The People's Man

The Chairperson of New Delhi's Rockland Hospital, Padmashree Prof (Dr) P K Dave is renowned for taking AIIMS to great heights during his tenure as Director of the prestigious institute. Dr Dave walks down memory lane with Sapna Dogra and reminisces about the good old days at AIIMS and also speaks about his present ventures

Renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr PK Dave is as humble as they come. Despite having earned a name for himself in his illustrious career, Dr Dave's diminutive personality and unassuming disposition endears him to all who come in touch with him. At 67, his passion for work and energy can make many youngsters pale in comparison. As Chairperson of Rockland Hospital, Dr Dave has brought quality, transparency and ethical practices to the hospital.

"I wish there were more hours in a day," laments Dr Dave because he has so much to do that time seems insufficient. After pursuing him for almost a week, I got to meet him at his office on a rainy evening. Though he is busy with patients waiting for a consultation, he is gracious enough to meet me after office hours.

A Blissful Childhood

Dr Dave was born in the city of the Taj Mahal, Agra on June 26, 1939. His nickname was Jolly and even today he is called Jollybhai by his close friends and relatives. Though his parents and sister were in Delhi (Dr Dave's father was in Government service with the post and telegraph department), he spent his early childhood with his maternal grandparents, who doted on him. He had a happy childhood in Agra. He even studied until class seven in Agra.

When he shifted to Delhi in 1948, he enrolled in DAV school on Chitragupta Road—an excellent school at that time. Interestingly, for one year the young Dave studied in another branch of DAV school, which was housed in a tent. "It was a good experience because it helped me connect with reality," says Dr Dave.

As a youngster, he was fond of reading and had an excellent grasp of the English language. "I could never go wrong in spellings," he says with pride. He fondly reminisces how once his English teacher Hari Ram gave a spelling test in class and Dr Dave topped the test with all his spellings correct except two. He used to read voraciously Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Wallace et al. "I was also fond of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya and Munshi Premchand," he says.

It was his school that gave him direction and taught him important lessons of life. "Our teachers in school who were highly competent and knowledgeable used to motivate students with their pep-talks. I still remember that my chemistry teacher, Kshitij Ram used to say 'Time is precious and if you have nothing else to do then polish your shoes'. Those were the most wonderful years of my life," he claims.

For his premedical year, he studied in Zakir Hussain College in Delhi, which is known for its alumni like JN Dixit, Salma Sultan, Rajender Lal etc.

Progression Towards Medicine

On being asked why he chose medicine, he answers laughingly, "You know, I hated mathematics. So, I opted for medicine though I scored a distinction in mathematics." On a serious note, he explains that his mother was behind his becoming a doctor. "My mother came from a family of doctors with my grandfather Dr RD Pandya being a leading doctor in Agra and an alumnus of Agra Medical College. She exhorted me to take up the profession," he informs.

At the age of 17, Dr Dave joined AIIMS, which had just been established in 1956. Dr Dave was in the first batch of 50 students, which had nine girls. Interestingly, he got admission in Agra Medical and Gwalior Medical College simultaneously. However, he happily decided to opt for Agra since it was his hometown.

But he was definitely not prepared for what was waiting for him at Agra Medical College. And that was ragging! He recounts an incident when seniors standing at the gate shouted that a new panchchi (bird) had come and when they were coming to rag him, he told them that he was not a fresher but came to look at the college.

At that time, a family friend advised his father to send young Dave to AIIMS, the new medical institution that was poised to become one of the finest medical institutes in Asia. Dr Dave had cleared the entrance test standing fifth. He decided to join AIIMS where the degree used to be called MBChB, which later became MBBS. "I was happy going there because there was no fear of ragging," fondly remembers Dr Dave.

Life At AIIMS

College was fun. The quiet and docile child came out of the chrysalis and transformed into a mischievous boy in college. He says, "We did all kinds of fooling around as typical college kids do, which included bunking classes and having fun on the campus." He was an avid table tennis and cricket player in his college days.

Academically too it was a great learning experience at AIIMS. "I was impressed with my surgery teacher in the third year, Eric Lazro, who was our group faculty. We used to follow him blindly. I learnt compassion from him," says Dr Dave, who himself is known for being compassionate and kind towards patients.

Another teacher who influenced Dr Dave was Dr Sujoy B Roy, who was an excellent teacher and cardiologist. His first house job was in cardio-thoracic surgery.

However, it was Dr Prakash Chandra who exhorted him to choose orthopaedics as his speciality.

