A FRIEND FOR LIFE …..AND EVEN BEYOND!

Today was my friend, Mohan Chand Pant's varshik shradh. We, his batch-mates, friends and relatives, gathered at his home in Lucknow remembered what a wonderful friend he was and met his lovely family.

At Mohan's home today: Mukul, Veneet, Atul, Vinay and myself

We were batch mates in King George’s Medical College and so knew each other since our first day in college in the hot summer of July, 1975. Freshers, as we were then called, we were the easy target for ‘activity’, which was a politically correct name given to ragging. Mohan was a clean shaved lad who had not yet lost his baby looks and in the hostel he was paired off with another baby faced boy from the hills, Mukul. They were both very studious but Mukul was an accomplished sports person too. And they were very sporting and Mukul was crowned the T.G. Queen, an age old custom in which a boy is dressed up as an ‘Apsara’ every year!

Roommates Mohan and Mukul in S.P. Fair

After completing his M.B.B.S, Mohan chose to do his post-graduation in Radiology. This was when, for the first time he realized that life is going to be tough. He hailed from a very modest background and there was no hope of being supported by parents while doing post-graduation, and to his horror he found that this department had no paid residency posts! His professor told him that despite his best efforts he had not been able to convince the government about this demand for paid residency scheme. Mohan took it up as a challenge and pursued the losing cause all by himself. Every day he would go to the Secretariat or the Medical Directorate with applications and documents and request everyone –chaprasis, babus,  clerks, officers, ministers…..whoever he could reach to help him out. He would make them realize that Radiology is much more than taking X-Rays and perhaps for the first time the people in power understood that Radiology was a vast subject with two wings – investigative or Radiodiagnosis and therapeautic or Radiotherapy. Now with this understanding and new vigor he managed to convince the people in power that a residency scheme was very vital for the success of this branch of medicine and the residency scheme was sanctioned. Needless to say, this struggle made him very popular with everyone in the government and the hill people in particular adopted him as their future pride! Mohan never disappointed them.

The door at the beginning of the corridor led to Mohan’s humble room in the Department of Radiology  in his early days

The struggle for financial existence also taught Mohan a very important lesson – the art of man-management. He knew how to convince people and get things done. He would dream a future and make others believe in his dreams. His persuasive skills were so genuine that one was easily convinced by his simplicity. Dreaming big was his passion; he never asked for a job for himself, he insisted on a residency scheme!  His efforts were so selfless that right from that time and that early age he was in ‘Institution building’ mode!

Mohan never forgot those who helped him and even if a peon fell sick he would personally see to it that he or she would get the best treatment in the Medical College. A small hand written note from a friend or a batch-mate to a patient, with only his name scribbled on it was enough for Mohan to get up from his office chair, personally escort the patient to the concerned department, get an out of turn appointment from a busy consultant and ensure that the sick person is fully satisfied! I have been at the delivering end on many such occasions, and when I saw the concern on Mohan’s face for a complete stranger I could never gather the courage to say no, no matter how busy I was.   

Mohan was a big name in the field of Radiotherapy and he had students chairing many premier Radiotherapy departments all over the country, but he was never satisfied with what he was doing. He would often ask me why was it that our patients were coming to us so late when the cancer had spread so much that neither he nor I were able to be of any help. He was of the firm opinion that we needed to prevent cancer and all our efforts should be aimed at prevention and early detection. How do we do this was our next concern. Not to be undaunted Mohan thought of a multi-pronged approach:

1.       Write chapters for text books in regional language for school children, making them aware of cancer and its association with tobacco and chemicals

2.       Conduct audio-visual presentations in the village panchayats and village schools and make people understand the ill effects of tobacco – smoked, chewed or sniffed

3.       To use every available public platform – school function, social and cultural functions, drama festivals, Ramleelas and talk about cancer prevention and early detection.

4.       To use media – radio and television and in simple and understandable language talk about these issues

5.       Write newspaper articles, preferably in regional language to spread the message of early detection and prevention of cancer

Today when I look back, I am amazed at the passion with which he went about doing all this, and that too without ignoring his students, his staff members, his friends and family! There have been evenings when we have met in marriage functions and I have seen 7 more gift envelopes in his pocket and a list of ten destinations to visit that evening with only 3 ticked till then! Not only did he befriend people easily but he had a passion to cultivate friendship, garden it, nurture it and give it back in his own unique way.

Mohan with batch-mates

My mother was 79 years old when she was diagnosed with a urinary bladder cancer. She was investigated and was offered the best treatment that was possible and as we had made an early diagnosis she recovered completely to live for another three pain free years. Mohan was with me all throughout this ordeal and that was a big help. With my younger sister however we were not so lucky. She neglected her breast lump and when we diagnosed her she had an advanced disease. Mohan was very angry with her and asked her whether she had ever thought what would people think….he could not make an early diagnosis in the case of his own sister? She was operated and later Mohan planned radiotherapy for her under his guidance in his own institute, of which he was then the Director. During all this my brother in law was very uncomfortable with one issue which he found strange. In Delhi, where they lived, he was told that the therapy will cost Rs. 2 lacs and here no one was asking him to make a deposit. He asked me where was he supposed to make the payment, and how much? I told him to ask Mohan directly. So next day he went to Mohan’s chamber and asked him. Mohan conveniently ignored the question and flooded him with a ton of other questions of his own about my sister’s health and how my young nephew and he were coping. But my brother in law was insistent; he needed to make a payment. So when refused to let his query be brushed aside Mohan looked into his eyes and said ‘ jis din meri behen se tumhari shadi hui thi us din ye hisab kitab ho gaya tha.’ My brother in law was stunned and he returned home to tell me the story. It took me quite a bit of persuasion thereafter to repay Mohan – two trips to his office and 7 cups of tea to be exact!

A crusader against cancer and a champion of early detection, nothing could be more ironical than the fact that on December 25, 2014 when he was diagnosed for the first time with cancer, the disease was already advanced and incurable. It was a bolt from the blue and though he fought bravely till the last it was all over in eight months! That evening with a very heavy heart when I was sitting in front of his mortal remains though there are hundreds of his other friends and well wishers all around him, in the same somber mood as I was, I could feel his gaze penetrating the glass case and smiling at me as he had always done in the last forty years. Mohan was my friend, a friend for life. It was only then, when the eternal sole had left his body that in his smile he told me death was just a milestone that our friendship had to cross; we were not just friends for life but even beyond! May his aatma rejoin with paramatma and rejoice for some time but promptly return to earth because his fight against cancer is incomplete and Mohan never left things half done!