Dr. G Rajan Babu - My Mentor, My Friend

Dedicated to you Dr. Rajan

My first meeting with Dr. Rajan was in the summer of 2004 in Delhi. It was the month of May and the Delhi summer heat was overwhelming. I was to do a 1-month summer job with The Leprosy Mission (TLM) Trust-India (www.leprosymission.org), and after I was being introduced to the staff at the head office, the head of HR informed that Dr. Rajan was going to be my Supervisor.

Dr. Rajan's room was compact and partitioned into 2 compartments. In one of the compartments, sits his Secretary, a jovial ever smiling man whom Dr. Rajan referred to as Babu. Dr. Rajan seemed pleased to see me and after a bit of informal chat, he briefed me about the assignment that I was required to do. I was to conduct a study (cohort study) to determine the "Defaulting from long term treatment for Leprosy, Hypertension, Tuberculosis and Vitiligo", using secondary data from TLM’s Hospital at Naini, Uttar Pradesh. Dr. Rajan is the Head of the Evaluation Cell of TLM-India and also holds the Deputy Director post in the organization.

My impression of Dr. Rajan was that he was quick to smile whether he is correcting or agreeing. A special quality he possess is the art of being humble but firm. To have an interaction with him is a pleasant as well as a learning experience for me. Given the fact that Dr. Rajan [MBBS, Msc-Epidemiology (London)] has served with TLM for more than 20 years, his experience and knowledge about leprosy and its management is vast and significant.

I completed the study and he was happy with the report. I left Delhi in June and went home to conduct another study into the problem of rickets in Meghalaya. Little did I imagine I would be coming back to TLM to work in the organization. It was in the month of December in 2004, that I got a phone call from TLM Delhi. The Placement Process for our batch (MHA-2003-05) was just being organised at TISS (www.tiss.edu) and I already got a job offer.

The date was 20th May 2005. It was my official joining date at TLM as Medical Officer - Evaluation. My Boss is of course Dr. Rajan. By then the Evaluation Cell office had been shifted to a new address, C-85, Inderpuri, and is more spacious with a quieter working environment. Its been a year and 2 months working with Dr. Rajan and I admire him greatly for his professional guidance and personal charisma. I must confess, had Dr. Rajan become a diplomat, he would have been a very respected one indeed. He also has the gentle ability to resolve a conflict. He is direct and appreciative, soft but convincing. Having a Boss like him is such a blessing I must admit.

He gives me the space and the opportunity to work. I seriously believe that he is one man with so many friends and so few opponents. Surely, he must be held in high regard in the 'Favour Bank' that Paulo Coelho writes about in his book "Zahir".

Dr. Rajan may look serious, but should you hear him share a joke and burst into laughter, you will know this man has his humour uniform under his office dress at all times. Despite his hectic schedule of coordinating the work of ILEP (www.ilep.org.uk) in India, there has never been a time that he does not listen and share his inputs on any work I have. He is always quick to listen and provides sound advice. He has this interesting habit of making a 'checklist', which sooner than later I found to be very important indeed. Monitoring and evaluation requires among many other things, a good reference to the correct information and procedures that a simple checklist can provide in the hour of need. He has taught me to value the small things and for that I am grateful. There is only one thing I would like him to stop, and it is smoking. Many a times, I would see him steal a puff outside the office near some corner and I swear he looked like a famous South Indian actor in a villian role.

I regard him as my mentor but he is also a dear friend who understands and listens. I will always have fond memories and deep respect for this honourable man.