Dr. Aroon Bhavanishankar Samsi— An exceptional humanitarian doctor (Article from Kanara Saraswat Mar 2010)

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Dr. Aroon Bhavanishankar Samsi

— An exceptional humanitarian doctor

Raghunath N. Gokarn, Mumbai

On 26 December, 2009, nature dealt humanity a cruel blow by suddenly snatching away from this

world, a doyen of the medical fraternity, Dr Aroon Bhavanishankar Samsi. On the early morning of 22nd December, Aroon suddenly collapsed in his Bandra home due to a brain hemorrhage and was removed to Ramkrishna Mission Hospital in Khar, Mumbai. Later, for want of adequate facilities, he was moved to KEM Hospital; perhaps he was destined to breathe his last here, in the place where he had spent several years attending to and curing thousands of patients from all walks of life.

A highly reputed and respected surgeon-sportsman of exceptional qualities, Dr Samsi left this world and created a huge void, almost impossible to fill. He was the President of the Kanara Saraswat Association in 1996. The large gathering of relatives, members of the medical fraternity, cricketers and sportsmen, patients and their relatives at his funeral stood testimony to his standing in the field of medicine and sports.

Prof. Ratnakar Shetty of the Maharashtra Cricket Association and BCCI placed a wreath on his body and spoke glowingly of Dr. Samsi’s contribution to sports. Dr. Samsi was born on 17 August, 1935. He had a brilliant educational career and joined G.S. Medical College in Mumbai in 1957 for his MBBS degree.

He obtained his Master of Surgery from the same institution in 1961, and chose to work in its allied

KEM Hospital where he became Lecturer in Surgery in 1965, and rose to become Assistant Professor in 1967 and Professor in 1969.

He was appointed as Head of the Department of Surgery in 1986 and continued in this capacity till

his retirement in 1993. He was particularly admired and respected by his peers as much for his excellent foundation of clinical practice and judgment as for his clean and neat surgical skills. He was also an examiner for many universities, in various branches of medicine.

While at KEM Hospital, Dr. Samsi and his team pioneered the introduction of dialysis which became

a boon to patients with kidney disorders. He was associated with Dr. P.K. Sen who undertook the

first-ever heart transplant in India. In 1983, he started a Homeopathic Clinic in KEM Hospital but since the hospital was run on the Allopathic system, he had to close the centre. However, he continued to practice Homeopathy on his own, till the last. He was also responsible for establishing a Cancer Centre.

Here again, due to the lack of proper publicity, when the Centre could not draw patients, he used his

time fruitfully by attending to patients of relatives, administering homeopathic medicines. His fame

spread far and wide, and the Centre which was scarcely visited suddenly started getting patients in hundreds.

His desire for widening remedial facilities in different ways failed for reasons unrelated to his lofty aim. His remedial concepts were ahead of his times. Dr. Samsi was conscientious in all his activities and observed the Hippocratic Oath, which he had taken after graduating from medical college, in letter and spirit. He believed in ethical practice. His philosophy of life was to serve the patient to cure him and relieve his agony. He enjoyed this work.

Dr. Samsi was an excellent teacher, and many of his students have become highly successful doctors and gained fame in private practice. Had he decided to start private practice he would have become a popular surgeon and prospered financially; but he stuck to his alma mater and a Municipal general hospital to serve the less fortunate not out of compulsion but by preference. He was not one to be lured by the thought of making money; rich or poor he treated all with the same devotion and skill. While treating a patient, he would bring himself to the patient’s level and instill confidence in the patient that he/she would be cured.

The doctor in Dr. Samsi did not rest even after retirement in 1993. He was invited by the management of D.Y. Patil Medical College, New Bombay, as Head of the Department of Surgery and to attend to patients in the Rajawadi Municipal Hospital, Ghatkopar, Mumbai. He worked in Rajawadi Hospital till his last days.

