Wednesday, April 29, 2015
The Making of a Doctor…..!
The Making of a Doctor:
Well, at last I was destined to become a ‘Doctor’! I had never dreamt to be one during my own childhood or adolescence either. However, having qualified as a doctor later on, I have found that to be too gratuitous, most rewarding, unbelievably satisfying.
I was just musing, as to how exactly all that happened. To cut a long story short, let me narrate a few anecdotes that have proved to be ‘landmarks’ or corner-stones, which ‘made’ me a doctor; otherwise my own dream was to become an Engineer instead.
I just could not have ‘become’ an engineer, since the marks and grades ‘earned’ in Mathematics as well as Science were too meagre, in fact pathetic! (And that made Dr.Bhagwat, then Principal, Holkar Science College comment rather sarcastically,” let him join the college of Arts; he is a duffer in Science & Maths!”, while speaking to my father). I had to literally plead with my father not to send me to the Arts Faculty; instead, I was prepared to join the ‘B’ group that had Biology as principle!
Well, the sojourn started with Biology, and surprisingly, I was better off with Zoology! In the meantime I had started dreaming of becoming a very successful and esteemed ‘Doctor’! The reasons for those ‘dreams’ were too obvious. We had very few doctors in our town then; and the ones I knew were indeed towering figures in the profession. At least two of them would have been my ‘idols’.
Likewise, a few more names always used to be in print those days. There was one Dr.Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, who wielded political power as well as an astounding Medical prowess, for a number of years, no, decades! (Like Jyoti Basu, he remained in power, may be a couple of decades or more!). But more importantly, he was a Medical Consultant par excellence, having been a personal Physician to the then President of India, Dr.Rajendra Prasad. I still remember to have read in newspapers of those days, when he was consulted not only by the President, but many other dignitaries of the day as well, and he used to be flown for the purpose at short notice (the ‘flying physician’!)
There were other names too, who had etched a nick in the esteemed profession, like Dr.Baliga, Dr.Ginde, Dr. Shirodkar, Dr.Purandare, Dr.S.K.Mukherjee, Dr.Ramnarayanji Shastri, and so on and on.
(However, I am very much aware that I was nowhere near them in any sense of the term. Truly speaking, I never made any efforts myself to move in that direction. Yet they were, and still happen to remain my ‘idols’.)
Well, the entry to the Medical College was not difficult that year, since I was successful in ‘earning’ the requisite grades; besides, the then government had doubled the ‘seat-quota’ that year onwards!
And in spite of ‘ragging’etc being quite prevalent, I was somehow ‘spared’ of that menace, since most of the ‘second-year’ boys (who usually nurture more vengeance in such matters) were my class-mates, since I had taken up admission in the Veterinary college for a year earlier. (Because that college was a freshly started Institution, with ‘Research’ facilities etc added on, as a carrot held in front of the prospective candidates!!).
It was really a good and smooth sailing during those five years in the Medical College. I had started studying more earnestly, and although more on an average side, I was at least not ridiculed anymore as a ‘duffer’!!
It is here again, that many of my own ‘dormant’ qualities came to the fore, I must confess. I began to have more of an ‘insight’, as well as a compassionate attitude. May be the sick person’s woes made me realise their pain and suffering, and that was just a reaction to that.
Besides, we were so very fortunate in having teachers of an exceptional calibre; fully devoted and dedicated to the medical profession, and most importantly, to ‘Medical Ethics’. I owe a great deal to the Values they inculcated in me as a Medical man. Indeed I am justly proud to say, that I was not required to compromise anytime, on those grounds.
Of course, there were instances when those ‘Values ‘were challenged or threatened. But ‘Providence’ again saved me from any ignonimity.
Immediately on passing out as a medical graduate I was posted in a District Hospital, and here began my actual ‘tryst with destiny’! I learnt quite a lot here, no doubt. I had my own moments of triumph as well as an occasional defeat too. And here itself again, I was introduced to a system of ‘alternative medicine’; I was inducted in the study of ‘homeopathy’ too, by none other a person than the vice-principal of the government degree college, a non-medical person, a professor in chemistry!
