Volume 8 Issue 1 January, 2018
“Journey towards satisfaction”
My journey from MBBS days to what I am now has been an excellent motivating journey for myself which I wish to share with you
Bereaved with the untimely loss of my father while in final MBBS financial compulsions forced me to take up a job after MBBS. Having a brother in Air Force I was motivated to join armed forces for which I was selected in 1984. I was happy that I was posted in the border areas of Rajasthan as it made me mentally & physically tough both due to army training & the terrain. Army taught me to take all adversities in my stride & deal with them confidently. Self discipline & concern for defence personal who were guarding our frontiers became a part & parcel of my life.
Having got selected for MD in Psychiatry at AFMC Pune was a mix of learning about general psychiatry & combat psychiatry. My last tenure at Srinagar base hospital was the most gratifying. I worked in the proxy war stricken J&K. My work involved caring the armed forces jawans who were psychologically devastated. I also understood the mind of the militant having interviewed over 500 militants. I was one of the contributors of the book ‘KASHMIR DIARY’ which was about psychology of militancy & militants. This book is now a standard book for Indian Army officers for understanding militancy in Kashmir. The outcome of this book has had a lasting impact on the jawans there in terms of improved working conditions & better pay scale. I hold my head in pride that I could do this to my jawans roughing it out in most inhumane conditions.
Having seen armed forces & now being in civil life since 1996 I look back with pride & satisfaction that I was able to be part of the two noblest professions –being a doctor & an army man.
Career in armed forces is both challenging & satisfying one. Serving the nation is a matter of great pride & Doctors can serve country by joining armed and there is a scope for post graduation in armed forces medical college. I urge my eligible youngsters to embark on a career in armed forces. It would be life worth lived.
