I have been head of radiology for as long as I remember-well-almost like ancient history….officially, for over 21 years and, much longer – unofficially.
I was head when I was a registrar.. I was head as a tutor.. as a lecturer.. as an AP and officially, of course, as a Professor. For as long as I remember, I have been the ‘head’. That’s how my teachers and seniors treated me with care and compassion; with encouragement and enthusiasm and then stood by and watched as I “ran the show”.
So, being head came naturally to me. I did not have to work for it. I had become head by default and as I often tell my friends, the saddest part of my being head here for so long is that I do not know what is to be Number 2. That’s a tragedy for my long-suffering Number 2s.
And that is saying something. My poor number 2s. Even as they dream their time has come - as the old blighter will retire at 58 in a little over a year, there are rumors - the retirement age may be increased - the UGC be cursed!!
And, therefore being head has not gone to my head. My attitude.. So what’s the big deal.? You get to make the decisions, you also get to get the flak, you can’t break rules.. lest others follow suit. The Deans are screaming at you, the AMCs are after your blood, the Unions are gunning for you and the students curse you.. the faculty is never satisfied. And depending on the Dean, you end up spending 20%-40% of the time in meetings. In fact, it is even difficult to find someone who will join you for tea. – the bigger the gap, the more difficult it gets… no question.. it islonely out there at the top.
The wheels of time keep churning along.. giving way to new. The 5 star hospitals beckon and as faculty leave KEM in droves…. we seem to be getting more and more new heads. It is fascinating to see old friends transform from a Professor to a “Professor and Head”. Whereas, some remain untouched by power, most will don new robes - the emperor’s robes! And, when you have been a No. 2 for close to a ‘century’ and then take over as the head, it sort of plays all sorts of tricks with your limbic system. They are repressed energy personified. Most times, this stays within limits, sometimes it boils over as sheer arrogance and anger - ruining relationships - even at the start line.
Perceived as the “know-all in admin” (even if not in radiology), their steps will often lead to “No. 10” seeking advice on this and that and I am privileged to sneak previews of thoughts behind their actions. Being one who is always happy to dole out even unsolicited advice, I get into my elements when advice is actively sought… I am the “know-all guy”.
“No! that’s no way do it….”
“Why don’t you send that in writing....”
“Just do it, forget the dean….”
“In the BMC, the vulture is a patient bird….”
are stock sentences they will hear from me. But what I really enjoy, is lecturing to them about “this is our place”.
You see, I have no doubt at all, that however you look at it, this place we call home, is what we make it to be. Surely, a long chain of people - “small and big” - from the sweepers to the Dean - run the place. But the soul of the GS is us. Through generations of GSites, illustrious or not so illustrious, the torch has now been passed on to you and on you - the head - rests the great ‘burden’ of responsibility - of keeping that torch afire .. bright and shining.
But, no one head can do it alone. For, you cannot just hold it up and watch as it burns out.. it needs to be cared for- by each one of you holding it in turns.. doing all that it takes.. to keep the glow for ever.. brighter and smarter.
That’s not possible if you live in “first person singular”.. “I, me , my department”.. Surely your responsibility is to your patients and your students.. to your faculty.. your department… that is obvious in any organisation .. but not in institutions. In an institution such as ours, your responsibility goes well beyond the legal limits of your department. And, when you see it this way, you will surely think of the “other department”. And even as you make decisions that will enhance your own, you will think of the future as you try to enhance your present.. you think of “what is in it for us rather than just for me.
In these unbounded thoughts, there are no “that is not my job” - “that’s the Dean’s problem”. The Dean, after all is just one cog.. maybe the strongest one; but, what use a wheel, with just one strong cog?
So my dear friends- all of you bright and eager new heads, we have passed on the torch to you - the next generation, a generation which will preside over the Rs. 900 crore transformation of our campus.. a generation that will see GS and KEM being reborn. In your hands, is the future of this place we call “the campus”…a place which at one time boasted of “all firsts’ in the country.. a place which seems slowly to be losing the battle to the “5 stars” outside.
It is time for a war cry, a time for you to find time to shed your aprons and theater gowns.... a time to shed your departmental loyalty.. a time to huddle.. to breathe fresh air into this place.. to ensure that that the splendid, lofty edifices of five years from now, do not remain just buildings of cement, concrete and glass but temples of learning and towers tender care…and you are lucky you will have a leader who can lead you along that path.
So, what are you waiting for?
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