Doctor on the street

As Dr Anita Borges pulled out of the compound of Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel a rash motorist almost hit her car Belligerently he posed in Hindi every Bombayites oft heard question You think this is your fathers road Sweetly pointing to the signboard right there announcing Dr Ernest Borges Marg the eminent histopathologist retorted Of course And drove off leaving behind what Dr Sunil Pandya describes as a puzzled but steaming individualA veteran neurosurgeon from KEM and Jaslok hospitals Pandya balances such chuckleworthy episodes with weighty nuggets of information in collaboration with Dr Sanjay Pai consultant pathologist and Head of Pathology at Columbia Asia Referral Hospital Bengaluru Their unusual compilation offers a record of roads named after city physicians and surgeonsKashibai Navrange Marg in Gamdevi honours Dr Kashibai Navrange the first Indian woman doctor to open her ownclinic in Bhuleshwar She floated a Milk Fund in 1916 for pregnant and lactating mothers under the auspices of the Arya MahilaSamajThe genesis of this project lies in two unconnected events says Pai On a 2006 trip to Canada I was struck by the manner in which Montreal has honoured its greatest sons in medicinemdashWilliam Osler and Wilder Penfieldmdashwith Promenade Sir William Osler and Dr Penfield AvenuePai subsequently spotted an article in an American medical journal on roads commemorating doctors of Rome When he shared this with Pandya his senior colleague Pandya and his wife Shubha sent him a similar listing Wondering about an Indian equivalent we chose the city we know best Im Bombayite by birth education and more says Pai The constraints of clinical work made us sit on the idea without access to fresh names Pandya adds We discovered difficulties cataloguing street names Once the Bombay Telephone Directory would provide a list with past and present names in separate columnsArya Mahila Samaj the Samajrun womens hostel on this street PicSuresh Karkera amp Dr Navrange Courtesy Hemlata Shilpi PICSURESH KARKERA amp DR NAVRANGE COURTESY HEMLATA SHILPI The team now looks forward to finishing work on their manuscript with helpful additions from people Brief bio sketches highlight the stellar contributions of doctors to the city they graced The authors embellish a solid level of medical detail with quirky anecdotal style As Pai declares History is fun This is a novel way to remember doctors who contributed importantly to societyStreets commemorating doctors are not always those they resided on Exceptions include Dr GV Deshmukh whose bungalow stood on Pedder Road originally acknowledging the 1879 municipal commissioner WG Pedder which is renamed Gopalrao Deshmukh Marg Dr Rajabali Patels residence also nestled against a rockface in the lane attributed to him opposite Breach Candy Hospital It would be nice to explore roads on which doctors actually lived try and meet their family members and other senior citizens there who may have memories enlightening us says PandyaDr Sunil Pandya and Dr Sanjay Pai right the collaborators researching streets named after Bombays foremost physicians and surgeons39 Pedder Road was the address of the extraordinary Deshmukh responsible for three radical womens rights laws cofounding the Indian Medical Association becoming Bombays first mayor post1947 and the force behind KEM Hospital On his urging Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas descendants for support GS Medical College opened in 1926 its motto echoing ethics of the day Non sibi sed omnibusmdashNot for self for allGandhijis trusted physician Patel donated the NonCooperation Movement R50000 Khaddarclad lifelong he exemplified nationalism In 1913 when the British Governor gave his nod to establishment of an institution paralleling the Royal College of Surgeons of England Patel pointedly dropped the prefix Royal and the CPS College of Physicians and Surgeons was bornCafe Madras the iconic Udupi restaurant on Bhau Daji Road in Matunga Credited with pioneering research on Indian drugs as leprosy curesDr Bhau Daji Lad the citys first Indian Sheriff lent his name in 1975 to what used to be called Victoria and Albert Museum in Byculla for which he was a key fundraiser Inexplicable why the physician and surgeon credited with pioneering research on Indian drugs as leprosy cures has a road paying him tribute in Matungamdashfar from GirgaumChowpatty where he and his brother Narayan performed more operations in the 1850s than British doctors How do BMC officials decide which road should get assigned in memory of a specific doctor Pandya asks Gone are the times when roads were named for meritorious individuals not tiddlypom characters That selection could never be challenged thenA fixture on Dr Bhau Daji Lad Road that is the personal favourite of both doctors is Cafe Madras no confusion with Madras Cafe The Udupi eatery remains an alternate Sunday breakfast adda for Dr Pandya with an engineer friend and holds appeal for two generations of Pais I frequented Kings Circle in the 1980s and 90s for material from pavement booksellers Pai recollects Serving delicious pesarattu and ulundhu dosai with coffee this place was perfect to browse through newly acquired books I raved about it for years One evening dad said Lets go there He mom my grandfather and I set off On reaching dad exclaimed Hey its my 1950s haunt when I was in Ruia and KEM That it was on the road named after Bhau Daji a fellow of Grant Medical College like Sunil and me proved more delightfulDr Bhau Daji Lad was also the citys first Indian sheriff