Dr. Shantha- An Epitome of Humility

About 6 years ago, my daughter, in her school, performed as Dr. Shantha. For those of you who don’t know who Dr. Shantha is, she is a veteran in Cancer care and one of the senior most oncologists at the Adyar cancer institute.

My daughter had practiced her speech and it was very well received. We thought it would be great to meet Dr. Shantha in person and let her know about my daughter’s performance. However, we did not know her personally. All we did was reach out to her office (on her landline) and requested an appointment. We were immediately given one and asked to come the next day. My daughter recited before her.

Dr. Shantha was very humble, received us with a lot of warmth, served us snacks and we spent close to 30 minutes in her home. She really did not have to offer us anything to eat. She also played with my kids. There were zero expectations from her and she just wanted to encourage the children. You don’t meet such down-to-earth and humble people who have accomplished so much that often. We felt elated that day and were very thankful for the opportunity.

Usually, to meet people of Dr. Shantha’s stature takes months and months and you will have to follow-up umpteen times. Once you get an appointment (if you are lucky), in a lot of offices they do not even offer anything to drink. The response and warmth you get are dependent on your economic and social status.

She is a great example of a leader. Thank you, Dr. Shantha. We will miss you. However, I am really glad that she was laid to rest with Police honors and happy the media outlets covered the same. There is so much to learn from her.