Leader of the Team - 10
Leader of the Team - 10
Dr.V.N.Shrikhande
The
kind of letters one receives is truly amazing.
Once
when a patient was being wheeled into the Operation Theatre, I was handed over
a letter from his wife which said:
"Your
Highness, I am handing over the most precious diamond of my life unto thy
hands. Thou shalt polish it and make it shine so I can put it back into my
bosom. This is my duty-bound prayer”.
.It
is incorrect to presume that doctors get bouquets only when they have operated
successfully and brickbats when an operation fails. Here is a letter I received
from a doctor:
"I am
very sorry to let you know that my relation expired suddenly. Sir, it is beyond
my words to express my thanks for all the efforts you put in to save him. I bow
my head a hundred times when I think of how tenderly you took care of him. I
hope my relative is in heaven. Surely he will bless you for ever...”
Here
is another letter from a poor illiterate villager on whom I had done a major
operation.
"I am
alive because it was my great fortune that I came to you for the operation.
When I left my village everybody thought that I would not return. I have placed
your photograph in my house and we offer garlands to it every day. The people
of my village also come to pay their respect to your photograph and it is our
desire that one day you would come to my village because all of us are keen to
meet you."
I met
him regularly. Four years later he wrote me another letter.
"I
am keeping well. But I felt uncomfortable when I saw you last. You looked
pulled down. I am sending you one kilogram of ghee and I request you to take it
regularly. Please look after your health”.
He
added: "Kindly write a letter to me because your well-being is assurance to
innumerable patients like me whom you would save in your life-time".
There
was another poor patient whom I had operated upon successfully. He wrote: "You
treated me as if I was a member of your family. I send you my grateful
thanks... I am a poor man, I cannot give you any present, but I have got only
one thing which I wish to give you. I am a who has faith in life. I will pray
before the most High God to give you a long, long life and prosperity!"
In
the late thirties and early forties, I was a student in Belgaum. I had a good
teacher. In 1975, he wrote me a letter in Marathi. It said:
"I
was listening to the regional news on the regional news on the radio and I
learnt that you had conducted a wonderful camp where many operations were done
and for which you have been honoured by the government. I was so happy to hear
the news that for a whole day I mentioned it to everyone I met. I pray God that
you will be able to continue your good work for many years to come.
"I
come across many rich people, including those from the Royal Family. I however
only did my job as a teacher and worked till I got pension. I did not save any
money. Otherwise I would have bought some property and built a bungalow for
myself. On occasion, my son feels that I have been an impractical man. In these
days of inflation, I wonder whether I had done a mistake in my life in just
remaining a teacher and sticking to certain ideals, but when I hear the good
name that some of my students have made, I forget everything and I am pleased
with myself that it was worthwhile being a teacher”.