Walking Around Matunga

Doctor's Land

Human Life as you know begins with birth and ends with death a journey from the womb to the tomb. All in between are the memories that we create and cherish . With family , friends and even our foes. Life should be like the stream or that river pristine and always flowing , the moment it becomes stagnant it starts to rot at its core loosing its spirit and value.

In between the two end points is the journey of life. In this journey one must endure sadness along with happiness, pain along with ecstasy and tears along with laughter.In our journey we are helped , supported and guided by our parents and our teachers. And in ill health by the doctors. World over doctors are revered next only to the Gods , as they are supposed to have the knowledge and power of giving and saving Life.

The very first encounter we have with doctors is at the very beginning of our life itself in the form of the Gynecologist delivering us into this beautiful world or mean world depending upon ones outlook. If you are in Matunga you will notice , quiet obviously this is the land of Doctors . Literally in every by lane there are doctors and very well renowned doctors at that. Specialists in their own field . Practicing medicine for more than 15-20 years. Some coming  from families  who have been doctors for nearly 3 generations.

In the lane near the five gardens close to the corner garden in the clinic of practicing Gynecologist Dr.Ajanta Narvekar. Most of the women in the vicinity from Matunga , Dadar , Sion and even from townside prefer her . Two advantages , she being a lady doctor her patients find it comfortable to discuss their issues without feeling shy , the other being the clinic also doubles up as a small maternity polyclinic in which she performs the most difficult of tasks , that of bringing life into this world by way of delivery of children. A reputed doctor with strong personality. Also very expressive and a little strict at times to errand patients.  Still remember during my wife Kashmira’s pregnancy during my 1^st child Netra’s time. She used to show her displeasure on the gaining weight when Kashmira used to go to her for follow up check up’s. A proponent of natural child birth than C-section , she always advised her patients on minimal weight gain and advocated on staying fit by exercise / yoga. Always giving enough time to her patients to discuss their fears and putting them at ease during their journey from pregnancy to childbirth. Her clinic is full of various category of patients from the shy newly weds coming to understand protection , to newly pregnant and over enthusiastic first timers with their husbands in tow , to the experienced 2^nd timers more calm and mature . She is well supported by her nursing staff who help in check up’s – monitoring BP’s , checking weights , updating the individual patient files and sometimes even administrating hormone injections or iron supplement injections if she is busy in the Delivery room.

Along with her surgeon husband Dr.Narvekar they also oversee a poly clinic at Breach Candy which caters to mostly the rich South Mumbai (SO-BO) crowd.

Once the child is born , the next doctor that one frequents for the next 10 years is the pediatrician. A doctor who specializes in treating the toddlers and young children. He is the savior and the go to person even at 12’o clock  at night or  4 am in the morning . Just across the Ruia college signal close to the Satam Maharaj Mandir or the Datta Mandir is the clinic of Dr.Suhas Prabhu the pediatrician. Most doctors today over depend on technology to diagnose and prescribe anti biotics at the drop af a hat. From my personal experience I can vouch for this. At the time of Netra’s birth , her umbalical chord -navel got infected. The pediatrician attached to the maternity hospital Dr. Joshi prescribed 2-3 antibiotics alongwith the most common medicine, Betadine powder to be applied locally. At the follow up check up date when my wife went to meet him (unfortunately I was not in town) , he suggested that the 3 day old Netra to be admitted to a Hospital. Kashmira was shocked to hear the diagnosis and was completely stressed out. The good part was that we discussed the situation and she then spoke to one of her close acquaintance before taking any decision.  As suggested she scheduled an appointment with Dr.Prabhu. On the 1st meeting itself he got wild with anger on Dr.Joshi , his diagnosis and the thick file that was created in the 3 days.He put us at ease explaining that the issue at hand was normal and needed no other medicine than just the Betadine power and keeping the affected area hygienic and open to dry off. And as per his suggestion Netra’s infection subsided and went away by the time we next met him after a weeks time.

I can vouch that Dr.Prabhu is a seasoned medical practitioner with loads of experience to put the parents especially the new mothers at ease by his calm demeanor. He will always check the child thoroughly ask about the symptoms from the parents and then put you at ease by prescribing minimal medicines. If the mother is the pestering type trying to jump to conclusions and asking for tonics and food supplements. He nonchalantly brushes aside the suggestion and tells that natural foods , fruits and plain milk is the best supplement for children in their growing years. For toddlers he specifically advocates mothers milks till the age of 6-8 months and only then gives a chart for starting of with solids in the form of mashed potatoes , kanji (rice water) , daliya ( dal puree ) etc. The best pediatrician in Matunga.

As we grow we require health  and medical support from doctors for the adult. In most cases this support is provided by General Practitioners or GP’s or the local MBBS doctors . Over a period of time due to the close relationship you form with them they tend to become your family doctors. Knowing exactly your how your system behaves, which medicines suit you what treatment will give the best results. To let you know one such doctor who is our family doctor , Dr.Abhay Parekh. He is the 3^rd generation doctor in his family and has been treating our family from as long as I can remember. His grand father Dr.N Parekh was one of the earliest FRCS (Fellow of the Royal Society of Surgeons) and great GP in his times. His son and Dr.Abhay’s father Dr.H.N.Parekh is a octogenarian (80+) a certified LCEH and still practicing. During our kiddie years I still remember our father taking us to him even late at night to his home right across our home where he practiced. Always available to his old and loyal patients and supportive by correct diagnosis and medication. His legacy has now been furthered by Dr.Abhay Parekh. With his knack for clear communication , his jovial nature and calm attitude he has built a great following among his long list of patients. Catering to the poor and the prosperous without any bias. Another plus point is he has developed lots of contacts in the medical fraternity and can suggest the best of doctors in case you need any of the specialist for specific health issues. Also he is that kind of doctor who would involve senior doctors in case the health matter of a patient demands it. Depending on the nature of illness he will prescribe regular medicine or antibiotics or 

intravenous (IV) , the underlying objective at heart is the recovery of his patients.

Among the other specialists in Matunga are doctors like Dr.Damle the heart specialist and consulting doctor attached with Shivaji Park’s Shushrusha Hospital and King Circle’s Cardiac Hospital . Then there is the Mumbai’s top Nuerologist Dr. Ramani operating out off Hindu Colony and attached with Lilavati Hospital. A renowned name in nuerology ( science of the nervous system ) treating complex medical conditions of Alzheimers and Parkinsons . You also have someone like Dr.Anant Joshi the well know Orthopedic  ,diagnosing and treating  problems related with rheumatology, spine, and sports injuries, and specializes in pain management. One of the unique features of his clinic in Dadar is the facility for musculoskeletal imaging, arthroscopy and rehabilitation.He has treated the likes of Sachin Tendular and Zaheer Khan in their sports career and making them fit to play for India.Another renowned orthopedic in Matunga is Dr. Lad a specialist in knee replacement. Then there is the best know eye surgeon Dr.Kedar Parulekar operating from his clinic in Wadala and from the GSBS trust’s medical centre at their Dadar facility. A gold medalist from Grant Medical College and a trusted name in retinal surgery and corneal lens transplant in cataract patients.

All these are abley supported by para medics like Sonography specialist Dr.Athavale giving hope to the new mother , the experienced radiologist Dr.Savur behind his X-ray machine helping the orthopedics take the correct decision. And Dr. Parikh the pathologist giving the correct lab reports of blood , urine , stool and sputum supporting the diagnosis of local GP’s and helping them in their treatement.

A Salute to all these care givers and hats off to them for keeping the citizens of Matunga hale,hearty and healthy.

Making Matunga truly a Doctor’s Land………………….