An enlightening journey

A big crowd of youngsters to senior citizens were held spellbound when Dr. Prakash and Dr. Manda Amte narrated their thrilling experiences while serving the Madia-Gond adiwasis from Hemalkasa, the thick jungle area in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. For his noble work Dr. Amte has been felicitated with the prestigious Magatsese award and Padmashree. The couple was the guest at Rambhau Mhalgi lecture series on January 12. Their dedication, simplicity and humanity won every heart from the audience. Taking inspiration from legendary social worker Baba Amte, Dr. Prakash and Dr. Manda Amte sacrificed luxurious city life and preferred to live among the adiwasis and provided them with free medical help and started a school to educate their children. In an open interview anchored by Dhanashree Lele, the couple went down the memory lane and shared their unforgettable memories with the audience. "I have been raised in the leprosy camp where Baba wasliving with six patients. I was educated with labourer's children and when I wasstudying in the final year of MBBS, Baba planned a family picnic at Hemalkasa,which was a forest and announced that he would start working in this area. Ispontaneously assured him that I would like to join him and thereafter it becamemy project where I had to start from zero," recalled Dr. Prakash. He added, "Ihave seen that due to social stigma, blind faiths and lack of proper treatment,Leprosy patient's lives have been darkened beyond imagination. We wanted toprove that with modern medicines leprosy patients can be cured and they can leada normal life." About his initial years in Hemalkasa, Dr. Prakash said,"In those days the locals believed in village priest who used to ask them toworship the deities and would suggest Mantra-Tantra as a treatment to patient'sailments. They didn't trust the doctor's medicines. We repeatedly visited smallvillages, learned their language and tried to win their confidence. When withGod's grace we could cure some serious patients who had no hopes of survival,the adiwasis started believing in our medicines and gradually the number ofpatients increased. In the last 38 years the health awareness isdeveloped in this area and about 40,000 patients come for OPD per year andseveral operations are performed every week at our health centre in Hemalkasa."Dr. Manda said, "After marriage when I came to live in Hemalkasa,there was no electricity, water, or proper residence to live in. We had to buildour hut and start our clinic in a tin covered shade." Gradually the workdeveloped in all directions. Many socially aware people offered their voluntaryservices for this project. "We deliberately adopted simple living and limitedour needs and we feel proud that our colleges followed the lifestyle. Now thefourth generation of Amte family is joining this project." Dr. Amtestarted a school in the forest area and including his sons many locals have beeneducated in this school to become doctors, engineers and teachers. "We are happythat the majority of local children have come back to work in their nativearea," asserted Dr. Prakash. Dr. Prakash loves to play with animalsincluding tiger cubs and snakes. He has started an animal arc at Hemalkasa. Onecan find lions, tigers, monkeys, deer, snakes and many other animals in thisarc. "The adiwasis have no source of income and so for survival they killseveral animals from the forest. I asked them to give me deserted cubs inexchange of food and clothes. Gradually my arc has increased." Dr.Prakash has written his experiences in his autobiographical book "PrakashachyaVata' that is proved very popular. "People realised the depth of our work andthey generously donated for our social projects in and around Hemalkasa. We areoverwhelmed with people's love. In future our Government should provide jobopportunities for the adiwasis," concluded Dr. Amte.