Every institution has its unsung buildersโsome lay bricks, others teach, a few lead. And then there are those who, in quiet corners, type history into being. One keystroke at a time. Mr. Manilal Pathak was one such man. He was born on 5 February 1944 in Jethwara, a village in Uttar Pradeshโs Pratapgarh district. His …
April 22. One Year.
22nd April. One Year. Exactly a year ago, in the quiet hours of the morning, Dhirubhai left us. He was 86. It still feels unreal. Time slows when I think of him. When Dr. Sushila Nayar invited him in 1982 to take charge of MGIMS, he hesitated. โI couldnโt even pronounce the names of half …
Dr. K.N. Ingley
(December 9, 1931 โ April 19, 2025)Dr. Keshao Narayan Ingleyโknown to all as Dr. K.N. Ingleyโwas born on December 9, 1931, in the dusty heartland of Buldhana. As the eldest of five siblings, he learned early what it meant to lead, to share, and to wait his turn. The home was always fullโvoices echoing through …
The Mother and the Daughter
Once, in the bustle of Ashok Nagar, Wardha, near the now-quiet ruins of the old Model High School, lived a woman named Pramila. Born on October 3, 1976, in Gondia, she grew up like many othersโwrapped in the routines of daily life, with little warning of what lay ahead. She married Ramesh, a mason with …
The Attendant and the Superintendent
Remember Rama Jagtap? You should. The boy from Hinganghat village, the one who worked in the Paediatrics OPD in the late 1970s. Thin, eager, barely twenty, with eyes that held more hope than fear. He had just married. Life was beginning to bloom when a bolt struck from nowhere. Without warning, his services were terminated. …
Sketching Silence: Remembering Dr. Kush Kumar
When Dr. Kush Kumar first walked into Sevagram in the blistering summer of 1976, conversations stopped mid-sentence. He was hard to missโtall, broad-shouldered, eyes probing behind thick spectacles. His English was flawlessโprecise when he spoke, elegant when he wrote. On rounds, his questions made residents squirm. In the OR, he moved like a man in …
When Her Turn Finally Came
She was just 33. At first glance, she looked heavy. And she wasโ79 kilos. Thatโs not what we usually see. Most women who come to us are thin, often undernourished, their bodies shaped by years of poverty and hard work. But her weight was hiding something. A lump in her breast had grown quietly for …
Prabhakarji
Shri Prabhakar Joseph, affectionately known as Prabhakarji, was a beacon of humility, dedication, and unwavering commitment to Gandhian principles. His journey from a modest background in Andhra Pradesh to becoming a pivotal figure at Sevagram Ashram is a testament to the transformative power of selfless service. Born into a community where meat consumption, including carrion, …
From Healer to Healed
Friday, 26 January 2024. Republic Day. Dawn broke, quiet and cold. I woke up at 5 a.m., as I always did. Ashwini had taken a late-night flight from Pune, delayed for hours. His plane finally touched down in Nagpur at 3:30 a.m. By the time he reached home, it was 5. I was already at …
RIP, USAID.
USAID, born in 1961, is no more. Its fate was sealed by President Trump, one of the many sweeping decisions he made soon after ascending to power. Why should this news bother MGIMS or Sevagram? It should. MGIMS was born in 1969, but without USAIDโs help, it might have perished in infancyโstruggling to survive, gasping …