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'He is a master craftsman'

Nidhi Taparia in Pune

Dr Kantilal Sancheti is a happy man. A member of the large team that will be operating on the prime minister's knee, he has been busy framing his presentation papers for the surgery slated to take place on Tuesday. The 50-plus Dr Sancheti's dream is finally coming true.

As founder of the Sancheti Institute of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Dr Sancheti has managed to make his institute all that he wanted it to be. A hospital providing world class technology, besides rehabilitation and one which also facilitates education, research and more.

"This operation, like many others performed by Dr Ranawat, will take 90 minutes. There are different teams taking care of the different steps in the operation. There has not been a security drill so far. It is like any other operation." That is all that the doctor is willing to say about the impending surgery on India's prime minister. He is not stressed, he insists. "Only the paperwork and some presentations that have to be made are keeping me busy!"

Busy preparing slides and putting together the papers for the operation, Dr Sancheti talks about Dr Chittaranjan S Ranawat who has been a close friend.

"I met Dr Ranawat when I was in New York for a conference and we became friends. He came down to Pune to have a look at the Institute and then decided to start the Ranawat Research Foundation."

The Ranawat Research Foundation not only has donated 30,000 kits but every year three Indian surgeons are granted fellowship and are trained under Dr Ranawat in New York. Their travel, food, accommodation and education are taken care by the Foundation.

"For him, the Ranawat Foundation is a dream come true. The three of us -- Dr Ranawat, Dr Nandu Laud and myself -- founded it in 1986. It is his way of returning something to the medical profession. He is very excited by the Foundation. Every time we meet, the first thing he talks about is the Foundation. It is a way to ensure that his family's name lives long and also to return to do something for the medical fraternity here in India."

Ask Dr Sancheti what he thinks of Dr Ranawat and he says with admiration, "Dr Ranawat is a doctor beyond compare. He is not just a good carpenter, but also a skilled craftsman, a brilliant designer and a very learned man. He has a memory that stuns most people, especially when at conferences he will quote cases from medical journals verbatim. And in front of him, all the other doctors come across as mere bachchas! They cannot stand up to the vast font of knowledge that he has."

Talking about Dr Ranawat who he fondly calls 'Chit', and in whose company he has spent many an evening relaxing or attending conferences, Dr Sancheti says, "Being a doctor who is practicing abroad helps. Unlike most other Indians at home, who start their own hospitals, get caught in red tape and the hassles of administration, he has no such demands on his time. He has managed to devote his time completely to orthopaedics and has made a name for himself!

"When Dr Ranawat holds a seminar or a workshop, you can be sure that there won't be any vacant seats," says Dr Sancheti. "He is the man with the golden touch. It is an absolute pleasure to watch him operating. He is the best person in the profession when it comes to orthopaedics today. Nobody knows hip replacements and knee joint replacements better than he does. He even operated on Pope John Paul II six years ago when he suffered from a fracture. The list of his patients is long and has very famous names including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the director, and many more. He is very cool, calm and collected before an operation and he believes in doing his homework well. He has inborn talent, but he has also honed it to perfection," he says.

Could the prime minister not have been operated in Pune since it houses one of the best orthopaedic institutes in the country? The doctor says matter-of-factly, "Breach Candy hospital is the best choice because you have the best medical facilities there. If there is any problem on hand, then we can just reach out to different specialists in the hospital."

The PM's surgery: The full coverage

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