During the time I was doing my house job, Dr. N Gopinath who had moved from CMC, Vellore, became Head of the AIIMS cardiac department. ‘NG’, as we called him, was a surgeon par excellence. He had trained overseas and was conversant with the most up-to-date practices of the time. AIIMS promised him a platform to expand the skill and scope of cardiac surgery that was till then looked at very skeptically. It was no secret that cardiologists of the time – very erudite and respected, to boot – sniggered at surgery. They were not entirely off the mark because cardiac surgery had a high morbidity rate and was definitely not for the tremulous!
NG set about giving surgery both its legitimacy and its success. Strict disciplinarian and skilled surgeon notwithstanding, he would quietly sneak out to the temple after every operation and break a coconut to propitiate the divine forces! I regarded him with awe and respect, and not a little fear. Every morning, I’d have breakfast literally on the run, dashing out of with a bite of something in my hand, so that I’d reach the hospital before he walked in around 7 a.m. If I missed him, he would take off on his rounds and I’d have to catch up somewhere, braving his steely look. Of course, some others had invented more artful methods - walking in, leaving their bags prominently visible and then taking off for breakfast. Gullible Gopinath would come in and exclaim, ‘Ah, our Registrar is already here and on the job, good guy!’
I think I earned his trust when we got a patient who chronically had blood in his sputum. NG was adamant that post all the tests, a simple blood transfusion would resolve it. I felt surgery was needed. He refused and was stubborn about that! The patient was discharged and returned a week later with the same issue. He was a band waalah, one who sang at weddings and accompanied the ‘baraat’. I decided it was time that I put a stake in the ground….
(continues tomorrow)
As told to Priya Sarkar (wife)