
KALABURAGI: Poverty and illiteracy of her parents did not stop her from ascending to the top from the depths. Oncologist Dr Vijayalakshmi Deshmane, born at Kobal village of Jewargi taluk (Kalaburagi district), took poverty and illiteracy of her parents as a challenge and reached the peak of her career which got her the recognition of Padma Shri award that was announced on Sunday.
Speaking exclusively to The New Indian Express on Monday, Dr Deshmane said she was conferred with the prestigious Rajyotsava Award in 2004. She is probably the first person from the cobbler community from Kalaburagi district to receive Padma Shri.
The support of her parents, her hard work and the grace of Lord Krishna showed her the path, she said. “My parents, though illiterate, had decided to provide a good education to their children. Of eight of us, six are PhD holders and we have served in different universities. I am the eldest and have completed MBBS and MS. My brother is a practising advocate in Kalaburagi,” she said.
Dr Deshmane was born in 1955. Her father Babu Rao Deshmane was a labourer at MSK Mill. Her mother Ratnamma was a vegetable seller who used to sell vegetables house to house in the morning and later sat selling her wares in Gazipura area.
Dr Deshmane said she studied up to seventh standard at Chakkargatta School in Gazipura and high school at Gangambika High School in Kannada medium. Even as she was studying, she would help her mother sell vegetables, she says proudly.
‘Mother sold mangalsutra’
“My father who was a labourer used to be treated at the ESI Hospital whenever he fell sick. From the days when I was in fifth standard, till I completed my MBBS, he would tell me to become a surgeon. I
completed my PUC second year at SB Residential School. When I was joining MBBS, we faced financial crises and my mother sold her mangalsutra to pay the fee for the course,” she recalled.
“I completed MBBS from KMC and MS from Bellary Medical College in 1984. Immediately after I completed the course, I joined Kidwai Memorial Cancer Hospital as a resident doctor. In 1994, I became the first woman professor. I later became the dean, HoD and director too,” she said.
In 2016, she suffered heart attack. When she was being treated, BJP leader Anant Kumar asked her to join as head of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research at Mohali in Punjab.
“I dedicate the award to Lord Krishna as I am his ardent devotee,” she said. She added that she remained unmarried as she felt it would come in the way of her serving the people.