The Other Perspective

I can't forget the wise nuggets like 'simple living high thinking' or 'strive for the best and accept what you get,' very religiously inculcated within my mind by my father during my childhood. My beloved teacher, Ms. Usha Jain, used to inspire me by saying, “You are very special, you can accomplish anything.” Coming from a very humble, mediocre family and a small suburb of Jagraon (Punjab), I kept rising the ladder of success till I joined the medical profession. It was not even in the dream of my dreams that my life would turn this way. Even today, I am surprised at myself sometimes. Only sometimes.

It is not that I have changed my profession. It is not even that I think of doing so. It can’t be. The reason is not that I do not have anything else to depend upon, or that this is my bread and butter. No. That point is never given any thought by me. Why should I?

The point is that I find this profession the noblest in the world, the wisest and the kindest of all oeuvres available under the sky. The one that can be anybody’s dream. To earn, learn, and serve, all together. In the true spirit of the words. Literally.

In fine, I am a medical oncologist. I did my MD Medicine and DNB Medical Oncology from the Army Hospital, Research and Referral. I had served in the Indian Air Force before joining MD Medicine. After completing both my medical degrees, I was at such a juncture of life that I could and should have established myself in the private/corporate sector to earn name and fame. This is what the current common sense/wisdom says, and I was advised the same by all my well-wishers. I even did that for a good 3 years. But my mind was looking for something else, some bigger cause. In a situation where one tends to get free from a government setup to rise and expand, I, contrarily, chose to rejoin the defence services, accepting lesser perks, a transferable job, with remote postings to peripheral centres where Oncology facilities do not even exist. People get surprised, awed, and confused when they know this. The world is wise. So the people try to be wiser. For me, wisdom is a relative word. Every person has their own definition of it. Mine differs. Differs from many of the inhabitants of Mother Earth. The charm of uniform, a sense of patriotism, a simple structured and organized life, expected and unexpected surprises and uncertainties in a certain predictable life, selfless connections, friends, sports, new families distant albeit better connected with their own families, an experience unmatchable with any other profession, impossible to be gotten with any amount of power or money, though envy of a few.

If the sky is the limit, the ambitions of a common, and even uncommon, man can go higher, and they should. This is the human spirit. But the buck should stop somewhere. At least sometimes. It happened in my case. Still, I do not consider myself some wise, nice, or goody-goody fellow. I don’t consider myself a person with even an iota of sainthood. No. It is me. The practical me. The self-seeking me. The ambitious me. YES, the ambitious one!

Money is important in life. It is necessary. But, to some extent only. To a large extent, some may consider. But if you try to fill the bottomless pit of greed or avarice for money, you can never fill it. Can a bottomless pit be filled? Moreover, we have only one life. This is not to earn and only earn. Or spend that. No.

When this idea crossed my mind, I became satiated. I looked outside. Outside the hospital. My primary concern as a medico is health. Health of one, and all. Including myself? Not only treatment, but the diagnosis, the etiology. When l had a glance outside, I felt my responsibility as a doctor includes that as a human being too. A fellow human being with ample social onus. At least when I can. Most of the occupants of the world are trapped so tightly in the web of making both ends meet. I am one of the luckier few. I started growing plants, taking care of them, and ensuring they really grow and provide shade, fruit, and oxygen, to enable the people to tolerate the heat waves, the burden of capitalism.

Somewhere in my adolescent journey, I got connected to the cause of environmental protection. Despite the peer pressure, my inner instincts of flamboyance, desires to show off, dress up, and in the middle of high aspirations, attractions, and distractions, what gave me satisfaction was saving water, energy, fuel, and resources. When 99% college-mates used bikes and cars, I used a bicycle, even at the cost of embarrassment, which that docile mind experienced. I continue to practice the same. My desire to do something bigger kept flourishing deep within, until the year 2017, when I got into a private job in Gurugram. I started exploring, experimenting, where and how I can plant and nurture trees. I started by planting trees on roadsides, watering them, and protecting them from animals, people, and vehicles. I enrolled my neighbors, colleagues, and reached out week by week to local govt hospitals, police stations, schools, and colleges. Every weekend, 5-10 people, in 2-3 cars with 50-100 purchased saplings, would go to a 30-50 km away location, plant trees, seek support of locals for protection, and follow up. My 5-year-old daughter, my wife, who had been in a family way with our son, my 80-year-old mother, all would accompany. By 2020, I planted around 2800 trees. The urge kept swelling, and I took on planting small forests. The first 2 forests were planted in Punjab, one with 550 trees in 2020 at the village Sohian, near my hometown Jagraon, and the second with 11000 trees at my alma mater, the Sanmati Science College, Jagraon, in 2021. Both are now full-fledged independent forests. The third forest, with 5000 trees, was raised in the Military Hospital Bikaner in 2024. Fourth Microforest of 2000 trees in Air Force Hospital, Hasimara, and the fifth 4460 trees in Air Force Station Kalaikunda, West Bengal. In this journey, I met some really big-hearted people who have devoted their lives to this cause. I can't avoid mentioning Mr. Nirmal Singh (retired Principal of Science College Jagraon, who stood like a pillar with us), Mr. Pankaj Azad, Mr. Satpaul Singh Dehrka, and Mr. Harpreet Singh. We have joined hands and planted thousands of trees in various parts of India, now totalling more than 1 lac. Now I am on the journey of planting and nurturing 1 million trees by the end of the year 2027.

This gave me immense pleasure and satisfaction. I love people appreciating me for what I am doing, but I get embarrassed deep within, as I feel it is very little compared to what I am supposed to do. And hence I am propelled to write this write-up to invite the readers to take on, join hands, and stand for the cause of environmental protection. When the basic needs of bread, butter, shelter, and clothing are met, it is our duty to pay back to Mother Earth so that it can serve our future generations.