Suresh Kumar Bhargav, 82, Jaipur, runs free medical camps in Asia and Africa.

 
Geographical boundaries can’t pin down Suresh Kumar Bhargav, whose free medical camps have found their way to the most remote regions and inaccessible hinterlands across Asia and Africa. A retired dentist, Bhargav, along with his wife Madhu, a dental hygienist, has been to countries such as China, Philippines, Bangladesh, Jamaica, Bhutan, Zimbabwe and Guatemala, to offer free treatment and medicines to the poor. Back from a recent trip to Bangladesh, Bhargav reminiscences, “We hired a small boat and converted it into a makeshift health camp, covering many distant villages connected only by rivers.” The couple invites local doctors to participate in the camps and offers patients tests for free, besides doling out free medicine. “We pool free medical samples supplied by pharmaceutical companies,” he says. “Also, various charitable organisations help finance our camps.” Inspired by Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer’s words, “The purpose of human life is to serve, show compassion and the will to help others,” Bhargav has been looking for multiple avenues to do his bit. While working at RNT Medical College in Udaipur, he recalls how he would accumulate official leaves so he could travel to the interiors to organise free health camps. He also launched a school for the hearing and speech-impaired in Udaipur, Viklayang Kalyan Samiti Deaf & Dumb School, which today boasts over 100 students; helped the Rajasthan government set up a school for the blind; and founded the Udaipur chapter of the Red Cross. In 1992, after retirement, he moved to Jaipur and opened a dental clinic, where he treats patients for free. Saying he’s often the butt of jokes among his peers who enjoy a roaring practice, Bhargav, who lives off his pension, adds, “There is an unparalleled joy in serving the poor.”

—Prakash Bhandari

Photo: Surendra Jain Paras
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
February 2017