He was a professor and HOD in the department of radiology in MGM medical college, Aurangabad for over 25 years and was able to guide more than 200 postgraduate students in the field of radiology. Today he owns and very successfully runs his own radiology clinic in the city. He feels learning is a continuous process and is not barred by age or time. There is much to learn from students, colleagues and our teams to improve our skill set is what this 70+ warm hearted person believes. Meet the much loved doctor, an adorable grandfather, and the very compassionate philanthropist Dr. Ramesh Malani of Shraddha Radiology and CBCT 3D Facial Imaging Center.
Spreading Happiness At Work
He grew up in a joint family with 12 brothers and 7 sisters. In 1976 when he started practicing, he was amongst the first to open a clinic in the region of 8 districts at that time. Now, he has a total of 10 members working for him. 3 of them have been with him for over 35 years now. They make a happy working family together and he provides them a safe, thriving and fulfilling workplace like the oldest member of the family. “They are a part of me, I am a part of them” – says Dr. Malani.
In his early stages of opening the space, finding the right people to work with him was an uphill task. He opened his doors to a little boy who was serving tea at a restaurant by taking him onboard and training him well. Today, the little boy is a grown-up man, continuing to work at the clinic, enjoys a better life and does his job like a pro.
His Secret To Bringing Joy At Work
Being connected to his employees, listening to their family problems, providing their families with access to basic education, providing a safe and comfortable environment at work is the least anyone can do for their employees is what Dr. Malani feels. Such simple things can make the employees so happy that they stay with you for a very long time. His large heartedness further got him to cover all of them under medical insurance and he sponsors 60-70% of the total premium to help them reduce their burden. He also plans a surprise party and celebrates by cutting a cake on the employee’s birthday.
Happy Memories
His happy memories at work come from his ability to guide his patients in the right direction, leading to their happy and healthy life. There are many times when a patient’s diagnosis does not go well leading to long term pain and suffering. He narrated an incident of a patient who was facing a lot of health challenges after she delivered her baby. It was noticed that the issue had been persistent for a long time, due to the oversight of her doctors during her pregnancy. Helping her out with the right diagnosis and seeing her recover and heal well is what made him happy.
Self Happiness
In spite of his busy schedule, he makes sure he gives equal time to his family. He loves spending time with his grandchildren and that’s one of the things that gives him a lot of happiness. In fact, the day I went to interview him, he had just returned from shopping with his grandkids. Another thing which makes him extremely happy is collecting antiques. He owns a 1946 Chevrolet which belonged to the Maharaja of Bikaner and takes it around the city for a drive on vintage car show days. He also has a huge collection of stones, coins, showpieces and I had the privilege of seeing some of these. A man of many interests and one who lives an inspiring life himself.
Idea Of Gifting
While gifting is an integral part of most cultures around the globe, it is interesting to see how each person thinks of it differently. With HWP’s mission to connect with people from different walks of life and understand what they do to dispel joy at work, we usually end up asking what is their idea of gifting. Dr. Malani feels “it is not how often you give a gift that matters but the memories that it creates when the recipient feels delighted, is what makes it special”. The gift he cherishes the most is a necktie he received from his daughter from her first salary. Who says gifts need to be showy and expensive? The moment, the gift, the thought – all together create memories that will last a lifetime.
His Favourite Reads
One would imagine little time in a busy professional’s life. But Dr. Malani is an avid reader. A few of the books that inspire him and give him the joy of reading are ‘The Celebrated Jumping Frog’ and ‘The Innocent Abroad’ by the father of American Literature, Mark Twain. He also enjoys reading the work of Shivaji Savant, who is a renowned Marathi novelist.
What He Is Grateful For
Hands down, he is extremely grateful to his mother and believes he has come this far with her constant support throughout his education and in his life. He appreciates the unflinching support of his wife who raised the family well, inculcating the right values in his children and doing all this with so much love while he was away working. With great pride, he shares – “ My family is together under one roof because of my wife’s patience, values, unconditional love and who she is as a person.”
His ultimate happiness mantra is – keeping your team motivated and inspired by treating them like family, and giving them the support they need, and to keep patients happy by listening to them with compassion and treating them with care.
Aditi Mittal
Senior Editor@HWP
