Vaidya Renu Dixit

My father, who belonged to a very remote and small village of western UP, struggled and made his path to glory by starting his journey as an Ayurveda doctor. He travelled from Jhansi to Lucknow, Varanasi to Guwahati and to extreme south in Tirupati. He was known for the treatment of jaundice, which was an epidemic in this area. He introduced Ayurveda in a Homeopathy dominant area, along with introduction of Yoga into many lives. It all started with one room that got transformed into a magnificent institute, standing tall as one of the best institutes in South India.
I was just seeing all this with my eyes, not expecting that I would be part of such a noble goal in the future. I joined my father’s institute in 1992 and it was not an easy thing to do. There was always a comparison with this stalwart who started every speech with a Geeta shloka and ended with a shloka from the Vedic scriptures. His knowledge of the current scenario – global research to global politics was amazing. His high standards of English and hardworking nature set a very high benchmark for me.
I came from an English medium school and joined an institute with Telugu medium. I struggled to understand and read Telugu books. I first learned Telugu alphabets with the help of my Sanskrit teacher and friend Dr. Katyayini and others. I used to listen to the class lectures in Telugu, read the subject in Hindi and write my examination in English. It was a spontaneous translation during my exams.
I was a thorn in the eyes of many, as I was the Principal’s daughter. There was a mix of hate and love situation in the college, among students and teachers. I struggled getting good grades, as all personal grudge on the principal was reflected on me during the Viva voce. I finally finished my BAMS. Later, I went on to pass my second language test in Telugu conducted by APPSC. I am now very good at it.
From my third year onwards (during vacations), a few of us started attending PG coaching with seniors. This helped me to crack the BHU entrance.
The BHU was a different experience. It moulded me as a more confident and strong person. The teachers of BHU shaped us in every angle from teaching to research. This certificate and the three years here changed my life.
After the completion of MD in 2001, I joined as an Ayurvedic expert in the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), New Delhi. This changed my whole perspective of Ayurveda. It was very tough to work as it was the beginning of a new era of blending IT into Ayurveda. Here I came across many books of Ayurveda. I was also refining my knowledge and skills on computers to help me in my job at National Institute of Science Communication (NISCOM).
Later in March 2002, I joined as Ph.D. scholar along with senior residency. This was unknowingly altering me as a teacher from a student. My research was on a very new topic and it took away all my energy. Though I was married and in a family way, I went across all the departments of BHU for collecting information on my topic. Even at Delhi, I went around with my 2 ½ months baby, gathering information for my research. It was again a new and great experience as a researcher.
Later in 2005, I had a break of 5 months. I got a call letter from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Rheumatology Dept. for the post of a senior project expert and another letter for the post of a scientific officer, AYUSH, in APSLDTL, Hyderabad. I took the latter. It was a new dimension that added to my experience. Drug testing was very new at that time. It was a great challenge. Learning through experience, I gained a lot of knowledge in this field.
Then came the special day, when I gave an interview and got appointed as a lecturer in the institute once established by my father; earlier as a student and now as a faculty. It has been a wonderful experience, but with lot of challenges. Every challenge was only sharpening me and defining into me into a better teacher.
The journey goes on. Now as a professor, a guide for MD and Ph.D. and as a superintendent of the hospital, I am moving in a direction to work for the betterment of Ayurveda and to provide the best treatment to patients.