PicsPradeep Dhivar amp courtesy Dr Sunil PandyaSome illustrious careers have particularly impressed each writer Pais hero and the subject of his independent research is Dr Vasant Ramji Khanolkar whose name marks the east Parel junction Khanolkar Chowk Training in London VR Khanolkar was Indias first qualified MD pathologist Pai says He was Professor of Pathology at Grant Medical College GS MedicalKEM Hospital and finally Director of Laboratories at Tata Memorial Hospital A world leader in the 1950s and 60s in the diverse fields of cancer and leprosy he ranks among the countrys foremost researchers By happy coincidence Im an alumnus of Grant and Tata Memorial and was on the Tata Memorial staff too I worked a year at KEM Hospital as wellDevouring Persian literature in the library of his army surgeon father as a boy Khanolkar had a brilliant academic run He came to be considered the complete pathologist not just for diagnostics in his specialised field but equally fine understanding of biophysics and biochemistry Among epidemiological findings of distinction he showed a skin cancer form from the friction of tightly wound dhotis and noted the wide incidence of breast cancer among Parsis As an educator he advised pupils You will be told that life and death hang on your slightest movement All this is moonshine Our profession is like any other It can be made noble if the men and women practising it accomplish their task with courage fortitude and selflessnessDr Dominic A DMonte and Dr Cecilia Rose DrsquoMonte from one of Bandras most prominent families each contributed distinctively to both public health and civic welfare activitiesPandyas salaams go to Dr Borges and Dr VN Shirodkar though it is a Dr RK Shirodkar mentioned on a midtown road sign Unconnected with medicine RK Shirodkar seems to be saluted for promoting the education of mill workers children Dr Ernest Borges taught clinical surgery every Saturday at Tata Memorial which I attended as a postgraduate student at JJ Hospital says Pandya Dr VN Shirodkar taught at my alma mater Grant Medical College I recollect his lectures vividly Introducing the Shirodkar Stitch which prevented foetus loss in women prone to spontaneous abortion he gained popular international fame after his operation on SophiaLoren in RomeThe lasting public welfare achievements of a legendary doctorphilanthropist couple christened DMonte Park Road in Bandra Dr DA DMonte the grandfather of journalist Darryl DMonte donated massive adjacent plots of land for the Salsette Society and 1935founded Bandra Gymkhana Besides MD LRCP LRCS FRIPH FCPS LM amp S appended to his name Dominic Anaclete DMonte was Knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great a Member of the Municipal Corporation of Bombay and President of the Municipality of BandraDr Vasant Ramji Khanolkar Indias first qualified MD pathologist became a global figure in the mid20th century for his remarkable research strides in diseases as diverse as cancer and leprosy Pic courtesyDr Sanjay PaiHis gynaecologist wife Dr Cecilia Rose DMonte enjoyed high regard in the early 20th century being the first Indian chief medical officer at Cama and Albless Hospital and first woman appointed to the Bombay Medical Council House surgeons of the hospital she was devoted to have her R16000 grant to thank for hostel quarters on campus a facility she championedDMontes obstetrician contemporary Dr Kashibai Navrange was as much a social reformer by soul The first Indian woman doctor to open her own clinic in Bhuleshwar the street named after her is tucked in a quiet part of Gamdevi Naturalists presume the former name of Kashibai Navrange MargmdashAlexandra Roadmdashalludes to Alexandrian laurel Sultan Champa or Surangi in Marathi evergreens bordering itDr Ernest Borges the esteemed cancer surgeon dedicated to Parels legendary Tata Memorial Hospital from its inception in 1941 to 1969 remains a role model for generations Pic courtesyThe director Tata Memorial HospitalA quainter allusion to the botanic avatar of Kashibai Navrange Marg comes from Samuel T Sheppards seminal work Bombay Placenames and Streetnames Alexandra Road is one of a little group in Gamdevi owing names to the species of tree planted along them Laburnum Road Alexandra Road and Cirrus Avenue Everyone knows laburnum flowers but the writer will not be alone in confessing he has no idea what a Cirrus or Alexandra look like The QueenMother may be thought to be the Alexandra referred to She is presumably godmother to the tree and gives her name by that indirect method to the roadPai and Pandyas comprehensive focus on those advancing the cause of medicine and safeguarding citizens health is supplemented with photographs and geographic locations on Google Map reproductions Pandya concludes We hope to broaden our scope to study doctors after whom Bombay streets are named instead of the other way roundDr Rajabali Patel was among Gandhijirsquos band of most trusted physicians Pic courtesySayani familyStreets commemorating doctors are not always those they resided on Exceptions include Dr GV Deshmukh whose bungalow stood on Pedder Road originally acknowledging the 1879 municipal commissioner WG Pedder which is renamed Gopalrao Deshmukh Marg Dr Rajabali Patels residence also nestled against a rockface in the lane attributed to him opposite Breach Candy HospitalAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiagmailcomwwwmeher marfatiacomTo share information about Bombay streets named after doctors contact sanjayapaigmailcom shunil3gmailcomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news