Cooking and having lunch at VTCL with the first batch of 28 children in the ‘cow shed’ was great fun. A few of us would decide on the menu (which unfailingly was the ‘ragi balls’ and the ‘sambar’ day after day!),… Continue reading
(14) The silver lining in those difficult days…
It was on of those early days at Brahmagiri. We had just started a small school (if you can call a conglomeration of 28 children in a broken down cow shed that) a few months ago at Brahmagiri and Lalitha, a 10th standard passed ‘Kadukuruba’ tribal woman was the teacher.… Continue reading
(13) The mating cobras!
We had a young man named Mohan who was sent by Swami Veetamohananda of the Ramakrishna Ashram, Ponnampet and I had assigned him the task of supervising the construction of the Kenchanahalli hospital. He was an energetic young man, completely committed to the construction activity.… Continue reading
(12) My meeting with Mr.V.P.Baligar
In 1987, a local newspaper in Mysore had made a small article about me and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement. A few days after this, as I was walking within the Medical College campus, someone told me that there was somebody looking for me at the Canteen.… Continue reading
(11) The Thumnerale rendezvous!
It was nearly 15 days since we closed down the Chinnadagudihundi clinic. Our group had also grown from the initial 6 to nearly 15. More and more of my classmates were evincing interest in this new adventure of ours. Many ladies like Pushpalatha and Shashikala Joyce joined us.… Continue reading
(10) Our Chinnadagudi clinic…
Once I was traveling from Bangalore to Mysore by the KSRTC bus and happened to strike a conversation with the person sitting next to me. He was an employee in the sericulture department of the Government of Karnataka. During the course of the conversation, on realizing that I was a medical student, he started talking derogatorily of the medical profession.… Continue reading
(9) And we were officially born…
It was nearly two weeks since the incident at Cheluvamba Hospital happened (refer to my previous post). I was becoming increasingly restless. There was such a strong urge to do something, but I was not sure what to do. I felt that I was not really in control of what was happening either to me or around me.… Continue reading
(8) The final push…
It was Nov 1984. I was posted as a 3rd year student to Dr Kaulgud’s unit for Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr Kaulgud was an extraordinary teacher and a human being par excellence. It was indeed a privilege to be with him in his unit.… Continue reading
(7) The lesson a neonate taught me…
As part of our medicine postings, we were posted to the Epidemic Diseases hospital, which was also known as the Isolation hospital. The buildings were old and decrepit and it was located near Bamboo bazaar in Mysore. It was April 1984 and none of us were excited being posted there.… Continue reading
(6) The tipping point…
I remember those days vividly. I had just passed my pre-clinical exams with distinction and had stood 3rd for the Mysore University. We had just entered our clinicals and I was posted to the Internal Medicine unit headed by Dr.Jadhav at K.R.Hospital,… Continue reading
(5) Swami Achalanandaji…
Swami Achalanandaji
It was November 1985. There was so much excitement around. All the members of SVYM wanted to celebrate our first anniversary. We all decided to do so on the 1st of December itself. Coincidentally it was a Sunday and we students did not have to miss our classes.… Continue reading
(4) How the seeds were sown…
Whenever I am invited to speak about SVYM and its activities, I am asked by many people what prompted me to start SVYM. What was the motivating force that led me to do so? Well, I feel that I need to share it.… Continue reading
(3) No mere miracle…
It was around October 1989. The construction of the Kenchanahalli hospital had begun and was going on at a slow pace. Money was always in short supply and things were getting difficult. It was those times when one wondered whether we would get the required support to complete the project.… Continue reading
(2) Travails of our initial days…
Friends from Dharwad visited us last week. They stayed at Kenchanahalli and spent a couple of days. During this time, they met Karunakar who was one of our true friends who went out of the way to help us 22 years ago.… Continue reading
(1) How our emblem evolved…
A few days ago, I was interacting with our D.Ed students in the Personality Development program that they were having. Many of them wanted to know how the SVYM emblem had evolved. This is something that I have not shared with too many people and I felt that it would be appropriate to write about it now.… Continue reading