Another icon of the early years of independent India and the city of Dehradun was Dr Asha Rawal. Dehra Dun’s Asha Rawal has been in the Profession of ‘Delivering’ Babies for the past 51 years or so. Born on 14 of August 1945 she is still going strong.

Below are some snippets of her interview to Mr Raj Kanwar.

“Even though the normal deliveries were important enough, those were mostly done by others. I started with high-risk deliveries such as Toxemia, Twins, RH negative patients, Breech Deliveries, and Eclampsia cases,” recalls the celebrated gynecologist. On a rough estimate, even if she delivered 18 babies a month, the total ‘Deliveries’ by now must have exceeded 10,000 children.

EVEN before Asha had formally qualified as a gynecologist, as a fourth and fifth-year student and intern at the Queen Mary’s Hospital in Lucknow, she did a large number of ‘Deliveries’. Subsequently, post her marriage, she went to Middlesbrough in England where many more responsibilities were given to her that greatly helped build her confidence.

Until the late 1960s, there was hardly any private Nursing Home worth its name in Dehra Dun. The doctors here then had no choice but to refer the high-risk patients to Delhi. That was easier said than done. First, one has had to fix an appointment with a specialist in Delhi make reservations for a Bed in a hospital there and finally arrange for an ambulance together with a medically qualified attendant to accompany the patient.

When she eventually came to Dehra Dun as a full-fledged gynecologist in January 1973, there were hardly any qualified woman doctors barring Dr. Sativa Luthra, who had in 1970 set up Luthra Maternity & Infertility Centre on Chakrata Road. 

Drs. Kalhan and wife Indu came soon thereafter. In fact, Dr. Kalhan who started with a small clinic on the Eucalyptus Road. He there-after built a large hospital on Rajpur road, Dehradun. 

Fortuitously, Dr. Rawal was also on ONGC’s approved panel, and in that capacity had attended to a large number of Russian wives whose husbands were ‘expatriates on deputation to ONGC’. She also took care of Col. Wahi’s daughter, as also wives of some of its senior directors and officers. Incidentally, she was also on the panels of Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, the State Bank of India, and a few more institutes.

It was then that she and her husband Suraj made a small beginning and set up a Nursing Home on the East Canal Road. Suraj was an ophthalmologist, and Asha, an obstetrician and gynecologist. “We were amongst the pioneers to revolutionize the modernization of healthcare in this region. We introduced what is called, ‘the culture of modern specialized Nursing Homes’ that not only served the elite, but also the poor. I was on the panel of ONGC for more than 25 years. There were then no CMI, Synergy, Max or even the Government Medical College Hospital. Our contribution was duly recognized and appreciated by the then chief minister Harish Rawat, and the governors such as Margaret Alva, Dr. Qureshi and Dr. KK Paul. Our ‘rewards’ were the recognition and the appreciation that we received from hundreds of satisfied patients,” says Asha Rawal with a sense of pride.

Dr. Rawal’s professional journey has largely been a smooth one even though the untimely death in January 1991 of her husband had caused a derailment of sort. It was Suraj who had primarily taken over the responsibility of managing the Rawal Nursing Home, leaving Asha enough of dedicated time to attend to her patients whose number multiplied rapidly. Though his unexpected demise upset her applecart, yet she did not shut the Nursing Home even for a day, and somehow managed to keep it on the track.

Asha Rawal has now completed 50 years as an obstetrician and gynecologist par excellence. She enjoys the unique distinction of having delivered several of Dehra Dun’s residents below the age 50, and is undoubtedly the doyenne of her profession, and enjoys in ample measure the respect of the two generations of her patients. The recognition that she got from her peers in the profession is evident from the fact that she was elected as the first woman president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dehra Dun in 2015. It was, however, not for the first time that Dr. Rawal had headed a professional association. She was earlier in 1998 the president of Gynecology & Obstetrics Society. She had also consecutively held the posts of senior and junior vice presidents of Indian Medical Association.

Her husband was not only a source of inspiration and solace to her but also her soul mate. Thus it was the emotional trauma left by his sudden death that lingered much longer. Her younger daughter was then in class III; she felt emotionally drained and helpless. It were Asha’s father SC Saxena and mother Vimla (now both deceased) who instantly took a life-changing decision in their twilight years and shifted lock, stock, and barrel from their family home in Lucknow to Dehra Dun to become their darling daughter’s emotional anchors. 

Dr. Rawal is a woman with a Big heart, and so was her late husband. “Our Nursing Home was doing well enough, but my conscience pricked me whenever I noticed one of my patients counting soiled currency notes and coins to pay the fees. It was obvious that she must have found it hard to raise even that amount. Then one day my husband and I decided to have a Freeday once a week when the patients will not be charged any fees,” recalls Asha with a glint of pride in her eyes. And it has now for the past several years that the Nursing Home has been attracting the needy patients from the underprivileged sections of the society. On an average nearly 30 women suffering from minor and major ailments, and even those requiring surgery avail of the Free Weekly Day.

Today, she works nonstop from 10 a.m. to 3.30 in the afternoon and even beyond that if required. “My greatest satisfaction comes from a job well-done,” she says. No wonder then that she is so very painstaking in attending to the patients, and meticulous in her diagnosis. Dr. Rawal has also been taking a keen interest in the Blood Bank and has organized in the past numerous blood donation camps. She is also the Ambassador of IMA Blood Bank. “I would really love to further expand the scope of the IMA Blood Bank,” she adds.

