Four Score and More... Dr, Raj Desai IMASC
Founder President Turns Octogenarian
The early years
My name is Rajendra Gulabra' Desai, I was born in Junagadh, India. I am a retired medical oncologist; I'm currently the chairman and founder of Project Deaf India.
Junagadh was a city in a princely state at the southern tip of the Kathiawad peninsula in western India. Following independence it is located in the state of Gujarat. Junagadh was an important western outpost ruled by the Nawabs, Muslim rulers. The city had many beautiful Mughal style palaces and 1811 Century mosques. In my childhood days the Nawab with dog was famous for breeding pedigree dogs and performing "dog marriages," along with dog vs. rabbit races on weekends. The rulers celebrated both Muslim and Hindu festivals with elaborate processions and festivities.
My father's name was Gulabrai Chhotaial Desai. He was educated up to high school and then started his own apothecary store, dispensing both pre-packaged and made-to-order prescriptions. In those days it was quite common for the doctor to prescribe a formula for the pharmacy to concoct. My father passed away at the age of 77. My mother, Narmadaben Chotalal Desai, or Maniben was a housewife and took care of her children's needs. She showered us with much love and instilled a religious education and emphasized our school studies as well. The vegetarian diet she fed us served her well as she lived to the ripe old age of 90.
Besides me, there were 3 brothers and 2 sisters in my family, I was the youngest. One of my brothers died of typhoid at the age of 16, as no antibiotics were available at the time. My oldest brother, Bbagwantrai, became a dentist. He was educated at the Calcutta Dental School, one of the few dental institutes in India in the 1920's. After finishing dental school in India he was encouraged by my father to go to Japan for further training. Japan had cutting edge teaching in dentistry in those days.
My second brother, Shantilal, established a practice in homeopathic medicine. One sister, married and settled in East Africa, the other married and settled in Ahmedabad.
My family moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) when I was 15. I completed high school in Bombay and played various sports such as cricket and football (soccer). I then went to college in Pune, about 150 miles from Bombay. I received my B.Sc. with gold medal after 4 years there. In those days the cost of a college education was about $3 per month with meals costing another 50 cents per month. After graduating from Ferguson College with honors, I went on to Grant Medical College, where I earned my M.B.B.S. degree (equivalent to an MD). I then joined the staff at Tata Cancer Hospital, spending 3 years completing my post graduate training. I was most fortunate while at Tata Hospital, to meet with a visiting expert in cancer research from America, Dr. Winston Cowdry. Dr. Cowdry interviewed several students interested in pursuing further training in the USA. Concurrently, I was in contact with Dr. William Dameshek in Boston, a world renowned Hematologist, he had offered me a research fellowship opportunity but without any monetary support. Dr. Cowdry was in charge of the awarding of Fulibright Scholarships for Indian students to further their education in the USA. I was very fortunate to be chosen as the first Indian to receive this award and came to Boston to further my studies at the New England Center.Hospital and Tufts University
The time I spent with Dr. Danieshek, was both rewarding and challenging to say the least. He had 3 students working under him and was a tough teacher and disciplinarian. We had to attend both lab duties and hospital rounds, in addition to pursuing our research projects. He was a regular contributor to many journals and lectured worldwide for 6 months of the year. This afforded his residents the opportunity to fill in for him in his private practice duties. This gave us added experience in a clinical practice.
Working for Dr. Dameshek came with some interesting and diverse perks. Dr. Daineshek was a music lover and baseball fan. He was a regular at the Boston Symphony, and when he was unable to attend due to his travel schedule he would let me go in his place. I learned about western symphonic music and baseball. On the educational front, I was allowed to attend national and international conferences and meet and exchange ideas with many world famous experts in Hematology.
During my residency with Dr. Dameshek, I approached him with the idea of pursuing my Ph.D. He questioned my intentions, as seldom did medical students pursue a Ph.D. I told him that in order to validate my additional education in the USA it would be helpful to return to India with an added degree. He obliged me and introduced me to the Biology department at Boston University, where I wrote my dissertation on Experimental Purpura. I completed my dissertation with a 16mm movie on "Blood Circulation in the Hamster Cheek pouch." Obtaining my Ph.D. was instrumental in my obtaining a teaching position at Stanford University and later at the University of California, Irvine.