Incredibly, he was scared of joining orthopaedics, but it was his mentor Dr Chandra who goaded him by saying: "You need brain not brawn to be an orthopaedic surgeon." And thus began his journey as an orthopaedic surgeon.

But his pillar of support and strength is his wife Manju, whom he married in 1966. He is full of praise for his better half, who, according to him has suffered immensely due to his extremely busy schedule. "She took care of the family, children's education etc single-handedly. But she never ever complained. I wish I could have given her more time," says an emotional Dr Dave. His two sons Puneet and Nitin didn't take up medicine. "Maybe one of the granddaughters might become a doctor," he prophesies.

Cool Attitude

All his staff, friends and patients love Dr Dave because he is affable and easygoing. He is also known for not losing his cool. "Anger is a sign of weakness. When people weaken in argument, they become angry and raise voices," he counsels. He, however, remembers losing his temper once when a parent's irresponsibility led a child to lose his hand.

High Points

Dr Dave cites becoming an examiner at the Agra Medical College in his hometown as a high point in his career. Even today, he cannot forget the excitement and enthusiasm with which he was received by his maternal uncles with a retinue of local people carrying flowers and garlands to welcome him at the station.

The second time was when he came back from England in 1972. The entire clan and friends were there at the airport with garlands to welcome him. He had gone to Edinburgh as a British Council Scholar. Dr Dave spent 47 long years in AIIMS in different capacities, except for the year at Edinburgh.

The third memorable incident was in 1984, when Dr Dave became the HOD at AIIMS. He says there was a feeling of apprehension because "when you are on your own and have responsibility you are scared whether you will succeed or not." But, his boss Dr Chandra had prepared him for any sort of work. Dr Dave could create any department from scratch.

During his stint as the Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, he developed and nurtured all sub-specialities of orthopaedics and made it a centre known for spinal surgery and joint replacement. As the Director, he helped in the all-round development of AIIMS and initiated the development of newer facilities like Trauma Centre, Dental College and De-addiction Centre.

He also became a professor at that time. In 2000, he was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in recognition of his services in the field of medicine. According to him, receiving the award felt good! He recounts that film actor Hema Malini also got Padma Shri the same year and fascinatingly, she was Dr Dave's neighbour when they were staying at at Gole Market at Heig Square in New Delhi. "In fact, Hema Malini used to play with my sister, so I told her I was her neighbour and she remembered it," exclaims Dr Dave. Like his classmates, he got offers to go abroad, but he stayed put because he felt he had a duty to look after his parents and need to repay whatever they have given him. Secondly, Dr Chandra told him, "You have to fight your battles here only." He bought a brand new Fiat in 1972 for Rs 21,000, for which he took loans from the institute and from his father.

Being A Director

Dr Dave took the mantle of AIIMS Director from 1996 to 2003. "It was challenging and exciting and a huge responsibility," claims he. During his time, three essential issues were sorted out which reduced the tension between the Director's Office and the President of the institute. By resolving this dispute he opened the gates for many stalled promotions. "Maximum number of promotions happened at the time," informs Dr Dave. The institute witnessed extensive development during his tenure. He is also credited for bringing a sense of harmony and wellbeing at the institute. Incidentally, there were seven health ministers during his term at AIIMS, but the institute didn't court any controversy at any point. "They never interfered in routine matters and I didn't face any problem in running the institute," asserts Dr Dave.

He feels the institute will survive the present director and health minister. It is still the best place for academics, research and medicine. "AIIMS is the only place where even in the dead of the night you can have all super-specialists at any time," says he.

Unfulfilled Ambitions

He wishes he could spend time writing and gardening. His biggest regret is that he couldn't be with his mother when she passed away in 1986. At that time he was in PGI Chandigarh as a visiting professor. He saw his father suffering for 13 months, which is why he is pro-euthanasia. He believes in the Gita, which states that death should not be cried upon but people should not be made to suffer.

His Principles

"Healthcare is the state's responsibility and I think the Government has not done what it could have," rues Dr Dave. He is pro-poor and believes in providing ethical and transparent treatment at hospitals. His reason for joining Rockland Hospitals was the institute's belief in social responsibility. Under his guidance, the hospital is doing community outreach activities, holding camps in a village near Sona in Haryana. "In order to improve health services we need to have a proper referral system in place," he says.

As I bid goodbye to Dr Dave, I feel his zealous spirit and tireless enthusiasm have rubbed off on me. No wonder he is a source of inspiration to the staff at Rockland.

sapna@expressindia.com