One of the great contributions of Kolkata to the world has been incredible talent. While we have produced great minds, we have also gifted the world great hearts and spread incredible joy. It is for innumerable reasons that it is termed the City of Joy. One such joyful soul making the world a better place is Dr Debashis Bhattacharya. A surgeon by training and an entrepreneur by temperament, he currently leads Human Risk Management at Reckitt, UK, and wears many other hats. From a rural health impact venture to tech start-ups to upcoming artistes, ‘Dr Deb’ is an enthusiastic mentor, adviser and growth hacker to several organisations.
An alumnus of La Martiniere and Calcutta University, he moved to the United Kingdom for Higher Surgical Training. For his work with Reckitt, the Burnley Boys and Girls Club, iKure and Kalakar Arts, he was recently selected to carry the Queen’s baton in the relay to mark the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He currently resides near Manchester with his wife and 17-year-old daughter, Rona. Needless to say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Ms Rona is already an accomplished photographer while aceing her academic journey.
I caught up with him on a flying visit home and managed to get an insight into a remarkable personality. Excerpts from the conversation follow…
What is your Bengal connection?
I hail from West Bengal and am Bengali by birth while my ancestors hail from the eastern part of Bengal. Traditionally we used to be teachers, professors or administrators of research. Bhattacharyas, as a clan, were Sanskrit teachers of the Vedas. My great-grandfather learned English and then taught English in a university, for which he had to pay a heavy price, because the family didn’t approve of him learning the language of the “infidels”. He even went on to write a book in Bengali on English!
'Associations that made me the person that I am today'
You have strong Kolkata roots…
Kolkata is the foundation of so many of life’s greatest relationships that I treasure. My journey in Kolkata began in 1984 at La Martiniere, an experience which I cherish till date. The relationships and camaraderie that existed in that school still thrive and I can name many friends and colleagues that I continue to admire like Nitish Kapoor, Indrajit Gupta and Ranodeb Roy. This was followed by my stay in RG Kar Medical College and IPGMER, Kolkata, and there I was lucky enough to make friends with folks such as Raja Dhar and, of course, Prof. Makhan Lal Saha. Though I left clinical practice later for a different goal, these were all associations that would make me the person that I am today.
‘My journey in Kolkata began in 1984 at La Martiniere, an experience which I cherish till date,’ says Bhattacharya TT archives
What Bengali values are you most inspired by?
The emphasis that Bengalis put on education and to do the right thing at all times, even if it costs you a bit more. Bengal stands for the culture, the academics, its ethos revolves around its academics, whether it is art or science. Bengalis are not generally superficial.
'Service is power'
You describe meeting Mother Teresa as a turning point in your life. How did that happen?
This was when as a newly qualified doctor, I was founding the Rotaract Club of RG Kar Medical College, which would have been the only all-doctors Rotaract Club in the world. The president of Rotary International came down to meet me and asked me to meet Mother Teresa because she needed some doctors to help her.
I went in a pristine business suit, thinking that I would be meeting with the CEO of Mother Teresa Inc. But to my surprise, I met a frail old lady, a bit hunched halfway down the corridor, who had come to greet me and was delighted to meet me and was so grateful to see me! All my arrogance disappeared in a flash and that is the time that I realised, service is power. This woman has only served, and she has no possessions. This changed my life from what I thought was an extremely greedy person to someone who just wants to make a difference in this world.
Meeting Mother Teresa was a turning point in Bhattacharya’s life TT archives
You have been a surgeon, are an entrepreneur and yet you give a lot of your time to the arts. Why is that so?
Supporting the arts has always been one of my life’s greatest passions. This is something that my family introduced me to and it is also quintessentially Bengali – to live and breathe authentic and raw creativity. My hero is Lorenzo de Medici and like him, I invest a big portion of my time in this space. I have started a platform for emerging artistes and support Kalakar Arts in London, which has an immense personality, Chandra Chakraborty, at its head. We are now collaborating with the London Chamber Orchestra, Indian Raga London and Harmoniverse, a hybrid musical educational school, which is enabling my vision of collaboration and cooperation for a multicultural pluralistic society where people’s values are respected.
The team of Kalakar Arts, London Chamber Orchestra and Indian Raga London Antra Bhargava
What thoughts would you like to share with the youth of Kolkata?
As a Bengali or Kolkatan you have unlimited potential. Everything you need to succeed in life is already within you. The culture of the city and state is a gift that has been handed down to you from the generations above and it is an immense responsibility that you should treasure and build a legacy for an even better future.
Antra Bhargava is the former CEO of SuVitas, India's first Transition Care Hospital Chain, which recently merged with HCAH (HealthCare atHOME, India), where she is head of Expansion. She founded the WoW Kitty Trust as a micro-financing platform for rural female entrepreneurs and developed the PACE model for all genders and age groups.
