Vizag
26/11/11 16:07
Vizag is the old British name of what is Visakhapatnam. EIther way this is a beautiful and blessed place on this planet filled with wonderful people doing amazing things.
A person cannot help but be changed by India and Vizag is an agent of that change. I visited King George Hospital. A hospital that started as a dispensary in the early 1800’s and then a full hospital in 1923. Attached and integrated to this hospital is the famed Andrha Medical College. I had the honor of meeting the Superintendent of the Hospital Dr. G. Santarao who is also a general surgeon and was a classmate of my friend and colleague at Bronx-Lebanon Dr. Sridhar Chilimuri.
Dr. B. Udaye Kumar, the Head of Department and Chairman of Orthopaedics took care of my entire stay in Vizag and for that I am moved and grateful. My experiences with him, his, staff, his fellows, and his residents were enjoyable and educational.
Vizag is right on the water as is the hospital and medical school. It breathes tradition and dedication to a people whose level of poverty is barely imaginable. What this group of doctors and nurses do every day is breathtaking. While they do this with equipment that can be updated there is no shortage of expert care.
I also had lunch with Dr. Vijaykumar who was a classmate and is a friend of ny friend and colleague Dr. Ram Kairam at Bronx-Lebanon. He just retired back to a home in Vizag after a life as a reconstructive surgeon for leprosy through a mission hospital. You can see photos of him and his wife as well as Dr. Rafi with Princess Di and also with Mother Theresa.
On this last night we went to a restaurant that also had a band. Many of the surgeons got up to sing with the band- sort of like a live karaoke. Great food, scotch, and times.
We agreed to start a sharing relationship with conferences and traveling fellows. The planet just got smaller.