The gifted doctor

Dr Duvvuri Nageshwar Reddy credited with establishing the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, and honoured with one of the highest civilian award, ‘Padma Bhushan’, speaks about his career, life and his future plans

The one-year-old was turning blue when his mother discovered him. He had been kept in the refrigerator by his brother, who displaying brotherly concern wanted him to stay cool in summer. This was the last straw in a series of childhood pranks that included the burning down of a car garage in the process of discovering how petrol burns, leading his parents to make the difficult choice of packing him away to boarding school. At the Hyderabad Public School, he failed Class X much to the anguish of his illustrious family of doctors.

His Pathologist Grandfather even remarked that that he would at the most become a car mechanic going by his academic records. But unpredictability is the defining factor of life, and the naughty boy proved this in ample measure by topping medical examinations and emerging as a distinguished medical practitioner of International repute. Dr Duvvuri Nageshwar Reddy credited with establishing the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and nurturing it to be one of the best institutes of its kind in the world joins the esteemed group of professionals endowed with the coveted Padma Bhushan award this year.

The soft-spoken doctor laughs, when I remind him that he seems to have achieved the impossible feat of being recognised in one’s own country, unlike most Indians who have found fame and money outside our soil. He has also managed “a reverse brain drain” of sorts by attracting many professionals from other countries to be a part of his team. “It is true that there is almost a five-year wait for people who want to join us for research and become part of our team,” he admits.

About 30 per cent of all cases in the country are related to gastroenterology and lack of proper sanitation and protected drinking water make the poorer sections of society more susceptible to these diseases. “Unfortunately, there are more cell phones in the rural areas than toilets and drinking water facilities. The priority of the government needs to change and I see it happening through the various awareness campaigns being launched,” says Dr Nageshwar Reddy, who makes special efforts to reach out to rural patients.

Mobile vans are sent to rural areas at regular intervals where doctors from the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology treat them. “Around 20 per cent of our medical care is free and NGO’s, business houses and pharmaceutical companies also extend help in this regard. It is unfair to expect governments working under severe political compulsions to do everything,” Dr Reddy feels.

Constant research and latest technologies can bring down costs and make India a preferred destination for medical treatment says Dr Reddy who is setting up a new institute on a seven acre land in Gachibowli. The centre will have most modern facilities for research, a minimally invasive technology training centre and an innovation centre for new techniques. These plans also include the use of robotic doctors developed with the help of IIIT Hyderabad which are cheaper and easier to maintain than those available in the West.

Working 18 hours a day is a ritual Dr Nageshwar Reddy has been following for many years. “We have found that the same medicine prescribed by two different doctors works for the patient when he has faith in the doctor and fails when he lacks it.” Does this gruelling routine not tire him? Of course not Dr Nageshwar Reddy is quick to respond. “You never feel tired when you love what you do.

Ask me to see a movie in a theatre, something I haven’t done for decades and I feel tired immediately. Take me to a shopping mall and I get tired as soon as I reach one,” he answers. A daily exercise regimen and a 15-minute nap every afternoon energise him and keep him mentally and physically alert for the day.

Married to Carol Ann, a dermatologist he met at the Madras Christian College Dr Nageshwar Reddy does not believe in religion and the idea of a good life in the next birth. Religion has only succeeded in increasing crime, hatred, bigotry and divisiveness among people. Does he believe in a higher power? “Show me proof of a higher power if there is one and I will believe you,” he answers emphatically. His only daughter Sanjana is married and lives in the United States of America and is an engineer, unlike her doctor parents.

She was given the freedom to choose a profession of her choice and there was no compulsion for her to continue the family tradition. “If there is one regret that I have, it is that I could not give enough time to my family and my daughter in her growing years,” says Dr Nageshwar Reddy, who intends to correct this when the next generation of doctors trained by him take over the work of the Institute and he can slow down.“As I move forward I want to give more and more and take less,” says the gifted doctor, whose work remains his most cherished reward.