While engaged in my ‘adventures’ in the practice of medicine (and surgery, as well as dentistry too!), I came across an excellent book in Hindi, authored by the famous Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya, named ‘Arogya-Niketan’. That particular book chronicled three generations of “Kavi-raji”, those physicians who excelled themselves in “Naadi-pariksha” or “Naadi-Jnyana”, wherein diagnosis used to be made over examination of a person’s ‘Pulse’, done under a deep trans-like state of the physician, and the treatment was through various “Mushti-yogas”.
It was a fascinating book, and although a fiction, it narrated the ancient traditional systems of Indian Classical Medicine.
Still later on, I came across the school of various ‘faith-healers’, and came to know of certain God-men or spiritual leaders, who were supposedly healing or even ‘curing’ disease, miraculously or whatever you call it.
And then came a partial realisation, that most diseases, since they arise out of the making of ‘mind’, can be overcome if due attention is provided to the ‘psyche’.
Needless to say, I am not hundred percent confident about it, and shall NOT advocate that all alone, for fear of losing the ‘rationale’ in treating diseases, as well as for the fear, that one may stop making any positive ‘efforts’ in order to achieve success while treating a sick person.
That makes me realise at this point of time, that I am still way behind times; that I am still an incomplete Doctor; that there is still much more to know.
A few years ago, I had suddenly ‘stopped’ using the prefix ‘Dr.’ behind my name, thinking that since now I am a ‘retired’ person, I need not attach any epithets to my name, thereby ‘relieve’ myself of my ‘duties and obligations’ of having been a doctor. However, it was my ‘Sadguru’ who reminded me to ‘use’ that word, saying that I could not afford to do that; ‘a doctor is a doctor for life’!!
And so, I do use the ‘prefix’ alright; but believe me, even if a doctor ‘treats’, there is someone ‘else’ who ‘Cures’!!!
4 October 2007 (London) -Dr.P.S.Rahalkar (!)
The Making of a Doctor:
Well, at last I was destined to become a ‘Doctor’! I had never dreamt to be one during my own childhood or adolescence either. However, having qualified as a doctor later on, I have found that to be too gratuitous, most rewarding, unbelievably satisfying.
I was just musing, as to how exactly all that happened. To cut a long story short, let me narrate a few anecdotes that have proved to be ‘landmarks’ or corner-stones, which ‘made’ me a doctor; otherwise my own dream was to become an Engineer instead.
I just could not have ‘become’ an engineer, since the marks and grades ‘earned’ in Mathematics as well as Science were too meagre, in fact pathetic! (And that made Dr.Bhagwat, then Principal, Holkar Science College comment rather sarcastically,” let him join the college of Arts; he is a duffer in Science & Maths!”, while speaking to my father). I had to literally plead with my father not to send me to the Arts Faculty; instead, I was prepared to join the ‘B’ group that had Biology as principle!
Well, the sojourn started with Biology, and surprisingly, I was better off with Zoology! In the meantime I had started dreaming of becoming a very successful and esteemed ‘Doctor’! The reasons for those ‘dreams’ were too obvious. We had very few doctors in our town then; and the ones I knew were indeed towering figures in the profession. At least two of them would have been my ‘idols’.
Likewise, a few more names always used to be in print those days. There was one Dr.Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, who wielded political power as well as an astounding Medical prowess, for a number of years, no, decades! (Like Jyoti Basu, he remained in power, may be a couple of decades or more!). But more importantly, he was a Medical Consultant par excellence, having been a personal Physician to the then President of India, Dr.Rajendra Prasad. I still remember to have read in newspapers of those days, when he was consulted not only by the President, but many other dignitaries of the day as well, and he used to be flown for the purpose at short notice (the ‘flying physician’!)
There were other names too, who had etched a nick in the esteemed profession, like Dr.Baliga, Dr.Ginde, Dr. Shirodkar, Dr.Purandare, Dr.S.K.Mukherjee, Dr.Ramnarayanji Shastri, and so on and on.
