Of friends new and old

“Having being born and brought up in Hyderabad and subsequently practicing as a paediatrician in Fernandez Hospital for the last 23 years, there are different types of friends in my life. There are childhood friends like businessman Rajesh Malve and then there are those like Kiran Divi, who came into my life by virtue of being a doctor and enriched my thinking,” says Dr Pramod Gaddam, director, Fernandez Hospital.

Hospital connect:

“Kiran and I have known each other since April 2004. His daughter Chandra was born at Fernandez. And she needed to be in the hospital for a few weeks. What started as a doctor-patient relationship evolved into friendship over 12 years as we share the same philosophy,” says Pramod. “Our journey started when we shifted to the hospital for my daughter who was yet to be born. That’s how I got  acquainted with Pramod. I see in this business that many people do their jobs based on the clients’ financial standing, but in his case, he sees children alike. That’s what made me like him,” adds Kiran , director of Divi Labs.

Passion to help kids:

If there are two things that Pramod and Kiran know for certain, it’s their passion for helping kids and innovative ideas. “What I like the most about Pramod is that he accepts that there is a problem in the country and always tries to find solutions,” says Kiran. Adds Pramod, “Together we are working on behavioural disorders in children. We are trying to get a  proper structure in the city where parents are comfortable.” They both inspire each other. “His generosity is in addressing various health related issues in children, especially the poor,” says Kiran. While Pramod adds, “He encourages and supports me to think of the unaddressed problems of children and is always ready to fund such projects. It’s because of Kiran that we are able to have a milk bank, that’s one-of-its kind in the city.”

classroom quirks:

Talking about his childhood friend Rajesh Malve, Pramod says, “Rajesh and I have been friends since 1972, we were in the same class, but we became close in 1975, in our sixth standard.” Rajesh adds, “We were given the same punishment of standing outside the class, and that was the beginning of our friendship. Quite often, during lunch break we used to bike to Kamat for a quick dosa.” They even managed to remain in touch in the non-cellphone and non-social media era. “Our personalities are similar and we think alike. Both of us are busy in our own professions. Friendship and family life are independent and have their own space. We do not meet that often but when we meet, we spend quality time,” says Pramod.