Thousand Moon: Dr. Leela Gokhale (81)
Cotributed by: Rohini
I went to visit Dr. Leela Gokhale in Dadar where she lives in
a specious flat, where majority of the residents are doctors. She looked happy
to see me. She is tall, upright and sharp and she is 81 years young. She had an
elderly couple visiting her, probably staying with her for a few days. We
chatted in the living room for a bit and then she invited me to join her in the
other room so we could talk freely without any interference. We sat by a big
window on this third floor apartment where a Gulmohor tree was right
outside in full bloom. It was drizzling and a light breeze was carrying the
fine rain droplets inwards…all in all, the ambiance was perfect for our little
talk.
We started at the very beginning. She told me about her
sibling who had passed away when she was very young and narrated a couple of
incidences that she had heard from other elders. Her education from 4th
grade onwards happened in Mumbai. Her college was walking distance away from
her home, a few steps farther than her high school. Even her medical college was
close by where she could walk easily. It was about 45 min away but at the age
of 18 that was nothing! she remarked with a chuckle.
She narrated how she became a doctor by accident. She had
two best friends from school. They would sit on the same desk, go for long
walks after school and always be together. Her mother even used to ask her
about what they talked about constantly in spite of being together all the
time. So these two friends decided to apply to the medical college and she went
along and submitted her application too. She was interviewed right away and was
selected while both her friends could not make it. Although her fees were paid
she never really wanted to go since her friends could not join her. She said
her friends and her were really naïve and were not as focused as students of
today. The medical college started earlier than the regular college and her
friends advised her to attend it for a few days since the fees were paid and
then join them when the regular degree college began. But when the time came
she had liked Medical school a lot and they had already dissected the forearm
and so she decided to continue with the medical school…She told me that she has
maintained her friendship with her two friends till date, unfortunately one of
the friends passed away a few months back.
She continued with her stroll down memory lane and narrated
how she had gotten her first job as she was in the right place at the right
time. She commented that things have happened on their own in her life and that
she had never particularly chased after them. The only exception was the MD
degree that she pursued when her children were young.
She told me that her children and family were always her
first priority. She would make choices whereby she could spend more time with
her young children and be with them as much as possible.
I thought I had enough material to write about and so I
started winding up. At that point Dr. Gokhale said that she never got to talk
about a memory that is really close to her heart. I was very interested and
requested her to continue…
"This was the time when my daughter was about three", she
said. And you can see that I am not exceptional looking in any way. But this
girl of mine, one day came running to me put her little arms around my neck and
said, “You are so fair and so beautiful mommy!” This really touched me. I
think a mother is always beautiful in the eyes of her children...
How beautiful is that!
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