Re: From Wardha to Winnipeg

[Guest guest]

Dear Ganithya (for want of an alternate name),

It is not only us oldies, but sometimes, you youngies also, who forget

thingies. Its almost as embarrassing as saying that you forgot to zip,

but yes, you forgot to mention your name and Batch number.

Your Brrrrr-eezing career made very interesting reading. It is said

that Canada is the only place where even hell freezes over! However,

as you are in Winnipeg, you must be alright. Anything with a 'peg' is

alright. A journey from the hottest place on earth to the coldest must

have raised your goose flesh!

Kishore Shah 1974

From Wardha to Winnipeg- From Ganesh and a note to Prabha and

Amit

For someone quite notorious for talking too much(My apologies to all

who have had to and continue to endure!). I have been invisible for

a while continuing to be shall we call it a very interested

observer, sharing in the many conversations

of the group, witty, practical, tragic, Joyful,informative,

intellectual and above all straight from the heart the feeling of a

big family.

Two lectureships,three fellowships in Neonatology and a further

residency later a journey which took me to KEM, Bombay, Sydney,

Australia, and Lexington, Kentucky all spanning the last 11 years,

I am in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Yes it is farther than

Timbuktoo!). An Assistant Professor and Neonatoloist at the

University of Manitoba and a Clinician Scientist at the Manitoba

Institute of Child Health.

I had signed up for and had planned to join as faculty at the

University of Kentucky at Lexington from july of 2004 and was

processing my papers when life changed once again.

Our Permanent resident application to Canada had come through after

6 years-(Had applied in Sydney on a day I had nothing else to do).

This gave me the opportunity to visit and do a reseach elective at

Mcmaster for a month and my good friend there mentioned that in a

city called Winnipeg they were looking for a neonatologist. I had

not applied for any othe position but sent an exploratory email with

my CV

Within an hour I recieved a email and phone call from Molly

Seshia ,the Chair in Neonatology at Winnipeg and the U of Manitoba.

And guess what, She had visited Sewagram for a conference in late

2003 organized by Dr Kalantri and Dr Chhabra! She had also met with

Dr Chaturvedi. She had enjoyed her visit and the students at

M.G.I.M.S. She had also worked 2 years in K.E.M Bombay where I did

my D.M.

Now a lady from Scotland, who is the chair of the only Neonatology

Section in North America to which I applied other than the

University of Kentucky where I had spent 5 years and had the

opportunity to continue, who had visited MGIMS and enjoyed her visit

and a was sign enough for me!

Now 8 months later here I am in the city which gave " Winnie the

Pooh " to the world , enjoying every freezing minute of the same.

Once a Sewagramite always a Sewagramite.

P.S It was the Vada recipe of Prabha (Thank you)and the happily

married Amit Chimote (Congratulations to you and Jai) whose Uncle

and grandma's house in Nagpur where I stayed in when I gave my MGIMS

entrance exams in 1985 and the one and only Ragu which made me share

my story