A man who has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records is expected to be high-headed or weird or, at best, super-human. But meeting Dr. Sarvinder Gandhok can change anybody’s perception about a world-record holder. He is humbleness personified to say the very least.

And he hasn’t got into the Guinness Book by eating countless worms or standing on a wall for n number of hours (believe me, that is a record too!). He has achieved the feat by doing what a doctor is supposed to do i.e. by helping people.

Here is the interview our correspondent Aarish Chhabra had with the man who is a specialist taking care of the two most treasured things in anyone’s life : one’s heart and one’s kids :-

• Aarish: Sir, the obvious first question that comes to my mind is, what feat of yours has got you into the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records?

     Dr. Gandhok: Well, I had actually collaborated with the Siti cable network and we had put together a talk-show called “Siti Healthline” where we helped people who required or medical consultancy. We telecasted it every Friday night from the year 2000 and the program went on till 2004. We presented more than 200 episodes in the process and ended up making it to the Record Book as no such program had ever done so many episodes.

• Aarish: And it made you quite popular too, didn’t it?

    Dr. Gandhok: It did. But my purpose wasn’t the publicity and I never even thought of any records in the beginning. I had set out to help people to the best of my ability and that means much more to me than the record. We had to stop the program due to time constrains, but we are planning to re-launch it in mid-2008.

• Aarish: Sounds great! So you’d say that your motive is not profit making, you give precedence to service?!

     Dr. Gandhok: I’ve never thought of this profession as a money-making venture. I have been giving precedence to service over money all my life and will keep doing so. That’s why I’ve rejected lucrative offers from the biggest of hospitals. I prefer family practice.

• Aarish: But you charge 200 rupees per visit as fee. Don’t you?

     Dr. Gandhok: I don’t deny that and neither am I apologetic about it. I give medicines to the patients from my own stock for free. If I were to write prescriptions, the patients would have to spend a lot of money on the medicines. I, sometimes, end up giving medicines worth more than 200 rupees for free to the patients.

• Aarish: That’s quite thoughtful and considerate of you. Personally speaking, I won’t mind paying 200 rupees to see a doctor who is so highly qualified. What all degrees have you earned?

      Dr. Gandhok: Well, I did my MBBS from Kolkata and then followed it up with a PG degree. I did my super-specialization from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. Then, I went to England for further studies from Honslow (London). I managed to do quite well there too.
• Aarish: Sir, I know that you’ve done a lot of research in the field of TB and HIV. Do you think that the government is doing enough for the field you are in?

    Dr. Gandhok: The government is doing much less than what is required. It doesn’t fund research to the extent that is required.

• Aarish: And how do you see the medical scene in India?

    Dr. Gandhok: People are going gung-ho about the possibilities of medical industry. But what they fail to understand is that it can prove to be very harmful. Medicine is not an industry in my view. The healthcare problems that we are facing can’t be solved by encouraging big industrialist to pump money into the field and build grand hospitals. I’d still prefer a Govt. hospital to a profit-centric hospital.

• Aarish: But aren’t govt. hospitals full of rude doctors and that terrible smell?

     Dr. Gandhok: I agree that the Hygiene level and behavior of the staff have to undergo a change. But the best doctors are still in Govt. hospitals. Frankly speaking, I’d prefer going under the knife of a Govt. doctor than a businessman-like doctor of some big private hospital.
But nothing is absolute in this world. Exceptions are always there.

• Aarish: Coming back to the personal front, I’d say your life has been quite a roller coaster geographically, hasn’t it?

     Dr. Gandhok: Well, I was born in Delhi but my father worked in Hindustan lever and was transferred to Kolkata from where I did my schooling and then I studied medicine in R.G. KAR College in Kolkata. Then, my father was transferred back to Delhi. In the process, I went to the UK and after coming back in 1993; I joined Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi and stayed with my parents.
• Aarish: But, as you said, you were doing quite well in London and then, in Delhi. So what prompted this decision of yours to settle down in Chandigarh?

    Dr. Gandhok: Actually, I used to come to Chandigarh very often when I was a kid as we had relatives here. I still remember going to Piccadilly in Sector 34 passing through the bushes that thronged the place where all these multi-storey buildings stand now. But what prompted the decision was my fondness of the peace and tranquility that the city possessed. It combined that with great facilities. But all that has changed quite a bit with the influx of more and more people into the Tricity.

• Aarish: But, if I may ask, Why not Delhi?

     Dr. Gandhok: To be frank, I didn’t like the life in Delhi. I preferred the serenity of Chandigarh to the hosh-posh environment of Delhi.

• Aarish: So after a decade of being in Chandigarh, how is life now, especially, on the family front?

    Dr. Gandhok: I am quite satisfied with the way my life has been till now. I have a loving and supportive wife and two talented sons. My wife is a teacher in Vivek High School and the boys are studying in the same school. One is in 5th std and the other is in 9th std.

• Aarish: So we have two great doctors in the making too!?

     Dr. Gandhok: Ha ha.. they are free to choose the field they want to get into. As of now, both are interested in engineering. I and my wife will stand firmly behind them.

• Aarish: well.. I appreciate your thinking Sir. But, to be frank, your patients would love to see two more Dr. Gandhok’s. You are precisely what a doctor is meant to be. It has been a pleasure to have this conversation with you.

     Dr. Gandhok: I am flattered. Thanks for your kind words. Take care.