Time Out

A Karma Yogi

After some death-defying situations, Dr Praful Pawar (62), CEO of Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad is always eager to take on new challenges in life

Dr Praful Pawar is a man who follows his heart and believes in going with the flow taking life as it comes. How else was it possible for this boy born to the family of educationists to pursue a career as a doctor, serve the army for almost half a decade and then again switch gears and join Ministry of Health in Muscat!

"My father was a professor of History and both elder brothers were professors of Zoology and Geology. I was an odd man out. Just because I scored good marks in my qualifying medical examination, I landed into medicine. In those days, medicine was a 'rocking' profession and honestly I never thought I will become a doctor, but once I got into it, I crossed all the hurdles," shares Dr Pawar.

Dr Pawar completed his MBBS in 1971. He chose a career in the Indian army as a medical officer! "I was a fresh MBBS pass out when I joined the Indian army," he says. "In 15 days, I was told that I was an anaesthetist," he continues. Dr Pawar later realised that this training was given to him for the Bangladesh war that took place in December 1971.

When he left army, he pursued a post graduate degree in Anaesthesia from Nagpur University. On the personal front, while Dr Pawar was jobless, he got married to 26-year-old Padma, a MA in political science from Gwalior. They both got married in 1977.

Soon after his marriage, Dr Pawar joined the Ministry of Health in Muscat, Oman as an anaesthetist. In 1978, he landed in Muscat with his family. This overseas stint of his in Middle East was 25-year-long in which Dr Pawar rose from an ordinary medical officer to the Director of Hospital Affairs in Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman. After spending almost two and half decades overseas, he chose to come back to our country. "I took a decision to come back to India when the situation there started to change and a certain air of uneasiness crept in. The locals started becoming doctors, administrators and they didn't want Indians to be in a position of power," he shares.

Dr Pawar with his wife and two daughters

Luckily, Dr Pawar got a chance to meet Dr Prathap Reddy, who instantly offered him a position in Apollo Group first as a Consultant in International Patient Care at Apollo Hospitals Hyderabad and 11 months later asked him to take over as Director - Medical Services at the newly launched Apollo Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh in the year 2004. Dr Pawar was instrumental in organising the protocols and overall functioning of this 400 capacity bed tertiary care hospital . Dr Pawar joined Apollo Hospital as a CEO in December 2007. Barely two years have completed, when he has taken the reins of Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad with the capacity of 400 beds and he is all gung ho about the expansion plans that he has charted out for the hospital. "We are introducing stem cell and cord blood collection centre in the early next year and expanding the platinum wing meant for international patients by additional 16 beds. We want to improve the critical care beds form 70 odd to 100 by this year end," says Dr Pawar,
animatedly.

Dr Pawar has two daughters, Tanuja (27) and Apeksha (24), both telecommunication engineers. In the spare time, which is actually very hard for him to get, Dr Pawar prefers listening to music and watching cricket, his most favourite game. His favourite cricketer is Mohommad Azaruddin. He loves listening to old Hindi songs by Mohammad Rafi and Mukesh. Also a news junky, he prefers to keep himself updated about the current affairs by reading all related magazines. He also likes to write and soon plans to write his own autobiography with the title - 'Those were the Days', narrating his work and experience in different countries as a healthcare worker for last 35 years.

He loves traveling and so far has been to 35 countries. "Whatever I am today is because of the hard work, accepting challenges, trying to do something new and never looking back. Accept the new day as a new challenge is my simple philosophy," concludes Dr Pawar.

The Mixed Bag

Your best prize in life so far
Undoubtedly my two daughters.

Your first day in school
Can't really remember, but I must have been crying all the day. There was no better crying baby than me!

Your first ambition
I was never a bright student but I was really a good singer and promising cricketer. My first ambition was to be a popular singer or a great cricketer. But looking at where I am today, I suppose I lost out to Mohammad Rafi and Sunil Gavaskar!

Your favourite subject
Cricket and just cricket.

Your first day at work
It was at Military Hospital Jabalpur on 11th June 1971 when without any proper Army training I saluted my Commanding Officer as a stiff looking Army Medical Officer in the rank of a Lieutenant. He adjusted my saluting hand and asked me to relax and smile. He told me that though I was an army officer, I was basically a doctor. I never forgot that and rest is history.

The first time you fired somebody
It was in Ibra, Oman in 1979. A young obstetrician assisted by a young surgeon were doing Caesarean Section and I was the anaesthetist besides being the Medical Superintendent of the hospital. Suddenly, as the abdomen was open and baby was about to be delivered, the lady obstetrician collapsed on the floor. I asked the young surgeon assisting her to complete the surgery and deliver the baby. He refused saying that he has never delivered a baby by C-section and left the operating room. In an extraordinary emergency like that, I expected any one to lead from the front, more so a qualified surgeon. Next day, I asked my superiors to sack the surgeon and they did.

The best childhood memory
Standing with my family at a road side in Nagpur many years back and watching Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's motorcade passing by!

Your happiest moment
In August 2001. I was wheeled in to operating room of AIIMS for a brain surgery. It was noisy in the operating room when I was given the anaesthesia. It was noisy again when I opened my eyes. I faintly saw my wife Padma standing in front of me. I asked her to tell surgeons to finish the surgery fast. Holding my hand she softly told me that I was recovering post surgery in ICU after being on ventilator for two days. That for me would remain the happiest moment of my life. I saw death disappearing after being inches close to me and my life.

Three things I cannot do without
My medicines which maintain my body's hormone levels artificially after my pituitary gland was removed from my brain, my BlackBerry and talking almost daily to my two daughters who work abroad.

One trait you would like to change about yourself
Emotionally and philosophically, I have changed a lot after the brain surgery. I would not like to change any more any of my remaining traits.

One parental advice that you always remember
My father died when I was five years old. My mother always used to tell me to be a 'karma yogi'.
I follow her advice all the time.

My first vehicle
A second-hand French made Peugeot 304.

One thing you like to do the most
Remain an honest 'karma yogi' all through my life.

Sonal Shukla