Dr. Shivnarayan Acharya and I share a bond from our days as alumni of GMC Nagpur. We both did MBBS and MD around the same time, though our paths took different turns after that. He became a nephrologist in Nagpur, while I focused on teaching and serving in a rural medical school in Sevagram. Over …
HMPV: A Dรฉjร Vu or a New Chapter?
With HMPV looming over us, I wonderโare we on the brink of another Covid-like hysteria? Act 1: Fear Takes Center Stage Fear of the unknown. The reflex to overreact. Every cough and sneeze under a microscope.Labs mushrooming everywhere. Machines humming. Pockets emptying. And panic rising. Act 2: Media Circus One pneumonia case hits the headlines. …
Delay. Delay. Delay.
This Diwali, Ravi (name changed) turned 19. He lived in a small town, 100 km southeast of Sevagram. Fresh out of his teens, he had completed his tenth grade at a local school and enrolled in a technical college. A promising future awaited himโsteady income, a stable life. His parents, both laborers in the fields, …
How much time do I have?
“How much time do I have now?” His voice on the phone was calm, almost casual. We had discussed the sudden cold wave, his family, his niece’s recent grand wedding, Jasprit Bumrah’s lethal bowlingโeverything except his illness. Then, out of the blue, he asked that question. Itโs a question I hear often. Families ask it …
The Middle Path
For decades after completing my MD residency and becoming a physician, I held firm to a belief: diagnose accurately, treat effectively, monitor diligently, and ensure that patients followed my advice. This was the creed I practiced in OPDs, wards, ICUs, and even during cross-department consultations in the hospital. And it worked. Most of the time. …
There is no answer, only silence
She stood there, eyes fixed on the motionless figure before her. Her brother, just 23, lay on the hospital bed. His eyes were shut. His body still, but his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath. The monitor beeped steadily, a reminder of the fragile line between life and death. She was three years …
Ravichandran Ashwin
“One should retire when people ask why, not when they ask why not.” These wise words from Vijay Merchant, a brilliant Test batsman and a keen reader of the game, still ring true today. Ravichandran Ashwinโs decision to hang up his boots suddenly and fly back to Chennai has left everyone in shock. Why did …
Beyond the hospital
โSo, tomorrow youโre going home?โ I asked gently, turning to my patientโa 48-year-old woman fighting advanced breast cancer. The disease had spread to her liver and abdomen, leading to fluid buildup, and she had been admitted for an abdominal tap and basic blood work. Now, she was eager to return home. She was frail, her …
One should retire, when
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ต๐๐ถ๐ป has decided to hang up his boots today. Itโs a bittersweet moment. I still vividly remember his debut Test against the West Indies. Wasnโt it in 2011? He got out for a duck in his first inning, but it didnโt take long for him to prove he was no ordinary cricketer. Six wickets …
Dr BJ Subhedar- End of an Era
Dr. B.J. Subhedar, the legendary physician, passed away at 96, marking the end of an era. How do you sum up the impact of such a life? His legacy is deeply ingrained in medical history, and his passing brings back many memories of how he shaped the careers of countless young doctors. I still remember …