Besides medicine, Dr. Samsi had a liking for sports, both western and indigenous. He played cricket,

hockey, football, badminton and tennis. However, later, because of a shoulder injury, he had to give up stressful games but he continued to play cricket by donning wicket-keeping gloves. Representing his college, he brought laurels to it. He played cricket for the Kanga League in Mumbai and in the Mumbai Muncipal Corporation Mayor’s team. In one such match, the late Vijay Merchant had spotted the genius in Aroon when he had scored a ton. His love for sports brought him in contact with leading players of Test cricket and other sportsmen. Being a doctor always ready to help, his sportsmen friends used to come to him for treatment of their injuries and even minor ailments. The sportsmen he treated are household names and included ace players like Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath. Gavaskar talks of Dr. Samsi in glowing terms in his book

Sunny Days.

Dr. Samsi, consequently, thought of starting a clinic for sportsmen in KEM Hospital. He thus became a pioneer of sports medicine, which has now become a speciality. He was elected on the governing council of the Bombay Cricket Association. In 1984, he was appointed as Medical Officer to tour with the Indian cricket team to Pakistan for a series of matches. He was Medical Officer for almost all national and international sports events including World Cup Hockey in 1981-82. Being an amiable person, he got along well with players from both sides and one player who was very fond of Dr Samsi was none other than Javed Miandad of Pakistan.

Dr Samsi was devoted to giving relief to the ailing person. When he found that his patients were not

responding to Allopathic medicine, he not only turned to Homoeopathy but even to Ayurveda with the sole objective of alleviating their suffering. In an interview given to this magazine in 1984, he had said, "My ambition in life is to reach the poorest of the poor and this can only be achieved by practicing in a Municipal hospital"— a Gandhian thought in practice. His approach was holistic even then. It is interesting to observe that nowadays this approach is slowly being favoured. His humanitarian disposition towards those in pain and grief is reflected when he, with a team

of young doctors, went for two months to the North West Frontier in Pakistan, an enemy country, in 1971, to attend to refugees. His calls for relievers fell on deaf ears. He was a missionary doctor who thought and lived for his patients.

Mild in manners, soft-spoken, humble, unassuming and a man of few words, Dr Samsi disliked publicity and avoided the limelight. Yet, he was very popular with his students, colleagues, patients and sportsmen who came in contact with him. He was never ostentatious. He led a simple life. His attire was also plain — a white shirt and trousers, never a tie. He did not own a car. He used public transport to commute.

Once, while accolades were being heaped on him when he took over as President of KSA, he remarked in jest that it was as if he was attending his own obituary meeting.

Dr Samsi had a spiritual bent of mind. A staunch believer in God and Hindu philosophy, he was a devout sadhak and yagnik. He used to spend many hours in meditation which gave him peace of mind. It was his way of overcoming worldly desires and material distractions. He believed in destiny and sought solace from his Guru, Kanade Maharaj of Khopoli.

An eminent doctor and one of his students mentioned during his funeral that Dr. Aroon walked

from his residence in Bandra to KEM Hospital in Parel, during strikes and disturbances when buses were off the roads, to treat poor patients, and often walked this distance at other times as well. It is pertinent to point out that this pioneer in sports medicine was not honored either by the BCCI or the Government. Of course, he did not aspire for it. A man of integrity, he stuck to his noble principles. For him, his mission was to give relief to his patients and that was his service to God. With his departure, an era of principled service to suffering humanity has come to an end.

Former KSA President, the late Amembal Sunder Rao, had said in glowing terms about Dr. Samsi, and I quote: "To many, ministering to the needs of the sick and ailing, is a profession. To some, it is more than a profession, it is a mission. To some God-chosen few, it is more than a mission – it is a religion, a spiritual quest, and Dr Samsi graces this gracious class! Dr Samsi does not just treat the sick, he serves the sick and, thereby, he serves God. "

Dr Samsi leaves behind his wife Heera, daughters Aditi and Anupama, sons-in-law Dr. Sachidanand

Karnad and Harish Betrabet, US based son Anirudh and daughter-in-law Srividya, five grandchildren and a large circle of admirers. May his soul rest in peace.