21st April 1965 - I cannot forget that day in my lifetime. It was the day, when I was travelling in a train to go to Lonavala to meet the great physician, Dr. RV Sathe under whom I wished to work as a house physician for a period of six months. In those days, the first six students having the highest marks in medicine were offered the post of a medical house physician. But the choice of the house physicians to the doctors was not according to the marks. The head of a unit could select his doctor. Dr. RV Sathe, being the senior most had the first chance to select and his word was final. If he wanted Dr. OP Kapoor that was it and the job was mine. So I decided to see him immediately and introduce myself before any one else could approach him. I came to know that he spent his Sunday at his farmhouse in Lonavala. Though I was not very conversant with the geography of Maharashtra (because I came from Punjab), I managed to catch the right train and reached Lonavala.

On the way, I was having second thoughts. Many doctors had told me, that he was a very strict, short-tempered, disciplinarian and maybe I would find it difficult to adjust to him! Keeping his personality in mind, I was afraid that he would lose his temper, if I disturbed him during a weekend! But by now, it was too late to reconsider. I was already at Lonavala station. I hired a rickshaw to take me to Dr. Sathe's farm in East Lonavala. Within a few minutes, I reached there - but sure enough with a lot of palpitations! The `maid greeted me and took me to his `cottage'. I was expecting to see a beautiful bungalow, but I was shocked to see a simple bungalow with minimal furniture. And then suddenly - this great man appeared in his pyjamas! I had never seen him earlier. He had a terrific personality. Seeing me, he asked `Who are you?' I told him that I had come to request him to give me a chance to work under him. He was surprised to hear that I had come all the way from Bombay only for that purpose. I explained to him that I wanted to be the first to contact him, before he decided on somebody else.

Then, I heard a sweet female voice. I presumed her to be Mrs. Sathe. Indeed she was!! Mrs. Sathe was dressed in a typical Maharashtrian saree, `nav vari' fashion, which she could carry off with style, inspite of being a leading doctor. Never have I seen-and nor can a lady doctor in Bombay wear it in such a style! She told him in Marathi, "This boy has come all the way from Bombay to request you to give him a chance to work in your unit! He must be a hard working boy, do not disappoint him".

I found Dr. Sathe looking at me with a broad smile! It was unbelievable. I was told he was a rough, tough, strict physician and here he was a handsome face with such a broad infectious smile! He offered me a cup of tea, and asked for some time to think over it. I did not wait for tea as I had to catch the train to reach back in time. Of course, I was selected as his house physician!

The sister-in-charge saw my movements and warned me saying `Dr. Sathe is so strict in every sense, that he will make you cry'. Many nurses, ward boys and house physicians had cried and some had even left the ward or got transferred, but it never affected the boss. He continued to maintain his strictness and anger!'

Well, I was prepared for the worst. On the very first day of my ward rounds, I requested him to sign an investigation slip reading `Please screen the patient', which was the usual investigation of fluoroscopy, carried out due to shortage of X-ray plates. He took out his fountain pen and suddenly I noticed his face turning red, his eyes changing, and he shouted - "You Punjabi (later on, he often sarcastically addressed me like this)! Is this the way you write English? I cannot even read your handwriting! As soon as he raised his voice, the sister in charge, the staff nurse and the nurse on rounds started sweating (I could imagine them awaiting their turn!). I smiled in my usual manner and explained to him softly, `Sir, in Punjab, English was taught only for the last two years before SSC'. Suddenly I saw a smile on his face. Though, he did warn me to improve my English handwriting.

Over the next few weeks, I had an opportunity to personally experience, what I had heard. On one of the ward round days, when he shouted at the sister-in-charge of the ward, she could not control herself and started crying, which annoyed him further. He got more angry and shouted, `You have not done your duty properly, and on the top of that, you are crying?
But as for me, whenever he shouted, with his face full of anger, I would smile. And then, once again he would shout, `After doing the mistake you are shamelessly smiling'. I reminded him that we were not supposed to cry or our fate would be like that of the sister-in-charge, who had cried. This in return, brought a big smile on his face and the only words he uttered were `You Punjabi'! In fact more than a dozen people from the hospital staff told me that they saw a change in Dr. Sathe's attitude since I was associated with him. This was only partly true. The fact was that he used to give very broad smiles and often laugh loudly.

