How do you deal with an unusual surname?
Our family name ‘Garabadu’ evokes curiosity each time it is mentioned to someone hearing it for the first time. Everyone with this family name has experienced some difficulty to explain either its name, genesis or its pronunciation to all those first-timers hearing it. But there are some in the family who have contributed more to popularising the name than others.
Dr Nirmal Garabadu is one of them. As the first doctor in the Garabadu family, he had the opportunity and pleasure to serve many patients in the state of Odisha. As a young doctor, he set up one of the first private nursing homes in the state to provide medical facilities to patients in Cuttack. Aptly named, Health Care, the medical centre soon attracted patients from adjoining towns and cities.
Dr Nirmal Garabadu was the leading brand ambassador for the health centre, not just because he founded it, but because he deeply cared for all his patients. And it showed. Patients who consulted him for the first time would derive comfort from his warm personality and his endearing approach towards their health issues.
Each time I visited Health Care, I would experience this first-hand just by watching him interact with his patients. Some patients would already feel better even before the treatment began just by the manner in which he spoke with them. It was visible that he cared. He lived and popularised the brand name on account of his personality.
He was a complete family man too. As the eldest child in his generation, he carried the responsibility of being ‘the first’ very carefully. He would take care of all family members both in his immediate and extended family. By virtue of being part of a large family, he would receive frequent calls from ailing family members. For a doctor who ran a medical centre and also attended to patients under his direct care, it is not easy to do it all. But he would find time to do so, and that too with a smile.
He carried his smile everywhere and it was infectious. If you met him, you would smile too. Such was the power of his smile.
My relationship with him was special. He was the eldest in my generation. I was the youngest. Ever since I can remember, he and I got the maximum attention in family gatherings. We would be bunched together around other family members and face maximum questions.
On every such occasion, I would be at a loss for words, but he would impress everyone with his calm demeanour and his ability to communicate effectively. Each time he spoke, he had the full attention of his listeners. It was a combination of his wisdom, his communication style and predominantly, his smile.
I didn’t need to speak. He would make up for my inability to communicate.
While paying my respects to him one final time in Swargadwara at Puri on Monday night, I realised I no longer have him to bail me out. I have to step up and fend for myself. I can neither smile nor speak as effectively as he did. But I owe it to him to try.
