A JEWEL OF INESTIMABLE VALUE – A TRIBUTE TO DR SHIPRA BANERJEE

The transition of Dr (Mrs) Shipra Banerjee to eternity was announced on Saturday, April 26, 2014 by Dr Samar Basu, current president of the Association of Rural Surgeons of India, ARSI, thus: Dear all, With deep sorrow, I share with you the news of the sad demise of Dr (Mrs) Shipra Banerjee wife of Dr J K Banerjee. She left for heavenly abode on 26th April at Dehradun. It was very sudden. She along with Dr Banerjee visited us in Delhi for 4 days to attend GC meeting of RMC and went back on Tuesday morning. On behalf of all members and Executives of ARSI, I express deepest condolences to the sorrowing family. May the Almighty take the departed soul to His Heavenly Abode and give the entire family strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss. – Dr S K Basu

And in one of the many tributes paid to her, Dr R R Tongaonkar, current president of the International Federation of Rural Surgery, IFRS, wrote:

Dear Benu,

Yesterday morning when I received the message from Basu, I was in Mumbai travelling and couldn’t respond immediately.

It was really a shocking news. No doubt Shipra was suffering from long time with asthma but we never thought she will depart so soon. We do not exactly know what happened at the moment of her sad demise but what I could gather from Basu's staggering speech was that it was a sudden event.

As given in Bhagwad Gita one who is born is certain to die one day but a sudden death, without much suffering, without being bedridden for months or having dreadful diseases with severe pain and undergoing multiple surgeries and spending days in ICUs, a sudden peaceful departure from this life is met by very few lucky people who have done great selfless service to humanity and Shipra deserved it.

As you know I do not believe in Atma (Soul), rebirth and life after death or Moksha or heaven and hell but I strongly believe that one reaps for his/her good or bad deeds in this life only. That is what Shipra has achieved.

For three of us, myself, Prabhu and Benu (Banerjee) and our wives Asha, Usha and Shipra were a closely knit family. Even staying far away all six of us met every year during ARSI conferences and at times in our home towns and stayed in our homes. When in Delhi we stayed with Banerjees at their Hauz Khas resident. Benu (Banerjee) used to say to me that 'Ravi, for you there is always a 'red carpet' invitation in 'Shipra's House'. Shipra looked after us as her own close family members. We could demand anything we wanted. During our conversations she used to refer to Benu as 'my husband' and never by his name. Now she has left him to stay alone.

We want our beloved to live forever or at least pass away after we depart from this life. Now dear Benu has to learn living without his life companion. With his philosophical attitude he may be able to accept it but he will need to be looked after his bodily and other needs. Not only we all have to share his grief but help him to start his life a new without dear Shipra.

Dear Benu we all at Dondaicha, Asha, Rajesh, Jyotsna and all our family members, as well as all members of ARSI are with you. We all want you to live long for us. Yours sincerely,

Ravi

During one of my regular visits to my teacher and mentor, Prof O O Ajayi, sometime in March 2001, he passed to me a letter Dr J K Banerjee had written to him in 2000 after a conference in Vienna they had attended. (Figure 1) In the letter, Dr Banerjee requested for networking with rural surgeons in Nigeria which eventually led my wife, Atinuke, and me to attend the ninth conference of the Association of Rural Surgeons of India, ARSI, that took place in Jarganath Puri, Orissa State in November 2001 (Figure 2)

The Banerjees call Atinuke, Tina, and describe her as my beautiful and dedicated wife who marvels them with Nigerian DRESSES they look forward to appreciating anytime she comes to India. (Figure 3) We have attended three of the five conferences I have been to in India including the Pipalia conference during which I was honoured as a fellow of ARSI (Figure 4) and elected as secretary of the IFRS. Prof Ajayi and Papa (Dr) J I Umunna were elected directors of IFRS. All these came after the 50-man strong Association of Rural Surgical Practitioners of Nigeria, ARSPON, was admitted into IFRS.