Another aspect of his personality was his religiousness, his national conscience and patriotism. He was very fond of me. Often he would ask me to sit in the car, when he went for home visits. In the car, he would ask me to discuss any articles, which I may have read in the medical journals.

One day, while returning from a house visit at Colaba, on reaching the Chowpatty signal, he suddenly asked the driver to stop the car and park it. He got down and went to the statue of Lokmanya Tilak and stood there with his eyes closed and hands folded, he was praying. I did not know what to do. So I followed him and stood behind him with folded hands and shut my eyes. Suddenly, he turned around after finishing and asked me why I was praying? Before I could answer, he asked me whose statue was it. I could not answer. And then I saw his face turning red, and he muttered, `You Punjabi!'

On another occasion, the visit was to the posh Altamount Road. I was wondering whether I should accompany him upstairs in a posh building. But he beckoned `Come on Kapoor'. We entered a big apartment. The servant opened the door and requested us to sit on the sofa. Dr. Sathe told him to inform "Sardarji" that the doctor had arrived. The servant returned and said that Sardarji is having bath and has requested you to seat and have tea and he would be with us in tenminutes. Suddenly Dr. Sathe's face turned red. In a very angry tone, he said `Kapoor, let us go and let Sardarji have a long bath! And then he gave me a long lecture, in the car, about these `rich' guys.

Even after I left his wards, he still treated me with fatherly love. In fact, all his post graduate students received the same love.
In 1960, when abroad for a year, he told my wife, that she should call him in case of any problems in his absence.
One day, I went to him in his clinic and told him that I wanted to get attached to Bhatia Hospital as a physician. His first reaction was "Why did you not tell me earlier? He spoke to the trustees about me and suggested that I should be appointed as his assistant. Dr. Sathe's word carried a lot of weight with the trustees. After a few days, he learnt that the letter of appointment was not sent. After talking to the trustees, he was told that one of his colleagues had complained that Dr. Kapoor does malpractice and should not be appointed in Bhatia Hospital. Dr. Sathe was shocked. He rang up his colleague, who had spoken ill of me and had said that Dr. Kapoor gives commission to GPs.

On hearing this, Dr. Sathe was very angry and was fuming and told his secretary, Mr. Tantri to summon me to his clinic urgently. As soon as I entered his chamber, he admonished, `Kapoor, I am ashamed of you'. After hearing the story, I told him that I had a list of doctors who referred patients to me. I voluntered to give him the list so that he could talk to them personally.

Next day he had called me with the list and at the same time called his colleague. He asked him to ring up any of the doctors and confirm what he had complained. His colleague replied `Sir I had only heard from somebody. In fact Dr. Kapoor teaches two of my sons in his whole night classes and he is an `elephant' in our profession.' Dr. Sathe reacted strongly to this. His face turned red and I had never seen him so angry ever before. He shouted at his colleague "Get out of my clinic." You do not deserve to be called as my colleague. You were ruining the career of this young man!' After he left, he apologised to me and asked me to see him in the hospital the next day and he would see that I was appointed. In turn I replied, `Sir, after this incident I do not wish to enter that hospital.'

I saw his face change again. He had tears in his eyes and hugged me and told me, `And neither would I have liked you to join. I am sure you would thrive without this hospital'.

In fact, he was good to all his PG students, house physicians, Registrars etc. Once he took a scheduled caste student as his registrar and treated him like all of us.

I saw him `polishing' later Dr. Ajgaonkar and Dr. Raheja to start the speciality of Diabetes Mellitus. Yet he was not interested in having credit for the same.

Regarding Mrs. Sathe, that lady was an Angel. I have never seen such an eminent Indian lady Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, who is so humble and soft-spoken, despite being so senior. I still remember, on one of the occasions, when Dr. Sathe shouted at me in his clinic, and nearly made me cry. When I went upstairs to Mrs. Sathe, she consoled me as if I was a child. She told me `You know he does not mean, whatever he says in his anger. The fact is that he is very fond of you'. She would never show off even her husband's or her own achievements. And her dress- as I described earlier, she is the only lady doctor in Bombay who can carry off a nine yards saree draped in a typical Maharashtrian style! In fact she was proud of it!

Ex. Hon. Physician, Jaslok Hospital and Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Ex. Hon. Prof. of Medicine, Grant Medical College and JJ Hospital, Mumbai 400 008.