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I had the most good fortune to be at a function where the Chief Guest was
PadmaShree Dr. Tatyarao Lahane.
He is a man whose life and work would inspire any man to awe, action and undying faith in humanity.
Born in a rural area, he had no benefit of infrastructure, nor basic amenities. He worked in the farm even as a child, assisting his parents in their occupation. On Government of India's scheme of "Earn while you Learn", he got the opportunity to educate himself. His parents were supportive but expected him to work the farm first and the schooling being second.
He is today not just the most noted opthamologist, but also the Dean of
JJ Group Hospitals which is the largest group of hospitals in Asia and second largest in the world.
He has performed surgeries in the most remote parts of Maharashtra, in villages where they don't know who is Amitabh Bachchan or who is the Prime Minister of India - but those villagers know Dr. Lahane and his great work for the masses. The poor here won't know 15th August as Independence Day but will know that Dr. Lahane will come on Dec 8 for the Medical Camp at Anandvan.
With the blessings of renowkned social worker Baba Amte, the humble man from the village has now brought the gift of light and life to those blinded through various diseases including defects, accidents, cataracts, and the dreaded leprosy.
Poverty in these remote villages is so abject that you would feel that beggars in Mumbai are a blessed lot.
Dr. Lahane has not just championed the cause of medical relief, he has inspired an entire medical team who work with him for hours on end without overtime pay in the villages where no one knows what electricity is nor know how anyone could possible get back their eyesight.
Dr. Lahane's speech yesterday was preceded by an equally inspiring and motivating speech by Dr. Ragini Parekh who has assisted him in all these hundreds of thousands of surgeries.
Dr. Lahane was awarded the PadmaShree by the President of India for his tireless services. He suffers from a kidney problem and yet devotes his life in service to less privileged, remembering his own childhood hardships and making city doctors come out of their comfort-zone to uphold the oath all doctors had taken once.
Dr. Lahane is also the only Government Hospital Doctor in India till now to have won a PadmaShree and he is of course still employed fulltime in his great efforts.
To support this cause of light and life, contact JJ Hospitals, Mumbai.
Department of OphthalmologyHospital webpageWhat is a PadmaShree Award?Most eye operations record.
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