My journey began in the eastern part of India in a small village near Bodhgaya, a town

named after Buddha. All I wished for then was good education and a respectable living. In pursuit
of that aspiration, I moved from my village to a town, from that town to India’s capital city and
finally to the United States. I was introduced to the world of medicine early with my parents and
grandfather working in the medical field. The respect they earned while working in a remote rural
community, and the satisfaction it brought to them inspired me to choose medicine as my career.
Having grown up in the setting that I did, perseverance and fighting spirit come naturally to me.
Yet, with the level of competition in India, I also learned the importance of hard work and
diligence, which enabled me to enter the most competitive and top ranked medical school in the
country, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Since the beginning of medical school, I enjoyed Physiology the most, and having an
inclination towards teaching, I gladly accepted an opportunity to teach Human Physiology to high
school students. Listening to them and trying to help them solve their problems gave me an
entirely new perspective, and I could see how teaching is yet another form of learning. My love
for Physiology propagated my interest in Internal Medicine, and eventually Cardiology.
Not only my time in medical school provided me with scientific knowledge and clinical
skills, it helped me mold as a person. In my third year, I was unanimously elected as the President
of the Students’ Union. Faced with extra responsibilities, both academic and administrative, I
learned how to coordinate my duties and manage my time. Later that year, I led a six-member
team in organizing our annual event “Pulse”, the largest meet for medical students in the country,
which saw over ten thousand attendees from across India. Interacting with the city administration,
the media, and the sponsors called for a confident leadership. Moreover, a huge event like this
inevitably had unanticipated moments that required prompt, out-of-the-box, and effective
thinking. This challenging yet valuable experience helped me shape the way I think and handle
situations, and eventually enabled me to grow stronger and become more resilient.
In the coming years, I was selected by our Dean for the Global Reach Exchange Program
through which I had the opportunity to gain clinical experience in the United States as a visiting
student in Cardiology. I have a distinct memory of the very first day of the rotation, when I was
taken to the cardiac catheterization simulation suite. I still cannot forget the feeling I had when I
held the catheters for the first time. The tactile feedback was stimulating, and I was amazed how
fine movement with my fingers could transmit the motion to the catheter tip. Being a musician,
my artistic abilities were brought to the fore and very soon I was enjoying playing with the
catheters. This was an exciting new experience for me which initially sparked my interest in
Interventional Cardiology. My interest continued to grow during residency, where I found myself
always enthusiastic in inserting central venous and arterial lines. In subsequent years, after getting
hands-on experience in the Cath lab during fellowship, my interest has already turned into
passion. The required fine motor technical skills with coordination and teamwork are admirable
and challenging at the same time. The precision and creativity involved in the lab make perfect
sense to me, and constantly motivates me to strive for the finesse.
After finishing my training, I aspire to return back to India to establish a healthcare facility
in my hometown, which remains underserved till date despite economical and technical growth
over the years. Importantly, there is no Cath lab or even a Cardiologist for a population of over 4
million. With support from my family, friends, and the locals, I intend to open the first Cath lab
equipped Cardiac center in the region, with the vision to grow into a multi-specialty community
health system.
The experiences that I have had over the years have served to foster my love for medicine,
teaching, innovation and above all, humanity. In adjusting to the varied pace and patterns of the
places I have lived, I learned to be adaptable and receptive to new ideas and cultures while
embracing the opportunity to befriend people I met along the journey. Looking back in time, I
realize I have come a long way, but a longer path lies ahead. Interventional Cardiology is my next
stop on that journey, and given a chance, I shall give nothing less than my best, and be content
with nothing less than the best I can be.