“It was during the national emergency that I decided to join the military. I remember my husband ridiculed me and said, ‘What will you do in the army? Give birth to children?’ Regardless, I took the step and applied for the post of a military doctor. I was selected as a specialist and I was soon helping jawaans and their families. During those years, when I was in Parampur, I got a call about a lady who had pains just a couple of days after she delivered a baby. They realised that she had conceived twins and one of them wasn’t delivered. I rushed to her house, but there was no operation theatre available. By the time we set things up, the baby had died. A couple of hours later, the mother told me it had been three days since she smoked. I was quite shocked. That’s how my experiences were when I was working with the military – always meeting new people and learning new things. I travelled across the country, exploring different states and their cultures.

When I was a child, I never thought there would come a day like this. My mom wouldn’t send me to school even when I was 6 years old. I had to ask the teachers to convince my parents to send me to school. After class 10, my parents couldn’t afford higher secondary school, so my teachers helped me get a scholarship. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have come so far. Throughout my life, my teachers – in school and medical college – were my biggest support systems, who helped me become who I am today. Back in my day, women hardly went out or studied as much as I did. But if you don’t fight for what you want to do, you’re never going to do it.”

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