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Figure 1

The 2001 event was an eye opener for us and has produced the fruitful link with the rural surgeons of the great nation of India. I have attended conferences at Mehsanah 2006, (Figures 5 and 6) Pipalia 2009, Ratlam 2012 1 and Bachau 2013.

The Banerjees and the Awojobis had become brothers and sisters since then. In February 2009, the Banerjees were the guests of Prof Ajayi and the Awojobis when they visited Awojobi Clinic Eruwa,

ACE (Figures 7 - 12) before attending the 49th conference of the West African College of Surgeons held in Conakry, Republic of Guinea (Figure 7). Dr Shipra Banerjee published a report of the symposium in which Dr J K Banerjee was a participant in Rural Surgery, the journal of ARSI.2

Shortly before the 2009 conference in Pipalia, Tinu, our son, Yombo, and I were guests of the Banerjees in their home located at the base of the Himalayan ranges in picturesque Dehradun. We were shown one of the sources of the Genghis River. (Figures 13 - 17)

Because of the role played by Dr J K Banerjee in the creation of ARSPON and admission into IFRS, It was fit and proper that one of the pictures of their visit to ACE (Figure 9) adorned the front cover of

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Figure 6 Figure 5

Figure 4

the programme booklet of the 4th joint conference of the IFRS and ARSPON that took place at ACE in November 2011 although, the Banerjees could not attend. 3

Figure 12

Figure 9

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Figure 7

Figure 16 Figure 15

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Figure 13

I got a few books from the Banerjees which included his latest: MEMOIRS OF A RURAL SURGEON (THE TURNING POINT OF MEDICAL PRACTICE) This was how Dr Banerjee described his better half on page 22:

“Towards the end of this period (postgraduate course in surgery in 1966), I got married. My parents selected the girl. I told them that I would like to marry a doctor. This girl had just finished her graduation from Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi. This is probably the only medical college which even today has only girls as undergraduate students. Immediately after selection, I started dating the girl and got married six months later. She was more intelligent than me and had a much better academic record. Her name was Shipra Mukerjee.”

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the greatest gurus and social reformers in Nigeria, described his wife, Dideolu, as a jewel of inestimable value which description fits Shipra.

Since 2009, we have always been welcome guests at the Rural Medicare Centre (Figure 13) which they founded in suburban Delhi before retiring to Dehradun. The hospital is now efficiently run by dedicated colleagues who are also members of ARSI (Figure 14) We have learnt the lesson of succession from them when we initiated the postgraduate training of junior colleagues in May 2012. These junior colleagues and our physician son, Ayodele, will keep ACE alive when we too retire from active practice. 1, 4, 5

Dr Banerjee has joined the group of my teachers and mentors who are widowers: Emeritus Profs T O Ogunlesi and A Adeloye, Profs Ajayi and H A Ajagbe. All have continued to remain forceful, relevant and guiding to their numerous students and protégés. I do not expect less from Dr Banerjee as we all wish for the repose of the soul of Dr (Mrs) Shipra Banerjee - the jewel of inestimable value!!!!

Dr Oluyombo A Awojobi

Secretary, IFRS.

REFERENCES

1. Awojobi O A Surgical conferencing at Awojobi Clinic Eruwa http://www.ifrs-rural.com/MEDRACE%20-%204.pdf

2. Banerjee S. Symposium on Rural Surgery sponsored by Pan African Association of Surgeons (PAAS) - A report. Rural Surgery 2009; Vol 5, No 3: 3 – 8.

3. ARSPON programme booklet 2011 http://www.ifrs-rural.com/IFRS%20ARSPON%20CONFERENCE%20PROGRAMME%20BOOKLET%202011.pdf

4. Awojobi O A Human resources for health in Nigeria - Surgical skill acquisition at ACE http://www.ifrs-rural.com/MEDRACE%20-%202.pdf

5. Awojobi O A Human resources for health in Nigeria - Surgical skill acquisition at ACE (2) http://www.ifrs-rural.com/MEDRACE%20ISSUE%20SEPTEMBER.pdf