Arriving in Hoima Hospital in Bunyoro district, in 1972, soon after the departure of Asians from Uganda was a unique experience. Psychologically, one would presume there was some sort of vacuum there, something missing and a feeling of discomfiture. I stayed in the Guest House for a few days till I moved to the house allocated to me about one and a half kilometer away from the hospital.
Hoima is a nice small town in the western part of Uganda with a hospital of 60 beds. Besides me there was another Dr. DK Musisi who was also the Medical Superintendent. Just 3 months later he was promoted and posted in the Ministry headquarters in Entebbe. During the months we were together, we worked very closely and learnt a lot from each other. After his departure, I managed the hospital single handed for almost two years. It was a real adventure and bold experiments I had to undertake to help my patients on the road to recovery. I must mention here that once I took the plunge to do whatever I had to do for the benefit of the patient, I experienced success in 95% cases. The situation was that if you dare intervene chances of success were more than 90%, whereas if you don't then there is a strong, possibility of 90% fatality. That was a sheer delight in the wilderness there. A realization dawned on me that once you decide to do something after reading your books, your only companion to consult, with a firm determination to help your patient, God was always with you. This is what kept you going, and was a reward in itself so to say. Not a small thing, of course.
The life in Hoima was a little lonely in the beginning, atmosphere depressing. The shops left by Indians had been taken over by the Ugandans who had little experience in the businesses they were handling. Hence there was a chaos. Essential commodities like sugar, salt and edible oils were very much in short supply. Not to talk about brown flour (atta), though white flour (maida) could be obtained with some effort. Our staple diet of chapati would be made from a mixture of white flour mixed with soya flour to make it a little coarse. I must give credit to the new Ugandan businessmen who were always considerate and made these items available.to me saying that I was their guest and must have these things. Hats off to them for their great support in those times of scarcity and non- availability of essential items.
Just across the Hoima hospital, there was Hoima Club providing some sports like Table Tennis and drinks. I used to meet one young Ugandan there also interested to play Table Tennis. He was a Sugar Technologist, educated in the National Institute of Sugar Technology, Kanpur. His Ugandan girlfriend had done her graduation in Baroda with a scholarship from the renowned industrialists, the Mehta family of Lugazi. She could speak Hindi / Gujarati fluently, and no one could discern if she was not an Indian girl when not looking at her.
By the time I landed there in Hoima, there was a Gujarati private practitioner Dr Patel who also left in a month or so. Three to four months later, one Mrs. Indu Asthana came and met me and I learnt that her husband, Mr.BB Asthana was a Chief Magistrate stationed in Masindi about 35 miles from Hoima..It was from then on that we became great friends, they were like my parents, where I would go on some weekends and find a solace far away from my own people.Our association with the Asthanas continued and is still going on, even with our children who are like their grandchildren. Later, Judge Asthana was promoted and became a High Court Judge in Kampala. Sadly, Judge Asthana is no more as he left for his heavenly abode when he had retired to London where his son is an Attorney.
Near Masindi a sugar factory was being erected by people from Walchandnagar Industries, Pune. They were mostly Maharashtrians, headed by one ND Rajpathak. There was a symbiotic relationship with them. Whenever any one will fall sick, they will seek my opinion and I would enjoy their hospitality. It was good for all of us there to have a nice time together and talk about home and compare the two countries, just for the sake of discussion. Some years later we were travelling to India on leave via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. and were in a hotel. There was a pleasant surprise meeting with ND Rajpathak in the restaurant.There he was now engaged with putting up a sugar factory in Ethiopia. Seeing all this we were so proud to help our brotheren there on the African continent. India's association with African countries in their socio-economic development has been a historic one, and is still going strong.bilaterally.
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