Asha Rawal is one of the very few medical practitioners endowed with many multifaceted interests. Music has been one of her early passions, and she had religiously learned its intricacies at the Prayag Sangeet Samiti. Though she does not sing any longer, she nonetheless enjoys listening to soulful rendering of ghazals especially those of Shakeel Badayuni and Sahir Ludhianvi. Talat Mehmood too was one of her favourite singers those days. Ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement, was one of her other foremost passions. And the late Ratna Ramchandani (wife of then the Doon School Headmaster Gulab Ramchandani) was her tutor. And if all these artistic pursuits were not enough, she also dabbled in painting and had become equally adept at it. However, it was her allergy to linseed oil that became a handicap and she had had to give up that interest too.

Surprisingly for a doctor, she is also a qualified Kathak dancer or nearly so. “What would your patients think of you if they see you dancing on the stage?,” her late husband would often ask her. Thus, in a way, her interest in dancing, despite five long years of rigorous training, slowly ebbed and died a natural death. “I have always regretted my inability to be able to perform Kathak dances,” ruefully recalls the doctor who could have become, if fate had willed otherwise, one of the most beautiful danseuses in the country. “Maine apne ghungroo abhi tak sambhal ke rakhey hue hain,” she says wistfully. .

She is enthusiastic about music and her favourite song is dil jalta hai to jalne de by Sehgal.

But it was God’s choice that I became a doctor, and I am still very passionate about my profession, and would love to die with a stethoscope over my shoulders.

( Rural litigation and enlightenment kendra).

There is big an NGO since 1975 known as RELK ( Rural litigation and enlightenment kendra on Raj pur Road, founded by Padam Shree late Avdesh Kaushal . This NGO initially worked only for Van Guujars, who as you said were normads and moved to one place to another in jungles
This NGO did a wonderful jobs .They had buffalo’s and cows and goats . The. NGO got refrigerated vans from Rajiv Gandhi Foundation , and collected milk from them and sold to the market and gave them .money to make them earn moniterally. monetary I was also associated with this RELK from the beginning.And was called to give them health awareness and see to their health problems from time to time .These Gujjars were vegetarians and did not kill animals .Gradually the NGO started schools for their children and bank accounts . Mr Kaushal was also involved fighting alone by litigation on excavation of lime queries and making our hills just bare white looking hills .I have witnessed it .Ultimately he won and the lime queries were debated from excavation and gradually the hills got their greenery back . He was awarded Padam Shree for that in 1986. I recently gave a health talk to the mothers and girls on menstrual hygiene in a school in Mohand and was surprised by their reactions and knowledge .I also with other volunteers gave them envoirmemtal awareness and cleanliness. Now there are several such schools in the jungles to educate these children. And some have become teachers and IT professionals CA etc . After Mr Kaushals demise his daughter Mrs Pratima Menon is looking after this NGO v successfully . They also have internship programmes for lawers .Etc. This year first award was initiated on envoirment ,in Mr Kaushals memory and happy to share I was honoured with it .Dr Rawal

Dr Rawal writes, ‘.Yes I have seen health
services evolve in these five decades. I was working in UK NHS for three years ,when my late husband Dr Suraj Rawal Opth decided to come to Ddun because of my father in laws illness . I was surprised at the health condition .No trained nurses , no one to do autoclaving ,no anaesthetics except Dr IF Nath a surgeon in coronation hospital who would give a spinal .In emergencies my husband gave open ether aneasthesia .For some years no pedritician, no Usg no blood banks . It was a challenging situation and I was grateful we decided to come to Ddun and serve our people . For my permanent registration in UK I had to do one year of general surgery too,unwillingly . But those days I also did many appendicectomy, ventral hernia umblical hernia , breast fibro adenoma lipoma etc here . What ever God propses is best and I was blessed to have worked in gen surgery against my will. I have fully enjoyed my journey with always some thing new to learn from every body. Thank you ,each one for making my journey so memorable ‘.

About Ayurvedic medicine

Dr Rawal writes, ‘Ayurveda is certainly a good system if used in its pure form .
Last year I happened to meet Dr Naresh Trehan,the owner of Medanta chain of hospitals .He is from KGMC Lko and perhaps 2batches junior to me . He being also a big name in Cardic Surgery and cardiac care .He very strongly advocated in doing Aloom Viiloom breathing exercises every day and also recommended once a year Aryuvedic detox . The take away message is that all integrated medicines are good provided taught and treated by concerned medicine practioners in it’s pure form . We allopathic Dr’s can adopt the benifits of it also and advise our patients accordingly .True I have not come across a single BAMS Dr who prescribes aryuvedic medicines .Instead practise allopathay and many are employed in Modern medicine establishment as Junior Drs too . I am sure they too are not supposed to put prefix of DR but be known as Ayurvedachaya or vaids .My own brother in law from Norway nd Sister in laws husband came to Kerela every year to get relief for their illness and were greatly benefited from the same. There is residential treatment and has to book well in advance as there is huge waiting list .The treatment and is purely herbal and genuine ,accompanied by prescribed by strict diet.I remember about ten years ago or so ,the owner of Seema Dental College was famous for treating epilepsy patients from Jari Booti from Himaliyas. And many noted Dr’s and Neurosurgeons gave testimony .Patients came there from all over India. Later on a plea from a Candian lady the medicines were analysed and it contained all antiepletic drugs from.allopathy win large doses. The Dr was jailed for several years and the establishment was closed. Though some Dr Soni continued the same practise for several years in his own practise’.