Ankitbhai Sunilbhai Chaudhari is currently pursuing his first year MBBS from the Shri M.P. Shah Government Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat. He still has a long way to go, 5 years to complete his medical degree but Anikitbhai is not complanining. For as long as he remembers, Ankitbhai wanted to become a doctor. “A lot of my family members were constantly falling ill when I was young. I felt the only way out was to become a doctor myself,” confesses Ankitbhai.
He is a native of Anantpur village that is located in Dolvan taluk, Tapi district, Gujarat. His medical dream got a further boost when he joined the Dungri Chatralayam in Gujarat (Swami Dayananda AIM for Seva Chatralayam for Boys) in 2020. He enrolled in class 9 and completed his class 10 while residing at the Dungri hostel and under the watchful eyes and care of Sunil sir (Sri. Sunil Ganvit, the hostel warden at Dungri).
Like another hostel alumnus, Sri. Vishalbhai Manojbhai Vasava, Sunil sir, Atul sir (Sri. Atul Dave, hostel coordinator of Dungri) and the boarding residence itself, all have played a critical role in shaping who Ankitbhai is today.
But it was an uncertain start to hostel life. “When I got admitted in 2020, it was the start of Covid and the fear of future gripped my mind,” recollects Ankitbhai. To add to the confusion, a few students got sick and separate quarantine rooms were arranged to prevent spread of the virus. What impressed Ankitbhai early on was the proper care that was given to sick students during the extremely difficult pandemic period. In fact, the early lessons in bedside manners, compassion and critical care delivered to young rural students during the tough Corona period by the hostel management left a deep impression on the school goer’s mind and Ankitbhai was all the more determined to pursue a career path in medicine.
And like always, Sunil sir came to the young lad’s rescue. “He was a great source of inspiration. He taught us the value of discipline, time management and looking back, these have been very valuable life lessons,” reminiscences Ankitbhai.
When the exam season arrived, Sunil sir donned the role of tutor guiding the students and explaining difficult concepts in a simple manner. “He guided us like a parent and supported us with care and dedication,” shares Ankitbhai warmly.
That committed effort showed in the results. Ankitbhai scored an impressive 87.83% in his class 10 public examination and those marks eventually paved the way for a career in medicine.
“Even today, when I look back, I feel it’s a stroke of luck and divine grace that brought me to the Dungri Chatralayam and Sunil sir. I have lot of happy memories of the fun filled days at the hostel,” recounts Ankitbhai.
Ankitbhai is still undecided in his field of specialization and he is a man who believes in taking things as they come and making the most of it. Here’s wishing him the very best in his medical journey.