Today, I read news about an army doctor, Major Dr Rohit Bachela. He helped a woman deliver her child at the railway station of Jhansi. It was an emergency, the woman travelling on the Panvel Gorakhpur express collapsed on the platform due to labour pain when she was being rushed on a wheelchair to a medical facility.


Dr Rohit, who was waiting for his train, sensed the situation and came to help her. He used a hair clip as a clamp and a pocket knife to cut the umbilical cord after the baby was delivered safely and became stable. His guidance saved the baby anthe d mother. A doctor is always a doctor.

Any medical professional is always ready to face a situation. This news reminded me of a nursing student who helped a mother deliver a child during the difficult phase of the coronavirus lockdown. She was a resident of the Sutarwadi area of Pune.

There was a woman in the neighbouring area who was pregnant. This was a very difficult condition as she had a history of a couple of miscarriages. When the lady started her labour pains, people around were trying to get an ambulance. There was not much time for the childbirth as Pooja Bhosale ( who had her house near the lady ) could sense and sprang into action. Pooja had completed a small nursing course in Panchgani, where she had witnessed and helped her seniors or doctors for the delivery on any occasion. It was a one-year duration course which gave her confidence. She enrolled in the advanced course in Karve Sanstha's nursing college when she was called for help.

I did talk to her then, she was felicitated as Anna's Daughter ( अण्णांची लेक ) by Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha. She was satisfied as she could help the mother deliver the child safely. Her confidence and courage were unmatched. It was her first time to handle the situation single-handedly. With the help of some ladies, she made the necessary arrangements. Guided the lady to deliver her child safely. She used a new shaving blade, sterilised it, used it to cut the cord, and sterilised a thread to be used to tie the cord. She was so focused on the childbirth that she was not even aware that her mother ( who is also a nurse ) clicked a photograph of the newborn.

I contacted her again on reading the news, she could remember every detail as if it happened recently. The woman delivered a baby boy,the happy father met her recently. He brought his son with him,who is some 6 years old. Pooja said, she was filled with pure bliss which one rarely experiences. Pooja still works in Pune.

Many groups , individuals and institutions took cognizance of her presence of mind and decision making ability and using her knowledge at the time when it was needed the most. She completed her advance course after an year of this incident.

Incidentally, Baya ( Anna's second wife ) was a trained nurse. She had completed her nursing course from Nagpur. Then the Dufferin Hospital run the course. The medium of instruction was Hindi and English. Hindi was not a very well-known language then, in the absence of social media and Hindi movies. The exposure to any additional language other than Marathi was very limited, but Baya completed her course. She helped many women deliver children safely.
She was a child widow, having lost her husband within months of her marriage. She was around 8 years old. Probably at this age, she didn't know the meaning of marriage, and her being a widow. Later, after her second marriage, she always thought that if she could be of some help to society, people would accept her. Gradually, the process did start, but it was not an easy phase of life for Baya.

Pooja too walked on the same path of helping people around silently. The courage and conviction she showed is incomparable. She is a medical professional by nature,she just rose at the right moment.

Rare are such moments in one's life which create cherished memories and tremendous satisfaction.