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The Miraculous Tale of Bengal & Bengaluru’s Bypasswale Baba (Dr Devi Prasad Shetty)

October 7, 2022.

It is past 2 AM at Dr Devi Prasad Shetty’s miniature Bengali city at the Bommasandra outpost.
In its twenty one years of existence, this part of town has metamorphosed from a neglected marshland to the heart of surgical precision in South Asia, and arguably the world.

Mr Asit Baran Sinha Ray, a seventy-one year old patient recovering from a recent Chronic Artery Bypass Graft procedure performed by Dr Shetty and his expert team of surgeons, sits bemused in Room 324 of the Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences. His son, an aspiring thirty-two year old Steve Jobs wannabe, and his wife of forty four years sit beside him, looking at online streaming videos of Durga Puia celebrations in Bangalore. Next year, they decide. Next year, they will go pandal hopping together, once Dr Shetty gives a go-ahead with his signature mild nod & smile.

The spiritual considerations of Dr Shetty & team are evident at the main entrance of this 1,000 bed facility, where an integrated temple-mosque-cathedral complex greets patients & caregivers with the kind of secular assurance that has otherwise largely been lost in translation, from the invoking of the constitution, to every democratically elected government term. Dr Shetty is personally a hallmark of indiscriminate compassion, having played god in the operation theater for some of India’s most loved celebrities, including the likes of former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, and the late Saint Mother Teresa. In fact, his ties with Bengal have a strange allure to the international Bengali community to a point where almost the entirety of medical tourists (seeking cardiac procedures) from Bangladesh show up in Electronic City, in spectacular numbers. Narayana Hrudayalaya witnesses an approximate daily footfall of fifteen thousand patients & caregivers, with a diverse range of cardiac ailments ranging from cardiac arrests, to atherosclerosis (blocked / congested arteries inside the heart due to a build-up of plaque), and beyond. Dr Shetty is eponymous as Bypasswaale Baba to many patients, who show up at his doorstep with the assurance that he never turns a patient away.

The institute's charitable endeavors are largely led by Dr Shetty himself, who attends to the out-patient queue personally with religious precision, reminiscent of the ideals of the patron saint whom he once treated fondly. A portrait of Mother Teresa adorns the wall to his left, while he sits facing a bonsai garden, with an idol of Siddhartha Gautama in his forever trance, sitting & meditating peacefully under the green shade.

Ten minutes into a meeting with Dr. Shetty often acts as a very strong argument in favor of god’s existence as a benevolent being who cares for all. There is something divine about the way he listens to a patient or their caregiver, taking time to understand the nuances that act as mental barriers to those who need a specific surgical procedure. What’s most commendable about his approach, is the sincerity & grace with which he accepts his role as a healer, explaining the nature of the ailment, the reason why he has chosen a specific treatment modality, the risks & benefits of the procedure, and recovery timelines.

Recognising a patient who has just met Dr Shetty, is fairly easy. The lingering smile & facial serenity are spot-on telltale marks of someone who has just been absolved of their erstwhile anxiety.

Mr Sinha Ray remembers the time he first met Dr Shetty & chuckles. Next year, he decides. Next year, he will bring the puja to the hospital.