A Different Doctor

“How many new patients have been admitted?” Every morning, the receptionist at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital has to answer this question posed by a person who isn’t a doctor. Neither is he a part of the administration. Doctors brief him about the illnesses of their patients and expect him to make their jobs easy while patients, who know him, can’t wait to see him every morning.

Arunchandra Kondejkar, 64, has drastically changed the scope of social service in last 16 years. Starting in 1998, Kondejkar has tirelessly served thousands of patients in various hospitals across the city. His persistence and selfless service has become a vital link between doctors and patients.

Big hospitals in the city like KEM, Sassoon, Sanjeevan, Sahyadri and Shashwat have invited him to interact with patients from time to time.

However, the idea of spending time with patients was not born overnight. “My wife had a heart problem. From 1987 to 1998, she was in and out of hospitals. When she was admitted for the first time, I was scared of hospitals. I couldn’t stand that ambiance of panic. However, as the time went by, I started observing people. Crying children, disturbed relatives and tense patients became commonplace to me. My wife died on October 4, 1998, and on October 20, I went and met doctor Kelkar of Sanjeevan Hospital and told him, I wanted to work”, recalls Kondejkar, who was a government employee with MSEB then.

In 2006, Kondejkar took early retirement from MSEB to serve patients full time. “We don’t get pension. In 2005, I decided to invest all my money in provident fund, and today also, I live on the interest of that provident fund. My needs are very less”, he adds.  Apart from meeting the patients, Kondejkar writes inspiring stories from his daily experiences for various magazines. He also writes about various NGOs and their work to get them financial aid. In his busy schedule, he hardly finds time for himself.

“I sleep for 3-4 hours every night”, says Kondejkar whose day begins at 5 am. After his morning walk and yoga session, he visits hospitals to meet patients. Working tirelessly till late evening, he reaches home by 11.30 pm. “I meet about 50-60 patients every day. My doctor sarcastically says, ‘Now you just need to get a stethoscope’. The most important and satisfying thing for me is, patients like me more than their relatives. They say, relatives increase their blood pressure,” says a jolly Kondejkar.

Recalling an incidence, Kondejkar says, “In KEM, there was a 8-year-old Christian boy called Shalom. He was suffering from cancer. He loved me so much that he didn’t eat till he saw me. When he died, his parents called me to the church to make a speech on him before he was interred. I had been to a church for the first time in my life. I was thrilled by their love. Eight years have passed, I still haven’t forgotten Shalom.”

Though he is happy with his work, Kondejkar is worried about the future. “Nobody wants to come to hospitals. People say that they get depressed or panicked when they see patients. It should change,” he says, adding, “I can guarantee that you’ll neither fall sick nor get bored if you do social work. It is a divine secret.”