Most of the professors in our college, especially in 1st mbbs, were typical professors. They had a specific way of dressing, usually, wearing suit and tie, nicely ironed, well polished shoes, and tidy haircut and always clean shaved. As for example, take dr mazoomdar, head of deptt of the physiology. He was seen in suit and ties most of the times and used to speak mostly in English. He had a halo around him. When he taught, his body language was like any professor teaching since ages! We also had seen real professors like dr s d nishith, an ex army man, teaching physiology.
Our dean was dr gulati, a pharmacologist, a very serious man,was always seen well dressed. His expressions some how appeared a bit concerned and tense. He had big spectacles with thick plastic frame. I never met him, rather may be because of his halo, some how, never dared to meet him. Our vice dean was dr rey, again an ex army man,who even though serving in medical college, probably still believed himself in the army! He had typical army like way of dressing and talking. I had to meet him couple of times for getting my identity card signed.
Barring a few, most of the teachers were unapproachable for a simple student like me. May be, it was because they were from different cultural background or mostly because my perception was so. for me and probably most of the other students, it appeared, professor of medical college meant a highly polished English speaking suit tied person.
however, if there are no surprises, it is not the life! It was a routine afternoon lecture of preventive and social medicine[psm], a subject disliked by most of the students. Usually, dr arya, who dared to teach richettesia (an organism somewhere between the viruses and the bacterial world, mainly responsible for trachoma, infection of eyes) in the very first lecture of PSM, used to come to teach us, I mean, to bore us with the subject.
However, since it was necessary to attend at least some 70% of the lectures to be eligible to give exams, the class remained mostly full in even such boring lectures. We were expecting dr arya in his routine professor’s suit, but that day, an odd man, rather, a highly odd professor entered our class.
He was lean thin and of average height. He was not in suit, neither he wore shoes, rather, even his chappals were not polished! He was dressed simply in shirt and pants. He probably did not care to do in-shirt. He had simple plastic framed spects and there was a big swaminarayan tilak on his forehead. His Hairs were immersed in hair oil. He looked more like swaminarayan devotee than a professor!
“ mitro”, to our surprise, he started in gujarati as he climbed the stage! “ maru naam dr rajesh Mehta chhe. (my name is dr rajesh Mehta).” And he continued in gujarati “ friends, can you all tell me why did you choose to become a doctor?”
He asked a very basic question. Probably a soul searching one for all of us.the class was a bit taken for a surprise.
“ when you did choose, you must have thought of about this. I really am interested to know about it. Can we go for a simple exercise?” his eyes were on all of us. “ I am giving you options. You choose from them and tell me.” The class responded silence as the agreement .
“ these are the choises… first, to earn a lot of money, secondly, to earn and to serve the society, thirdly to work and to see the god… be honest.. this has nothing to do with either your curriculum or exams..” and he started asking from the first bench onwards.
Almost all students chose the second option. but many of honest students emphasized on good earning too that made dr. Mehta happier. For me, money was not important at that time, I must confess. And my idea was mainly to serve the masses for which I left my much liked physics and engineering career while choosing branch at the time of counseling after routine 12 std exam results.
As far as seeing god, no way! Even a half believer at that time, I never had a zeal to encounter god. if suppose, i some how saw god, what difference would it make to others?would it improve their lives anyway? It probably was not important to see god but was important to care for his creation as I believed at that time.
So, for me too, it was the second option when was asked.
“ I really am happy. Almost all of you are truthful.do you know with what dream i entered the medical college?” Said dr mehta, looking deeper in his own heart.”i entered medical college dreaming to be a humble servant of villagers and poor people. through their service, i wanted to realize god. i dreamed myself going to interior villages on my own bicycle carrying essential medicines in a small box! friends, this dream, in a way , has not changed even today." he looked on our faces, unknowingly appealing some where inside." Ok let us now move to the subject..” he paused a bit before starting.
" do you know there are thousands of people getting dreaded disease like cancer just because of tobacco chewing? do you know so many deaths can be prevented just by saying 'no' to alcohol?....yes..probably all of you know this fact." he continued further in his unimpressive voice and un polished gujarati. "we need to spread this message to our people. we can go to people and tell them the facts,educate them and their lives can be saved."
"sir" suddenly i stood up. "sir how to convince those which already are addicted to alcohol or tobacco?"
" you can tell them the ill effects and tell them that they would die if the continue to their bad habits." dr mehta tried to convince me first.
"sir, such people would say they would die someday even otherwise. why not to first enjoy the life by all bad and good ways and then die?"as the students listened the discussion, i cited one of the basic argument of all the addicts. sir could not reply for a moment.
to this,whole of the class clapped!probably the claps were for my argument.this was very first time when whole of the class showered claps for me. i was a bit flattered and felt like winner. dr mehta raised his hand to stop the noise of the clapping students.after about a minute, when noise lessened, he said "you can tell them they would die an early, slow and painful death."
i sat down and dr mehta continued with teaching.this man was really a weird one! could you imagine such a doctor? he was not at all worried for the way he appeared to MBBS class and even to his own counter parts. no one asked us the basic question that he asked.and why should he be interested in asking such a question? may be he just wanted us to introspect. or did he really had something in his mind? when he spoke of his dream, i felt probably that was my dream too. though his voice was not impressive but was really truthful and was perceived directly from his heart.
at the end of the lecture, he said, "if some one from you is really interested in serving the poor, they can come to a small friend circle we have created. we have named it 'the health circle'. we meet every week and we go to nearby slum and do different health activities. i invite only those who really are interested. this activity is not going to help you in any of your exams. it will eat away your time rather. so you are welcome only if you really are determined ." and he left the class.
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