At 81 years when other ordinary mortals fade into the sunset of life, Dr Satikanta Ghosh of Rourkela is an exception. Under the frail frame, an all-encompassing youthful energy abounds as the surgeon hops on tirelessly attending to patients at his dispensary.
It’s 4 pm and already a crowd of more than 20 has built up at ‘Arogya Dham’ at Gopabandhupali, the largest slum of the steel city. As the doctor arrives, everyone arises in true reverence. He smiles, asks on some of them as he proceeds to his chamber and the consultations begin. Not a single person is left out and not a single penny is charged. He writes up the prescription and hands it over, along with it most of the medicines. Those requiring diagnostic tests or hospitalisation are referred to hospitals and then the costs would be borne by the doctor himself.
“These are people from the economically crippled sections who cannot bear the cost of treatment. They come to me with great hope and I do my best to alleviate their problems,” says Dr Ghosh, who has turned a messiah for the down trodden over the years.
The surgeon has teamed up with the Bharat Sevashram Sangh (BSS) for running the dispensary. Poor and destitute patients needing hospitalisation are treated at private hospitals free of cost. He is learnt to have bequeathed a major chunk of his property for the upcoming cancer hospital project of BSS.
Dr Ghosh’s day starts early amid prayers and spiritual indulgence. A morning walk after, he is ready for work. By 9 am, he is at the hospital. With age catching up, he has confined himself to minor surgeries but consultations and check-ups are on till 8 pm.
The octogenarian is also a consultant with several hospitals of the city. And, the lion’s share of his earnings is spent on the patients at his dispensary or admitted to the hospitals by him.
Those who have seen Dr Ghosh will never forget to mention his cheerful and amicable personality. “He has a calming influence even at the first meeting. It’s God’s gift, maybe, but he has the ability to win hearts without even uttering a word,” says Sajal Roy, a member of BSS.
However, beneath the cheerful façade lies a saga of heart-rending tragedy. Dr Ghosh lost his soulmate and doctor wife Bina to cardiac failure in 1991. Fate delivered him another deadly blow when in 2005 his son Subhrakanta, also a doctor, died in a road accident.
The setbacks in personal life have, however, brought out the resolute best in him. “Destiny willed thus, who am I to differ? Now as long as I am alive, if I can make a difference to someone else’s life, it would bring me more satisfaction,” he says, not betraying any emotion on the mention of the tragedy.
He comes from a sterling ancestral lineage whose members have been on the forefront of formation of Odisha. A young Ghosh was a superb athlete, who represented India in 100-metre sprint in the Second Asian Games at Manila in 1954.
Dr Ghosh has been actively involved in assisting slum children in studies and has enabled at least 30 students to pass the matriculation exams and pursue higher studies last year.
Obtaining twin fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeon of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physician and Surgeon of Glasgow, he joined the Rourkela Steel Plant-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) in 1967. However, he quit IGH in 1968 “as the hospital was not meant for poor patients”.