It had been a week since his interview at LV Prasad Eye Institute and Virender hadn’t heard a peep about it. The ruthless suspense made the days seem longer, even more so for Vandana. But soon enough, someone rang up from Hyderabad, pronouncing both the auspicious and the ominous in three short words: “You are in.”
Virender had made it to LV Prasad’s famed Corneal Fellowship Programme!
The couple was now at a crucial crossroads. They found themselves assailed by a tide of emotions – sometimes erupting into tears of joy over the unthinkable happening and others as a pensive reminder of their imminent parting. What had started out as a spit-balling contest, soon took the shape of passionate arguments, both sides firmly holding their ground.
They had been married for over a year by then. Just earlier that month, Vandana had divulged the blissful news of her carrying their first child. But the fateful call from LV Prasad had sent all her plans into a tailspin. To Virender, it seemed practically and financially illogical to have Vandana trail him into the unknown city. Vandana, on the other hand, couldn’t imagine how she would manage everything by herself. Her first pregnancy was sure to bring with it a flurry of unknowns and having her husband by her side would mean the world. Although not completely removed from these worries, Virender continued to root his conviction in his intent. He envisioned a progressive future for their family; one bereft of mediocracy and such other bureaucratic cliches that the medical profession tends to drone into. He knew that their only hope for a fulfilling life was in pursuing excellence in their respective fields and LVPEI offered him just that. Their exhaustive training methodologies and a future-seeking approach made it the foremost destination in India to pursue his ophthalmic training.
Their emotionally charged discussions spilled late into the night, until they had exhausted themselves trying to convince each other, and finally crying themselves to sleep. This went on for several days, their talks still pitted at a rigid impasse. The news of the commotion soon reached Vandana’s parents. They were wary of airing their reservations directly to their son-in-law, but through covert measures, decided to request some family friends to visit the couple and convey their thoughts, and maybe even find a way to dissuade Virender from making the preposterous decision.
The institution was barely three years old and no one in the medical fraternity could decisively predict its future in the business. Dr Mohinder had seen many such enterprising private hospitals appear on the scene, make ripples, and then just like that, up and disappear into thin air. Without a steady stream of funds, even medical institutions born of such ambition and scale couldn’t survive for long, especially with bureaucratic lobbies and the medical mafia keeping their hands down everyone’s pockets.
Secondly, after the fellowship, Virender’s career options would be even slimmer; the specialised focus on a singular part of the eye – the cornea – would prove to be a sticky, career-shrinking obligation. And in the event that both these conditions transpired, he would be left to choose from the most meagre jobs. Instead, why not consider the most obvious choice – a government job at a reputed university – especially when it was being served to him on a platter? Thirdly, and most importantly, separating from his wife just a year into the marriage would invite a blizzard of insinuations from society and family – uncles and aunts, friends, friends of friends, relatives, relatives of relatives and scores of other known and unknown forces that closely watch such newlywed couples.
In another bid, Vandana’s mother decided to take matters into her own hands. Aware of Virender’s close-knit friendship with Sunil Parashar, she invited the latter over for tea. Sunil was the only one who could possibly steer Virender off the perilous track, she thought. But Sunil knew well that if Virender had his mind set on something, no one could stop him. Nonetheless, he tried. But this decision was driven by his heart and Virender wasn’t prepared to shrug it off. Uncharted territory or not, he was going. Inevitably, Sunil conceded.
“By then, I had figured that achieving something big in life came with the caveat of taking some bold measures. And these are bound to meet the opposition of many, including your loved ones,’ said Dr Sangwan, the sun suffusing us generously this late afternoon. ‘But mind you, Raj, not all of them are unfounded warnings. One should be wary of arbitrarily shunning good advice. They are rare to come by,” he added, turning his attention to me from the charming sunset, so he could drive home his point.
“You see, like any young graduate, this was a crucial turning point in my life, too. But that’s when every authority in your life jumps into the massacre. Especially in the Indian context, it’s not uncommon for the youth to be smothered with so much empty rhetoric, misplaced fears and irresponsible commentary, that it gets extremely difficult to tell good advice apart from all the nonsense, and centre yourself. It’s not an easy place to be in. But you have to learn to distance yourself from the chaos and get to know what truly inspires your heart and mind. In the end, your choices are your own responsibility. You must take custody of them.”
Virender was ready to fight the world, but he didn’t want to do it without Vandana’s support. The fellowship was due to begin on 1 April, which left him three precious months to convince his wife. The whole situation had plunged their ideals, beliefs, sanity and even their love for each other into rough waters. But as the emotional crossfire settled, they came to acknowledge each other’s real concerns and discovered the value in the other’s points of view. The two then set about discussing all the probable scenarios and the ways in which they could make things work. Although unceremoniously at first, they had discovered the key to a good married life – mutual understanding.
And soon, options started to flow in.
They had a strong support system in their parents who could be called upon in any situation. So an arrangement was struck between both families – Vandana would shift into a new house closer to her parents, and Virender’s parents would move in with her for the duration of the fellowship. Cushioned by their families, the couple now prepared for the rough ride ahead.
All through the difficult months preceding his fellowship, a familiar voice inside him constantly kept nudging Virender to take the leap and explore the open skies. His courage had now found a brand-new pair of wings – the support of his loved ones.
With life now unravelling fast, it was still hard to tell what he had traded all that for. As the narrator of this story, though, I sure can leave you a hint. The years to follow would bring some of the most powerful guiding forces into Virender’s life, each of which I consider imperative to be brought to plain sight at this point.
For a moment, imagine that you are a barren stretch of land, longing to grow into a rich sprawling forest. To see this bold plan through, you need the kind involvement of some obliging forces, the environment – sunlight, minerals, water sources, etc. put together – but most of all, the right seeds to germinate your fertile self.
The mind of a keen aspirant is one such fertile slice of land. While all other supporting elements are supplied by the environment that one is born into, the seeds are particularly hard to come by. These seeds we talk of, are the seeds of mentorship. It is a promissory note of your greatest potential which bears within them the foundational ingredients of the enormous forest that can become of these early aspirants.
Unknowingly, Virender had chanced upon the very path that would lead him straight to this profound ingredient of success.
Excerpted with permission from Unbound: Biography of Dr Virender Singh Sangwan, Rajroshan Poojari, Penguin Enterprise.
