the tides of renovation turned toward the Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD), and I was displaced. I moved to a tiny, hundred-square-foot cubicle within the Medicine department. It was a modest space, to say the least. During an inspection, a representative from the Medical Council of India (MCI) peered into my cramped quarters and couldn’t help but mock the lack of grandeur. “Do you measure efficiency by the square foot?” I asked him, a dry smile playing on my lips. He chose to stay quiet, perhaps realizing that the weight of a superintendent’s work isn’t determined by the radius of his swivel chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n The final shift occurred in December 2020, when the MS Office moved to its permanent home. There was a profound sense of irony and homecoming in the location: we took over the very space vacated by the old library. To me, it was poetic. The hallowed hall where I had spent my youth hunched over textbooks, soaking in medical wisdom as a student, was now the bridge from which I managed the complexities of the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I took a personal interest in the design of my new chamber. Along the wall, I installed a custom open bookshelf, crafted uniquely in the shape of the letters “SP”\u2014my own initials. It served as a functional piece of art, a reminder of the personal journey I had traveled from those early library days to the superintendent\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n When the time came for me to resign in January 2022, I prepared to hand over the keys to a new era. Dr. Poonam Shivkumar and Dr. Ramesh Pandey took over the mantle as Medical Superintendents. As I was clearing my desk, I looked up at the “SP” bookshelf and realized something that made me smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their initials\u2014Shivkumar and Pandey\u2014formed the very same letters: S and P. Though the occupant had changed and the leadership had transitioned, the wooden alphabet on the wall remained perfectly relevant. It was as if the room itself knew that while individuals move on, the essence of the office and the service it represents remains steadfast. The letters stayed, and so did the spirit of the work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Poetic Homecoming<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
The Persistence of the Letters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n