Dr. Anant Ranade arrived in Sevagram in 1942, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s vision. The Ranade family hailed from Jamkhandi, a city in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, once ruled by Shrimant Gopalrao Patwardhan. The rulers of Jamkhandi bore the title ‘Raja’ and belonged to the Patwardhan dynasty. Dr. Ranade’s father, Damodar Ranade, served as the Diwan of …
Bhaiji – My Father
We all fondly addressed him as Bhaiji, a term deeply rooted in the Marwadi language that is used to convey reverence and respect when referring to one’s father. My father overcame a difficult childhood to build a successful life. A man who lived a full and meaningful life, he was a survivor, an entrepreneur, a …
Bai-My Mother
Bai—this is how most Marwaris address their mother. We too followed the tradition. Born to Shri Shriram and Gopi Bai Mundra on 5 January 1925, she was the first of the five children. She came from Barshi, a town in Solapur district of Western Maharashtra. As was the norm those days, she completed her primary …
Simple, Inexpensive, Effective, Implementable. What more can a Surgeon ask for?
Some research studies make you sit up and take notice when you eye their titles and read the findings. The Lancet study published on 31 October 2022 is one such. A study everyone entering an OT must read. Why did I like this study? Because, hundreds of thousands of studies are published every year. But …
Medical Education: Does language matter?
Twenty-four medical schools in Madhya Pradesh have made an offer that makes one sit up and notice. Now the teachers can teach and assess medical students using medical textbooks in Hindi. Students have also an option of writing their exams in Hindi. For first MBBS students, the state government has developed, and recently released Hindi …
Dr KV Desikan
Dr K.V. Desikan, a legend in leprosy, passed away on 23rd October, 2022. He was ninety six. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Dr. Desikan invested considerable effort and time trying to understand the mystery that shrouds leprosy. He began working in an area few others cared about. Leprosy, in the early fifties, …
Dr BC Harinath
The passing away of Dr BC Harinath evokes so many memories. He came to Sevagram in 1970, fresh with a PhD in Biochemistry from the USA. Sevagram was a small village then and young Harinath had trouble adjusting to Sevagram. The first batch of medical students had arrived only a year ago and Dr Harinath …