While in Boston, I met my future wife, Pratima. She was sent to the USA by her parents in Trinidad to pursue her college education. Her familv was of Indian decent, but had settled in the West Indies for several Generations. She was a very able business woman and mother to our 4 children, one boy and three girls. All of whom have gone on to advanced degrees and are pursuing their individual careers. My wife passed away in 1994 due to heart disease. She provided our children tremendous support and discipline, and they have all gone on to become solid and successful individuals.
The working years I had originally intended to return to India and pursue a clinical practice. Due to problems with nepotism and other "corruptions" in India, I instead decided to return to the USA and take an academic position in Medicine. I eventually took a position as Chief of Hematology at Orange County Medical Center, and eventually branched out into private practice. I remained in private clinical practice until my retirement in 1990.The academic years gave me experience to teach medical fellows and RNs.
The success of my clinical practice and research while in Orange County, California got me involved with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, where I was appointed President. I also started the first Cancer Units at local hospitals and became instrumental in the founding of the "Oncology Nursing Society of Orange County". I was also the founding chairman of the " Indian Medical Association of Orange County."
After 40 years in medicine and medical practice I retired in 1990. In my semi-retirement I consulted with various drug companies and lectured internationally. While traveling internationally I came upon an idea to help the underprivileged, deaf children in my native India. My youngest daughter was born deaf, due to an epidemic of Rubella in the USA in 1963. Neighbor children coming to the house to play with our children inadvertently infected my pregnant wife with Rubella. Our search for educational opportunities for her, and the trials and efforts as to what methodology of teaching to use for her education lead us, together with other parents of deaf children in our area to establish and choose a method of "total communication" for her education. This method uses sign language, lip reading and speech to communicate with the deaf child. This was different from the "only oral" methods that were being used at the time. This method proved very successful for her as she went on to receive a Master's degree in counseling from Gallaudet University. Gailaudet University is the first and only institute awarding advanced degrees for the deaf in the world.
Seeing the success of my daughter achieved with proper education, I joined with Rotary Club to establish PROJECT DEAF INDIA. I have visited India several times on behalf of Rotary and Project Deaf India with the goal of benefiting the educational opportunities of poor deaf children. We recently also made a documentary called " Silent Village-Prevention of Deafness in India" It emphasizes causes of deafness to reduce high incidence in India and
wiII be shown at Public T V both In the USA and India.
As you will surmise, Project Deaf India is a long term project where our goals are:
1) To start Universal Screening of all newborn infants in the city of Mysore, South India, as a model study to prove that the early diagnosis of deafness will improve the acquisition of language and communication skills. This is well established in the USA and many European cities where the detection of newborn deafness is mandatory. In India because of the late diagnosis of the hearing impaired children at the age of 4-6 years, they are called "Deaf and Dumb" the disabilities laws and the early detection of deafness in the USA, pen-nits the hearing impaired people to be self sufficient similar to their counterpart (hearing people).
2) The villages have no primary vaccination and there are periodic epidemics of German Measles that causes congenital deafness and other deformities in the newborn. Therefore Rubella vaccination given to all preadolescent girls will prevent Rubella syndrome. We plan to do the vaccination project in the state of Karnataka where there are 800,000 teenage girls.
3) The education of a deaf child in India is primitive and only extends to high School level. We plan to establish a modem institute from kindergarten level to masters degree and Ph.D. similar to the Gallaudet University, Washington, In addition for the Adults, with hearing impairment we plan to start an Indian Institute of Technology for the Deaf (I.T.I.D.) with various mechanical disciplines, similar to National Institute of Technology for the Deaf (N.T.I.D.) As you well realize these goals require a large sum of financial support. If we are successful in achieving these goals the deaf people of India who are living a menial life or begging on the streets will have equal status in the society.
Although nearing 80 years, I am in good health and exercise regularly. The most important factors of my contentedness with life are:
-Hard work and discipline
-Reach and take the opportunities life gives, expect in life nothing but the best and be willing to work to achieve this
- Be useful to others--2'service before self' as preached by Mahatma Gandhi
-Consider mistakes the training ground for future success
-Give a smile to everyone and learn how to " forgive and forget" always moving forward