You always remember with gratitude seniors in school who were nice to you. Such a one was Dr Bhujang Shetty, renowned ophthalmologist who passed away on Friday. The school was Baldwin’s and Bhujang was school captain, games captain, and the nicest person you could meet.
I was five years his junior, which in school usually means we were on different planets. We were not in the same House, he was a boarder I was a day scholar, he was a star, I was barely known beyond my desk. We met because his brother Ratnakar, now an architect, was in my class, and in fact sat at the desk behind me. Bhujang saw me as a kid brother, and always took time out to say hello. It wasn’t just me of course, because Bhujang was essentially a people person and kind to everybody.
I was too young to realise then, but the compassion he had, the calmness, were qualities that would make him the doctor he became. My memories of Bhujang in school are of a slightly heavyset boy playing hockey and talking endlessly about the game. He played football too, and as an athlete brought the school laurels.
