I was born in southern India to parents who worked in healthcare and education. From an early age, medicine seemed to be the path laid out for me. I had other ideas.
According to my family, I was born under the star Satha Bisha, which meant I was destined to become a physician. I dreamed of becoming an actor or perhaps a cricketer. My father usually ended those conversations with a smile, joking that I might “lose my legs” if I chose acting. I decided medicine was probably the safer path.
One of my earliest memories is the smell of my father’s clothes when he came home from work, a mixture of penicillin and vitamin B12. I’ve never forgotten it.
Before my neurology residency, I worked as a research immunologist. A mentor encouraged me to pursue neuroimmunology because he believed it was the future of medicine. He was right. Every patient presents a different challenge, and that’s what I enjoy most.
My approach to patient care is simple: I listen. Patients come to me because something has changed in their lives, and they deserve to be heard. My responsibility is to understand why they’re there and help them. I’ve been fortunate to learn from remarkable mentors throughout my career, including Dr. Harry White, Dr. William Crowley, Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, and Dr. Sunder Rao. They all reinforced one lesson: you’re never too old to keep learning. Some of my greatest teachers have been my patients.
Jefferson City has always felt familiar. I grew up in a village surrounded by rivers and canals, so the Missouri River reminds me of home. Before I practiced here, my family stopped at St. Mary’s Hospital because my son needed an oxygen tank exchanged. The kindness we received stayed with me, and years later, I returned to practice there.
People often ask what I do in my free time. My answer is usually, “Free time? I haven’t seen it in the past 20 years.”
When I do get a chance to slow down, I enjoy time with my grandchildren, who always keep me humble. One recently informed me he is “practically seven” and no longer a little boy. He also reminds me I barely have any hair, so I don’t spend much time taking care of it.
Medicine is always changing, and we’re always learning. Every patient teaches me something new, and that’s one of the things I enjoy most about being a physician.