(However, I am very much aware that I was nowhere near them in any sense of the term. Truly speaking, I never made any efforts myself to move in that direction. Yet they were, and still happen to remain my ‘idols’.)
Well, the entry to the Medical College was not difficult that year, since I was successful in ‘earning’ the requisite grades; besides, the then government had doubled the ‘seat-quota’ that year onwards!
And in spite of ‘ragging’etc being quite prevalent, I was somehow ‘spared’ of that menace, since most of the ‘second-year’ boys (who usually nurture more vengeance in such matters) were my class-mates, since I had taken up admission in the Veterinary college for a year earlier. (Because that college was a freshly started Institution, with ‘Research’ facilities etc added on, as a carrot held in front of the prospective candidates!!).
It was really a good and smooth sailing during those five years in the Medical College. I had started studying more earnestly, and although more on an average side, I was at least not ridiculed anymore as a ‘duffer’!!
It is here again, that many of my own ‘dormant’ qualities came to the fore, I must confess. I began to have more of an ‘insight’, as well as a compassionate attitude. May be the sick person’s woes made me realise their pain and suffering, and that was just a reaction to that.
Besides, we were so very fortunate in having teachers of an exceptional calibre; fully devoted and dedicated to the medical profession, and most importantly, to ‘Medical Ethics’. I owe a great deal to the Values they inculcated in me as a Medical man. Indeed I am justly proud to say, that I was not required to compromise anytime, on those grounds.
Of course, there were instances when those ‘Values ‘were challenged or threatened. But ‘Providence’ again saved me from any ignonimity.
Immediately on passing out as a medical graduate I was posted in a District Hospital, and here began my actual ‘tryst with destiny’! I learnt quite a lot here, no doubt. I had my own moments of triumph as well as an occasional defeat too. And here itself again, I was introduced to a system of ‘alternative medicine’; I was inducted in the study of ‘homeopathy’ too, by none other a person than the vice-principal of the government degree college, a non-medical person, a professor in chemistry!
While engaged in my ‘adventures’ in the practice of medicine (and surgery, as well as dentistry too!), I came across an excellent book in Hindi, authored by the famous Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya, named ‘Arogya-Niketan’. That particular book chronicled three generations of “Kavi-raji”, those physicians who excelled themselves in “Naadi-pariksha” or “Naadi-Jnyana”, wherein diagnosis used to be made over examination of a person’s ‘Pulse’, done under a deep trans-like state of the physician, and the treatment was through various “Mushti-yogas”.
It was a fascinating book, and although a fiction, it narrated the ancient traditional systems of Indian Classical Medicine.
Still later on, I came across the school of various ‘faith-healers’, and came to know of certain God-men or spiritual leaders, who were supposedly healing or even ‘curing’ disease, miraculously or whatever you call it.
And then came a partial realisation, that most diseases, since they arise out of the making of ‘mind’, can be overcome if due attention is provided to the ‘psyche’.
Needless to say, I am not hundred percent confident about it, and shall NOT advocate that all alone, for fear of losing the ‘rationale’ in treating diseases, as well as for the fear, that one may stop making any positive ‘efforts’ in order to achieve success while treating a sick person.
That makes me realise at this point of time, that I am still way behind times; that I am still an incomplete Doctor; that there is still much more to know.
A few years ago, I had suddenly ‘stopped’ using the prefix ‘Dr.’ behind my name, thinking that since now I am a ‘retired’ person, I need not attach any epithets to my name, thereby ‘relieve’ myself of my ‘duties and obligations’ of having been a doctor. However, it was my ‘Sadguru’ who reminded me to ‘use’ that word, saying that I could not afford to do that; ‘a doctor is a doctor for life’!!
And so, I do use the ‘prefix’ alright; but believe me, even if a doctor ‘treats’, there is someone ‘else’ who ‘Cures’!!!
4 October 2007 (London) -Dr.P.S.Rahalkar (!)
